Marvel’s New Iron Man Will Be a Young Black Woman

I just so happen to be surfing the web (do people even say that anymore…lol) and I came across this interesting article on two of my favorite things Marvel and Iron Man. I knew I had to stop and read it, but boy was I in for a treat. It looks like creator and Iron Man writer Michael Bendis decided to go in a different direction after the comic book series Civil War II. Tony (Stark) is said to step down at the end of the series and RiRi Wiliams is said to take over as the new Iron Man (the name is still a work in progress I’m guessing).

A little about Williams: She is fifteen years old science genius. She attends MIT and get this she built her own Iron Man suit in her dorm room…yup that’s right in her DORM ROOOM!!!  I’m looking forward to Williams debut as well as what else Marvel has in store (maybe Williams making a cameo appearance on The Avengers cartoon, like Miles did on Spider Man Web Warriors?).

When asked about his inspiration for Williams Character this is what Bendis had to say: “One of the things that stuck with me when I was working in Chicago a couple of years ago on a TV show that didn’t end up airing was the amount of chaos and violence. And this story of this brilliant, young woman whose life was marred by tragedy that could have easily ended her life—just random street violence—and went off to college was very inspiring to me. I thought that was the most modern version of a superhero or superheroine story I had ever heard. And I sat with it for awhile until I had the right character and the right place.”

As we all know when it comes to any classic books, comic books, films or television shows if you change the dynamics or make any of the characters more diverse (Fantastic Four casting Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, and Noma Dumezweni being cast as Hermione Granger in the forthcoming Harry Potter for instance) it may not always go over so well with the fans. So what does Bendis have to say about the naysayers? Here’s a little clip from the Time interview: Some of the comments online, I don’t think people even realize how racist they sound. I’m not saying if you criticize you’re a racist, but if someone writes, “Why do we need Riri Williams we already have Miles?” that’s a weird thing to say. They’re individuals just like Captain America and Cyclops are individuals. All I can do is state my case for the character, and maybe they’ll realize over time that that’s not the most progressive thinking.

To read the full interview from Time magazine just click here: Exclusive: Marvel’s New Iron Man Is a Black Woman