Marvel’s Ironheart debuts with a solid but uneven premiere in “Take Me Home,” reintroducing Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams after her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cameo. The episode balances high-tech ambition with street-level grit, though it stumbles in pacing and villain setup. Here’s a breakdown of its highs, lows, and potential, and whether it justifies the MCU’s expanding slate of young heroes.
The show’s premise, a genius inventor navigating grief and moral gray areas, echoes early Tony Stark, but Riri’s journey is distinctly her own. Where Stark weaponized his privilege, Riri scrambles for resources, selling homework to fund her suit and later aligning with criminals. It’s a refreshing twist on the “hero’s origin,” but the execution wavers between being bold and somewhat being slow and clunky.
The Good: Riri’s Charisma and Chicago’s Soul
1. Dominique Thorne Shines
Thorne’s performance anchors the episode. Riri is equal parts brilliant, arrogant, and vulnerable, expelled from MIT for selling homework to fund her suit, she’s defiant yet haunted by grief for her late stepfather Gary and best friend Natalie. Flashbacks reveal their deaths in a drive-by shooting, grounding her tech obsession in trauma.
Thorne’s portrayal deftly captures Riri’s contradictions: her bravado masks deep insecurity, and her grief fuels both her ambition and self-destructive choices. A standout moment is her quiet breakdown after hearing Natalie’s voice on Xavier’s mixtape which was a rare glimpse of raw vulnerability.
2. A Love Letter to Chicago
Director Sam Bailey (a Chicago native) films the city with warmth, from twilight skyline shots to bustling South Side neighborhoods. Unlike MCU’s usual CGI backdrops, Chicago feels lived-in, echoing Luke Cage’s Harlem.
The city’s texture elevates the story. Riri’s homecoming isn’t just a plot device. it’s a reckoning with her roots. Scenes like her mom Ronnie (Anji White) chastising her for reckless choices add familial stakes often missing in superhero tales. What’s more is that this feels like a more cheerful
3. The AI Twist: Horror or Heart?
The episode’s standout moment comes when Riri’s brain-mapped AI manifests as a holographic replica of Natalie (Lyric Ross). It’s equal parts touching and eerie, a WandaVision-level gamble that could redefine the series if explored carefully.
The AI’s uncanny valley effect, Natalie’s hologram wearing the clothes she died in. hints at a darker arc. Will Riri’s creation become a comfort or a haunting? The show’s willingness to flirt with ethical dilemmas (e.g., AI autonomy, grief commodification) is its most compelling thread.
The Mixed Bag: Clunky Setup and Villain Woes
1. Parker Robbins: Charismatic or Cringe?
Anthony Ramos’ Hood is a tonal rollercoaster. His gang, including Shea Couleé’s hacker Slug and Eric André’s Rampage, has Ocean’s Eleven charm, but Parker’s magician aesthetic, complete with a growling cloak, feels absurd. This is especially considering that this show is centered around a technology-based hero, plus his crew are all reliant on technology. Truth be told, the Hood could have been more sinister and menacing, but instead he just seemed like another person on the street with superpowers. It’s almost as if they were hinting of a bigger baddie to appear later on.
2. Pacing and Exposition
The episode juggles too much: Riri’s expulsion, her return to Chicago, and the Hood’s recruitment. Flashbacks to Natalie and Gary are poignant but rushed, and MIT’s dismissal of Riri (via a clunky DEI-themed speech) feels contrived.
The show’s “tell, don’t show” approach undermines its emotional beats. For instance, Riri’s grief is explained through dialogue (“Remember how Gary loved fixing that car?”) rather than organic storytelling. A tighter focus on her trauma, and less on heist antics, would’ve lent depth.
It also feels like there was too much setupto introduce Riri, who has already been introduced previously in Wakanda Forever, and so it felt like we spent too much time on the first episode just re-establishing who she is rather than using that time to get into the action and jump into her background later on.
3. Tony Stark’s Shadow
Riri’s idolization of Stark (“Do you think Tony Stark would be Tony Stark if he wasn’t a billionaire?”) feels outdated in 2025’s anti-billionaire climate. The show hints she’s leveraging his legacy for clout, but this angle needs sharper writing. The show also ignores well-established MCU lore when Riri exclaims that Stark had scraps and she had nothing when, in fact, Stark was under hostage and had nothing when he made the Mark I suit. It basically made her sound like a whiny character rather than someone rising above her trauma and deficiencies.
The Verdict: B-
“Take Me Home” is a flawed but promising start. Thorne’s performance and Chicago’s vibrancy elevate it, while the Hood and pacing drag it down. The AI Natalie twist could be genius or gimmicky. Its execution will make or break the series.
Will I keep watching? Yes, but cautiously. With Mephisto looming and Alden Ehrenreich’s Zeke Stane debuting next, Ironheart has room to grow if it tightens its narrative and embraces Riri’s moral complexity.