Two Original Avengers Get Name-Dropped And All 36 Ironheart Marvel Easter Eggs In Ironheart Episodes 1-3

June 25, 2025

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Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Ironheart Episodes 1-3

Marvel Studios’ Ironheart has finally premiered with its first three episodes now on Disney+. Starring Dominque Thorne as the titular Riri Williams, Ironheart continues Riri’s story following the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, six months after she inadvertently started a war between the nations of Wakanda and Talokan. Thus far, these first three episodes have been full of solid connections to both the wider MCU and the original comics.

In Ironheart’s first three episodes, Riri desperately needs funds to build her suit after her unfortunate expulsion from MIT. Joining a crew of thieves led by Anthony Ramos’ Hood to seemingly steal from the rich and corrupt, Riri quickly finds herself in over her head. To that end, here are all 36 MCU Easter eggs and connections we found in Ironheart episodes 1-3.

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All Easter Eggs and References In Ironheart Episode 1-3

Pym, Stark, Thor, And More

Ironheart Season 1-5 — Image via Disney+

“Bigger Than Pym, Bigger Than Stark” – Ironheart episode 1 opens with Riri filming a video, voicing her determination to become as big and iconic as some of the MCU’s brightest minds, including Hank Pym and Iron Man himself, Tony Stark.
A Night With Thor and His Hammer – Riri’s best friend Natalie says she wants a night with “Thor and his hammer”, bringing to mind Spider-Man: Homecoming’s FMK jokes with Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk.
Internship Abroad – Riri’s internship abroad is a reference to her time in Wakanda as seen in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Griot Algorithm – Riri’s attempt to create her own algorithm is based on code from Griot, Shuri’s AI in the Black Panther movies (voiced by Trevor Noah).
Professor Wilkes – MIT’s Professor Wilkes makes his MIT return. Played by Community’s Jim Rash, Wilkes was first featured in Captain America: Civil War, trying to convince Tony Stark to provide some of his grant money to MIT faculty (hoping to fund his self-heating hot dog idea).
Trevor – “Trevor” is a basic AI assistant for MIT students. Depicted as a cartoon pencil, Trevor is a nod to Microsoft Office’s old virtual paperclip assistant Clippy.
Riri’s Student ID – Riri gives Trevor her student ID: 30216RW. March 2nd, 2016 was Riri’s first appearance in the original comics with Invincible Iron Man #7.
Friendly Neighborhood Service Van – The name on the side of the van used by Hood’s crew is a clear nod to Marvel’s “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”.
Stuart Clarke aka Rampage – Eric André plays Stuart Clarke, a tech wizard who prefers to go by Rampage. Rampage is a character from the comics, who once served as tech support for The Punisher.
“Thanos Was Just The Beginning/Tony Can’t Save Us This Time” – A man on the street is shown yelling about Thanos and Iron Man’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, citing bigger threats he believes are imminent (the MCU’s version of a public doomsayer).
Iron Girl/Iron Chick – After Riri loses control of her suit and crashes thanks to her expulsion from MIT, people on the street refer to her as both “Iron Girl” and “Iron Chick”, confirming that we’ve yet to hear the actual Ironheart name in the MCU.
Stark Fellowship – Riri talks about how she no longer has money from the Stark Fellowship, the grant Tony set up for MIT students in Captain America: Civil War.
1972 Plymouth Barracuda – Riri’s car from Wakanda Forever is referenced. Confirming that she built it with her stepdad Gary, Riri also reveals that she sold the car for money for the sake of her suit.
Who Else Would It Be? – In the comics, Riri’s AI was patterned after Tony Stark himself, so the comment from Natalie’s AI is definitely a meta nod.
NATALIE (Gotta Love Marvel Acronyms) – Natalie decides to go by NATALIE: Neuro Autonomous Technical Assistant and Laboratory Intelligence Entity, a clear joke on all the classic MCU acronym names like SHIELD and JARVIS.
Madripoor – Hacker extraordinaire Slug confirms they are one of “Madripoor’s Most Wanted”. A city filled with crime and run by the Power Broker, Madripoor was first featured in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Blood Siblings – The Blood Siblings seem to be inspired by the comics’ Blood Brothers, a cosmic duo who once served Thanos and were mainly Iron Man villains.
