Description: A new Iron Age begins! From the violent streets of Chicago, an armored hero rises! Clad in her own Iron Man suit, Riri Williams is ready to show the world what she can do as the self-made hero of tomorrow. Her technology just might change the world forever — if she survives that long! But is she ready for all the problems that come with stepping into Iron Man’s jet boots? Problems like her first big villain. And the other guy running around as shell-head. And the laundry list of criminals looking to destroy Tony Stark’s legacy. Oh, and all the super-teams out to recruit her! As Riri’s adventures go viral, it’s time to claim an alter ego of her own — welcome to the Marvel Universe, Ironheart!

Review: I have mixed feelings for Ironheart. I enjoyed reading it and was thoroughly entertained but I still wanted more. Ironheart continues the trend of having diverse characters in the Marvel Universe. Riri Williams is an incredibly intelligent, funny heroine who is from the South Side of Chicago. I loved her spunk and personality though I felt her origin story wasn't strong enough and that's mainly due to Riri's lack of page time in the comic. We don't see much of Riri as a regular teen before she is Ironheart. Bendis uses the old comic trope of a violent incident sparking the hero, or in this case, the heroine to become a superhero. Riri's stepfather and her best friend are killed in a drive-by shooting. While the murderers are harrowing, it didn't make sense to me as to why Riri would be more devastated by losing her best friend rather than her stepfather and again I think this due to the lack of development of these relationships with Riri. I would have also liked more scenes with Riri and her mother.
  The graphic novel's structure also felt disjointed. There were many flashbacks woven into the story that did not transition well into the overall story arc. I also felt some of the flashbacks were unnecessary. I haven't been keeping up with the Marvel Universe via graphic novels so I'm not sure where Ironheart is located on the world's timeline but in this graphic novel Tony Start is dead though his hologram which he programed himself is very much alive. I wasn't quite sure how this hologram worked since he felt more human. Despite playing the role of a mentor, Tony took over the graphic novel leaving Riri to play the supporting character.
 Despite these flaws in Ironheart, I thought the artwork in the graphic novel were excellent. The great drawings and color make the graphic novel pop and so eye catching. I was also pleasantly surprised by Pepper Potts having a stronger role rather than just being Stark's love interest and coworker. I would have loved to see more of her in the graphic novel. Overall Ironheart was an entertaining graphic novel but my expectations for it were much higher.


Rating: 3 stars


Words of Caution: There is some language and PG-13 violence in the graphic novel. Recommended for Grades 8 and up.


If you like this book try: Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spiderman collection by Brian Michael Bendis