Andrew Cuomo has conceded in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary to state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in a stunning political upset.
Cuomo, the state’s former governor, was attempting to pull off a political comeback after resigning from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal.
In a speech to supporters, Cuomo said Mamdani – a 33-year-old democratic socialist – had “won” the primary race and that “we are going to take a look and make some decisions”.
“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo, 67, said. If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim and Indian American to lead the nation’s largest city.
The primary in staunchly liberal New York is likely to determine who becomes mayor in November’s election.
The contest was being watched as a litmus test for the Democratic Party as it seeks to hone its messaging after election losses last November that saw President Donald Trump’s Republicans win the White House and both chambers in Congress.
Results on Tuesday night showed Mamdani with a commanding lead, but falling short of the 50% threshold needed to win outright.
Cuomo’s concession was unexpected because counting looks likely to continue next week under the ranked choice system, which allowed New Yorkers to pick up to five candidates in order of preference.
The former governor’s loss marks the “biggest upset in modern NYC history,” Trip Yang, a political strategist, told the BBC.
“A massive win for Zohran Mamdani that shows that when Donald Trump is President, New York Democrats want to see their leaders fight with enthusiasm and courage, and that’s what Zohran showed voters.”
In an interview with the New York Times, Cuomo said he was still examining whether he would run in the general election in November on the independent line.
“I said he won the primary election,” Cuomo told the outlet. “I said I wanted to look at the numbers and the ranked-choice voting to decide about what to do in the future, because I’m also on an independent line.”
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Andrew Cuomo
Cuomo was seen as a moderate and the establishment favourite, known across the country after his governorship during the Covid pandemic.
Mamdani is a millennial outsider who was fairly unknown until recently.
Born in Uganda, his family moved to New York City when he was seven. He has posted one campaign video entirely in Urdu and mixed in Bollywood film clips. In another, he speaks Spanish.
Mamdani’s strong support of Palestinians and criticism of Israel put him at odds with most of the Democratic establishment.
He went viral during his campaign for videos where he questioned NYC voters who swung for Trump in the November election.
He asked what issues led them to cast their ballots for the Republican president and what it would take for them to swing Democrat.
Mamdani’s platform includes free public buses, universal childcare, freezing rent in subsidised units, and city-run grocery stores – all paid for by new taxes on the rich.
“This is a city where one in four of its people are living in poverty, a city where 500,000 kids go to sleep hungry every night,” he told the BBC at a recent event.
“And ultimately, it’s a city that is in danger of losing that which it makes it so special.”
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, also democratic socialists, endorsed Mamdani during his campaign.
Conservative commentator Candace Owens said Tuesday she’s “embarrassed” after campaigning for President Trump during the 2024 presidential election cycle.
“He’s been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn’t going to happen, and it is happening,” Owens said during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
Owens was a staunch supporter of Trump during his first White House bid and spoke highly of the leader after his exit from the Oval.
However, she’s criticized his recent decision to engage in the Israel-Iran conflict. Over the weekend, B2 bombers from the United States struck three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, furthering Israel’s effort to weaken the country’s weapon development.
“This was not Trump’s decision; it was Bibi Netanyahu’s decision. And that is the reason that he did it. We’re very aware that Israel is dictating our foreign policy, and we’d now like that to stop,” Owens told Morgan.
Owens said there was “no imminent threat” to the U.S. slamming Trump’s Sunday strikes, while the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and others have alleged that Iran was nowhere near obtaining nuclear weapon capability, which the president adamantly denied.
“I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday.
The Verge reached out to Build a Rocket Boy to confirm the layoffs, but they did not respond. In a statement made to IGN, Build A Rocket Boy wrote:
We can confirm that we have had to make the painful decision to notify our hardworking team of some internal changes at Build A Rocket Boy. While we are working to reassign roles for as many of those impacted by these changes as possible, sadly we are initiating a formal consultation process that may result in redundancies. This decision has not been made lightly, and we are committed to handling this process with transparency, fairness, and respect for all employees. We will provide further details to the team over the coming weeks.
