'Ironheart' Copied 4 Major Plot Points from Iron Man's Movies

Taking inspiration from Robert Downey Jr.'s (RDJ) Iron Man, Dominique Thorne's Ironheart series replicated a few key plot points from her predecessor's movies. Downey has pushed for Ironheart's inclusion in the MCU for years, offering his full and unconditional support for Thorne and her co-stars when the show debuted in June 2025. Considering their characters' histories in the comics and the MCU, it seemed only natural that a few plot points would end up being similar.

2025's Ironheart copied almost a handful of plot points and story beats first seen in 2008's Iron Man. Coming 17 years after the MCU's first movie, Ironheart gave Dominque Thorne her first solo project following her debut in a supporting role in 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Along with a few blatant nods to Tony during Riri's short MCU tenure, their shows are undeniably linked in how their stories went down.

Ironheart picks up with Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams following her debut in Black Panther 2 and shows her return to MIT. Also starring Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, and Anthony Ramos, Riri learns of a much darker entity in play as she develops her technology, leading to a wild battle with supernatural forces. Ironheart is now streaming in full on Disney+.

Every Iron Man Plot Point Used in Ironheart

Building a Suit From Scraps

"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"

Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane delivered one of the most poignant and memorable lines in MCU history when reflecting on Tony Stark's origin story in Iron Man. After being captured by terrorists and held captive, Tony spent the next three months using his technology to create something new. Starting with the arc reactor to keep him alive, he used salvaged scrap metal (mostly from his own weapons) to build the Mark I Iron Man suit and bust his way out of the Ten Rings' stronghold.

Being a genius in her own right, Riri used her own scraps to replicate the Iron Man technology and make it unique to her. Taking metal she found in the streets of her hometown (Chicago), she used the materials and her smarts to become a powerful fighter in her own right. The end of her show also showed her using her stepfather's 1971 Plymouth Barracuda car to create her newest suit, making the most of what was available to her in the same way Tony did.

Getting Attacked by a Stane

As referenced earlier, Jeff Bridges shone as the MCU's first big bad, Obadiah Stane, who was Tony Stark's business partner at Stark Industries. Using the scraps from Tony Stark's Mark I armor, Obadiah came after the Stark CEO with a vengeance after years of being undermined and pushed aside. This ended with an epic battle over Stark Industries' arc reactor, with Stane falling to his death.

Shockingly, Ironheart Episode 3 revealed Alden Ehrenreich's true character in the series, as he turned out to be Ezekiel Stane, Obadiah's son. Originally helping Riri in her venture with The Hood's gang, he quickly turned against her, showing his own biological enhancements and coming after her once he was pulled out of hiding. Although Riri helps free Ezekiel from The Hood's control by the end of the show, their conflict seems far from over.

Panic Attacks From Past Trauma

Following 2012's The Avengers, 2013's Iron Man 3 put Tony Stark in a place he'd never been before, as he started suffering from panic attacks. The movie showed him having nightmares about the Battle of New York, and even while awake, his mind would drift to the alien invasion that he nearly gave his life to stop.

On multiple occasions in Ironheart, Riri Williams felt this same kind of panic, especially when thinking about the traumatic events in her past. She unexpectedly thinks back to moments like her friend Natalie's death and her stepfather's passing, particularly after seeing somebody from The Hood's crew get killed and leaving John King to die in a greenhouse. Considering her youth and everything she's already experienced, it was no surprise to see her early pain come back to haunt her just like Tony's did.

Creating a Real Person from an AI

Tony Stark was originally introduced in Iron Man alongside JARVIS, his AI assistant, who was based on his butler from childhood, Edwin Jarvis (who was seen in Agent Carter and Avengers: Endgame). Eventually, Tony and Bruce Banner changed JARVIS into something completely different, using a vibranium body created by Ultron to implant JARVIS into and turn into Vision.

In Ironheart, while the plot played out differently, Riri Williams churned out her own AI system, which took the form of her deceased best friend, Natalie. By scanning her brain, Riri gave Natalie a physical form and changed her into a "living" intelligent system, which helped her in her adventures as a heroine.

While the two characters took a similar journey, going from human to AI to physical being, Natalie and JARVIS have enough differences to help Iron Man and Ironheart stand on their own.