A new Funko Pop! figure for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reveals the first look at Riri Williams’ Ironheart armor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A new Funko Pop! Vinyl figure for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever gives Marvel fans their very first look at Ironheart’s full armor in the film.
In a product photo from San Diego Comic-Con released by The Hollywood Reporter, a figure titled “Ironheart MK1” shows Riri Williams’ super suit in the Black Panther sequel, which is reminiscent of the exoskeleton Tony Stark tests out while developing his Mark II armor in Iron Man (2008). As she sports goggles and headphones, Riri’s suit does not look like her full armor from Marvel Comics, with the exoskeleton instead being worn over a t-shirt and jeans, featuring external rockets on her legs and a repulsor cannon on her right arm only. One similarity the suit does bear to Riri’s comic counterpart is that her heart-shaped arc reactor is slightly off-center, a trait of her later armors in comics. Before now, the only image of how Ironheart’s first armor would appear in live-action was a merchandise listing showing off part of its bulky frame.
Who Is Riri Williams AKA Ironheart?
Riri Williams was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato in 2016, first appearing in Invincible Iron Man #7. In comics, Riri takes up the superhero moniker of Ironheart after Stark is put in a coma following Civil War II, with an artificial intelligence of the Armored Avenger giving her guidance as she begins her heroic journey. The character makes her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Wakanda Forever played by actor Dominique Thorne.
Thorne can be seen as Riri in the first official trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, released by Marvel Studios during a mind-blowing panel at SDCC, where she is briefly seen hammering her heart-shaped logo out of a sheet of metal. Thorne will be reprising her role as Riri in an Ironheart televison series for Disney+, which Marvel announced would be a part of the MCU’s Phase 5 projects during the panel. Being that the Pop! figure labels the outfit as “MK1,” it is unclear if Riri may be getting a MK2 suit in the upcoming film, or if fans will have to wait until her solo series for a more comic-accurate ensemble.
Namor and Other Black Panther Characters Get the Funko! Spotlight
The Pop! of Riri was only one in a series of figures from Funko for Wakanda Forever. Some of the figures are based on how returning Black Panther characters Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke) Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) will appear in the sequel, while others give a clear look at newcomer Namor and Atlanteans Namora and Attuma. Actor Tenoch Huerta will portray the Atlantean King Namor in the film, who has a history of warring with Black Panther in comics.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters Nov. 11, 2022.
Source: THR