What MCU Teams Could Wakanda Forever's Ironheart Join In The Future?
The following article contains spoilers for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."
The newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe does more than introduce a new holder of the title of Black Panther. It also introduces general audiences to Ironheart, aka Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who's poised to play an even bigger role within the machinations of this franchise.
In the film, Riri comes forward as a brilliant scientist who invented a piece of equipment that gets co-opted by the government to search for vibranium deep within the sea. This puts her within Namor's sights, and once Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) find her, they realize she must be protected. It's fortuitous they did so; Riri becomes a valuable ally in the fight between Wakanda and Talokan. And it's abundantly clear she'll have a large role to play in future Marvel projects.
We already know she's getting her own solo series on Disney+ with the appropriately titled "Ironheart." But the sky's truly the limit with a character as fascinating as Riri. After all, Marvel has become known for its team-up films, and it's a safe bet Riri will factor into one of those movies sooner or later. But what kind of teams could the character join?
She's known to be part of the Champions
Riri Williams could certainly make her way into various Avengers movies, especially with two on the horizon with "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." However, in the comics, Riri's more associated with the team known as the Champions (via IGN).
This is a group of young heroes, including Kamala Khan and Miles Morales, who have been known to go up against the likes of Thanos. The group took an early interest in Riri, who was initially nervous about joining up with them but quickly found them to be like a family. With her intellect and inventions, she became a valuable asset to the group.
It's unclear what the chances currently are of a Champions movie going into development over at Marvel. Kamala Khan has already been introduced with her own Disney+ series titled "Ms. Marvel." Meanwhile, Miles Morales hasn't been introduced yet, but it really seems like his big entrance is only a matter of time, especially given the subtle shoutout he received in "Spider-Man: No Way Home." That's not even getting into all of the other heroes who have been part of the team over the years. But if we were to put money on it, there's another team lurking in the corners of the MCU where Ironheart may fit in better.
Marvel's clearly leading up to the Young Avengers
It seems like a Marvel project can't go by without introducing some member of the Young Avengers. This is a team from the comics that lives up to its name by consisting of young heroes, often those who take after older members of the regular Avengers line-up. The MCU has already introduced plenty of potential members, including Kate Bishop, Wiccan, Speed, America Chavez, Ms. Marvel, Patriot, and Kid Loki. Another member of the team is also set to rise to the forefront of the franchise in the form of Cassie Lang, aka Stature, who will have a prominent role in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."
Ironheart normally isn't part of the Young Avengers, but things can obviously change from the comics to the big screen. She certainly fits the mold of a Young Avenger, having taken after the qualities of an original Avengers, i.e., Iron Man. However, things may become more complicated if the series decides to introduce Iron Lad, who's a younger version of Kang the Conqueror. He's also basically like an Iron Man, and it's unclear if there's enough room on the roster for two Iron-based heroes.
This is all purely conjecture. No matter how Ironheart continues in the MCU, more Riri Williams is always a good thing.