Riri Williams Isn’t Iron Man, She’s…

Last Month, Marvel announced that Riri Williams would be stepping into the role of Iron Man, taking over for Tony Stark. There were lots of differing opinions on the change and you can read two here and here. A big question was left hanging, would she be known as Iron Man? Well, Marvel has announced not only is who’s in the armor changing, but the name is too when Riri takes flight in November.

While the debut is Invincible Iron Man #1, Williams will be known as Ironheart.

Creator and writer Brian Michael Bendis said the name came from a discussion about what Williams should be called. In talking to Wired, Bendis recounted:

Iron Woman seemed old fashioned to some. Iron Maiden looked like a legal nightmare. And Ironheart, coined by Joe Quesada, after I told him my planned story for Riri, speaks not only to the soul of the character but to the Iron Man franchise as a whole. Tony first put on the armor to save his heart. Riri puts it on for different reasons altogether but still heart-related. When people see her story, you’ll be amazed at how simple and brilliant Joe’s suggestion was.

For those that don’t know the character, Riri Williams is a 15-year-old MIT student who reverse-engineered a suit of armor in her dorm room. Her armor A.I. will be based on Tony’s personality.

The change in character is one of numerous changes Marvel has made over the years diversifying their line-up of characters. It’s a shift that has sped up after the success of Miles Morales as Spider-Man and Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel. Changes include Asian-American Amadeus Cho as the Hulk, and long time Thor ally Jane Foster as the new Thor.

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