Ironheart might redefine the Tony-Peter mentorship dynamic in the MCU

Marvel's Ironheart released its first trailer on May 24, 2025, and while the series looks like a promising show on its way, it might also change the Tony and Peter mentorship in the MCU.

A big part of the Tony Stark and Peter Parker dynamic was based on how Tony not only helped Peter but also trained him to be better than Tony. However, for Ironheart, the one who helps Riri Williams, Parker Robbins, seems to try and do the opposite.

Ironheart might reverse the Tony-Peter dynamic

Ironheart, aka Riri Williams, and Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker, are quite similar. Both are young, endowed with powers, but tit is he proper resources that will aid them in using them efficiently. Thus, when Tony Stark offered to help Peter with a Spider-Man suit, in exchange for helping him beat Captain America and his team of superheroes, he accepted it.

Peter has kept the suit even after the fight was over. However, he soon disappointed Tony by misusing the suit and his powers in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tony thus wanted the suit back, but Peter said he was no one if he wasn't a hero. Stark then said:

"If you're nothing without the suit, you shouldn't have it."

When it came to Peter Parker and Tony Stark, the latter always insisted on Peter becoming more than his Spider-Man suit. While Iron Man's biggest advantage was his suit, he is still a genius without it. As Stark tells Captain America in The Avengers (2012), without his suit, he is a

“Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist.”

Tony Stark was much more than a superhero. He was a genius and innovator who was able to stand his ground without his suit a few times, like when in Iron Man 3 (2013), he faced two extremist soldiers. Similarly, he wanted Peter to be a superhero with or without his suit, just as he mentored him in such a way.

However, it looks like the opposite is going to happen in Ironheart. Riri Williams made a suit in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), but wasn't allowed to keep it. Thus, when she returns to MIT, the young college student has to make a new one. The problem? She has no funds.

That's when Parker Robbins comes in. At 1:40 of the Ironheart trailer, Robbins tells Riri the following:

"I can give you the tools to help you carry out your vision. But anyone who's ever accomplished anything iconic in life has had to do some questionable things to get it done”

This is the exact opposite of what Tony-Peter's dynamic was based on. The former always insisted that the latter not build his identity around his suit. However, Parker Robbins insists that he can provide Riri with the resources to become Ironheart. Besides, he also tries to manipulate her by saying that illegal actions are the only way to achieve greatness.

Tony Stark did have his share of ill-activities, given that he manufactured weapons for people irrespective of sides. However, he did not become Iron Man because of his illegal activities. He became Iron Man because he corrected all his wrongdoings and fought for the greater good of humanity.

What Parker tries to drill into Riri's mind is completely selfish: he does this to try and control her. The only hope is that Riri realises Parker's real intentions before it's too late.

The first three episodes of Ironheart are going to be released on June 24, 2025, and the next three will be released weekly thereafter on Disney+.

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