by Drew Baumgartner and Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

RiriwhydidyoubecomeIronheart?

Xavier King

Drew: My favorite scene of Eve Ewing, Kevin Libranda, and Luciano Vecchio’s Ironheart 1 takes up most of the third act. Riri, exhausted from a day of inventing, superheroing, and unexpected tour-guiding, is rudely woken by her phone. The call is from Riri’s old neighbor, Xavier, whose out-of-the-blue call makes her suspicious. Sure enough, the call was Riri’s mom’s idea — exactly the kind of thoughtful meddling a teen would resent. In spite of this the two find some common ground with their shared enthusiasm for sci-fi and Hip-Hop. But then the other shoe drops, and Xavier blurts out the breathless question quoted above. In many ways, Xavier is articulating the central question of this series: Why is Riri Williams Ironheart? Continue reading →