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Iron Fist (Daniel Thomas "Danny" Rand) is a
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. Created by
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
and
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
, Iron Fist first appeared in ''
Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own ser ...
'' #15 (May 1974). The character is a practitioner of
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
and the wielder of a mystical force known as the Iron Fist, which allows him to summon and focus his ''
chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...
''. This ability is obtained from the city of K'un-Lun, which appears on Earth every 10 years. He starred in his own solo series in the 1970s, and shared the title ''
Power Man and Iron Fist ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist. Publication history ''Hero ...
'' for several years with
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
, partnering with Cage to form the superhero team
Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...
. Rand frequently appeared with the
Daughters of the Dragon The Daughters of the Dragon are the duo of Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared as a team in ''Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'' #32 (January 1977) in a ...
duo
Misty Knight Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jenny Blake Isabella and Arvell Jones, the character was first mentioned in '' Marvel Premiere'' #20 (January 1975) and first appear ...
and
Colleen Wing Colleen Wing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Descended from a family of samurai, Wing is a Japanese martial artist who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of the superhero Iron Fis ...
– with Rand often seen in a relationship with the former, marking the first interracial romance in Marvel Comics history. The character has starred in numerous solo titles since, including ''
The Immortal Iron Fist ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' was a Comic book, comic book series published by Marvel Comics and starring the superhero Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist. Publication history The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues ...
'', which expanded on his origin story and the history of the Iron Fist. Iron Fist has been adapted to appear in several animated television series and video games.
Finn Jones Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television shows '' Iron Fi ...
portrayed the character in the live-action
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
(MCU)
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
'' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018), '' The Defenders'' (2017), and the second season of ''
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'' (2018).


Publication history


Creation

Iron Fist, along with the previously created
martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...
Shang-Chi Zheng Shang-Chi,. also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in ''Spec ...
, came from
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
during an American
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
trend in the early to mid-1970s of martial arts heroes. Writer/co-creator
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
wrote in a text piece in ''Marvel Premiere'' #15 that Iron Fist's origin and creation owe much to the
Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...
character, John Aman, the Amazing-Man, created in 1939. Thomas later wrote that he and artist/co-creator
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...
had The film mentioned by Thomas is ''
King Boxer ''King Boxer'' (, released in the United States as ''Five Fingers of Death'') is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film produced by Shaw Brothers Studio, directed by Jeong Chang-hwa, starring Lo Lieh, and featuring fight choreography by Lau Kar-wi ...
'', aka ''Five Fingers of Death'' (1972), which presents the ''Iron Fist'' technique. Thomas further discussed the character's creation stating, "When Stan Lee gave me a verbal approval to star him in a series, I contacted Gil Kane and we worked out the costume and story. I had Gil give him a dragon brand on his chest, inspired by the one branded into Bullseye, a great western character created by
Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...
and
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
. At Gil's urging, we took some story elements from
Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...
's 1939 hero Amazing-Man, which itself had borrowed heavily from James Hilton's novel
Lost Horizon ''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by the English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by the director Frank Capra and a musical remake in 1973 by the producer Ross Hunter with music by Bu ...
and the first movie made from it, which introduced "
Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...
" to the world."


1970s

Debuting in a story written by Thomas and
pencilled A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...
by Kane in the umbrella title ''
Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own ser ...
'' #15–25 (May 1974 – October 1975), he was then written successively by
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...
,
Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of comics, novels, short stories, newspaper feature articles, weekly newspaper comic strips, film screenplays and teleplays. He is notable for his ''Batman'' wo ...
,
Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...
, and
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...
, with art by successive pencillers
Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...
,
Arvell Jones Arvell Jones (whose earliest work is billed Arvell Malcolm Jones) is an American comics artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for DC Comics and its imprint Milestone Media. Biography Jones and his brother, Desmond, were raised i ...
,
Pat Broderick Pat Broderick (born November 26, 1953) is an American comics artist, known for his work on the '' Micronauts'' and '' Alpha Flight'' for Marvel Comics, and ''Legion of Super-Heroes'', '' Captain Atom'' and '' Green Lantern'' for DC Comics. Brode ...
, and, in some of his earliest professional work, John Byrne. As the ''Marvel Premiere'' issues had successfully established a considerable readership for the character, following this run, Iron Fist was immediately spun off into the solo series ''Iron Fist'', which ran 15 issues (November 1975 – September 1977). The solo series was written by Claremont and pencilled by Byrne. A subplot involving the
Steel Serpent Steel Serpent (Davos) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Iron Fist. Sacha Dhawan portrays Steel Serpent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television ser ...
left unresolved by the cancellation of the series was wrapped up in issues #63–64 of ''
Marvel Team-Up ''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
'', the latter of which featured Rand kiss
Misty Knight Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jenny Blake Isabella and Arvell Jones, the character was first mentioned in '' Marvel Premiere'' #20 (January 1975) and first appear ...
, marking the first interracial kiss and first long-term interracial couple in
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
history, as well as the first couple with an age difference in which the woman was older than her man. Iron Fist's appearances outside his own title include three Iron Fist stories in Marvel's black-and-white comics magazine ''
The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu ''The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'' is an American black-and-white martial arts comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. A total of 33 issues were published from 1974 to 1977, plus one special edition. A ...
'' #10 (March 1975), an additional story co-starring the
Sons of the Tiger The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. 0–9 198 A A-Force A-Next A.I. Army The A.I. Army is a fictional organization appearing i ...
in issue #18 (November 1975), and a six-part serial, "The Living Weapon", in #19–24 (December 1975 – May 1976). He made guest appearances in such titles as ''
Marvel Two-in-One ''Marvel Two-in-One'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Fantastic Four member the Thing in a different team-up each issue. Publication history Original series The concept of teaming the Thing with a differen ...
'', ''
Marvel Team-Up ''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
'', the Submariner series ''Namor'', ''
Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
'', and '' Daredevil''. To rescue the character from cancellation, Marvel paired Iron Fist with another character who was no longer popular enough to sustain his own series,
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
. The two characters were partnered in a three-part story in Cage's series ''Power Man'' #48–50. The title of the series changed to ''
Power Man and Iron Fist ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist. Publication history ''Hero ...
'' with issue #50 (April 1978), although the indicia did not reflect this change until issue #67. Iron Fist co-starred in the series until the final issue (#125, September 1986), when the character was killed off. Writer Jim Owsley (subsequently known as Christopher Priest) later commented, "Fist's death was senseless and shocking and completely unforeseen. It took the readers' heads clean off. And, to this day, people are mad about it. Forgetting, it seems, that (a) you were supposed to be mad, that death is senseless and Fist's death was supposed to be senseless, or that (b) this is a comic book."


1990s

Iron Fist was revived half a decade later in ''
Namor Namor McKenzie (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc., the character first appeared in '' Moti ...
, the Sub-Mariner'' #21–25 (December 1991 – April 1992), a story which revealed that the character killed in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #125 was a
doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
. The story was both written and drawn by Byrne, who found the manner of Iron Fist's death objectionable and later commented, "In one of those amazing examples of Marvel serendipity, it turned out to be fairly easy not only to resurrect Danny, but to make it seem like that was the plan all along." Iron Fist then became a frequently starring character in the anthology series ''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...
'', featuring in three multi-part
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...
s and four one-shot stories in 1992 and 1993. Two solo
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
followed: ''Iron Fist'' (vol. 2) #1–2 (September–October 1996), by writer James Felder and penciller Robert Brown; and ''Iron Fist'' (vol. 3) #1–3 (July–September 1998), by writer
Dan Jurgens Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC Comics, DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday (DC Comics), Doomsday, Hank H ...
and penciller
Jackson Guice Jackson "Butch" Guice (June 27, 1961 – May 1, 2025) was an American comics artist who worked in the comics industry beginning in the 1980s. Biography Guice was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.. Retrieved March 21, 2008. Growing up in the 1960 ...
. Also around this time, he was among the ensemble of the group series ''
Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...
'' which ran 19 issues (July 1997 – January 1999).


