Hello everyone and welcome to the Ironheart comics reading guide!
With her grand debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Dominque Thorne’s Riri Williams is the newest young star of the MCU! We already included some of the essential Ironheart comics in our Wakanda Forever Reading Guide, but if you’re excited about her show, here’s what you need to know!
Quick start:
- Infamous Iron Man (2016) #1-12
- Invincible Iron Man (2017) #1-11, 593-600
- Champions (2016) #16-27
- Ironheart (2018) #1-12
- Champions (2019) #1-10
- Outlawed (2020) #1
- Champions (2020) #1-10
The Hood:
- The Hood (2002) #1-6
- New Avengers (2005) #33-37, 46-64
- Marvel Zombies 4 (2009) #1-4
- Dark Reign (2009)
- Siege (2010)
Zelma Stanton:
- Doctor Strange (2015) #1-20
- Doctor Strange (2018) #10-11, 14-17, Annual #1
- Strange Academy (2020) #1-18
Brian Michael Bendis introduced Riri Williams to the world in 2016 and she immediately exploded across the Marvel universe. Spinning out of the pages of Iron Man, Ironheart was featured in Spider-Woman, Deadpool, Wolverine, and Spider-Man in her first year! Gathered below is the complete history of Riri’s saga so far, as well as additional comic recommendations for other characters who might show up in her MCU series next year.
Enjoy reading!
Ironheart: Legacy of Iron Man (2016-2018)
Riri’s first adventures focused on introducing her to the world as quickly as possible. Her main stories naturally take place in Iron Man comics, but she had quite a few guest appearances on her own across the various other titles. Check out your favorite series to see how Riri plays with others!
- Invincible Iron Man (2015) #1, 7-12
- Riri is briefly mentioned in #1 before her first appearance in #7
- Invincible Iron Man (2017) #1-11
- Riri becomes Ironheart!
- Infamous Iron Man (2016) #6-9
- Invincible Iron Man (2017) #593-600
- Features Ironheart, the Hood, Mephisto, and Doctor Doom!
- Check out our Armor Wars Doctor Doom theory!
- Generations: Iron Man & Ironheart (2017) #1
Video games:
- Marvel Puzzle Quest (2013)
- Marvel Future Fight (2015)
- Marvel Avengers Academy (2016)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (2017)
- Marvel Strike Force (2018)
Extra reading:
- Civil War II (2016) #4-6
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2015) #12
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2016) #15, 18
- Spider-Woman (2016) #17
- Deadpool and the Mercs for Money (2016) #10
- Spider-Man (2016) #16
- All-New Wolverine (2016) #19-21
- Secret Empire (2017)
- Occupy Avengers (2016) #9
- Generations: Sam Wilson Captain America & Steve Rogers Captain America (2017) #1
- Marvel Legacy (2017) #1
Ironheart (2018-2020s)
With a character as vibrant as Ironheart, it was only a matter of time before she joined one of Marvel’s leading team of young heroes, the Champions. Along with Kamala Khan, Miles Morales, Nova, and Viv Vision, this new generation of heroes has become one of the brightest spots in the Marvel universe.
Riri also led her own solo series, got involved with the Ten Rings, and even visited Wakanda!
- Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man (2017) #1-2, 299-300, 304-307
- Champions (2016) #1, 11, 16-27, Annual #1
- Infinity Countdown: Champions (2018) #1-2
- Ironheart (2018) #1-12
- Champions (2019) #1-10
- Features Mephisto!
- Black Panther (2018) #20, 23-25
- 2020 Ironheart (2020) #1-2
- Outlawed (2020) #1
- Champions (2020) #1-10
- Features Ironheart and Mephisto!
- Continue with the Ms. Marvel reading guide!
Extra watching:
- Marvel Super Hero Adventures (2017) S4 E1
- Marvel’s Spider-Man (2017) S3 E2-3
- Marvel Rising: Battle of the Bands (2019)
- Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron (2019)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- Ironheart (2023)
Extra reading:
- Jessica Jones (2016) #18
- Venomized (2018) #1
- Spider-Man (2016) #239-240
- The Unstoppable Wasp (2018) #2,7
- Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #10
- Tony Stark: Iron Man (2018) #9-11
- Incoming (2019) #1
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2018) #32
- Infinite Possibilities Infinity Comic (2022) #1
- Devil’s Reign (2021) #4-5
- Devil’s Reign: Villains for Hire (2022) #3
- Marvel Meow Infinity Comic (2022) #12
- Iron Man (2020) #23-24
- Avengers Unlimited Infinity Comic (2022) #9-13
Alternate universes:
- Ultimate universe:
- Spider-Men II (2017) #5
- Lockjaw (2018) #4
- Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #42
- Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther (2018) #1-2
- Shuri + Riri = Shuriri the Pantherheart! (Warp World)
- Spider-Man (2019) #3-5 (J.J. Abrams universe)
- Iron Man 2020 (2020) #6
- Dark Ages (2021) #1-6 (apocalyptic future)
- Spider-Punk (2022) #1-5 (RiotHeart)
The Hood (2002-2020s)
When petty criminal Parker Robbins steals the cloak of a demon, he quickly finds himself in over his head. Now armed with dark magic, Robbins becomes The Hood! By working with and against the Punisher, Doctor Doom, Norman Osborn’s Cabal, and even Morbius’ Midnight Sons, the Hood has evolved into one of Marvel’s most versatile characters, creating a unique bridge between the street-level and supernatural corners of the universe. In his more recent misadventures, he’s even assembled an Illuminati and created his own Infinity Gauntlet!
