Created by Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Deodato, Eve Ewing, and Kevin Libranda, Riri Williams is a legacy character who made her first (cameo) appearance in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7 during the Civil War II event (see reading order here).
Riri Williams is a 15-year-old certified genius. Born shortly after the death of her father Riri Williams Sr., Riri grew up in Chicago, raised with her sister Sharon by their mother Ronnie and their step-father. Soon enough, Riri was working on some personal inventions and was given a scholarship at M.I.T. After reverse-engineering technology from the outdated Iron Man Armor Model 41, Riri Williams decided to create her own Iron Man Armor, mostly with stolen material from campus. After learning of her accomplishment, Tony Stark came to visit her and gave him his blessings.
Following the events of Civil War II, Riri decided to continue Tony Stark’s legacy as a hero with an A.I. duplicate of Stark to guide her at the beginning of her journey. She took the name of Ironheart, joined the Champions, and worked to become a heroine in her own right.
Riri Williams/Ironheart Reading Order
As a legacy character, Riri’s history is intertwined with Tony Stark/Iron Man, so we invite you to check out our Iron Man reading order!
Becoming Ironheart
After her first appearances in Invincible Iron Man, Riri Williams shows up in Civil War II #4 to #6 and #8, and more importantly, she is in Invincible Iron Man #12. Even if she is not present in the last issues of Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3, it is not a bad idea to read them to know more about Tony Stark’s story before Riri takes over. For more information about the Civil War II event, go to the full reading order.
- Ironheart: The Saga of Riri Williams
Collects Invincible Iron Man (2015) #1-14. Previously collected in:- Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2: The War Machines
Collects Invincible Iron Man #6-11. - Civil War II
Collects Civil War II 0–8, Free Comic Book Day 2016 - Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3: Civil War II
Collects Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3 #12-14
- Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2: The War Machines
- Ironheart: Riri Williams
Collects Invincible Iron Man (2016) #1-11
Those issues were previously collected in two trade paperbacks:
- Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart Vol. 1 – Riri Williams
Collects Invincible Iron Man (2016) #1-5 - Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart Vol. 2 – Choices
Collects Invincible Iron Man (2016) #6-11
During that time, Riri Williams appeared in other titles (mostly after issue #5):
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2016) #15 & 18, collected in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 3: Smartest There Is
- Infamous Iron Man Vol 1 #6, #8-9, collected in Infamous Iron Man Vol. 2: The Absolution of Doom
- All-New Wolverine (2016) #19-21, collected in All-New Wolverine Vol. 4: Immune
Riri Williams with the Champions
Introduced in Civil War II, it didn’t take long for Riri to appear in another Marvel event! She is present in the Secret Empire main event (see full reading order here), when Steve Rogers makes Hydra’s ideals a reality—and changes the landscape of the world dramatically. She was part of the Underground and also appears in Champions (2016) #11 and Secret Empire: Uprising (2017) #1.
A Marvel’s era was ending with that event, and it was time for Marvel Legacy–a publishing initiative that relaunched numerous titles with new creative teams in the wake of Secret Empire. Riri made a few appearances during that time:
- To build the foundations of this new era, Marvel published Generations, a limited ten-issue anthology in which Riri meets a future version of Tony Star in Generations: Iron Man & Ironheart.
- She also meets Thor (Jane Forster) and fights alongside her and Captain America (Sam Wilson) in Marvel Legacy
- She assists Spider-Man in a two-part story in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #299-300.
After all that, she officially joins the Champions with issue #16, and continues to protect Tony Stark’s legacy:
- Champions Vol. 3: Champion For A Day
Collects Champions (2016) #16-18.- The Champions appear in Spider-Man (2016) #239-240, collected in Spider-Man: Miles Morales Vol. 4.
- Invincible Iron Man: The Search for Tony Stark
Collects Invincible Iron Man (2016) #593-600. - Champions Vol. 4: Northern Lights
Collects Champions (2016) #19-21, Infinity Countdown: Champions #1-2 - Champions Vol. 5: Weird War One
Collects: Champions (2016) #22-27, Champions Annual #1
Marvel Fresh Start and Solo Ironheart
Following Champions (2019) #1, Riri Williams takes her distance from the team and headlines her own series, with Eve Ewing at the helm. Riri accepts an offer from MIT, develops a new A.I. for her armor, and investigates the disappearance of several kids.
- Ironheart: Meant To Fly
Collects Ironheart (2018) #1-12
Those issues were previously collected in two trade paperbacks
- Ironheart Vol. 1: Those With Courage
Collects Ironheart (2018) #1-6 - Ironheart Vol. 2: Ten Rings
Collects Ironheart (2018) #7-12
Riri is back on the Champions but under the influence of Blackheart who is manipulating her, before she and her other teammates have to deal with a new law making superheroes under the age of 21 became outlaws in the event Outlawed (see reading order).
- Champions by Jim Zub Vol. 2: Give and Take
Collects: Champions (2019) #7-10 - Champions Vol. 1: Outlawed
Collects Outlawed (2020) #1, Champions (2020) #1-5- 2020 Ironheart #1-2 (part of the 2020 Iron Man event)
Collected in Ironman 2020: Robot Revolution Wolverine. Following the enactment of the Underage Superhuman Welfare Act, Riri has to hang up the mantle and has a falling out with her A.I.
- 2020 Ironheart #1-2 (part of the 2020 Iron Man event)
- Champions Vol. 2: Killer App
Collects Champions (2020) #6-10.
The story continues…
Did we forget an important issue? Did we make a mistake? Let us know in the comments!