‘Drag Race’ icon Shea Couleé reveals secret ‘Ironheart’ character who brings drag to MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t seen anyone quite like RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Shea Couleé before — and the drag entertainer, recording artist, and freshly minted star of the upcoming miniseries Ironheart knows her character is about to make a vivid impression.

“You will be seeing the diva in some looks,” the Chicago-based entertainer exclusively tells Entertainment Weekly of fusing drag aesthetics with superhero might via Slug, a mysterious character Shea identifies as “a really fierce hacker” who plays a key supporting role in the next chapter in producer Ryan Coogler’s Disney+ expansion of his Black Panther film series.

“I help a group of urban Robin Hoods to take away from the privileged and help give back to the community,” Shea continues. “I’m there to help out on all the missions that go down, trying to shift this power dynamic in this version of Chicago we see in the show.”

While the show’s narrative and portrait of Chicago might seem clear at first, there’s plenty brewing under the surface when it comes to how Ironheart fits into the overall MCU.

The series picks up with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s visionary inventor, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), returning to her hometown of Chicago to attend MIT. There, she crosses paths with Parker Robbins, also known as “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos), who mentors her prowess — leading her to construct an iron suit and establish herself as the titular hero as she fights to save Chicago from a new threat.

Shea says Slug doesn’t get into much of the action-oriented spectacle. “I’m more of the… I’ll drive the getaway car, hang out in the van on my cute little laptop with my fierce nails and help you hack these mainframes,” she says. But also notes that the glamorous elements of Slug’s aesthetic aren’t just for show.

“From my understanding, this version of Slug they’re presenting is someone who’s being referred to as a code name. I don’t want to give too much of their backstory away. They need an alternative code name to go by because there could or could not be some people looking for them,” Shea teases.

The drag element, she confirms, comes in the form of tiny bits of information the series slowly reveals about Slug’s past.

“They’ve kind of left drag. They are a drag queen, but it’s kind of a past life,” Shea says, choosing her words carefully. “You see them in drag, but it’s kind of in the context of flashbacks before where they are now, because they’re trying to be on the low-low!”

On the contrary, Shea is happy that the MCU welcomed her — and Slug — as unabashedly queer people.

Across her first major scripted acting role (unless you count several comedic acting challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9, All Stars 5, and All Stars 7), Shea says she “felt so much love and respect” on set, and hopes “people take away the amount of genuine heart that was put into the production” on all fronts. Particularly, she recalls, an “open and compassionate” crew that made her “feel welcome” in new territory.

After all, Slug marks a departure from the kinds of characters audiences typically see in the MCU, a big-budget, blockbuster franchise known for its leading men (Robert Downey, Jr., Paul Rudd) and ladies (Scarlett Johansson, Brie Larson). Slug, Shea reveals, goes by they/them pronouns, and in that small regard, helps keep the MCU on a broader path in terms of character representation.

“Finding ways to exist in a way that felt truly, authentically me — and also to the character — was really cool,” Shea reflects of her time fusing her acting talents with a genuine affection for Slug as a character.

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She’s also suggests she’s open to returning in future editions, but, as is typical for an MCU project, “it’s all left open” in the end.

“Things always evolve, stories always change. You never know when a character might be relevant to help tell that story. We’ll see!” Shea says, simultaneously looking to the future and describing the importance of Slug’s inclusion in helping to shift the face of the MCU at large, too.

The first three episodes of Ironheart stream June 24 on Disney+, followed by Shea’s upcoming performances at Lemonlab Dragfest on Aug. 14 and the Realness Festival in Brazil on Aug. 16. See EW’s exclusive first look at Shea as Slug in the image above.