The final batch of Ironheart episodes dropped on Tuesday night, which means the show’s critical reception is taking its final form. As of Wednesday morning, the show is certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with a score of 86%. The aggregator has gathered 90 reviews of the season from trusted critics, and 70 of them are considered positive overall. That’s still far ahead of the user-submitted Popcornmeter score, which is 53% positive at the time of this writing — though many still assume this was the result of disingenuous review-bombing. Overall, Ironheart seems to have found plenty of fans, and to have pleased fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall, even if it didn’t have anything too surprising in store.
Ironheart‘s Rotten Tomatoes score has jumped considerably in its second week, from 70% to 86%. The critical consensus has improved as well — last week, critics felt hat the show was fun and intriguing, but awkward in a few places, and even a bit scattered at times. Now that all six episodes are out, fans and critics can look at the whole picture and give a more informed review. The second-week reviews highlight Dominique Thorne’s performance in particular, and praise the show overall for being a fun addition to the MCU in spite of its familiar presence.
Digging a bit deeper, Ironheart has likely suffered a bit from the general declining interest in MCU series and “franchise fatigue.” The show was ordered and filmed back in 2022, and since then, Marvel Studios has changed its tune on producing many titles per year, balancing series and movies much more evenly. Fans and critics have suggested that Ironheart would have worked just as well as a movie, which might have helped it get more attention from a wider audience.
The show’s delay likely also hurt interest and expectations in its impact on the MCU’s broader story arc. Fans hoping for surprise Easter eggs relating to the New Avengers or the Fantastic Four were likely disappointed, while others may have skipped the show because they weren’t anticipating any tie-ins. Those fans may yet tune in when they hear about the major character introduced in the series finale, and that could belatedly impact the show’s overall scores.
Overall, Ironheart has definitely fared better than some other MCU shows, and it doesn’t seem to have dampened enthusiasm for Riri Williams in the MCU. The series is streaming now on Disney+.
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