When The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ last year, some claimed there was simply no way the series could have been a victim of review-bombing. Instead, they argued that people just hated it as much as they did, even when the evidence suggested otherwise.
With a Black female lead, Ironheart receiving the same treatment from so-called "fans" was sadly inevitable. That was confirmed last night when, several hours before the show's first three episodes dropped, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever follow-up had a 32% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It's an indisputable fact that audiences hadn't seen it at that point, so in response, Rotten Tomatoes wiped the score and didn't allow people to share their scores until the premiere was streaming. That might explain why it now has a much healthier 70% on the review aggregator's Popcornmeter.
There's also reason to believe that Ironheart is being review-bombed on IMDb. Unfortunately, the site has little to no regulation when it comes to stopping movies and TV shows from being hijacked by those eager to see them fail for one reason or another.
"Ironheart soars when Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Alden Ehrenreich, and Lyric Ross are on screen," we wrote in our 3* review, "but a by-the-numbers story means the series falls short of reaching the same heights as Iron Man. Still, the finale is an undeniable must-see."
Ironheart isn't a huge win for Marvel Studios/Marvel Television, but it's also a product of that quantity over quality era ushered in by now-former Disney CEO Bob Chapek. With any luck, Wonder Man will end the year on a much more positive note for the MCU on Disney+.
What did you think about the first three episodes of Ironheart? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Television’s Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) - a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world - returns to her hometown of Chicago.
Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka "The Hood" (Anthony Ramos).
The series also stars Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White. Chinaka Hodge is head writer and executive producer; episodes are directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes.
The first three episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.