2000s

Following a four-issue miniseries by writer
Jay Faerber Jay Faerber (; born 1972) is an American comic book and television writer. Faerber is known for his work on ''Generation X'' and ''New Warriors'' for Marvel Comics, and '' The Titans'' and '' Connor: Spotlight'' for DC Comics. He later wrote his o ...
and penciller
Jamal Igle Jamal Yaseem Igle is an American comic book artist, editor, art director, marketing executive and animation storyboard artist. The creator of the comic book series ''Molly Danger'' he is also known for his pencilling, inking and coloring work on ...
, ''Iron Fist: Wolverine'' (November 2000 – February 2001), co-starring the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
character
Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
and cover-billed as ''Iron Fist/Wolverine: The Return of K'un-Lun'', came another solo miniseries, ''Iron Fist'' vol. 4 #1–6 (May–October 2004), by writer
Jim Mullaney James Mullaney is an Americans, American writer. Mullaney was ghostwriter and later credited writer of 28 novels in ''The Destroyer (novel series), The Destroyer'' mass market paperback, paperback-novel series. He is currently the author of The Re ...
and penciller Kevin Lau. Subsequently, a new Iron Fist series premiered called ''
The Immortal Iron Fist ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' was a Comic book, comic book series published by Marvel Comics and starring the superhero Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist. Publication history The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues ...
''. The series was written jointly by
Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...
and
Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' FF'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', an ...
from issues #1–14 (January 2007 – June 2008) with artists
Travel Foreman Travel Foreman is an American comic book artist. Biography Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s '' Cla$$war'', where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine.David Aja David Aja (born April 16, 1977) is a Spanish comic book artist, best known for his work on ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' and ''Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Hawkeye''. Career Aja obtained a degree in Fine Arts at the University of Salamanca and served as ...
. Fraction wrote issues #15 and 16 alone. From issue #17 (September 2008) to the series' cancellation at issue #27 (August 2009), the series was written by
Duane Swierczynski Duane Louis Swierczynski (born February 22, 1972) is an American crime writer known for his work in non-fiction books, novels and comic books. Early life Duane Swierczynski was born and raised in Frankford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Frankford, ...
and largely drawn by a returning Travel Foreman.


2010s

Iron Fist appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 ''New Avengers'' series, from issue #1 (August 2010) through its final issue, #34 (January 2013). In 2014, Iron Fist was given new life and set to star in a new 12-issue comic book series written and drawn by
Kaare Andrews Kaare Kyle Andrews (born 1975) is a comic book writer, comics artist, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes ''Spider-Man'', ''Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist'', ''Renato Jones'', and ''The Incredible Hulk (comic bo ...
titled ''Iron Fist: The Living Weapon'' as part of the ''
All-New Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...
'' event.


2020

In January 2021, Iron Fist starred in the series ''Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon'', written by
Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...
with art by David Wachter. In October 2021, Marvel announced that Danny Rand will retire as Iron Fist and pass the mantle to a successor. The five-issue limited series, written by
Alyssa Wong Alyssa Wong is an American writer of speculative fiction, comics, poetry, and games. They are a recipient of the Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award, and Locus Award. Wong studied fiction at North Carolina State University, graduating in 2017 wit ...
and art by Michael YG, was released in February 2022, which revealed
Lin Lie Lin Lie ( Chinese: 林烈) is a superhero who appears in media produced by American comic book publisher Marvel Comics. Created in partnership with the Chinese media company NetEase, the character first appeared in the 2018 Chinese digital ''man ...
as the new Iron Fist and Rand appearing in a supporting role. Iron Fist's 50th anniversary was commemorated in the
one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...
''Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special'' #1. Released in August 2024, the one-shot featured Danny Rand in several short stories set throughout his life that included Wolverine, Lin Lie, the Daughters of the Dragon and Heroes for Hire in supporting roles. The anniversary special featured the return of previous Iron Fist writers which included Claremont and Wong. The one-shot concluded with Rand being killed off in the final story, which was written by
Jason Loo Jason Loo is a Canadian cartoonist and comics writer who has written and drawn for Marvel Comics and independent comics. He won the Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic in 2020 alongside Chip Zdarsky for his work on ''Afterlift'' and has been no ...
and illustrated by
Whilce Portacio William "Whilce" Portacio (; born July 8, 1963) is a Filipino American comic book writer and artist noted for his work on such titles as '' The Punisher'', ''X-Factor'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', ''Iron Man'', '' Wetworks'' and '' Spawn''. Portacio wa ...
. Similar to the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
line of comics featured in the 2024 " X-Men: From the Ashes" relaunch, the special included a QR code leading to an extra digital
stinger A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of ve ...
page, in which case teased a possible resurrection for Rand. In June 2025, it was announced that Rand would be resurrected and star in the upcoming four issue limited series ''The Undead Iron Fist'', with Loo returning as writer and Fran Galán on art, which is set for a September 2025 release.


Fictional character biography


Background

Danny Rand was born in New York City. His father, Wendell Rand, as a young boy happened upon the mystical city of
K'un-L'un The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
. During his time in K'un-L'un, Wendell saved the life of the city's ruler, Lord Tuan, and was adopted as Tuan's son. However, Wendell eventually left K'un-L'un and became a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States. He married socialite Heather Duncan and had a child, Daniel. Wendell later organizes an expedition to again seek out K'un-L'un, taking his wife Heather, his business partner Harold Meachum and nine-year-old Danny. During the journey up the mountain, Danny slips off the path, his tie-rope taking his mother and father with him. Meachum, who also loves Heather, forces Wendell to plunge to his death but offers to rescue Heather and Danny. She rejects his help. Heather and Danny come across a makeshift bridge that appears out of nowhere and are attacked by a pack of wolves. Heather throws herself on the wolves to save Danny and is killed even as archers from K'un-L'un attempt to save her. The archers take the grieving Danny to see
Yu-Ti Yu-Ti is the name of several characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Yu-Ti is the leader of the mythical city K'un-Lun and is a supporting character of Iron Fist. Publication history The Yu-Ti first appeare ...
, the hooded ruler of K'un-L'un. When Danny expresses his desire for vengeance, Yü-Ti apprentices him to Lei Kung the Thunderer, who teaches him martial arts. Danny proves to be the most gifted of Lei Kung's students. He toughens his fists by plunging them into buckets of sand, gravel, and rock. At 19, Danny is given the chance to attain the power of the Iron Fist by fighting and defeating the
dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
Shou-Lao Shou-Lao (alternatively spelled Shao-Lao) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Appearing primarily in association with Iron Fist, he is the source of power for him and other holders of the name. P ...
, who guards its disembodied molten heart. Guessing that the heart provides life energy to Shou-Lao through the dragon-shaped scar on its chest, Danny covers the scar with his own body and hangs on until Shou-Lao collapses and dies, in the process burning a dragon brand into his own chest. Having killed Shou-Lao, he enters its cave and plunges his fists into a brazier containing its heart, emerging with the power of the Iron Fist. It is later revealed that Danny is part of a long lineage of Iron Fists. When K'un-L'un reappears on Earth after 10 years, Danny leaves to find his father's killer. Returning to New York, Danny Rand, dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Iron Fist, seeks out Harold Meachum, now head of Meachum Industries. After overcoming a number of attempts on his life, he confronts Meachum in his office, only to discover that he had previously had his legs amputated due to
frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when someone is exposed to extremely low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occ ...
. Meachum tells Iron Fist to kill him, but he refuses to do so and walks away. At that moment Meachum is murdered by a mysterious ninja, and his daughter Joy blames Iron Fist for the death. Eventually, Iron Fist clears his name and begins a career as a superhero, aided by his friends
Colleen Wing Colleen Wing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Descended from a family of samurai, Wing is a Japanese martial artist who avenged her grandfather's death with the help of the superhero Iron Fis ...
and
Misty Knight Mercedes "Misty" Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jenny Blake Isabella and Arvell Jones, the character was first mentioned in '' Marvel Premiere'' #20 (January 1975) and first appear ...
. Notable adversaries in his early career include Sabretooth, the mysterious
Master Khan Master Khan is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, a recurring foe of Iron Fist and Luke Cage. He first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #77 (October 1960), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditk ...
(whom the ninja that killed Meachum once served), and the
Steel Serpent Steel Serpent (Davos) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Iron Fist. Sacha Dhawan portrays Steel Serpent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television ser ...
; the exiled son of Lei Kung who coveted the Iron Fist power.