Parker’s Cousin John King – Parker Robbin’s Hood also has a cousin named John. On the page, John was the one who tipped Parker off to his magically imbued hood and boots, and eventually became the villain known as Cancer.
Orange Is The New Black – Black market tech collector “Joe” references the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black, citing that the show proves he wouldn’t last in jail.
Arc Reactor – Joe questions why Riri’s suit doesn’t have an arc reactor like Stark’s Iron Man suits, to which Riri explains her suit is mainly solar and lunar-powered.
Spy Kids – During the TUNNL heist, Natalie and Riri make references to Spy Kids, the classic franchise from director Robert Rodriguez.
Thing Adams Family – Remote controlling one of her gauntlets during the heist, Natalie remarks that the crawling armored hand looks an awful lot like Thing from The Adams Family (and more recently Netflix’s Wednesday).
Hood’s Classic Comics Powers – The powers of Anthony Ramos’ Hood are just like they are in the comics, with the red hood allowing him to turn invisible when he holds his breath and firing curved bullets from his twin pistols.
“Wrestled It Off A Demon” – Clown tells Rrii that she heard Parker got his hood by “wrestling it off a demon”. This is a reference to Hood’s comics history, where Parker did indeed get his magical hood from a demon-like villain that gradually came to possess him (Dormammu).
Faust Poster Devils Horn – When NATALIE talks to Riri outside after the heist, several posters behind Williams show a silhouette of a man with the name Faust, and some even have horns. This seems to be a reference to Parker making a Faustian deal with the Devil for his hood, as well as being the next big tease for the long-awaited demon lord Mephisto (who loves making deals with mortals for their souls in the comics).
“Aliens, Androids, Wizards” – Riri echoes Sam Wilson in Falcon and the Winter Soldier when she says his “Aliens, Androids, and Wizards” line, the Big Three threats in the MCU.
Trekkies – While they start with a Star Wars reference, it’s revealed that Xavier and Riri are major Star Trek fans, calling back to their fandom first established in the original comics.
Alanis Morissette – Joe and Riri bonded in the car over their love for singer Alanis Morissette and her 1995 hit “You Oughta Know”. The song also plays during the credits for Ironheart episode 2.
Ocean’s Eleven/Sopranos – At the beginning of Ironheart episode 3, Riri asks Parker if their crew is like the movie Ocean’s Eleven starring a crew of charming thieves, or more like The Sopranos, a darker series focusing on the mob and organized crime.
Vibranium/Pym Tech – Wondering about Hood’s powers, Riri asks Parker if his hood is powered by vibranium or even Pym tech, two of the biggest sources of science-based powers in the MCU.
“The Next Death Star” – Warning Riri about Parker, NATALIE says that for all she knows, Parker is having his crew heist parts for the next Death Star, a fun reference to Disney’s other major live-action franchise.
Riri’s Panic Attacks – Riri’s struggle with panic attacks is a key parallel to Tony Stark himself, who also struggled with panic attacks in the wake of 2012’s Avengers.
Obadiah Stane’s Ashes – Riri finds the ashes of Obadiah Stane in Joe’s house, the MCU’s first ever villain from 2008’s Iron Man, confirming that Joe is actually Obadiah’s son Ezekiel.
Ezekiel’s Off-Grid Life – Taking a fake name and keeping his past a secret, Ezekiel living the majority of his life off the grid mirrors his comics arc, at least until Ezekiel was ready to get revenge on Tony Stark, completely taking Iron Man by surprise.
Iron Monger – Ezekiel refers to his father as an “Iron Monger”. While Obidiah did refer to himself and Tony as “iron mongers” in 2008’s Iron Man, this is the first time in 17 years that the comics name has been attributed to Obidiah alone, and after his monstrous suit of armor was created.
The Hood’s Demon/Benefactor – At the end of Ironheart episode 3, Parker is yelling to some off-screen ethereal force or presence, showing him that John was killed after he was left at Heirlum by Riri. This is most likely the being who gave Parker his hood. It could be Dormammu like in the comics, though perhaps the MCU will go in a different direction like Mephisto, who was potentially teased in episode 2.