Ironheart has arrived. The long-awaited Marvel Studios series has been a subject of mystery among Marvel fans for over three years. The show, a spinoff of 2022 theatrical release Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, brings Dominique Thorne back as Riri Williams in her own adventure, but it had completed filming in the same year. Delay after delay had fans wondering if it would ever arrive on Disney Plus. But eventually, it did, with the show kicking off Phase Five's final chapter.
The show premiered on Disney Plus this week with a three-episode debut that reintroduced us to Riri six months after the events of Wakanda Forever. It also introduced us to Anthony Ramos' Parker Robbins, a.k.a. The Hood, who has gone on to become a major presence in the show, as audiences wonder what they can expect from the long-awaited potential villain.
*** This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from Ironheart. Don't read on if you would prefer the show wasn't spoiled for you. ***
That being said, The Hood isn't the only villain that the show namedropped as Ironheart finally did something that Marvel fans have been waiting two decades for.
Marvel officially names the Iron Monger in Ironheart
Well it's been a while since you've heard that name, hasn't it? Heck, if you're a fictional character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then you have never heard that name at all... even though the character did exist. But that's no longer the case, for Marvel Studios' original villain has finally been given his comic-accurate name by a character with an unexpected connection to him.
In the third episode of Marvel Television's Ironheart, it is revealed that Alden Ehrenreich's character Joe McGillicuddy is really named Ezekiel Stane. Yes, Stane, making him the son of Obadiah Stane, who was portrayed by Jeff Bridges back in 2008's Iron Man. The former CEO of Stark Industries was Howard Stark's best friend and he was supposed to run the company until Tony was old enough to take over. But he was also involved in a multitude of nefarious deeds, and attempted to take Tony out when he began enacting his new, heroic approach to life.
Stane donned a larger, heavier, bulkier version of an Iron Man suit and attempted to kill Iron Man himself, but he was ultimately killed in the battle (being electrocuted and then falling into the Arc Reactor). Although this was the Iron Monger that fans know and fear from the Marvel Comics, the MCU never once referred to the character as such. That is, until now.
Speaking to Riri after she discovered who Ezekiel's father was, Zeke reflected on the legacy that his father left behind. When Riri mentioned how her stepfather was a good influence on her, he responded that she was lucky to have had a good example in her life as he had "an Iron Monger" in his. It was the first time in 17 years that any MCU title has referred to the character by his comic-accurate name, and it's all the more fitting that the words come from his own son.
Ironheart is something of a successor to Iron Man and its sequels, as Riri Williams looks to carry on the legacy of Tony Stark by building her own suit of armor. To do that, she needs help and resources that she hasn't been able to obtain on her own, and the fact that she's now working with the Iron Monger's son - who looks to create a better legacy away from what his father did - makes that journey all the more fitting.
Featuring a reference to Stane's villainous turn - and even his existence for that matter (via his ashes, which Ezekiel has in his house) - is a nice callback that just proves Marvel is still more than capable of surprising us with an Easter Egg or two.
Ironheart is now streaming on Disney Plus.