Notice! This post contains SPOILERS for What If...? Season 3Iron Heart multiple delays made it even stranger for the MCU in late 2024. Originally debuting in 2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever before her solo series, Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), by Riri Williams, is a young and talented engineer who creates her own armor, inspired by Tony Stark's Iron Man. However, the delays of said solo series have created a new strangeness for the MCU.
In 2022 Wakanda foreverRiri becomes the center of a major conflict between Wakanda and Namor's underwater city, Talokan, after she creates a device capable of detecting vibranium. Aiding the Wakandans who protected her from Namor, Riri constructed an impressive suit of armor using Wakandan technology based on her original prototype, although she was unable to take it back to MIT. at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While Wakanda forever prepare Riri's next show Iron HeartThe show's delays have made his role in a more recent MCU project quite strange.
Ironheart was originally supposed to be released in 2023
There were several delays
Originally, Iron Heart was announced with a planned release date of fall 2023. This would put him just one year ahead Wakanda foreverwhich makes sense given its status as a direct spin-off of the film's events. However, Marvel Studios removed the project from the 2023 slate in favor of a 2024 release, only to later move it once again to its current June 2025 slot.
These multiple delays for Iron Heart were due to a variety of factors, primarily Marvel Studios and Disney re-evaluating their content production, desiring a stronger focus on quality over quantity. As such, it was explained by Marvel Studios head of television Brad Winderbaum that they wanted more time to work on the series to make sure it was the best project possible. That said, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes also played their part in the delays.
What if Season 3 brings Riri Williams back
The last hero in a destroyed world
Despite Iron Heart delays, Riri Williams still played a role in the 2024 animation And if...? Season 3. Voiced by Thorne, Riri had a starring role in "What If...The Emergence Destroyed The Earth?", revealing an alternate reality where the world was divided by the Celestial Tiamut and Riri became one of the last heroes standing. in front of Mysterio who went on to rule the remnants of the planet. At the end of And if...? Season 3, Episode 5, Riri merges with White Vision's body, becoming an incredibly powerful half-human, half-synthetoid hybrid to save the world and give hope to the survivors fighting against Mysterio's defeat.
And if...? Season 3, Episode 5 is one of the best stories ever And if...? The third season and Riri's story are quite impressive. However, it's very strange to see an MCU variant becoming so powerful before the original character barely appears in her own story, aside from a single debut appearance.. As such, the episode seems quite indicative that Iron Heart was originally planned to premiere well before this third and final season And if...?.
Marvel's twists on Ironheart and The Hood feel strange thanks to Ironheart's delay
You can say Iron Heart It was made to be released first
Despite taking place in alternate realities, it is very strange to see Riri Williams becoming much more powerful than she will likely be in her debut MCU series, before this series was released. Releasing later is clearly what was originally planned on Marvel Studios' part and would have made more sense. The same goes for the following episode which subverts The Hood's identity in And if...? Season 3, Episode 6. Instead of crime lord Parker Robbins, who will be played by Anthony Ramos in 2025 Iron HeartRobbins is killed off-screen and the new Hood is revealed to be Shang-Chi's sister Xu Xialing.
Furthermore, the Hood's power to transform/teleport and the corrupting supernatural nature of the Hood himself have now debuted in And if...?instead of in Iron Heart as they should have done. While it's not the most egregious or confusing thing Marvel Studios has ever done, it certainly makes both shows weirder. Likewise, it could be argued that it does a disservice to Iron Hearta program that hasn't even been released... but And if...? already riffs.
All episodes of And if...? The third season is now streaming on Disney+. Iron Heart is set to premiere on June 24, 2025.
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- Release date
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February 14, 2025
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- Release date
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July 25, 2025
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- Release date
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July 24, 2026