Heroes for Hire

While working undercover, Misty Knight infiltrates the organization of crime lord John Bushmaster. When Bushmaster discovers Knight's treachery, he kidnaps
Claire Temple Claire Temple is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a medical doctor primarily affiliated with the superhero Luke Cage and is one of his early love interests. Starting in 2015, a version of the char ...
and Noah Burstein, close associates of
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
, better known as Power Man, and holds them hostage to force Cage to eliminate Knight. Iron Fist is on hand to stop him, however, and after a battle, the truth comes out. Rand helps Cage and the
Daughters of the Dragon The Daughters of the Dragon are the duo of Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared as a team in ''Deadly Hands of Kung Fu'' #32 (January 1977) in a ...
(Knight and Wing) battle Bushmaster, rescue Temple and Burstein, and obtain evidence that proves Cage's innocence of prior drug charges. Afterwards, Iron Fist and Power Man become partners, forming
Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...
, Inc. Iron Fist, in his
secret identity A secret identity is a person's code name, cryptonym, disguise, incognito, Cover (intelligence gathering), cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pi ...
of Danny Rand, resumes control of his parents' fortune as half of Rand-Meachum, Inc., making him quite wealthy. This causes tension between Rand and Cage, who was raised poor. Power Man and Iron Fist's partnership ends when Rand is diagnosed with cancer and gets kidnapped as part of a plot masterminded by Master Khan. Just prior to a battle with the Black Dragon Chiantang (the brother of the mythical Dragon King), Danny is replaced by a
doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
created by the extra-dimensional H'ylthri. The double (who wears a red variant of the Iron Fist costume) is killed by Captain Hero a short time later. Cage, now the prime suspect in Rand's apparent death, becomes a fugitive.


Resurrection

While in stasis in K'un-L'un with the H'ylthri, Iron Fist manages to focus his ''chi'', curing the cancer. He is later freed from stasis by
Namor Namor McKenzie (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc., the character first appeared in '' Moti ...
. Rand and Cage reform Heroes for Hire, Inc. with an expanded team, this time working for Namor's Oracle Corporation. Namor ultimately dissolves Oracle as well as Heroes for Hire, Inc. Iron Fist later loses his powers to Junzo Muto, the young leader of the
Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...
, and subsequently becomes the guardian of a pack of displaced dragons in Tokyo. His powers are eventually restored by Chiantang, who brainwashes Iron Fist and forces him to battle
Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
. Black Panther is able to free Iron Fist from the creature's control, and the two work together to defeat the Black Dragon in
Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
. In the ''Iron Fist'' miniseries, Miranda Rand-K'ai also returns from the dead. The H'ylthri revive her and promise to restore her to full life if she retrieves the extra-dimensional artifact known as the Zodiac Key. To this end, she takes the identity of Death Sting, bringing her into conflict with Iron Fist as well as with
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...
When the H'ylthri try to kill Iron Fist, Miranda turns the power of the Zodiac Key against them, seemingly killing herself in the process. However, exposure to chemicals from the H'ylthri pods prevented her death.


Posing as Daredevil

Rand disguises himself as Daredevil to convince the media and the public that Matt Murdock is not the masked vigilante. During the "
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
" storyline, he opposes the Superhuman Registration Act, joining
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
while still pretending to be Daredevil. Rand is apprehended by Pro-Registration forces. He is later freed from the Negative Zone Prison, joining Captain America's team to battle
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
's forces.


New Avengers

After the arrest of Captain America, Rand joins the
New Avengers The New Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for four American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Ma ...
, an underground group provided with secure accommodation by
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
and which includes his former teammate Luke Cage. In the public eye, Rand is able to avoid arrest with legal loopholes. Rand leaves the New Avengers, due to a variety of problems, but lets them know, if they ever need him, to give him a call. He later aids the New Avengers in locating and rescuing Cage from
Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...
after Cage suffered a heart attack and was summarily taken into custody as a fugitive.


''The Immortal Iron Fist''