MindsEye is a new futuristic, single-player narrative action game. It was billed as the starting point in an epic, interconnected universe by its creator, former Rockstar Games producer Leslie Benzies, who’s known for his work on the GTA series. Its release earlier this month was plagued by poor reviews, reports of major glitches, and even sponsored streams being cancelled moments before they were set to start.
MindsEyewas supposed to be big. Build A Rocket Boy posted an in-depth roadmap filled with lots of new content updates stretched out over the rest of the year. There were also plans to add multiplayer and open-world elements with additional hopes that the game’s community would step up and provide their own labor. “Hopefully some [players] will create compelling content we can then promote and make that part of our plans to push to other players,” Benzies said in an interview with gameindustry.biz.
Build a Rocket Boy has not confirmed the number of employees affected although IGN reporting suggested that around 100 workers would be impacted out of a total headcount of roughly 500. The company said in its statement it remains committed to delivering on its promises for MindsEye. But that will be exceedingly difficult in a climate where any new game with this kind of scope is fighting against forever games like Fortnite and Roblox.
Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Five weeks into the WNBA season, the Phoenix Mercury are blowing away a lot of predictions.
Questions about their roster turnover, lack of established chemistry and guard play landed them at No. 7 in our preseason rankings with a 49.8% chance to make the playoffs. Now, the Mercury are already more than halfway to the BPI’s projected 19.4 victories with 11 through their first 15 games, winning five straight to supplant the defending champion New York Liberty at No. 2 in the latest edition of our Power Rankings.
There was ample reason to expect a challenging start for the new-look Mercury. They said goodbye to two No. 1 draft picks who had become faces of the franchise — Diana Taurasi (retired) and Brittney Griner (free agency) — and returned only two players from last season in Kahleah Copper and Natasha Mack, who were both sidelined with injuries to start this campaign.
But after trading for Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas in the offseason, that hasn’t happened. Sabally leads the team in scoring (19.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.1). Thomas has brought her stat-stuffing ways from 11 seasons in Connecticut to Phoenix with averages of 14.4 points, 8.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds in 10 games after missing five with a calf injury. And despite playing only three games so far, Copper has been a strong leadership presence.
Thomas played in just one of Phoenix’s four losses — twice to each of the Minnesota Lynx and the Seattle Storm — while Copper didn’t play in any. That’s not to take away from the Lynx, who remain our No. 1 team, and the Storm, who are back in the top five. But considering how well Phoenix has done despite not having the big three of Copper, Sabally and Thomas on court together much, look out for just how high the Mercury can peak.
Previous ranking: 1
Next seven days: @ WAS (June 24), @ ATL (June 27), vs. CON (June 29)
Napheesa Collier left in the third quarter of the June 17 game against Las Vegas with a back injury and did not play against Los Angeles on Saturday. The Lynx still won both, with Courtney Williams‘ 20 points leading the way against the Aces and Kayla McBride‘s 29 points pushing Minnesota past the Sparks. The victory over Las Vegas clinched Minnesota’s spot in the Commissioner’s Cup final as host against Indiana on July 1. We’ll watch to see how the Lynx manage Collier’s injury situation with a jam-packed July schedule looming.
Previous ranking: 4
Next seven days: vs. NY (June 27), vs. LV (June 29)
Phoenix extended its five-win streak this past week with victories over Connecticut, New York and Chicago, putting up a season-high 107 points against the Sky. Of the Mercury’s six WNBA rookies, only Megan McConnell didn’t play professionally overseas. The 24-year-old Monique Akoa Makani and the 29-year-old Kathryn Westbeld are among their starters, with another 29-year-old rookie — Kitija Laksa — leading Phoenix in 3-pointers with 29.
