The first thing you notice about Marvel’s “Ironheart”, the latest entry into streaming in the sprawling Marvel cinematographic universe is how small it is. It takes place largely in a single district of Chicago. Apart from the title character, his casting is original and closely connected to their environment rather than another corner of the MCU. The Easter eggs are few, the references of continuity are revealed, and the threat involves personal vendettas and choices of passage to the angular age instead of the sky and multiverse chaos. Even the action sequences are selected, valuing the franchise on spreading.

The second thing you notice about Marvel’s “Ironheart” is the way in which this reduced scope is the best part of the series, and a reminder that the most effective MCU stories serve their characters and franchises first. There is nothing “essential” in this series of six episodes (you can easily go watch the Next Marvel movie Without seeing it, for example), but the simple fact that it is insensitive to the greatest story MCU is the reason why it is a breath of fresh air well welcome. These are not homework. It doesn’t prepare you for the next thing. He is happy to be alone, to tell his story and to focus on just its distribution of characters.

“Ironheart” is a little story of a girl, her family, her friends and the robot costume which is both his greatest blessing and his most tragic curse. And that’s just it. And by returning to the bases, the series captures the essence of the reason why we fell in love with Marvel stories in the first place.

Although technically a follow -up of “Black Panther: Wakanda forever,” Who introduced the young technological genius and the inspired engineer of Tony Stark, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), “Ironheart” does not ask you to remember this film. The series gives “Wakanda Forever” a few seconds of brief recognition before embarking on history: Riri MIT struggle, is expelled and returns to Chicago with a burst of robot cost and none of the funding she needs to capitalize on her genius.

What is a girl to do when she has Iron Man ambitions? In this case, it is a question of joining a small ring of crime which works with high -tech jobs and of hoping not to let your soul defile Also many and it builds a bank account.

“Ironheart” reduces the authentic tension of this premise, while the initial crampons of Riri “Ocean’s 11” give way to a more mean and more dangerous work, leading to fractures in his social circle and beyond. While the action and the Derring-Do are generally quite striking, the real heart of the series lies when Riri is out of his costume: reconnecting with your mother, staying with old friends, rediscovering the many oddities and corners of his neighborhood, and even stopping an improbable friendship with a suburban by Dork de la Suburban, to say more about a crime, an alban of the theater (say more Albentehrech, Albenrech (said crime by an Alden crime with a theater crime. But Marvel fans will look at him with interest, to say it slightly).

At the center of all this is Natalie (Lyric Ross), Riri’s best friend who died tragically and whose memories haunt every moment on our hero, triggering panic attacks struck with sorrow. These are sensitive stuff, carefully manipulated by the filmmakers of the series and with Grace by Thorne, who is actually capable of playing a character in its own right after being tight in the margins of “Wakanda Forever”. And although Natalie is dead (and remember, death has a different meaning in a comic story story), it is its dynamic with Riri which gives the show a soft and durable energy.

But “Ironheart” is always a comic book story, and one takes place in a world full of dazzling impossibilities. And on the credit of the show, he does something that we have not yet seen entirely in any MCU history so far: a complete exploration of science against magic. Of course, Iron Man and Doctor Strange joined beforeBut no film had the chance to really slow down and explore the gloriously cheesy repercussions of what is happening when a superhero based on technology faces a being of supernatural and spiritual power. And while the main bad guy in the series, the cursed gang leader known as Hood, is a bit incoherent (Anthony Ramos, a good actor, simply does not have the shady magnetism necessary here), the ramifications of their confrontation should be more than sufficient for the hood’s hood to come from the most. Or someone.

When “Ironheart” is cooked, it is impressive to see how much he is more satisfactory than the other Marvel shows that look at overwhelming events of the land of cosmic importance. Nothing that happens during the six dense and dense and quickly at the pace has an impact on the larger MCU, but it certainly changes Riri and his friends (and enemies). However, we love Riri, and we love his circle of rapid expansion friends, so relatively minor events are looming because the show asks us to take them personally. It is indicative that the best action scene in the series involves a fight in a White Castle restaurant, where Riri must survive with only limited gadgets at hand. It works because we have been invited to invest in this cast and their predications, rather than thinking about what is happening elsewhere in the MCU.

The Marvel cinematographic universe is in a strange place. Many streaming shows have been flops. The films have seen decreasing yields at the box office. Apparently, all eyes are on “Avengers: Doomsday”. But “Ironheart” remembers the secret sauce that made us all love the MCU in the first place. These are the characters, a model. Make us love the characters and let the universe set up around them. Well, after six episodes, I’m sure I love Riri and his little circle of allies. And perhaps also some of his enemies.

/ Film assessment: 7 out of 10

The first three episodes of “Ironheart” are presented on Disney + on June 24, 2025, followed by its three other episodes on July 1.