Eight years afterGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the MCU’s newest TV show brings back one of the film’s best aspects. In terms ofranking the MCU’s trilogies, theGuardians of the Galaxyseries is often considered one of the best. Whenranking theGuardians of the Galaxymoviesthemselves, though, the second installment tends to be the weakest.
However, that does not mean the film isn’t good, as it has some excellent aspects.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2is perhaps one of the MCU’s most emotional movies, whichupcoming Marvel movieswill hope to recapture. After all, emotional investment often means a movie is doing its job to engross audiences.
One of the more emotional lynchpins ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2is the exploration of a specific familial dynamic. Now, eight years later, theMCU’s newest TV showis doing the same, to great effect.
Ironheart’s Central Theme Is Riri’s Relationship With Her Stepfather, Gary
Riri Is Working Her Way Through Unexplored Grief
The MCU TV show in question isIronheart, the show centered on Riri Williams. Riri first appeared inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, yetIronheartis delving much deeper into her family and friend dynamics than the former did. One of the central themes ofIronheartis grief, specifically Riri’s need to unpack her own.
The following sections contain spoilers forIronheartepisodes 1-3.
This grief comes from the deaths of her stepfather, Gary, and best friend, Natalie.Ironheartepisodes 1-3 explore this, more so with Natalie, but it is clear that Riri had a strong connection with Gary.Ironheartepisode 3 sees Riri talking to Joe McGillicuddy, who has his own MCU father issues, about Gary, drawing a contrast between their father figures.
Riri tells Joe that she wasn’t a fan of Iron Man herself, but that Gary was. Gary always used to talk about Stark, with Riri insisting the former had the heart of an aviator as well as a mechanic. This explains why Riri wants to be Ironheart and continue Tony Stark’s legacy so badly, because it would have meant a lot to her stepfather.
The MCU has placed a lot of focus on parent-child dynamics, but the focus on stepparents has been less frequent.Ironheartis a breath of fresh air in that regard, and it is lovely to see a story represent a part of our world that the MCU rarely does. It does so effectively, too, allowing Riri’s dynamic with Gary to shine through.
The MCU’s Last True Focus On Stepparents Was Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Yondu’s Role Was An Emotional Centerpoint Of The 2017 Movie
One of the only other MCU movies that truly focused on stepparents wasGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.The film centered around Peter Quill/Star-Lord finding his biological father, Ego, yet this proved to be a misdirect. Ego turned out to be the villain of the film, with Peter coming to accept that his real father was Yondu.
BothIronheartandGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2focus on how stepparents can be the true parents some people need…
Yondu sacrifices himself for Peter in the film’s final moments after the two of them realize how fond of each other they’ve become.Yondu’s final line is"He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy.“This is one of the most emotional plots in the entire MCU and is focused entirely on stepparents.
Eight years later,Ironheartis honoring that. The relationship between Gary and Riri is evidently different from the one between Peter and Yondu, but the end result is the same. BothIronheartandGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2focus on how stepparents can be the true parents some people need.
Ironheart Goes One Step Further Than Guardians Of The Galaxy 2
What makesIronheart’s exploration of this dynamic even more interesting is that Riri Williams' biological father is not mentioned at all. He is simply not important to the story, or to Riri’s life.For all intents and purposes, Gary is Riri’s real father, and the biological aspect does not matter. This is different fromGuardians of the Galaxy 2.
As mentioned,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2also focuses on Ego, Peter Quill’s biological father. Ego is revealed as an evil Celestial as a means of making Yondu’s paternal bond with Peter shine even stronger.Ironheartdoesn’t need this trick; instead, it showcases that, sometimes, parents are not around, but it does not matter if people like Gary are there.