The Liberty announced Saturday that center Jonquel Jones, last year’s Finals MVP, will miss four to six weeks with a right ankle sprain. She sustained the injury June 5 and missed two games, including New York’s first loss of the season (June 14 at Indiana), before returning with a double-double in the June 17 win over Atlanta then reinjuring it in Thursday’s loss to Phoenix. The Liberty started a four-game trip on Sunday with a loss to Seattle that Sabrina Ionescu (neck) also missed. They also are without Leonie Fiebich, who is playing for Germany as it enters the quarterfinals at EuroBasket. So, the next few weeks could continue to be a challenge for the defending champions.
Previous ranking: 3
Next seven days: @ DAL (June 24), vs. MIN (June 27), vs. NY (June 29)
The Dream had a chance to advance to the Commissioner’s Cup final but ran into the Liberty in the only game of New York’s past five that Jonquel Jones was not injured. She played 25 minutes and had 10 points and 10 rebounds in New York’s 86-81 victory on June 17. But Atlanta didn’t seem to brood on that, going on to defeat Washington and Chicago. We keep highlighting the dramatic difference in the Dream’s offense. And here’s another example: They have hit the 90-point mark five times in 14 games after reaching it just three times all of last season.
Previous ranking: 6
Next seven days: vs. IND (June 24), vs. CON (June 27), @ GS (June 29)
Nneka Ogwumike will turn 35 next week, but she’s still taking the kids to school. She totaled 77 points on 71.4% shooting and 24 rebounds in Seattle’s victories over Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York last week. It was her most statistically impressive three-game stretch since joining the Storm last season, when she was selected All-WNBA for the seventh time. Seattle has won six of its past seven games.
Previous ranking: 7
Next seven days: vs. NY (June 25), vs. CHI (June 27), vs. SEA (June 29)
Which is the only team to beat the surging Storm over the past three weeks? The Valkyries, who did so June 14. Golden State followed that up with a disappointing loss at Dallas on June 17. But it rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Indiana on Thursday then dominated Connecticut by 24 points on Sunday. Kayla Thornton is playing like an All-Star for Golden State, which has won five of its previous six.
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Kayla Thornton drills dagger 3 for Valkyries in OT
Kayla Thornton connects on a 3-pointer in the final minute to give the Valkyries a six-point lead over the Sparks.
Previous ranking: 8
Next seven days: vs. CON (June 25), vs. WAS (June 26), @ PHO (June 29)
Our staff analyzed what’s been plaguing the Aces, who are 3-5 in June. Some of their woes were abated with the return of three-time MVP A’ja Wilson, who missed three games in concussion protocol. She had 20 points and 14 rebounds in a 90-83 loss to Seattle on Friday then 24 and seven in an 89-81 victory against Indiana on Saturday. The defense that served Las Vegas so well in recent years was humming the way it used to, especially in the second half against the Fever, as the Aces avoided what would have been their first four-game losing streak under coach Becky Hammon.
Previous ranking: 5
Next seven days: @ SEA (June 24), vs. LA (June 26), @ DAL (June 27)
Sunday was bleak for Indiana basketball fans: The Fever lost their 16th consecutive game to the Aces then the Pacers lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals while Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon.
In the fourth quarters of last week’s defeats to Las Vegas and Golden State, Indiana was outscored by a combined 26 points. Caitlin Clark had 51 points and 25 assists combined in the Fever’s three games over the past seven days, but she was just 1-of-17 from 3-point range in the two most recent contests. The Fever have been without DeWanna Bonner the past four games for personal reasons, and her absence hurts their defense and depth.
Sophie Cunningham‘s takedown of Jacy Sheldon near the end of the June 17 win over the Sun sent a message to teams that choose to get extra physical with Clark, while Aliyah Boston‘s combined 52 points and 31 rebounds across the previous three outings was a bright spot.
