Don’t you love it when one of the smartest people in the Marvel Universe is a 15 year old black girl? She’s probably older now but you get my point. I loved seeing this bright young mind take over (not really though) an iconic mantle such as Ironman. A little backstory about this great young woman:
Riri Williams was born shortly after the death of her father, Riri Williams, Sr.. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, living with her sister Sharon, their mother, and their step-father.[2] When Riri was five years old, behavioral problems led her parents to consult a child psychologist, who certified Riri as a super genius after undergoing several tests. At the psychologist’s recommendation, Riri’s parents looked into special care to foster her abilities, while also giving her emotional support. Riri’s level of intelligence caused her to retreat inside her own mind and become an introvert. She met her only friend, Natalie Washington, when she was ten years old, after Riri caught Natalie’s attention while working at her open garage on some inventions meant to hopefully help superheroes some day. A year after that, Riri was given a scholarship at M.I.T. What started as a challenge for herself ended up becoming a secret project to create her own suit of armor. After reverse-engineering technology from the outdated Iron Man Armor Model 41, Riri started creating her own prototype version of the Iron Man Armor, using mainly stolen material from campus. When security caught notice of her suspicious activities, Riri decided to don the suit of armor and fly away.
After flying around the country trying to get the hang of her suit’s flying capabilities, Riri intercepted a couple of inmates escaping from the New Mexico State Penitentiary. She managed to stop the speeding truck they were using as a escape vehicle, but at the cost of her armor’s integrity. Riri eventually returned to her house to keep working on her suit, much to her mother’s dismay. After learning of Riri’s accomplishment, Tony Stark visited her and chose to endorse Riri’s desire to become a super hero. Using a repaired version of her armor, Riri later assisted Iron Man during the second superhero Civil War, fighting against the forces of Captain Marvel. In the end of the civil war, Tony Stark fell into a coma fighting Captain Marvel. So Riri decided to continue his legacy as a hero. With the guidance of a A.I. duplicate of Stark, Riri created a new much better suit of armor, and took up the alias of Ironheart. (source: http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Riri_Williams_(Earth-616) )
I know, I know, it’s a lot to read but it’s worth it I promise. Riri matters because representation matters. Seeing young black women wanting to be superheroes and not just the cliche ones (Wonder Woman, Supergirl, etc). It really does show that they can literally do anything they put their mind to (if one builds an actual Ironman suit, she wins at life). Riri Williams is one of the reasons I do these WCW posts, to show that we are important in comics and movies. Keep striving, keep pushing young nerds…remember, you matter. Until next week, Nerd Out! Be on the lookout for game streaming links and posts to individual and group channels.
