Summary

• Ironheart's decision to cast the Ten Rings out into space is likely to have major implications for her and the Marvel Universe. It may have saved her for now, but it puts the entire universe in danger in the long-term.
• Ironheart discovered unknown powers of the Ten Rings, which caused a rift between her and Iron Man. She wanted to uncover its full potential to save the world, while he wanted to destroy them.
• Shooting the Ten Rings into space was the worst thing to do. It would have been better to study them, use them in mutantkind's fight against Orchis, or split them up among Marvel geniuses. Scattering them guarantees that they will fall into the wrong hands and pose a great threat.

Warning: Spoilers for The Invincible Iron Man #14 ahead!

Iron Man, scattering the Ten Rings across the Marvel Universe. Riri Williams wielded the Rings, but, fearful of their corrupting power, asked X-Men's Forge to help her get rid of them, before she did something she regretted.

Invincible Iron Man #14 – written by Gerry Duggan, with art by Andrea Di Vito, Bryan Valenza, and Joe Caramagna – featured Ironheart's gamechanging decision to cast the Rings out into the depths of space.

Beyond just a significant dramatic moment in her story, this was a drastic measure, one that seems likely to have major implications for her, and the wider Marvel Universe, in the future. Disposing of the Rings in this manner may have saved Riri for now, but it may very well have put the entire universe in danger.

The Full Extent Of The Ten Rings' Power Is Still Being Uncovered

When Ironheart first used the Ten Rings in front of Iron Man and War Machine, she sent black market weapons dealers to the Darkforce Dimension. Rhodey said he had never seen the Black Light Ring used in that way, meaning that even in her short amount of time testing them, Riri had discovered the Ten Rings' possessed powers unknown to the Avengers. This knowledge predicated the rift between Riri and Tony: she wanted to uncover the Ten Rings full potential to save the world, and he wanted to destroy them before they hurt anyone else.

Ironheart made a lot of progress in her studies, and used the Ten Rings well; however, the cracks were already beginning to show. They gave her the power to hold her own in a telepathic battle against Emma Frost, and allowed her to sneak into an Orchis base and steal a spaceship. They also drove her to almost sending a group of dwarven blacksmiths into the void, after, a fight she and Forge easily won. Riri confessed that using the Ten Rings didn't scare her anymore...but that fact in itself scared her.

Shooting the Ten Rings Into Space Was the Worst Thing To Do

Rather than studying, or destroying them, Forge and Ironheart sent Marvel's most powerful weapon across the universe. She could have used their power in mutantkind's fight against Orchis, or given them to Tony Stark to destroy. Her genius-level intellect was finding great scientific discoveries in their magic, which she could have shared with others. When she and Tony first fought over what to do with them, he offered to split them up, so each had only five Rings – Riri could've created a team of Marvel geniuses who each studied one Ring. Unfortunately, she chose the worst possible option.

Riri Williams originally bought the Mandarin's Ten Rings to keep them from falling into the wrong hands, but she has now guaranteed that's exactly where they'll land. Even one Ring is powerful enough to create a superhero or a supervillain; if someone knew what power they held and quested to find the other nine, they would be the next Thanos, an unstoppable enemy of untold power. Scattering the MCU's most powerful weapon across the universe will have huge consequences for the Marvel canon, and hopefully Ironheart and Iron Man's tech will be enough to stop it.

The Invincible Iron Man #14 is available now from Marvel Comics.