Previous ranking: 10
Next seven days: vs. MIN (June 24), @ LV (June 26), @ DAL (June 28)
It was a good week for the Mystics, who nearly edged ahead of the Fever in these rankings. Washington beat Chicago and Dallas (in overtime), but arguably even more impressive was taking Atlanta to the wire on the road before falling 92-91 on Friday. Brittney Sykes scored a season-high 32 points against the Sky, Shakira Austin put up a career-high 28 versus the Dream and rookie Sonia Citron had a season-high 27 against Dallas. Citron also made the game-winning 3-pointer versus the Wings.
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Sonia Citron’s clutch OT 3 proves to be winner for Mystics
Rookie Sonia Citron drills her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give the Mystics the lead for good.
Previous ranking: 13
Next seven days: vs. ATL (June 24), vs. IND (June 27), vs. WAS (June 28)
After starting the campaign 1-11, Dallas had its best week yet with wins over Golden State and Connecticut as well as an overtime loss at Washington. That the Wings had a good chance at a 3-0 week is saying something after how much they have struggled. Paige Bueckers — who registered a combined 61 points, 15 rebounds and 16 assists over the three contests — is reestablishing herself in the Rookie of the Year race after missing time with concussion protocol and illness.
Previous ranking: 9
Next seven days: @ CHI (June 24), @ IND (June 26), vs. CHI (June 29)
The Sparks didn’t have Kelsey Plum (leg) against the Storm on Tuesday, but she returned with 15 points versus the Lynx on Saturday. Both outings resulted in losses. Los Angeles hasn’t been that bad of an offensive team, but it needs to improve on defense. The Sparks’ net rating of minus-7.1 is third worst in the league, ahead of only the Sky and the Sun.
Previous ranking: 11
Next seven days: vs. LA (June 24), @ GS (June 27), @ LA (June 29)
Chicago lost to Washington, Phoenix and Atlanta but stayed out of the Power Rankings cellar because Connecticut had a worse week. Plus, the Sky beat the Sun on June 15. A silver lining for Chicago: Kamilla Cardoso has scored in double figures over four of the past five games. Cardoso shot 69.2% from the field last week, but she still isn’t getting enough touches.
Previous ranking: 12
Next seven days: @ LV (June 25), @ SEA (June 27), @ MIN (June 29)
Connecticut has lost six in a row following an 0-4 week against Indiana, Phoenix, Dallas and Golden State that dropped the Sun to the bottom of the Power Rankings. The Sun still made headlines after the grabbing, pushing and eye poking in their contentious loss to the Fever on June 17, when Marina Mabrey shoved Caitlin Clark to the floor from the blindside but didn’t get ejected. Having the league’s lowest-scoring offense (71.8 PPG) continues to make things tough for Connecticut.
The Vanderpump Rules alum hit the stage with his cover band, Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras, to perform a rendition of A-ha‘s 1985 single “Take on Me” for judges Simon Cowell, Sofía Vergara, Howie Mandel and Mel B, earning high praise for his surprise audition on the June 24 episode.
“You made me smile,” the Spice Girls alum raved. “You gave me happy vibes. And apart from that song being one of my favorite songs, you all look like you were fully enjoying yourself.”
From there, Sofía complimented the 42-year-old reality star—whose pal Tom Schwartz and girlfriend Victoria Lee Robinson were in the audience for support—on looking “amazing” during his performance, while Howie dubbed him “a showman.”
“He really takes this seriously,” the comedian noted. “For me, it was great.”
More people are buying electric cars and installing heat pumps than ever before, but those numbers need to increase even further, according to the government’s climate advisers.
The independent Climate Change Committee said that the government needed to make sure that households benefit from the switch to cleaner technologies through lower bills.
“The government has made progress on a number of fronts, including on clean power, [but] they need to do more on making electricity cheap,” Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of the CCC, told BBC News.
In response Energy Secretary Ed Miliband thanked the committee for its advice and said it was committed to bringing down bills.
By law, the UK must stop adding to the total amount of planet-warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 2050. This is known as “net zero”.
Reaching net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally is widely seen as essential to limit further warming.
But the committee argues it is achievable and could lead to long-term economic benefits.
“[The UK] can absolutely meet net zero by 2050,” said Ms Pinchbeck.
