Three episodes into Ironheart, and I’m left with that all-too-familiar Marvel sensation: there’s something interesting buried in here, but it’s surrounded by noise, tropes, and characters I’m apparently supposed to care about before they’ve earned it.
Let’s start with the good. The AI storyline—easily the most compelling part of the show—is handled with more nuance than I expected. Riri’s deceased friend Natalie, now an experimental consciousness preserved via brain scan, is the closest this show gets to grappling with real questions: what are the limits of memory, identity, and emotional continuity? Is this really Natalie, or just a ghost built out of familiarity and grief? It’s heady stuff, and the show mostly lets those questions breathe without smothering them in exposition. That alone gives Ironheart more thematic meat than half the Phase 4 slate.
The inclusion of Ezekiel Stane was also a fun surprise. Obadiah’s son is the kind of deep-cut Marvel lore that works—he’s just eccentric and morally gray enough to keep things unpredictable. And Matthew Elam makes a strong impression. Alongside Alden Ehrenreich (who finally seems to be having fun again), they add some much-needed energy to a cast that otherwise feels like it was assembled via template.
Speaking of which… most of the characters here are, unfortunately, archetypes wearing slightly different hoodies. There’s potential in the ensemble, but right now it feels like we're being asked to feel things about this crew of criminals without having been given a reason to. They’re tragic! They’re rough around the edges! They love each other, maybe? I don’t know. The emotional investment is being requested on credit, and I’m not sure the show’s earned that kind of trust.
And we haven't even touched on the portrayal of Black culture, which, to its credit, the show is trying to celebrate. But it leans a little too hard into a surface-level "vibe." (Some of the moments are painful to watch.) That said, the show does avoid falling into some of the more egregious traps.
Halfway in, Ironheart has glimmers of something thoughtful (especially around AI and identity) but it has grown bogged down by safe and boring storytelling, undercooked character arcs, sterotypes, and a reliance on Marvel formula. Still, if the show leans further into the weirdness of grief-as-AI, it might find some... heart. Until then, it’s fine. But just fine.
