Why Marvel's Ironheart is the MCU's Queerest Property Yet

TV & Film

Ironheart is the latest MCU series on Disney+, spotlighting Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne)—the genius inventor we last saw fighting alongside Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) and the Dora Milaje in Wakanda Forever. Now back home in Chicago, Riri finds herself caught in a conflict that pits tech against magic, as she crosses paths with the mysterious Parker Robbins, a.k.a. The Hood (Anthony Ramos). All six episodes are now streaming on Disney+.

And while the series delivers action, heart, and high stakes, Ironheart might also be the queerest Marvel show to date—arguably outpacing even Agatha All Along.

This article contains some spoilers. Proceed with caution if you haven’t seen Ironheart yet.

After Wakanda confiscated her Vibranium-powered armor, Riri returns home more motivated than ever—to build something “iconic,” to surpass Tony Stark, and to do it without billions of dollars or unlimited resources. That mission leads her into the orbit of Robbins and his crew of misfits—a group that just might be the most overtly queer found family the MCU has ever assembled.

Among them is Slug, the crew’s hacker, played by RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Shea Couleé. Before the show premiered, many speculated Couleé might be playing Marvel Comics’ first drag queen superhero, Darkveil (aka Darnell Wade), a character co-created by Sina Grace and inspired in part by Couleé. While Slug isn’t Darkveil, they are unmistakably queer—and already marked as one of the most wanted figures in the MCU’s Madipoor.

Slug’s not the only one representing. Zoe Terakes—a non-binary, transmasc actor—plays Jheri Blood, one half of the duo known as the Blood Siblings. And Sonia Denis’ character Clown radiates big bisexual energy, whether or not Marvel officially confirms it. The whole crew gives Pose meets Ocean’s Eleven—chaotic, stylish, queer, and criminal. Robbins himself comes across like a House father assembling his own little crew of outsiders, which raises the question: Is he queer-coded himself? Or simply drawn to the queer experience of chosen family?

Even Riri might not be entirely straight. In one scene, her mother asks if she’s hiding someone in her room—first a boy, then a girl. Riri doesn’t answer either way. In the comics, she once shared a kiss with Viv Vision (Vision’s daughter), and while Riri told her she just wanted to be friends, she never declared herself heterosexual.

Then there’s Mephisto. Long rumored and now officially part of the show, this hell lord is often mischaracterized as Marvel’s version of the Devil. That isn’t true. Marvel has a Satan, but Mephisto is one of the more popular and widely used hell lords in Marvel—more than Satan himself. And being a hell lord who will do whatever it takes to see his goals fulfilled, Mephisto is also depicted as queer in the comics.

There’s a moment when he says to Silver Surfer: “You exist for my amusement… to do and be anything I desire… take any shape… serve any purpose. It is mine to deem you slave… or lover… or nothing.” There’s also a scene in a Black Panther comic where Everett Ross asks if Mephisto is gay, and Mephisto replies: “No. At least not today.”

And we can’t forget everyone’s new favorite: Zelma Stanton, played by Regan Aliyah. Aliyah came out as queer in a June 2021 Instagram post, and while Zelma’s sexuality isn’t explicitly defined on-screen, she does rock a queer pride shirt. When asked if the character was queer, Aliyah told Digital Spy: “I believe she is. I just think she’s, like, too cool to not be. Girl, yeah!”

But Ironheart isn’t just pushing boundaries onscreen—it’s thriving in spite of backlash. Before the show even dropped, it was targeted with racist review-bombing by people who hadn’t seen a single frame. And yet, Riri Williams got the last laugh. Ironheart is currently the #1 most-watched show on Disney+ and one of the highest-rated Marvel entries of Phase 5.

So if you’ve been sleeping on Ironheart, now’s the time to change that. Come for the tech-vs-magic showdown, stay for the unapologetically queer energy, chaotic criminal crew, and bold new voice shaking up the MCU.

Stream all six episodes now, exclusively on Disney+.