MCU’s Ironheart recently premiered on Disney’s streaming service, with the solo series shining the spotlight on Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, whom we first met in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from 2022. However, it would seem that the series is shaping up to be much more than a solo spotlight for Riri Williams, as it also offers some of the biggest early hints for what’s coming in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and the confirmed debut of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.
Ironheart picks up less than a year after the events of Wakanda Forever, where Riri Williams evolved from a brilliant young tinkerer into a full-fledged inventor with her own Stark-inspired suit of armor. Now back in her hometown of Chicago, she faces Parker Robbins, a magically empowered vigilante portrayed by Transformers: Rise of the Beasts star Anthony Ramos. But why does this showdown matter, and what does it reveal about the road to Avengers: Doomsday?
According to Ironheart executive producer Ryan Coogler, the conflict between Ironheart and The Hood highlights a core theme: the intersection of technology and magic. This dynamic hasn’t been fully explored in the MCU so far. With Avengers: Doomsday set to introduce Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, a character who blends advanced tech with mysticism, Ironheart lands at the perfect time. The series offers fans an early glimpse of how Doom might operate and what kind of threat he could pose.
At the same time, Thorne teased a more personal connection to mysticism for Riri herself. According to the actress, Riri’s mother is trying to welcome her into mystic arts in a very rudimentary but spiritual way, with Riri initially showing little to no interest in mysticism. However, the character is set on a really tempting journey that sees her realizing the full extent and capability of the magic side of the world, as promised in the teaser materials, where we see her Ironheart armor adorned with magical runes.
With all of that said, we still don’t know much about the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, and considering where Ironheart is sitting in the MCU timeline, it’s obvious that the series isn’t a direct lead-in to the aforementioned movie. Dominique Thorne’s Ironheart character, much like the MCU’s other young heroes, is yet to be confirmed for Doomsday, as she wasn’t present at the initial chair reveal. But then again, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield weren’t listed as cast for Spider-Man: No Way Home, and they did play crucial roles in that movie.
But, Ironheart does set the tone for Marvel’s next phase by exploring the tension and fusion between magic and technology, which actually plays right into the thematic narrative of the upcoming film. We also don’t know much about the MCU’s take on Doctor Doom, apart from the fact that RDJ’s portrayal might be a silent nod to Tony Stark becoming Doctor Doom in the comics. So far, the only information we have about the overarching narrative is that both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are coming from different dimensions into the MCU timeline, and that Doom is most likely the overarching bad guy.
Unfortunately, this still doesn’t give us a clear picture of Riri Williams’ role in the upcoming film, leaving plenty of room for speculation. Considering she played a key part in Wakanda’s conflict with Atlantis, and with Letitia Wright’s Shuri confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine Riri joining the fight alongside her. As a brilliant outsider with a knack for innovation, Riri could also find herself collaborating with Reed Richards to develop next-level technology with multiversal implications.
Her tech, now enhanced by magical elements, could play a crucial role in helping the Avengers and Reed Richards find a way to defeat Doctor Doom. This would make Ironheart a central figure in the Multiverse Saga, much like Iron Man was in the Infinity Saga. Even if Doom defeats the main Avengers team, Ironheart could still return as a member of the Champions, though they don’t typically fight multiversal threats. For a character who now blends science and sorcery, the possibilities are endless, and she may be laying the foundation for the MCU’s future.
All in all, while Ironheart doesn’t serve as a direct lead-in to Avengers: Doomsday, it may still offer the biggest clue of what’s coming: the merging of magic and technology as the next dominant force in the MCU. With Riri’s armor enhanced by mystical elements, and her main conflict centered around a magically empowered baddie, the series isn’t just laying the groundwork for what’s to come. It’s actually previewing the kind of threat Doctor Doom poses and the chaos we can expect when Doomsday finally arrives on December 18, 2026.