Iron Man’s MCU Replacement Officially Gets A Better Armor Than He Ever Managed To Build

By Nicolas Ayala

Published Dec 26, 2024

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Custom image by Nicolas Ayala

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for What If...? Season 3, episode 5The Tony Stark died in Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man was already powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Thanos.

Shortly after Iron Man's death, Riri Williams gained recognition from the authorities and the Wakandan royalty due to her genius-level intellect and her creation of suits of armor similar to Tony Stark's. Riri's efforts earned her a highly advanced armor designed by the Wakandans, which she wore in the fight against Namor and the Talokanil in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's final battle. While the MCU's main Riri Williams is facing the Hood in Phase 5's Ironheart, one of Ironheart's countless variants is saving the world from Mysterio in What If...? season 3 episode 5.

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Riri Williams wearing her Ironheart armor in Wakanda Forever and Mysterio sitting in What If..._ season 3 — Custom image by Nicolas Ayala

Riri Williams made her MCU debut as a ing character in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and returned for a one-off lead role in What If...? season 3 episode 5, "What If... The Emergence Destroyed The Earth?". A few months later, Riri will officially become Iron Man's successor in the MCU's Ironheart series, where she will prove her worth as a genius inventor and a technology-wielding superhero all on her own against dangerous threats like The Hood. Ironheart will also cement Riri Williams as one of the main representatives of the MCU's new generation of heroes ahead of Avengers: Doomsday.

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What If...? season 3 episode 5 introduces a timeline where Tiamut's Emergence wasn't stopped by the Eternals, thus destroying the whole planet without notice. Mysterio takes advantage of the tragedy to become a despot, and he employs the memory-wiped White Vision to enforce his rule. However, Riri Williams turns the tide for the survivors when she creates a makeshift weapon that disables White Vision. Riri then reworks the synthezoid's body into a powerful suit of armor, equipped with all of Vision's abilities.

Arishem judges Earth in Eternals and Agatha Harkness absorbs Tiamut's Celestial power in What If season 3 episode 2

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Riri Williams' White Vision armor grants her the ability to phase through any object, shoot beams of energy, and manipulate Mysterio's technology. Although Riri's new armor is faulty due to its rushed nature, it allows her to remove Mysterio's powers, killing him. In the MCU's main timeline, SWORD manages to break Vision's indistructible body apart to create White Vision. However, only the Vision Quest series will reveal whether this version of the synthezoid could be transformed into a suit of armor as powerful as Riri Williams' in What If...? season 3 episode 5.