Image: Marvel
The torch has been officially passed. During a recent Good Morning America interview, Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne and Anthony Ramos were surprised with a video message from Robert Downey Jr. In the clip, the OG Iron Man shares his support and jokes about a similarity between Ramos’s Parker Robbins character and Downey Jr.’s own much-anticipated Doctor Doom portrayal.
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During the recorded message, which we all hope was filmed on the set of Avengers: Doomsday, the MCU’s anchor being professes his love and support for Thorne and Ramos’s work in Ironheart, dotingly remarking, “Ms. Thorne, I couldn’t be happier than seeing you bring Riri Williams to life.” Never one to pass up an opportunity to poke fun at the obvious, he then follows up his praise by joking that he hopes the green hood that Ramos’s character dons in the Ironheart trailer isn’t a sign that the actor will replace him as Doctor Doom.
The real passing of the torch comes in the heartfelt final moments of the message, when the 60-year-old actor uses his fingers to make a heart resembling the Arc Reactor that keeps Tony Stark alive, as he proclaims, “Iron Man loves Ironheart.” What makes the gesture feel that much more genuine is Thorne’s revelation that Downey Jr. called her shortly after she finished filming Ironheart in Chicago to share his support. In a May interview with Empire, the longtime Iron Man fan shared exactly what he told her during that phone call.
“He told me how excited he was and that he’s rooting for it, too. I literally got two thumbs up. It’s really reassuring to know you’re not embarrassing Iron Man.”
This isn’t the first time Downey Jr. has shared his public support of Ironheart. During a gala at the Gene Siskel Film Center in June 2019, 18 months before Marvel announced the Ironheart series, the first superhero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe definitively stated he thought Ironheart belonged in the MCU. He got his wish when Riri Williams made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, even though she wasn’t specifically referred to as Ironheart.
Downey Jr.’s Good Morning America appearance isn’t the holographic video tutorial that we hope Stark will leave Riri in Ironheart. Still, it’s good for the people who built the MCU to show support for the next generation, especially when you know there are going to be trolls ready to curse Ironheart in honor of Iron Man’s name.
