Comics Marvel

Robert Downey Jr Loves Marvel's New Iron Man

By Jon Ledford

Marvel recently unveiled a brand new Iron Man who will take over for Tony Stark in the Invincible Iron Man comic – a teenage black girl named Riri Williams – and Hollywood's version of the superhero couldn't be more thrilled.

Prolific comic writer Brian Michael Bendis explained that the change stems from the currently unfolding storyline of Marvel's Civil War II, in which Stark wants to step away from the suit and offers the Iron Man gig to Williams, a genius who enrolled at MIT when she was 15. While there, she builds her own Iron Man suit in her dorm room, which catches the attention of Stark.

Soon after the announcement, Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. expressed his excitement on Twitter:

Bendis told Time that he wanted to create a strong, black female character whose life had by marred by senseless street violence. "It just seemed that sort of violence inspiring a young hero to rise up and act, and using her science acumen, her natural-born abilities that are still raw but so ahead of where even Tony Stark was at that age, was very exciting to me."

Williams likely won't wear the suit forever, but Bendis is still trying to figure out if Williams will retain the "Man" in "Iron Man" or take on a more gender-appropriate moniker.

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