Orson Randall, Danny Rand's immediate predecessor, seeks out Danny Rand in New York and gives him The Book of the Iron Fist, a sacred ledger supposedly containing all the kung fu secrets of previous Iron Fists, which Randall claims will be necessary if Rand is to compete successfully in the coming tournament of the Seven Champions. The
Steel Serpent Steel Serpent (Davos) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Iron Fist. Sacha Dhawan portrays Steel Serpent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television ser ...
, whose powers have been greatly augmented by the Crane Mother, dispatches Randall. On the brink of death, Randall surrenders his ''chi'' to Rand, giving him sufficient power to battle the Serpent to a standstill. After the battle, Rand is summoned by his master, Lei Kung (who is also the father of Steel Serpent) to compete in a tournament that will decide the cycle according to which each of the Seven Cities of Heaven appears on Earth. However, the leaders of the Seven Cities had secretly erected gateways between Earth and each city without the knowledge of the populace. The corruption of the leaders of the Seven Cities of Heaven spurs Iron Fist, Lei Kung, Orson Randall's daughter, and John Aman to plan a revolution. Iron Fist discovers that Crane Mother and Xao, a high-ranking HYDRA operative, are planning to destroy K'un-Lun by using a portal. Upon learning of the plot, Steel Serpent helps Rand and the other Immortal Weapons defeat Xao. Rand destroys the train intended to destroy
K'un-L'un The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
by extending his ''chi'' to find the train's electromagnetic field. Meanwhile, the revolution orchestrated by Lei Kung and Orson's daughter proves successful, with Nu-an, the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun fleeing in terror. When Rand confronts Xao, Xao reveals that there is an eighth city of Heaven before killing himself. Rand suggests Lei Kung as the new Yu-Ti, with Orson's unnamed daughter as the new Thunderer. After learning that the Randall fortune that started Rand International was formed from the oppression of the Cities of Heaven, Rand decides to transform the company into a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping the poor. He also sets up the Thunder Dojo in Harlem to help inner-city children, buys back the old Heroes for Hire building as the new Rand International Headquarters and his new home, while offering Luke Cage a position at the company. He also tries to reconnect with Misty Knight. Rand, on his 33rd birthday, learns every single one of the previous Iron Fists died at the age of 33, except Orson Randall, who vanished at that time. Soon afterward, Rand is attacked and defeated by Zhou Cheng, a servant of Ch'i-Lin, who claims to have killed the Iron Fists in order to enter K'un-Lun and devour the egg that births the next incarnation of Shou-Lao the Undying every generation, thus wiping out K'un-Lun's Iron Fist legacy. Luke, Misty, and Colleen arrive and save Rand. Rand has his shoulder dislocated during a second battle with Cheng, but manages to defeat Cheng even in his weakened state. Following the duel, the Immortal Weapons, Luke, Colleen, and Misty arrive, and reveal to Rand that they have discovered a map in Cheng's apartment that leads to the Eighth City of Heaven. Rand and the others realize that this is where Ch'i-Lin originated, and depart for the Eighth City. In the Eighth City, he meets Quan Yaozu, the first Iron Fist, who became disillusioned with K'un-Lun and rose up to rule the Eighth City as Changming. Rand and Fat Cobra manage to defeat Quan. Rand's actions during their battles impress Quan, who decides that Rand may be living proof that K'un-Lun is not the corrupt city it once was. Rand and Davos agree to guide Quan to K'un-Lun and arrange a meeting between him and Lei-Kung to give Quan a forum for his grievances. However, when Rand returns to New York, he finds a HYDRA cell waiting for him at Rand International, seeking retribution for the death of Xao, and holding Misty hostage. In the ensuing battle, Rand International is destroyed, but Rand and Misty escape unharmed. Now left with only a fraction of his former net worth, Rand and Misty purchase a new condo in Harlem, and Rand decides to focus all of his attention and remaining resources at the Thunder Dojo. While moving into their new home, Rand asks Misty to marry him. Initially skeptical of the offer, Misty accepts and reveals that she is pregnant with Rand's child.


Avengers reform

In the aftermath of ''
Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
'', Rand joins the newly reformed New Avengers. After finding out that Misty's pregnancy was false, Misty and Danny decide to move out of their apartment and live separately, but continue their relationship. During the " Shadowland" storyline, Danny later has an encounter with someone who is going by the name of Power Man. He and Luke Cage discover that the Power Man is Victor Alvarez, a survivor of a building that
Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, '' Eury ...
blew up. Iron Fist becomes the new Power Man's mentor and the two become a team. During the " Fear Itself" storyline, Iron Fist and the Immortal Weapons are summoned to
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
to close the gates of the Eighth City that are on the verge of opening. However, Danny is placed under mind control which creates a mystical interference with the ability of the Immortal Weapons to close the gate. He is then forced to battle his allies. Thanks to War Machine knocking him out, the mission is completed successfully. However, Doctor Strange realizes that Iron Fist is now an Immortal Weapon of Agamotto. During the "
Avengers vs. X-Men ''Avengers vs. X-Men'' (''AvX'' or ''AvsX'') is a 2012 crossover event that was featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The event, consisting of an eponymous limited series and numerous tie-in books, involves the return of the Phoe ...
" storyline, Iron Fist and Lei Kung bring
Hope Summers Sarah Hope Summers (June 7, 1902 – June 22, 1979) was an American actress known for her work on ''The Andy Griffith Show'' and '' Mayberry R.F.D.'', portraying Clara Edwards. Early life Hope Summers was born in Mattoon, Illinois, the daugh ...
to K'un-Lun to train as an Iron Fist, in order to defeat the Phoenix-possessed
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
.


''Marvel NOW!''

In ''Iron Fist: The Living Weapon'', Iron Fist is approached by a young monk named Pei, who tells him to return to K'un-Lun. Upon returning, Iron Fist discovers the city in ruins and Lei Kung dead at the hands of the One, a chi-powered robot who believed itself to be Danny's father Wendell Rand. Iron Fist is defeated by the One, but is rescued by his childhood friend Sparrow and the One's creator Fooh, who nurse him back to health and warn him that the One and Davos were working together to turn New York into New K'un-Lun. During Iron Fist's and the One's second confrontation, the One opens an artificial portal between Earth and the Heavens in an attempt to retrieve Wendell's deceased wife
Heather Rand This is a list of supporting characters of Luke Cage and Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Allies * El Aguila – Mutant swashbuckler and costumed crime fighter. * Noah Burstein – The ...
from the afterlife, the but
Xian Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
fire god Zhu Rong emerges in Manhattan to punish the mortals for upsetting the universal order. By focusing his chi energy into his fist and launching himself into Zhu Rong, Iron Fist defeats the fire god. Meanwhile, Davos attempts to take the power of the Iron Fist from a reborn Shou-Lou, but is stopped by Pei, who gains the power of the Iron Fist to defeat Davos and revive Shou-Lou, naming his adolescent reborn form "Gork". As the youngest person to ever bear the mark of the Iron Fist, Pei is subsequently taken in by Danny as his ward. In the ''
Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...
'' era, Iron Fist rejoins
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
as the Heroes For Hire, having been employed by
Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
to arrest his former colleagues in the
Sinister Six The Sinister Six are a group of supervillains in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, mainly those featuring Spider-Man. The members are drawn from the character's list of enemies, with the original members forming the team in ''T ...
.


''All-New, All-Different Marvel''

In the ''
All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched wi ...
'' era, Danny and Luke are forced to return to crime fighting after former Heroes for Hire secretary Jennifer "White Jennie" Royce becomes embroiled in a gang war with Black Mariah against
Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...
. After that is dealt with, Power Man and Iron Fist once again take to the streets as the Heroes for Hire. During the " Secret Empire" storyline, Iron Fist became a member of the Defenders alongside Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. They, alongside Cloak and Dagger, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Woman, fought the Army of Evil during Hydra's takeover of the United States where they were defeated by Nitro. Iron Fist and those with him were trapped in the
Darkforce The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
dome by
Blackout Blackout(s), black out, or The Blackout may refer to: Loss of lighting or communication * Power outage, a loss of electric power * Blackout (broadcasting), a regulatory or contractual ban on the broadcasting of an event * Blackout (fabric), a t ...
when his powers were enhanced by Baron
Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #16 ...
using the
Darkhold The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
. During the " Hunt for Wolverine" storyline, Iron Fist babysat Danielle Cage while Luke and Jessica were away helping Iron Man and Spider-Man look for Wolverine's body after it went missing from its private resting place. After the mission was over, Luke and Jessica thanked Iron Fist for babysitting Danielle.