Greenhouse gas emissions within the UK’s borders have already fallen by more than half since 1990.
But that’s mostly because polluting fossil fuels – particularly coal – have been increasingly replaced with renewable energy like wind and solar for electricity generation.
The UK’s biggest emitters last year were transport and buildings, which will also need to get cleaner to help reach net zero.
The CCC sees signs of progress, including a near doubling of the number of electric cars on UK roads in the past two years. Nearly one-in-five new cars sold in 2024 was electric.
This has helped to reduce emissions from transport – not counting planes and ships – for the second year in a row, even though traffic levels rose last year.
While new electric cars remain more expensive to buy than their petrol equivalents, the CCC expects them to cost the same in a couple of years.
Many second-hand models are already as cheap, and electric cars can be more economical to run too.
“We see these transitions happen surprisingly fast once they get going, usually starting slowly and accelerating rapidly, where falling prices and rising demand reinforce each other,” said Dr Emily Nurse, the CCC’s head of net zero.
“When that’s combined with effective policy, it really can lead to this rapid change.”
Heat pump progress but a long way to go
Sales of electric heat pumps are growing quickly too, up by more than half last year, thanks partly to grants introduced under the Conservatives, the CCC said. But they still remain well below target.
But even after grants, they can be expensive to install and while they are much more efficient than a gas boiler, they are not necessarily cheaper to run.
That’s because the cost of electricity is so high, something the CCC has repeatedly said needs tackling.
Make electricity cheaper
The single largest reason for the rise in household electricity prices in recent years is the increase in wholesale costs, driven by international gas prices, the CCC says.
“The only way to get bills down for good is by becoming a clean energy superpower and we continue to work tirelessly to deliver clean power for families and businesses,” argued Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
But the committee adds that electricity bills are artificially high because charges are added to them to support largely older renewable energy projects – which were more expensive – as well as energy efficiency upgrades.
Removing them from household electricity bills too would be a quick fix to the UK’s high prices, making it much cheaper to run an electric car or heat pump, the committee says.
But these costs would have to go somewhere, potentially onto general taxation.
It would take “about £200 off the average [household] bill but at a cost of about £6bn per year to the Exchequer,” said Adam Bell, director of policy at Stonehaven Consultancy and former head of energy strategy at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Additional reporting by Jonah Fisher and Miho Tanaka
Zohran Mamdani leads former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, with the contest set to be decided by a ranked-choice count since neither candidate earned a majority of the vote.
“Decision Desk HQ projects no candidate will reach the 50% plus threshold in the first round, sending the New York City Democratic Mayoral primary to Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV),” said Scott Tranter, DDHQ’s director of data science. “The City of New York will have their first release of the RCV votes next Tuesday, July 1st.”
“Zohran Mamdani will go into the RCV process as the favorite,” Tranter added. “In addition to his current vote lead, he has been endorsed by third place finisher Brad Lander and can expect to pick up a substantial portion of Lander’s supporters once their second choice votes are allocated in the RCV process.”
Mamdani, a democratic socialist endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), stunned observers Tuesday night with his strong showing against the former governor. Most polls leading up to Election Day showed Cuomo leading, though not outright winning, in the first round.
Other candidates in the crowded primary included longtime city officials like Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and former Comptroller Scott Stringer.
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New York City permits mail-in votes postmarked by primary day to be counted for a week after, so the subsequent rounds of ranked choice voting aren’t likely to be released until next Tuesday, July 1.
In New York City’s ranked-choice system, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are reapportioned according to their voters’ next preference. The process continues until one candidate receives a majority.
The process in this primary will likely take multiple rounds for a winner to be declared.
Cuomo entered the primary in March after months of anticipation of his attempted political comeback. He resigned from office in 2021 following allegations of sexual harassment from multiple women, which he denies, and criticism accusing him of intentionally undercounting the number of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has maintained he was following federal guidance.
