Tony Stark will soon step out of the Iron Man suit, Screen Rant has reported, and much to the delight of diverse comic fans everywhere, his successor is a black woman.
Riri Williams is a 15-year-old science genius who attends MIT and builds her own Iron Man suit prototype in her dorm room out of Stark’s discarded parts.
The character first appeared in “Invincible Iron Man” No. 7 earlier this year and, according to Marvel writer Brian Michael Bendis, Stark will hand her the reins at the end of the upcoming “Civil War II” crossover comic.
This is the next step in Marvel introducing more diverse characters in their comics. In 2013, Kamala Khan, a teenage Pakistani American and Muslim took over the role of Ms. Marvel. Then, in 2014, Marvel introduced a female Thor, and later revealed her identity as Jane Foster, Thor’s long-time girlfriend.
The new series of “The Invincible Iron Man,” will launch at the end of 2016. Screen Rant also got a peek at Williams’ new suit.
These additions to the Marvel comics line are great, but we also need to see these women appear in the blockbuster film adaptations. Many film goers and fans of comic book movies only see these heroes in action through cinema. So we hope this diversity spreads from the page to the big screen.