''Heart of the Dragon''

The dragons of the Heavenly Cities are being targeted by armies of undead ninjas and several villains, including Taskmaster,
Lady Bullseye Lady Bullseye (Maki Matsumoto) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A female counterpart of Bullseye, she was created by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjević, and Clay Mann, first appearing in '' Daredevil'' ...
and
Midnight Sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
for their hearts, resulting in the deaths of many dragons and Tiger's Beautiful Daughter, prompting Iron Fist to team up with Luke, Pei, Gork, Fooh and the remaining Immortal Weapons to save the other dragons. At the urging of the Xian goddess of Mercy
Quan Yin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...
, Iron Fist and the others use Fooh's portal technology to manifest the Heavenly Cities on Earth so that other heroes, including Okoye and
Sunspot Sunspots are temporary spots on the Sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area. They are one of the most recognizable Solar phenomena and despite the fact that they are mostly visible in the solar photosphere they usually aff ...
, can join in the defense against the hordes of zombies and villains. When the zombies prove too much for them, Iron Fist and the group retreat to the Heart of Heaven, where they come across Okoye slaying the dragon of the Heart of Heaven, who takes advantage of their shock to slay the newly rescued dragon of the Kingdom of Spiders as well; Okoye explains that she was told to kill them by Quan Yin and the Heart of Heaven's dragon in order to secure the cosmic balance, thus gaining the power of both dragons. Yama Dragonsbane, Danny's former lover Brenda Swanson, subsequently appears in the Heart of Heaven and reveals herself to be behind the dragon slayings in order to use their hearts to empower her master, the Hierophant, who is also summoned to the Heart of Heaven. While Fooh distracts the Hierophant, Iron Fist and the others travel to the Eighth City to destroy the Hierophant's undead army but are attacked by the city's Ghost Dragon. When the Ghost Dragon proves impossible to harm, Pei and Gork reluctantly allow Okoye to kill Gork for his heart, knowing that he and the other dragons can be revived if she can defeat the Hierophant. With Pei's and Gork's powers, Okoye is able to slay the Ghost Dragon and claim his power. When the Hierophant arrives, Danny transfers the Iron Fist to Okoye, granting her the full power of the Heavenly Cities. Okoye uses her combined dragon chi to defeat the Hierophant and Dragonsbane while Iron Fist and the others finish off the remaining undead. The Hierophant's death releases the hearts of the dragons slain by him and Okoye back to their respective Cities, although the Iron Fist powers of Danny, Pei and Gork remain with Okoye. Okoye attempts to return the Iron Fist back to Danny, who refuses, declaring that Okoye is the new Iron Fist. Due to her obligations to
Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
, Okoye refuses and instead transfers the Iron Fist to Gork's newly reborn egg, leaving the title and power vacant. Despite being powerless, an undeterred Danny declares to Luke that he will "live ifeto the fullest".


Devil's Reign

During the "
Devil's Reign "Devil's Reign" is an American comic book event written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Marco Checchetto, published from December 2021 to May 2022 by Marvel Comics. Premise In a ploy to increase his power, Mayor Kingpin (character), Wilson Fisk has ...
" storyline, Mayor Wilson Fisk outlaws superhero vigilantism in New York City. Despite his retirement as Iron Fist, Danny is apprehended at his office by NYPD officers led by Thunderbolts member Crossbones. Danny attempts to fight them off but is overpowered and incarcerated in the Myrmidon along with others targeted by the new law. Danny,
Moon Knight Moon Knight is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabbi, Marc S ...
, and
Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
are able to escape with the help of
Sue Storm The Invisible Woman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 (November 1961). Susan Storm is a founding member of ...
and Reed Richards. After Fisk is defeated and Luke is elected mayor of New York City, Danny accompanies Luke on several of his first outings as mayor.


Meeting the New Iron Fist

While a powerless Danny fights several demons attacking a Chinese antique shop in
Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...
for a mysterious green shard, he is helped by
Lin Lie Lin Lie ( Chinese: 林烈) is a superhero who appears in media produced by American comic book publisher Marvel Comics. Created in partnership with the Chinese media company NetEase, the character first appeared in the 2018 Chinese digital ''man ...
- formerly the superhero Sword Master - who succeeded Danny as the new Iron Fist. After they defeat the demons and recover the shard, Danny attempts to question Lie about his background and offers his help, but Lie rebuffs him and flees with the shard through a portal in a nearby subway back to K'un-Lun. Danny enlists Fat Cobra and the
Bride of Nine Spiders The Immortal Weapons are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are each a champion of one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven in the Marvel Universe. The Immortal Weapons first appear in ''The I ...
with tracking down the new Iron Fist, eventually finding him in
Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
.''Iron Fist'' Vol 6 #4. Marvel Comics. When an army the same demons from Flushing appear, Danny, Luke and the Immortal Weapons join forces with Lie and his friends to fight them. When Sparrow and her best warriors are summoned by Danny for backup, the demons' leader and Lie's brother, Lin Feng, uses the opportunity to steal Sparrow's portal to K'un-Lun to find the final tomb of his master
Chiyou Chiyou () is a mythological being that appears in Chinese mythology. He was a tribal leader of the Nine Li tribe () in ancient China. He is best known as a king who lost against the future Yellow Emperor during the Three Sovereigns and Five Empero ...
, leaving the K'un-Lun citizenry trapped on Earth. Danny offers housing to the displaced citizens and formally introduces himself to Lie. Danny compliments Lie's acquired skills and offers to complete his training; Lie readily accepts.


Gang War

In the " Gang War" storyline, Danny is recruited along with
Cloak and Dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common by the time of the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Over ...
and Jessica by Luke as part of his new vigilante team when New York's criminal underworld escalates into a city-wide war. Danny and Luke's team are able to thwart
Alistair Smythe Alistair Alphonso Smythe () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of the superhero Spider-Man, and the son of Spencer Smythe. After his father dedicated his li ...
and his
Spider-Slayer The Spider-Slayers are a series of fictional robots appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Spencer Smythe, they were designed specifically to hunt down, capture, or kill Spider-Man. A new generation of Spider-Slay ...
s from attacking New York during the Gang War. When Luke suspects Shang-Chi's motives due to the
Five Weapons Society The Five Weapons Society is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Five Weapons Society was an organization created by the brothers Zheng Yi and Zheng Zu to defend China during the Qing dynasty, ...
's involvement in the war, Danny joins him and several other heroes to confront Shang-Chi at the House of the Deadly Hand in Chinatown. Shang-Chi is ultimately able to prove his loyalty to the heroes and Danny helps him fight off an invasion from the Society's enemies in the war. During the final gang battle in
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, Danny and Shang-Chi are sidetracked by fending off tanks while the other heroes intervene between the warring forces of Madame Masque and Janice Lincoln, Beetle.


Death

After a night out celebrating his 34th birthday with Luke and Jeryn Hogarth, Danny is ambushed at his penthouse by the same Ch'i-Lin that previously attempted to kill him on his 33rd birthday and has now possessed the body of Razor Fist. Due to the Ch'i-Lin confusing Danny with an illusion-making mist and having hired the Shocker (character), Shocker to keep Lie and Pei preoccupied, a powerless Danny is overwhelmed and killed by the Ch'i-Lin. Danny is given a Buddhist funeral at Calvary Cemetery (Queens), Calvary Cemetery, which is attended by Luke, Lie and many of his close friends and former teammates. While Danny is being buried, an alternate future version of Luke using his Power Man moniker is sent back from his timeline to the present and immediately sets out to prevent Danny from becoming the Moon Knight, Immortal Moon Knight, which would lead to the events of his apocalyptic future. After discovering that Danny is already dead, which did not occur in his timeline, Power Man realizes that his future has been averted and leaves the funeral unseen while mourning his former friend's death. Weeks after his death, a glowing, blue, skeletal hand emerges from Danny's grave.