Despite those controversies and having a relatively high number of voters viewing him unfavorably, he’s consistently led in polls for months leading up to the primary.
But Mamdani has rallied younger and progressive voters to try to oppose Cuomo and organize those opposed to him behind his own campaign. He’s closed the gap in polling in recent weeks and even finished ahead in the final round of one independent public poll from Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be the favorite to take on embattled Mayor Eric Adams, who’s running as an independent for reelection, GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden.
But Cuomo and Mamdani may face each other again regardless of who wins the primary.
Cuomo formed his own separate party line, called the Fight and Deliver Party, to run in the general election outside the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the progressive Working Families Party has shown interest in giving its slot on the general election ballot to another candidate if Cuomo wins the Democratic nomination.
It hasn’t addressed who that would be, but Mamdani would have a strong case that it should be him.
We came across a bullish thesis on CME Group Inc. on Special Situation Investing’s Substack by Six Bravo. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on CME. CME Group Inc.’s share was trading at $273.99 as of June 20th. CME’s trailing and forward P/E ratios were 27.56 and 24.88, respectively, according to Yahoo Finance.
A view of a financial exchange, showcasing the trading activities of the company’s futures and options contracts.
CME Group (CME) represents the gold standard among U.S.-based derivatives exchanges, boasting a capital-light, high-margin business model and a remarkable track record of long-term shareholder returns. As an exchange, CME occupies a unique and advantageous niche similar to brokers, royalty companies, and consumer monopolies—businesses that generate revenue from activity rather than market direction, enabling consistent profitability regardless of economic cycles.
Unlike many businesses susceptible to competitive pressures, CME benefits from oligopolistic market structures and high barriers to entry, with scalable infrastructure that supports vast trading volumes without significant additional costs. The ability to cross-sell trading data as market research and to create proprietary products, like weather and cryptocurrency derivatives, distinguishes CME from stock exchanges dependent on third-party listings. Its innovation engine enables it to monetize demand signals independently, creating instruments tailored for clients’ risk-management needs, as seen with volumetric hedging tools for utilities.
CME’s historical dominance is underpinned by a legacy of product launches dating back to the 1800s, and its stock has dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 since its 2002 IPO, delivering a 20% CAGR. While U.S. exchanges have outpaced their international peers, speculation about the Cantillon Effect and co-location with the world’s reserve currency adds a layer of intrigue around future performance amid de-dollarization.
Yet, CME’s real advantage lies in its flexibility and innovation, not external conditions. The firm’s ability to consistently identify and capitalize on untapped markets, like crypto futures, suggests it will continue to grow in ways investors cannot yet predict. CME is a quintessential “fish-in-a-barrel” investment in a concentrated, quality-focused portfolio.
Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on CME Group Inc. by Magnus Ofstad in January 2025, which highlighted its leadership in derivatives and strong cash flows. The stock has appreciated by approximately 15.6% as trading volumes surged. The thesis still stands given CME’s resilient model. Six Bravo shares a similar view but emphasizes its capital-light structure and innovation-driven growth.
Before the multiverse, magic, or any of Marvel’s streaming series were important parts of the studio’s cinematic universe, there was Iron Man. After years of so-so movies, Iron Man reminded everyone that Marvel’s big-screen adaptations could be amazing with the right creative teams and stars attached. Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark was the MCU’s centerpiece and a prime example of how the House of Ideas could make box office record-breaking icons out of its lower-profile characters. A couple of the Iron Man films were terrible, sure, but they each played a role in shaping the larger story. And by spending so much time building up Iron Man’s presence, Marvel ensured that audiences would be emotionally invested when the franchise ultimately killed him off.
A desire to recapture that old Iron Man magic seemed to be part of the reasoning behind Marvel’s baffling decision to bring Downey back as Doctor Doom for its upcoming Avengers features. On its face, the move felt like a sign that the studio was scrambling to win viewers back by playing the hits in a slightly different key. And while Iron Man being a Doctor Doom variant might wind up appealing to diehard fans who’ve followed along from the jump, that kind of twist is exactly the sort of thing that makes the MCU feel like it’s stuck in the past and unable to wow us with something new.
