In the last few days, I've been thinking a lot about Iron Fist. Last week, it was announced that the Netflix Marvel series are leaving Netflix at the end of the month. I've taken that as a prompt to try and rewatch all three seasons of Daredevil and skim through The Defenders before time runs out. I have no worry that these shows will find a new home on either Hulu, Disney+, or some other streaming service. It's 13 seasons, and hours upon hours of content any company would want. But when will they be available again to watch is the real question? As I am rewatching Daredevil, I keep thinking about Iron Fist. Danny Rand and the mythology of the Iron Fist has been a Marvel favorite of mine since The Immortal Iron Fist published back in 2006. It's the quincuncial modern take on the character, and one that other IF titles, in my eyes, have failed to live up to since. Because of that book I see the potential of Iron Fist outside of comic books, and that's why I was so disappointed about the Netflix series. This is the curse of the Iron Fist.
Iron Fist has been around since the 1970's and has mainly teamed up Luke Cage. And I think the two play great off each other. He's been a Defender, an Avenger, and was even Daredevil for a bit while Matt Murdock was in jail. A new IF series has just been released. This is one of many Iron Fist titles that have come out in recent years. All of which didn't last very long. In it, Danny Rand is no longer the Iron Fist. In the previous series, Heart of the Dragon, Danny gave up his powers to help save the world. Now a new Iron Fist has emerged, Lin Lie, a young Asian man who was once the Sword Master, and the chi of Shou-Lao the Undying saved his life. I was curious and skeptical about this new IF series by Alyssa Wong. Like I said, I'm a fan of Danny Rand, and wanted him to continue being Iron Fist. After reading the first issue I feel that, though Lin will be the center of this title, Danny will still be around, and, eventually, will once again be some version of the Iron Fist. A lot of IF titles don't keep my interest for too long. Like most books, it's more about the author than the character. Superman can be great in the right hands, but a writer who doesn't have a good angle can make him seem boring. I'm not too familiar with Wong as a writer, but I just hope Lin Lie isn't a product of the fandom menace.
Danny Rand is a Caucasian male who was stranded and raised in an Oriental world (K'un-Lun). He was picked on and ridiculed by his peers. Danny rose up and become the one person in K'un Lun worthy to take on Shou-Lao and earn the powers of the Iron Fist. When the Netflix series was being released, some people were angry that a white male was the center of a martial arts show. Those people, to me, had no idea who Iron Fist was, and probably never read an Iron Fist comic in their lives. When casting Danny Rand, you could make him anything but Oriental descent. He could be black, Middle Eastern, Native American; anything but Asian. Rand was bullied because he was different. Do you see the disconnect with people yelling online that they should have casted an Asian actor as Danny?
Now, I'm not sure if Lin is in response to that vocal (and confused) fanbase, or if Marvel is just trying to add more diversity to the universe. If it's the ladder, I'm ok with it. Mainly because I know everything always goes back to the status quo. Danny Rand will be Iron Fist again. Much like how Captain America will always be Steve Rogers, Batman will always be Bruce Wayne, and Spider-Man will always be Peter Parker. Along the way these characters have gained young partners that compliment them. Falcon and Bucky, Nightwing and Robin, Miles Morales and Spider Gwen. That's what I see Lin Lie as, a new apprentice for Danny Rand to train as AN Iron Fist, but not be THEE Iron Fist. But let's always make sure Luke Cage is around somewhere. Forget a second season for both Iron Fist and Luke Cage, they should have done a Heroes for Hire series.
In the IF myth, Danny hasn't been the only Iron Fist. In the final scene of the Netflix series Danny and Ward were looking for a man known as Orson Randall, who in the comic books is a former Iron Fist. The intro to the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer says, "In every generation a slayer is born." And that's what Iron Fist became in 2006. In every generation there has been an Iron Fist, going back to the beginning of Earth according to Jason Aaron's The Avengers. And also, you have the Immortal Weapons of the Seven Cities. Like Iron Fist, they are the protectors of their realms. My disappointment in the Netflix series came because the last scene of the series teased the potential of what it could have been. And hopefully will be, under Kevin Feige.
I love that it looks like Charlie Cox is going to continue to play Daredevil in the MCU, but I've also stated the problems with keeping him as The Man Without Fear and the Netflix baggage that comes with it. I have no problem with Finn Jones as an actor. I did have a problem with his portrayal of Danny Rand, but I knew that was mostly in the shows writing. I want a better Iron Fist. We've gotten a taste of what a fully potential Iron Fist could be on screen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. On TV (and sometimes in comics) Iron Fist has failed to live up to its potential. I truly believe, if done right, I think Iron Fist's potential is Immortal.
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