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• WATCH: How Marvel's Ironheart is related to Iron Man: The Riri Williams/Tony Stark connection, explained [Lore Corner]

Greetings Popversians, and welcome to Lore Corner! Each week, video producer Ashley V. Robinson and staff writer Grant DeArmitt are going to take you deep into the pre-existing lore behind some of pop culture's most exciting adaptations, such as Disney+'s newest adventure through the MCU, Ironheart. Enjoy! 

It's been less than ten years since Riri Williams (AKA Ironheart) debuted in the pages of Marvel Comics. However, in that short span, the character has already made two impressive shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - first in the Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, and next in the quickly approaching Ironheart series on Disney+. 

In that time period, one of the most frequently asked questions about Riri's character is her connection to the other "Iron" character that helped forge the MCU, Tony Stark. And in this week's Lore Corner, we're going to be diving into how they two are connected (or maybe even more importantly, how they are not). Enjoy!

How is Ironheart related to Iron Man?

Well first of all, let's get one thing straight - Riri Williams is not related to Tony Stark, biologically, at all. There may have been some confusion for casual fans that saw Avengers: Endgame and picked up the idea of Tony Stark having a daughter, but that's Morgan Stark, and 100% not the main character of this show.

However, Riri and Tony do share more than just kinda rhyming names - Riri is a technical genius, able to craft battle-ready power suits capable of flight, detecting vibranium, and a whole host of other tricks. But unlike Tony, Riri didn't have billions of dollars to back up her interests. Riri built her first Ironheart suit out of her own garage, only moving up to better material quality when she was discovered Princess Shuri of Wakanda.

Naturally, if she didn't have Tony's resources, you might be wondering how a college student from a working class family could manage to craft something similar to what it took all of Stark Industries' billions to accomplish. And that might lead you to ask...

Is Riri Williams smarter than Tony Stark?

Alright, let's start this by saying that "smarter" is definitely subjective. Let's then continue by answering "yes."

Riri Williams's comic book creator, Brian Michael Bendis, has said flat-out that Riri Williams is smarter than Tony Stark. In a Time Magazine interview posted in 2016, Bendis said of the character: "She’s smarter than Tony," and he should know! Bendis not only created Riri but wrote the main Invincible Iron Man title at Marvel between 2016 and 2018. 

Now to be fair, the Riri we meet in the upcoming Disney+ series is technically not the same character as the one in Marvel Comics (just like any character adapted into the MCU, this Riri has some tweaks from her comic book counterpart), but it can already be argued that the Dominique Williams version of the character is, at least in some areas, smarter than Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark.

For example, Riri Williams never created Ultron.

And hey, while we're on the subject of Robert Downey Jr.... 

Will Robert Downey Jr. be in Ironheart?

With folks like Yelena Belova showing up in Hawkeye and Frank Castle about to show up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the most famous "Iron" character  in the MCU might make an appearance in Iron Heart. After all, Robert Downey Jr. could always return to his first, and currently deceased, MCU character via flashback, right? Well, maybe, but that's not happening here. As of this writing, there are no reports confirming that Downey will appear in Ironheart, either as Tony Stark or his current MCU character, Victor Von Doom.

However, what Downey is contributing to the series is a whole bunch of emotional support. On June 17, RDJ appeared in a Good Morning America segment which featured Thorne and costar Anthony Ramos. In a prerecorded statement, RDJ offered his support to both the series and its star, saying:

"Miss Thorne, I couldn't be happier than to be seeing you bring Riri Williams to life [...] I don't want to step on your interview, but long story short: Iron Man loves Iron Hart."

Ironheart debuts on Disney+ July 24.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters