Consistent with Marvel’s new trend of replacing the alter egos of its most famous superheroes with a more diverse cast of characters, it was reported earlier this year that Tony Stark would be stepping down as Iron Man, making room for Riri Williams, a brilliant 15-year-old African-American girl who created her own version of the Iron Man suit. Similar to the other character changes, this sparked a bit of controversy. There could be additional controversy now with news that she won’t go by the name ‘Iron Man’. Marvel has just revealed to Wired that when Williams take over this November, she’ll take on the moniker Ironheart.
Iron Man writer Brian Michael Bendis had a discussion about the name with Marvel editors. When brainstorming ideas for names, ‘Iron Woman’ and ‘Iron Maiden’ came up, but the former seemed old fashioned to some and the latter apparently looked like a legal nightmare.
Regarding the new name, Bendis said, “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.”
Williams won’t be a brand new character when the new volume debuts, though. She’s already been in a few issues of Invincible Iron Man and has met Tony Stark. However, the new volume, written by Bendis and drawn by Stefano Caselli, will serve as the official transition into Riri’s ‘Stark-sanctioned heroism’ and will tell of Ironheart’s beginning.
With all that said, Stark will still be part of the narrative. Riri’s in-armor A.I. will based on Tony’s own personality.
“Regardless of where he might be physically,” says editor Tom Breevort, “he’ll be soaring along with her spiritually.”
We’ll have to see how this transition turns out in November, although, if Bendis is writing the book, it’s a safe bet it’ll be a great read.
from Nerd Reactor
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