That doesn’t have to be the case, though — especially given how Marvel comics have already figured out how to keep Iron Man’s legacy alive by telling stories of other characters inspired by his heroics. And Disney Plus’ new Ironheart miniseries feels like a strong indicator that the studio knows it needs to switch things up if it wants to keep the MCU exciting.
Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart follows Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a Chicago-born genius with a preternatural ability to engineer things that don’t seem possible. As a Tony Stark Fellowship recipient attending MIT, Riri knows that she’s destined for some kind of greatness. But as someone who tends to balk at authority figures, she has a hard time being the kind of student her teachers want her to be. Riri’s knack for building Iron Man-inspired armored suits that fly with the help of chirpy AI assistants is undeniable, and everyone can see that she could be the next Tony Stark. But when she gets caught selling completed homework assignments to her somewhat less-talented classmates, her dean (Jim Rash, reprising his role from Captain America: Civil War) has no choice but to expel her.
Technically speaking, Riri isn’t breaking any rules when she takes the armor that she’s been building with her grant money on a bittersweet joyride, which ends in an embarrassing crash in the middle of the street. Seeing her suit all busted up doesn’t really bother Riri because she knows she can just build it back better with enough time. But what does make her sweat is how furious her mother, Ronnie (Anji White), is when she shows up unannounced while toting her wrecked suit in a small wagon.
The way Ironheart almost immediately leans into high-flying action in its first three (of six) episodes belies how much of a relatively grounded drama the show actually is. Rather than exploring how the larger world has changed after the Avengers’ dissolution, Ironheart focuses on the anxieties that Riri still lives with years after the murders of her stepfather Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins) and best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross). Though many of the show’s narrative beats mirror Marvel’s comics, showrunner Chinaka Hodge does an excellent job of presenting Riri’s backstory as a remix of Stark’s that’s meant to highlight how wealth and privilege are their own kinds of superpowers that few people are lucky enough to be born with. Riri’s panic attacks and impulse to build literal shields around the people she loves most are some of Ironheart’s many nods to the Iron Man films. But it’s always clear that Riri’s similarities to Stark are wholly coincidental and tied to the fact that they both have traumatic pasts.
Like Stark, Riri wants to be known as an icon, which is much easier to achieve when one has unlimited resources. Riri isn’t exactly flush with cash, however, which is how she winds up in the orbits of amateur weapons dealer Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich) and shady magic user Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos). Ironheart’s more fantastical elements — Robbins leads a gang of Robin Hood-like misfits and has a cursed hood that whispers dark things to him — aren’t as compelling as the show’s more down-to-earth plot points. Thorne is at her most magnetic when the show is zoomed in on Riri’s grief and complicated feelings about what it means to build an actual (very science fictional) artificial intelligence based on a real person.
Image: Disney Plus / Marvel
Ironheart isn’t Thorne’s MCU debut, but it feels like she’s coming into her own — much like Iman Vellani did with Ms. Marvel. It’s refreshing to see a younger actor given a chance to take up space within a long-running franchises, and Ironheart puts Riri in an excellent position to become a larger part of the MCU going forward.
These feel like the kinds of smart moves that Marvel needs to be making right now, especially as the studio prepares to establish a new status quo with another pair of big tentpoles that will bring characters from different universes together. No one’s really excited to see Marvel falling back into established patterns with the old guard, and Ironheart seems to indicate that Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, knows that — which makes it even more of a mystery why Marvel has been so quiet ahead of Ironheart’s premiere.
Ironheart also stars Regan Aliyah, Cree Summer, Matthew Elam, Shakira Barrera, Zoe Terakes, Shea Couleé, Eric Andre, Paul Calderón, Sonia Denis, and Sacha Baron Cohen. The series’ first three episodes are now streaming on Disney Plus, and the next three are out on July 1st.
Getty Images
Getty Images