Powers and abilities

Plunging his fists into the molten heart of the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying infused the dragon's superhuman energy into Rand. This, along with being trained by Lei Kung the Thunderer, gave Rand the power of the Iron Fist, allowing him to summon and focus his ''
chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...
'' energy (also called natural energy or life-force energy) to enhance his natural abilities to extraordinary levels. His strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and senses can all be greatly intensified, almost comparable to superhuman levels. He is able to concentrate his own ''chi'' and the superhuman energy from Shou-Lao's heart into his hand, with it manifesting as a supernatural glow around his hand and fist. So concentrated, this "iron fist" can strike with superhuman hardness and impact, while his hand becomes impervious to pain and injury. Some of Rand's feats with the "iron fist" is knocking out Luke Cage, knocking out a drunken Hercules, almost defeating Black Panther before ultimately losing, and taking down the S.H.I.E L.D Helicarrier with a single punch. However, summoning the power required by this feat leaves Rand physically and mentally drained, unable to repeat the act for a time, as long as an entire day in certain instances, though after years of using the ability, it has become less draining. He can focus his ''chi'' inward to heal himself or outward to heal others of injury, as well as to give himself psychic senses and to telepathically fuse his consciousness with another person when looking directly into the pupil of his eye. Rand is also a skilled acrobat, gymnast, and a master of all of K'un-Lun's martial arts, as well as various fighting styles from Earth, including Shaolin Kung Fu, Aikido, Fujian White Crane,''Iron Fist'' vol. 2 #2 (October 1996). Marvel Comics. Judo,''Marvel Team-Up'' #63 (November 1977) Karate, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Wushu (sport), Wushu, and Wing Chun.


Other characters named Iron Fist

This section lists the other people who have been called Iron Fist:


Fan Fei

In 1,000,000 BC, a K'un-Lun native named Fan Fei was born to the Green Lotus House and had taken a fascination with the Caveman, cavemen that lived outside K'un-Lun; going so far as to train a few of them in secret. After she was exposed, Fan Fei was chained up and forced to watch as her students were fed to Shou-Lou by Lei Kung. When she broke out, in the hopes that she will die fighting Shou-Lou, Fan Fei punched the dragon in his chest tattoo and gained his powers. Lei Kung had Fan Fei exiled from K'un-Lun, believing Shou-Lou was dead, and she traveled the world; fighting Deviants and the Gorgilla Clan of Man-Apes along the way. Fan Fei was approached by Mephisto (comics), Mephisto, who wanted her to use her powers to conquer Earth, but she declined. In response, Mephisto granted his gifts to the Gorgilla Clan. After a fight with Fan Fei, Mephisto led the Gorgilla Clan's Ape King to the Power Infinity Gem, which he used to fight Fan Fei again. After recuperating, Fan Fei found herself at the entrance of K'un-Lun. Lei Kung states that her sentencing was wrong, as they learned Shou-Lou was immortal, and wanted to bring her home. However, she declined, stating that Earth was her home and her fights here are just the beginning. Fan Fei later banded together with Agamotto, Phoenix Force (comics)#Lady Phoenix, Lady Phoenix, Odin (Marvel Comics), Odin, and Stone Age versions of Black Panther (character)#Mosi, Black Panther, Ghost Rider#Ghost / The Rider, Ghost Rider, and Star Brand#Vnn, Star Brand to fight off a Celestial named the Fallen. They would go on to defeat it and seal it underground in what would later become South Africa.


Quan Yaozu

One of the first Iron Fists, Quan Yaozu was sent to the Eighth City to imprison the demonic creatures sent from there that had been plaguing K'un-Lun and the other Heavenly Cities, voluntarily staying behind to prevent them from escaping. When the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun began using the Eight City to imprison citizens who threatened his rule, including innocents, Quan became disillusioned with K'un-Lun and eventually took control of the Eighth City, ruling it as "Changming". Centuries later, when Danny and the Immortal weapons arrive in the Eighth City at the behest of Lei Kung to free the wrongfully convicted prisoners, Quan has them captured and forces them to fight to the death in numerous matches. When Danny finds out about Quan's history, he is able to prove his altruistic intentions, which convinces Quan that K'un-Lun is no longer the corrupt city as it once was and agrees to meet Lei Kung.


Li Park

In 730 A.D., a pacifist named Li Park became the new Iron Fist, who sought to resolve conflict by avoiding direct conflict. As a local village battled with a Chinese general intent on conquering K'un-Lun, which had been struck by a plague, Li utilized his newly discovered hypnotic fist technique to dissuade the soldiers. When his technique failed to save the villagers, Li put aside his pacifism and used more aggressive actions. Ultimately, Li was able to rescue the remaining villagers and led them to K’un-Lun, where they helped repopulate the city.


Gale

During the 11th Century, the outlaw Homo mermanus, Atlantean princess Gale wielded the powers of the Iron Fist. She was part of Thor's incarnation of the Avengers (comics)#Avengers (1,000 A.D. version), Avengers.


Bei-Ming Tian

Bei Ming-Tian was the Iron Fist circa 1227 AD. He protected his village from the invading Mongol Empire, Mongol Army and even slew Genghis Khan himself in battle.''Invincible Iron Man Annual'' #1. Marvel Comics.


Fongji Wu

Centuries ago, the Yu-Ti Nu-An had a recurring dream associating a red-haired girl with the Phoenix and a dragon. He later finds a matching red-haired girl named Fongji Wu in the streets of K'un-L'un and has her trained as the Iron Fist. Nu-An asks for Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci#Comics and graphic novels, Leonardo da Vinci to come to K'un-L'un in order to help protect the world against the Phoenix's arrival; meanwhile, Fongji is submitted to a hard training, eventually manifesting the Phoenix powers. Nu-An orders her to battle the dragon Shao-Lao as established by the ritual of the Iron Fist. Fongji is successful in her test and becomes the Iron Fist, shortly before Da Vinci sees the Phoenix coming towards Earth. Fongji is able to bond with the Phoenix and remain in control of herself, but she feels that Earth is still not ready for its evolution and departs.


Wu Ao-Shi

In 1545 A.D., a young protégé of Lei Kung named Wu Ao-Shi defeated Shou-Lou the Undying and claimed the power of the Iron Fist for herself. During her training, she fell in love and became betrothed to a fisherman, who became distraught at the violence destined for the Iron Fist and left her and K'un-Lun once the city merged with Earth; Wu followed shortly after to search for her love. During her travels Wu made a living as a mercenary and took on a job to liberate Pinghai Bay from the Wokou pirates, but was defeated and imprisoned. Wu was rescued by her beloved, and killed the pirates by infusing her chi into an arrow, turning it into an explosive projective. Wu and the fisherman spent their remaining years together in the liberated territory, with Wu later becoming known as the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay. Centuries later, Wu Ai-Shi's exploits were made into a movie called ''Pinghai Bay''.


Bei Bang-Wen

Sometime in the mid-19th century, an Iron Fist known as Bei Bang-Wen developed an Iron Fist technique known as the Perfect Strategy Mind, which let him use the chi of Shou-Lou in more intellectual ways but also left him overconfident. In 1860, Bei assisted the Chinese against the British and French forces during the Second Opium War. Despite forming a scenario taking down tens of thousands of enemy soldiers at the Taku Forts, Bei and his Chinese allies were defeated at the Taku Forts and Bei was taken prisoner. After befriending fellow captive and mythical warrior Vivatma Visvajit, the two escaped from prison and journeyed to Vivatma's homeland of Burma, where they were ambushed by the energy-draining assassin Tiger Jani. Bei and Vivatma defeated Jani with their reawakened their Iron Fist and Brahman powers, respectively. A physically and mentally worn Bei returned home to K'un-Lun, relinquishing his powers so that the cycle of the Iron Fist could begin again and took a wife who bore him thirteen sons.


