Invincible Iron Man #7
Invincible Iron Man (Vol. 3) #7 holds a firm place in modern Marvel history as the cameo debut of Riri Williams, the first Black woman to wear an Iron Man-type armor in the mainline Marvel Universe. Writer Brian Michael Bendis planted her introduction — just a single page, a teenage prodigy quietly building power armor in an MIT dorm room in the dead of night — with enough implied depth that she took over the book's starring role within a year, eventually earning her own title and codename: Ironheart. The character went on to become one of the most prominent new additions to the Marvel roster of the 2010s, standing alongside Miles Morales and Kamala Khan as part of a deliberate wave of younger, more diverse legacy heroes. Her trajectory from that single silent page to a Disney+ live-action series underscores how much creative weight a carefully placed final-page cameo can carry.
In Invincible Iron Man #7 (2016), Mary Jane takes on a new role at Stark Industries, stepping into the high-stakes world of genius, power, and danger. With Rhodes missing in Japan and no word from him, Tony Stark turns to Spider-Man for help—only to find that the trail leads into a shadowy threat with a personal grudge against him. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mike Deodato, with colors by Frank Martin and letters by VC's Clayton Cowles, the cover by Mike Deodato captures the tension of a world on edge.
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The issue falls within the 'War Machines' arc — the second story cycle of Bendis's 2015 Invincible Iron Man relaunch — illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr., who replaced series-opener David Marquez starting around issue #6 when Marquez moved to the Civil War II event book. Bendis told TIME magazine that his inspiration for Riri came from time he spent in Chicago, where he encountered real stories of young women who survived neighborhood violence and channeled their grief into extraordinary ambition — experiences he described as the most modern superhero origin he had ever heard. Deodato confirmed publicly that he modeled Riri's physical appearance on actress Skai Jackson. The character's introduction was apparently not telegraphed in the issue's official solicitation copy, which focused entirely on Iron Man and War Machine's fight against a 'brand-new threat' — making Riri's cameo a genuine in-issue surprise for readers.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First (cameo) appearance of Riri Williams, the character who later becomes the armored superhero Ironheart — the first African-American woman to bear an Iron Man-type mantle in the Marvel Universe.
- The cameo is confined to the issue's final page: Riri appears as an unnamed MIT student working alone in a campus lab, building what visibly resembles a War Machine-style armor.
- Written by Brian Michael Bendis; pencils and inks by Mike Deodato Jr.; colors by Frank Martin Jr.; letters by Clayton Cowles. Cover date: May 2016; on-sale date: March 2, 2016.
- Also contains the first appearance of Tomoe, an Inhuman antagonist who manipulates machinery through technopathy, introduced as the primary villain of the 'War Machines' arc.
- The issue is Part 2 of 'The War Machines' story arc, a crossover between Tony Stark and James Rhodes (War Machine) set against the lead-up to the Civil War II event.
- Riri Williams's full first appearance — with dialogue, motivation, and proper character establishment — occurs two issues later, in Invincible Iron Man #9.
- The character was physically modeled by artist Mike Deodato Jr. on actress Skai Jackson, which Deodato confirmed on social media.
- The issue was collected in the trade paperback Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2: The War Machines (collecting issues #6–11), and later in the omnibus Ironheart: The Saga of Riri Williams (collecting issues #1–14 of the 2015–2016 run). Dominique Thorne has portrayed Riri Williams in the MCU, first in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and then as the lead of the Disney+ series Ironheart (2025).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Invincible Iron Man #2 (2016), Invincible Iron Man #2 (2017), Invincible Iron Man by Brian Michael Bendis #[nn] (2018), Ironheart: The Saga of Riri Williams #[nn] (2023)
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