With his limitless ambition and gray morals, there are no bounds on the Hood’s story potential, in comics or the MCU.
- The Hood (2002) #1-6
- Beyond! (2006) #1-6
- New Avengers (2005) #33-37, 46-64, Annual #2, Finale #1
- #46-47 tie into Secret Invasion (2008), features Dormammu!
- #48-58 tie into Dark Reign (2009), features Dormammu!
- #61-64 tie into Siege (2010)
- Daredevil (1998) #101-105
- Secret Invasion (2008) #1-8
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #19
- Marvel Zombies 4 (2009) #1-4
- Features the Hood, Dormammu, and Morbius’ Midnight Sons!
- Continue reading with the Midnight Sons reading guide!
- House of M: Masters of Evil (2009) #1-4
- Alternate universe
- Dark Reign (2009)
- Secret Invasion: Dark Reign (2009) #1
- Dark Reign: The Cabal (2009) #1
- The Punisher (2009) #1-10
- #5 features the Hood and Dormammu!
- Dark Reign: The Hood (2009) #1-5
- #1-5 features the Hood and Dormammu!
- Dark Reign: Mr. Negative (2009) #1-3
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #25-31
- Siege (2010)
- Avengers: The Initiative (2007) #31-35
- Siege: The Cabal (2010) #1
- Siege (2010) #1-4
- Siege: Captain America (2010) #1
Extra reading:
- Invincible Iron Man (2008) #20
- Deadpool: Suicide Kings (2009) #4
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2009) #2-3
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #32
- Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural (2009) #1-5
- Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #626
- Thor (2007) #608-609
- Dark Reign (2009)
- Uncanny X-Men Annual (2006) #2
- Dark Avengers (2009) #1, 6, 15
- Invincible Iron Man (2008) #12-13
- Dark Reign Made Men: The Enforcer (2009) #1
- Mighty Avengers (2007) #24
- Avengers Academy (2010) #8
- Avengers (2010) #7-12
- Original Sins (2014) #1-5
- Illuminati (2016) #1-7
- Power Man and Iron Fist (2016) #2
- Foolkiller (2016) #1-5
- Invincible Iron Man (2017) #593-600
- Hawkeye: Freefall (2020) #1-6
Video games:
- Marvel: Avengers Alliance (2012)
- Marvel Puzzle Quest (2013)
- Marvel Heroes (2013)
- Marvel Contest of Champions (2014)
- Marvel Avengers Academy (2016)
- Marvel Duel (2020)
Extra watching:
- Marvel Super Heroes: What The–?! (2009) Specials E2, E13
- Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (2013)
- Marvel Future Avengers (2017) S2 E2
Extra reading:
- Black Panther: World of Wakanda (2017) #6
- Spider-Woman (2016) #10
- Infamous Iron Man (2016) #1, 7
- Old Man Logan (2016) #19
- Defenders (2017) #8-10
- Daredevil (2016) #15, 608, Annual (2019) #1
- M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games (2020) #2
- Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond (2022) #1
Zelma Stanton
Zelma is just as new to Marvel comics as Ironheart, and she’s been just as impactful. Starting as a humble librarian, Zelma became a student of Doctor Strange by happenstance, then trained her way to become a powerful magician of her own. Now a head teacher at Strange Academy, Zelma is spearheading the future of magical learning in the Marvel Universe.
Zelma hasn’t been officially confirmed for Ironheart, but she has been rumored and set photos have very interestingly revealed a Stanton’s bookstore on the set. That set image strongly supports the rumors of her involvement in the series. The Zelma we meet in Ironheart may be considerably younger than her comics counterpart, and she seems to be working at a bookstore instead of a library. But eventually, could she follow a similar path in the MCU? Perhaps we’ll see her again in Doctor Strange 3…
- Doctor Strange (2015) #1-20, 25-26, 381-385, 390, Last Days of Magic #1, Annual #1
- #12-16 features Zelma and Dormammu!
- Doctor Strange (2018) #10-11, 14-17, Annual #1
- Features Zelma, Mephisto, and Dormammu!
- Strange Academy (2020) #1-18
- Death of Doctor Strange (2021) #1-2, Strange Academy Presents #1
Extra reading:
- Doctor Strange/Punisher: Magic Bullets Infinite Comic (2017) #1-2
- Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme (2016) #12
- Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #795
- Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man (2017) #308
- War of the Realms (2019) #2
- Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #14
- Dr. Strange (2019) #3, 5
And that’s the story of Ironheart so far! What are you planning to read now? What are your craziest Mephisto theories? Let me know on Twitter @vinwriteswords and remember to follow the site @MyCosmicCircus for more Ironheart content coming soon!
Continue reading with our other reading guides here, and check out the Wakanda Forever guide before the movie this week!
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Reading Guide
All images courtesy of Marvel Comics.
