So maybe the first episode of Ironheart didn’t erupt from the stating blocks like an arc reactor powered racecar, but there were enough aspects concerning the Chicago based superhero to give hope that business will pick up once things had gotten warmed up. With its second episode, we can start to see exactly that as the plot starts gaining momentum and new characters are introduced, but we’re still not quite in a place where things still could go all Secret Invasion-y on us if the show manages to put a rocket boostered foot wrong.
But with the action ramping up, the supporting characters having more of an effect and actual action sequence actually place,is this a sign that Ironheart is upgrading itself with each and every episode to the point where it can stand alone without the legacy of Tony Stark to hold it in place?
After trying to scan her own brain to attempt to create an AI as powerful as the one she encountered in Wakanda (cute little namedrop for Trevor Noah’s Griot there), Riri Williams discovers that she’s accidently subconsciously programmed it to have the appearance and personality of her dead best friend, Natalie. While this is an engineering feat that carries near endless possibilities, the fact that Riri is nowhere near over the events that led to her death means that the whole thing is pretty damn awkward. However, Williams hasn’t got time to debate the creepiness of bring the essence of her friend back to life because she has to get her armoured suit back up to spec by that night to participate in the most recent heist being organised by her new boss, Parker Robbins.
Taking a detour to meet painfully white, black market arms dealer Joe McGillicuddy who has a secret stash near a suburb in Evanston, but also lives his life in a state of perpetual meekness despite his illegal side hustle, Riri gets her suit back up to operating power and heads off for a night of committing crimes against the superwealthy. Before you know it the heist is underway to stall the TNNL project that’s turned Chicago’s underground freight tunnels into a community wrecking sci-fi highway and blackmail it’s owner, but midway through, Natalie (or should that be N.A.T.A.L.I.E.?) manages to escape being tethered to Riri’s laptop and finds her way back into the armour which jeopardises the mission. Thankfully, both N.A.T.A.L.I.E. and Riri manage to improvise, deviating from Robbins’ plan, but still creating the desired effect meaning that everybody gets paid a handsome sum. But while the colourful gang celebrates, it’s getting fairly obvious that Parker Robbins’ Hood persona comes with some pretty gnarly side benefits that start with him being able to camouflage and bend bullets, but also extends to his extensive tattoos spreading down his back like a virus. There’s some supernatural shit going on here and no mistake, but Robbins is obviously playing his cards very close to his chest.
With it’s surprisingly slow opening episode out of the way, we’re finally seeing Ironheart open up to show us,what she can really do, but while the show still feels it’s lagging somewhat when it comes to it’s pace, at least it’s a far more rounded episode that gives us a better tour of Riri’s world. The main headline for episode 2 is undoubtedly the creation of N.A.T.A.L.I.E., the latest of a long line of MCU AI that come prepackaged with a hefty amount of snark and an extremely convoluted acronym. However, the main twist her is that N.A.T.A.L.I.E has been inadvertently been created with the image and personality of Riri’s dead friend and it soon becomes obvious that for all it’s armoured suits and mystical fashions, the main thread of Ironheart’s story is trying to overcome after a great loss. Of course, that doesn’t stop the episode throwing some moral, AI based questions at the wall, such as the ethics of creating such a thing while using CG images to recreate a dead person (certainly one for Rogue One’s lawyers at least), and a scene where Riri’s mother equires if her daughter could make one of her deceased husband really hit home. However, beyond the moral conundrums, the introduction of N.A.T.A.L.I.E finally gives the show something to spark off and the chemistry between Dominique Thorne and Lyric Ross manages to give the second episode some of that MCU perkiness the first installment was lacking.
However, still lacking is the villain contingent. To be fair, it’s still a little early for Anthony Ramos’ Hood to be making his big bad guy moves yet, but at least we get to know his gang a little better. Of course, the diversity levels of his group are off the scale, what with hacker Slug being played by RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Shea Couleé, muscle being provided by the Blood Sibling’s (Talk To Me’s Zoe Terakes and Shakira Barrera from GLOW) and demolitions being provided by Sonia Dennis’ Clown, but they’re a solid group and the fact that we finally get to see them in action with Riri means that we get to know them beyond their colourful exteriors. However, considering how strong the diverse group of witch were in Agatha All Along, I was hoping that the gang would feature a little more on-screen chemistry other than being just a standard group of impossibly cool people.
I will say, however, Riri’s first outing with the Hood’s gang proves to be pretty nifty even if the stakes are still fairly low and the core concept of Williams using her armour to fly into a futuristic, underground, automated freeway is certainly the tech dependant stuff a member of the “Iron Family” should be engaging in. The heist even has an intriguing ending after Riri and N.A.T.A.L.I.E are spotted by a security guard who is wounded by one of the Hood’s funky bullets, which causes the AI to freak out as her human template got killed thanks to gun crime. Of course this is something I’m assuming we’ll look into further, but weirdly enough, the most intriguing aspect of the episode has nothing to do with armoured suits, traumatised AI, diverse gangs or supernatural capes.
Enter Alden Ehrenreich as “Joe McGillicuddy”, a bumbling, timid suburbanite who maybe the the most passively caucasian character in MCU history. Even though he’s been stock piling large quantities of biotechnology and devastating weaponry, he’s bizarrely squeamish about it as he’s the kind of guy who won’t stand up for himself even when his bitchy neighbour won’t stop letting her dog shit on his lawn. Of course, anyone who’s looked a little further into the casting knows who Joe McGillicuddy probably is, but his time with the far more streetwise Riri proves to be the best parts of the episode, be it his neon Life, Laugh, Love sign in his weapons cashe or the moment when both Joe and Riri regale us with a spirited rendition of Alanis Morrisette’s You Oughta Know while taking a drive.
Picking up some much needed momentum, Ironheart still isn’t MCU required viewing yet, but there’s a very real sense that in an episode or two, the show could surprise us. What that could possibly be, I have no idea (hence the surprise), but considering all the rumours that’s been circling around the show and that the show was released with a three episode premier, I have a feeling we’ll find out devilishly soon.
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We Have Issues 
Oh for the love of God…
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