Kwai Jun-Fan

Bei Bang-Wen's successor to the Iron Fist, Kwai Jun-Fan ventured the American frontier, Wild West of Texas circa 1878 AD where he was killed by Zhou Cheng under the influence of Ch'i-Lin.


Orson Randall

Born and raised in K'un-Lun after his parents' airship crashed in the city in the late 19th century, Orson Randall became the Iron Fist after besting Shou-Lao when he was seventeen years old, becoming the first Westerner to do so. During World War I, Randall joined the Freedom's Five along with Union Jack (comics), Union Jack, Phantom Eagle, Crimson Cavalier and Sir Steel. The bloodshed Randall witnessed in the war deeply traumatized him, causing him to turn to drugs to escape. In 1933, Randall was summoned back to K'un-Lun to participate in the Tournament of Heaven, but refused to participate, having been changed by his experiences in the war. When confronted by the Immortal Weapons, Randall killed the Crane Champion of K'un-Zi in self defense and fled, taking the Book of the Iron Fist with him. While in hiding, Randall met young orphan Wendell Rand and adopted him as his ward, training him in martial arts while filling his head with stories of K'un-Lun and the Iron Fist, causing Wendell to seek the city out himself once he came of age. Sometime after the 1960s Randall was believed to have died, leaving behind a vast fortune to Wendell, making him incredibly wealthy. In truth, Randall was living in drug-soaked seclusion in Thailand for decades. While the next Tournament of Heaven neared, the Steel Serpent and his allies arrived to kill him, causing Randall to flee to New York to seek out his successor and Wendell's son Danny, giving him the Book of the Iron Fist and informing him of the upcoming Tournament and their histories. During another encounter with the Steel Serpent, Randall is mortally wounded and transfers his chi to Danny before dying.


Pei

A young monk of K'un-Lun, Pei fled from the city when Davos and the One staged a coup, taking the unhatched egg of the latest incarnation of Shou-Lao with her. Pei was able to find Danny in New York and told him to go back to save K'un-Lun. While under her care, the egg prematurely hatches into an adolescent dragon, whom Pei names "Gork". When Davos catches up to them and kills Gork, Pei inadvertently ends up with the power of the Iron Fist, becoming one of the youngest to do so, and uses its power to defeat Davos and revive Gork and all previous incarnations of Shou-Lou. Danny subsequently takes her under his wing as his ward and the two being training together to master their Iron Fist powers. During the Hierophant's attacks on the dragons of the Heavenly Cities, Pei reluctantly allows Okoye to sacrifice Gork and transfers her Iron Fist power to augment Okoye's acquired dragon chi to defeat the Hierophant and save the dragons.''Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon'' #6. Marvel Comics. While Danny is away on a business trip, he sends Pei a mystical K'un-Lun medallion that gives her powers similar to her lost Iron Fist powers. Pei meets and teams up with Danny's successor
Lin Lie Lin Lie ( Chinese: 林烈) is a superhero who appears in media produced by American comic book publisher Marvel Comics. Created in partnership with the Chinese media company NetEase, the character first appeared in the 2018 Chinese digital ''man ...
against the Shocker (character), Shocker, who unbeknownst to both had been hired by the Ch'i-Lin to keep them preoccupied while it kills Danny.


Wah Sing-Rand

In an alternate timeline set in the 31st century, Wah Sing-Rand, a K'un-Lun native and Danny's possible descendant, defeats Shou-Lou, becoming one of the youngest Iron Fists in history. While traveling to the planet Yaochi to free it from the tyrannical President Xing, his shuttle is frozen in a temporal pocket, leaving him trapped for 24 years. In circa 3099 AD., he was able to defeat Xing and liberate Yaochi but at the cost of his own life.


Supporting characters


Alternative versions

A number of Parallel universe (fiction), alternate universes in Marvel Comics publications have allowed writers to introduce variations of Iron Fist, in which the character's origins, behavior, and morality differ from the mainstream setting.


''Cosmic Ghost Rider''

An unidentified female version of Iron Fist made a cameo appearance in ''Cosmic Ghost Rider'' vol. 1 #3 (September 2018), as one of the many heroes Cable (character), Cable brought back in time to kill Thanos as a baby. However, Iron Fist was killed by Thanos after his guardian, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, was subdued.


''Deadpool 2099''

An alternate universe variant of Iron Fist appears in ''Deadpool 2099''.


Earth-13584

An alternate universe variant of Iron Fist from Earth-13584, a pocket dimension created by Advanced Idea Mechanics, A.I.M., appears in ''Dark Avengers''.


''MC2''

An alternate universe variant of Iron Fist appears in ''Mayday Parker, Spider-Girl'' #24.


''Marvel Zombies''

An alternate universe variant of Iron Fist from Earth-2149 appears in ''Marvel Zombies''. Despite being bitten by several zombies, he manages to avoid transforming into one due to his healing factor repelling the infection.


''Secret Wars'' (2015)

An alternate universe variant of Iron Fist from Earth-13116 appears in ''Secret Wars (2015 comic book), Secret Wars''. This version is Rand-K'ai, a guardian of the
K'un-L'un The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
region of Battleworld and an unwilling servant of Emperor Zheng Zu who later helps Zheng Zu's son
Shang-Chi Zheng Shang-Chi,. also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in ''Spec ...
overthrow him.


''Ultimate Marvel''

An alternate universe variant of Iron Fist from Earth-1610 appears in ''Ultimate Spider-Man''.


''Ultimate Universe''

* Danny Rand appears in ''The Ultimates (2024), The Ultimates'', as an inmate of the Gordium Correctional Facility that is owned by the Midas Group. When in the cafeteria, he was threatened by a knife-wielding inmate and punched him in self-defense. Then he met fellow inmate Luke Cage#Ultimate Universe, Luke Cage who talked to him about the prison systems. Danny later assisted Luke in the prison riot at Gordium Correctional Facility. The news mentions that the prison riot has entered its third day. * In ''The Ultimates'', Bruce Banner, as Hulk, is shown to have taken on the mantle and powers of Iron Fist, becoming the "Atomic Iron Fist".


Reception

Iron Fist is ranked as the 195th-greatest comic book character of all time by ''Wizard (magazine), Wizard'' magazine. IGN also ranked Iron Fist as the 68th-greatest comic book hero of all time stating that in the Marvel Universe, mastery of martial arts is enough to qualify as a superpower, and none are more "super" at the art of fighting than Iron Fist, and as #46 on their list of the "Top 50 Avengers".


