You Can't Say Ironheart Sucks Without Being Called a Racist

Ironheart finally dropped on Disney+ on June 24, and before a single episode aired, it already had a Rotten Tomatoes audience score in the 30s. Predictably, this sparked the same tired debate: is the show actually bad, or is it just getting review-bombed by angry trolls?

Let's be clear — Ironheart didn't tank because the internet hates Black women. It tanked because it's yet another flat, forgettable, low-stakes Disney+ series riding on brand recognition and vibes alone.

But the second anyone points that out, the defense kicks in: "It's racism." "It's sexism." "It's review bombing."

And sure, trolls exist. But when your audience score is tanking before release, and your actual viewership doesn't pick up after release, that's not just bots — that's a product problem.

The show stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a character introduced in Wakanda Forever. The series tries to mix tech and magic, drops references to Mephisto, and leans heavily into the post-Tony Stark vacuum. But none of it sticks.

And instead of addressing the fact that Ironheart simply doesn't work — with weak storytelling, inconsistent tone, and cardboard supporting characters — the conversation's been hijacked by bad-faith identity politics.

The argument isn't "How do we fix Marvel TV?" It's "You're a bigot if you don't like it."

Let's be honest: poor execution is the problem, not the lead's gender or skin color. The MCU's had plenty of hits with diverse casts (Black Panther, Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel had its fans). What it hasn't had lately is quality control.

The show currently sits at around 70% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics — decent, but hardly a cultural event. And that's fine. Not everything has to be a billion-dollar franchise launcher. But trying to frame any pushback as bigotry is a lazy way to dodge accountability for underdelivering.