Controversy

The story of Iron Fist has been criticized for cultural appropriation, orientalism, and reinforcing a white savior narrative, with Rob Bricken of ''io9'' summarizing Danny Rand as a clichéd "white guy [who] discovers a foreign culture, learns its ways, and becomes better at it than the people born into it". Upon the announcement of Iron Fist (TV series), the television series, an online movement was started to change Iron Fist into an Asian Americans, Asian-American character to subvert offensive tropes while providing some depth to the character. Supporters of the movement included comic writer Gail Simone, who acknowledged she was a fan of Iron Fist but agreed that the character should be changed to Asian-American. The role ultimately went to English actor
Finn Jones Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television shows '' Iron Fi ...
, whose performance was panned by critics, along with the series's depiction of Asian culture during its Iron Fist season 1, first season.
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
, co-creator of Iron Fist, defended the character in response to criticism, arguing that Iron Fist was created for a less "Political correctness, PC" time. While Thomas added that he would not be bothered if Iron Fist had been changed to Asian-American, he was not "ashamed" for making Rand white. Comic book creator Rob Liefeld also defended the character, denying that Rand's story was racist and argued that changing his race to Asian was "Whitewashing in film, reverse whitewashing". Other commentators have echoed similar sentiments; while acknowledging that Rand's origins were problematic, some felt that changing him to Asian would reinforce the stereotype of Asians being proficient in martial arts. In an apparent response to the controversy, Marvel announced in 2021 that a new, younger Iron Fist of Asian descent would be introduced in a new comic series helmed by an Asian creative team. Writer
Alyssa Wong Alyssa Wong is an American writer of speculative fiction, comics, poetry, and games. They are a recipient of the Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award, and Locus Award. Wong studied fiction at North Carolina State University, graduating in 2017 wit ...
explained that it was "impossible to be unaware of the controversy", and took this into consideration when writing the series. While noting that there had been Iron Fists of Asian descent before, Wong pointed out that all of them were supporting characters in Rand's story or long dead, arguing that the new Iron Fist was an important step forward for the title and the ongoing push for diversity. Wong also acknowledged Rand's sizeable fanbase despite criticisms, reassuring that he would play an important role for the new Iron Fist and that the new series would not "erase" Rand's history and legacy but instead build upon it. The new series, which revealed the Chinese superhero Lin Lie, Sword Master as the new Iron Fist, has since received critical acclaim.


Collected editions

Bronze Age Collections The Immortal Iron Fist Power Man and Iron Fist Iron Fist Iron Fist: The Living Weapon Miniseries


In other media


Television


Animation

* The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''The Super Hero Squad Show'' episode "A Brat Walks Among Us!", voiced by Mikey Kelley. This version is a member of the
Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...
. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', voiced by Loren Lester. This version is a member of the Heroes for Hire and founding member of the
New Avengers The New Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for four American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Ma ...
. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series), Ultimate Spider-Man'', voiced by Greg Cipes. This version is a teenager, best friend of Luke Cage, and a member of a
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...
team led by Spider-Man. Having completed most of his training in K'un-L'un, he joined S.H.I.E.L.D. to gain a more worldly experience. Later in the series, he becomes a founding member of the New Warriors. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload'', voiced again by Greg Cipes. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in the ''Avengers Assemble (TV series), Avengers Assemble'' episode "The Immortal Weapon", voiced again by Greg Cipes. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers'', voiced by Go Shinomiya in the Japanese version and Liam O'Brien in the English version. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''Marvel Future Avengers'', voiced again by Go Shinomiya in the Japanese version and by Johnny Yong Bosch in the English version.


Marvel Cinematic Universe

Multiple iterations of Iron Fist appear in media set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
. * Danny Rand / Iron Fist appears in Marvel's Netflix television series, portrayed by
Finn Jones Finn Jones (born Terence Jones; 24 March 1988) is an English actor known for his roles as Loras Tyrell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2016) and Danny Rand / Iron Fist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television shows '' Iron Fi ...
as an adult and Toby Nichols as an adolescent. ** First appearing in '' Iron Fist'' (2017–2018), this version befriended Ward Meachum, Ward and Joy Meachum and the three bonded over their fathers both running Rand Enterprises back when they were children, before Danny was presumed dead in a plane crash orchestrated by his friends' father Harold Meachum. Having survived the crash, Danny was rescued by Bhikkhu, monks from K'un-L'un and taken there to train under them. In the present, Rand returns as an adult to regain control of Rand Enterprises, during which he allies himself with Colleen Wing (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Colleen Wing and battles the
Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...
. ** Rand also appears in '' The Defenders'' (2017), in which he helps found the Defenders (comics), eponymous group to defeat the Hand, and the ''
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'' second season episode "The Main Ingredient" (2018). * A young, alternate universe variant of Kwai Jun-Fan appears in the ''What If...? (TV series), What If...?'' episode "What If... 1872?" (2024), voiced by Allen Deng. * An as-yet-unidentified Iron Fist will appear in the animated series ''Eyes of Wakanda''.


Film

In May 2000, Marvel Studios brought Artisan Entertainment to co-finance an Iron Fist film, hiring Ray Park to star and John Turman to write the script in January 2001. In preparation, Park extensively read the comics that Iron Fist had appeared in. Kirk Wong signed to direct in July 2001, with filming set for late 2001/early 2002. ''Iron Fist'' nearly went into pre-production in March 2002, but Wong left the project in April 2002. By August 2002, pre-production had started. Filming was pushed back to late 2002, and then to late 2003. In March 2003, Marvel announced a 2004 release date. In April 2003, Steve Carr entered negotiations to direct. In November 2003, the release date was moved to 2006. In March 2007, Carr placed ''Iron Fist'' on hold due to scheduling conflicts. In 2009, Marvel announced they had begun hiring a group of writers to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Iron Fist. In August 2010, Marvel Studios hired Rich Wilkes to write the screenplay. Marvel has a future ''Iron Fist'' film project planned. In November 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that they "probably were never going to make feature films about" characters featured in Marvel's Netflix TV series, but that if the Netflix series became popular, "[it was] quite possible that they could become feature films".


Video games

* The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as an assist character in ''Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage''. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist makes a cameo appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes''. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Spider-Man: Friend or Foe'', voiced by John Rubinow. This version is a
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in ''Strange Tal ...
agent. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in the Vicarious Visions version of ''Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by Peter Dobson. This version is a member of the
New Avengers The New Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The title has been used for four American comic book series. The first two were written by Brian Michael Bendis and depicted a version of Ma ...
who supports
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
in opposing the Superhuman Registration Act. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist makes a cameo appearance in Ryu (Street Fighter), Ryu's ending in ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. ** Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', voiced by Loren Lester. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Avengers Alliance''. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''LittleBigPlanet'' via the "Marvel Costume Kit 5" DLC. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as an assist, later playable, character in ''Marvel Heroes (video game), Marvel Heroes'', voiced initially by JP Karliak and again by Johnny Yong Bosch. This version is a member of the
Heroes for Hire Heroes for Hire are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #54 (December 1978), and was created by Ed Hannigan and Lee Elias. The team continued to appe ...
. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'', voiced by Andrew Kishino. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Disney Infinity 2.0'', voiced again by Greg Cipes. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Contest of Champions''. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Disney Infinity 3.0'', voiced again by Greg Cipes. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'', voiced again by Greg Cipes. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Marvel: Future Fight''. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Puzzle Quest''. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'', voiced by Martin T. Sherman. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'', voiced again by Johnny Yong Bosch. This version is a member of the Defenders (comics), Defenders. * The Lin Lie incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Rivals'', voiced by Stephen Fu.


Miscellaneous

* The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in the ''Wolverine: Weapon X'' motion comic, voiced by Brian Drummond. * The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in the ''War of the Realms: Marvel Ultimate Comics'' motion comic, voiced by Aidan Drummond.


References


External links


Iron Fist
at Marvel.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Iron Fist (Comics) Iron Fist (comics), Avengers (comics) characters Characters created by Gil Kane Characters created by Roy Thomas Comics characters introduced in 1974 Fictional bodyguards Fictional characters from New York City Fictional superhuman healers Fictional dragonslayers Fictional private investigators Marvel Comics businesspeople Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics orphans Marvel Comics spies Vigilante characters in comics