Iron Fist (comics)

Iron Fist (Danny Rand) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Iron Fist first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974). The character is a practitioner of martial arts and the wielder of a mystical force known as the Iron Fist, which allows him to summon and focus his chi. This ability is obtained from the city of K'un-Lun which opens every fifteen years. He starred in his own solo series in the 1970s, and shared the title Power Man and Iron Fist for several years with Luke Cage, partnering with Cage to form the superhero team Heroes for Hire. The character has starred in numerous solo titles since, including The Immortal Iron Fist, which expanded on his origin story and the history of the Iron Fist.

For the television series, see Iron Fist (TV series).
Iron Fist
Textless cover of The Immortal Iron Fist #1 (November 2006)
Art by David Aja
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceMarvel Premiere #15 (May 1974)
Created byRoy Thomas
Gil Kane
In-story information
Alter egoDaniel Thomas Rand-K’ai
Team affiliationsNew Avengers
Heroes for Hire
Defenders
Immortal Weapons
Thunderbolts
PartnershipsLuke Cage
Misty Knight
Colleen Wing
Notable aliasesDaredevil, The Living Weapon, Young Dragon, Daniel Thomas Rand, Daniel Rand-Kai
Abilities
  • Master martial artist
  • Utilizing concentrated chi in his fist called the "Iron Fist," a mystical weapon

Iron Fist has been adapted to appear in several animated television series and video games. Finn Jones portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe live-action television series Iron Fist, The Defenders, and the second season of Luke Cage.

Publication history
Amazing-Man in Amazing-Man Comics #5 (Sept. 1939). Art by Bill Everett

Iron Fist, along with the previously created Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, came from Marvel Comics during an American pop culture trend in the early to mid-1970s of martial arts heroes. Writer/co-creator Roy Thomas wrote in a text piece in Marvel Premiere #15 that Iron Fist's origin and creation owe much to the Bill Everett character, John Aman, the Amazing-Man, created in 1939. Thomas later wrote that he and artist/co-creator Gil Kane had

...started "Iron Fist" because I'd seen my first kung fu movie, even before a Bruce Lee one came out, and it had a thing called "the ceremony of the Iron Fist" in it. I thought that was a good name, and we already had Master of Kung Fu going, but I thought, "Maybe a superhero called Iron Fist, even though we had Iron Man, would be a good idea." [Publisher] Stan [Lee] liked the name, so I got hold of Gil and he brought in his Amazing Man influences, and we designed the character together...[1]

The film mentioned by Thomas is King Boxer, aka Five Fingers of Death (1972), which presents the Iron Fist technique.[2]


Debuting in a story written by Thomas and pencilled by Kane in the umbrella title Marvel Premiere #15–25 (May 1974 – October 1975), he was then written successively by Len Wein, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, and Chris Claremont, with art by successive pencillers Larry Hama, Arvell Jones, Pat Broderick, and, in some of his earliest professional work, John Byrne. As the Marvel Premiere issues had successfully established a considerable readership for the character,[3] 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 left unresolved by the cancellation of the series was wrapped up in issues #63–64 of Marvel Team-Up.

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.[4] 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 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), in which he is killed. 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."[4]

Iron Fist was revived half a decade later in Namor, 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. 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."[5] Iron Fist then became a frequently starring character in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents, featuring in three multi-part story arcs and four one-shot stories in 1992 and 1993. Two solo miniseries 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 and penciller Jackson Guice. Also around this time, he was among the ensemble of the group series Heroes for Hire which ran 19 issues (July 1997 – January 1999).

Following a four-issue miniseries by writer Jay Faerber and penciller Jamal Igle, Iron Fist: Wolverine (November 2000 – February 2001), co-starring the X-Men character Wolverine 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 and penciller Kevin Lau. Subsequently, a new Iron Fist series premiered called The Immortal Iron Fist. The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues #1–14 (January 2007 – June 2008) with artists Travel Foreman and David Aja.[6] 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 and largely drawn by a returning Travel Foreman.[7][8][9]

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 #10 (March 1975), an additional story co-starring the Sons of the Tiger 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 Team-Up, the Submariner series Namor, Black Panther, and Daredevil.

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 titled Iron Fist: The Living Weapon as part of the All-New Marvel NOW! event.[10]

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. 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, 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 Shou-Lao the Undying, who guards the molten heart that had been torn from its body. 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 the creature's molten 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 find the man legless—an amputation carried out when, after abandoning Danny and his mother, he was caught in heavy snow and his legs became frostbitten.

Meachum accepts his fate and tells Iron Fist to kill him. Overcome with pity, Iron Fist walks away. At that moment Meachum is murdered by a mysterious ninja, and his daughter Joy blames Iron Fist for the death.[11] Eventually, Iron Fist clears his name and begins a career as a superhero, aided by his friends Colleen Wing and Misty Knight.[12] Notable adversaries in his early career include Sabretooth, the mysterious Master Khan (whom the ninja that killed Meachum once served), and the Steel Serpent, 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 and Noah Burstein, close associates of Luke Cage, 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 (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, Inc.[13]

Iron Fist, in his secret identity 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 created by the extra-dimensional H'ylthri.[14] 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.[15]

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.[16]

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,[17] the young leader of the Hand, and subsequently becomes the guardian of a pack of displaced dragons in Tokyo.[18] His powers are eventually restored by Chiantang, who brainwashes Iron Fist and forces him to battle Black Panther. 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.[19]

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. 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.[20]

During the Civil War, he opposes the Superhuman Registration Act, joining Captain America while still pretending to be Daredevil. Rand is apprehended by Pro-Registration forces.[21] He is later freed from the Negative Zone Prison, joining Captain America's team to battle Iron Man's forces.[22]

New Avengers

After the arrest of Captain America, Rand joins the New Avengers, an underground group provided with secure accommodation by Doctor Strange and which includes his former teammate Luke Cage.[23] In the public eye, Rand is able to avoid arrest with legal loopholes.[24] 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 after he suffered a heart attack and was summarily taken into custody as a fugitive.[25]

The Immortal Iron Fist
Main article: 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, 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 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.[26]

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.[27]

Soon afterward, Rand is attacked and defeated by Zhou Cheng, a servant of Ch'l-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'l-Lin originated, and depart for the Eighth City.[28]

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.[29] 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.[30]

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.[31]

Avengers reform

In the aftermath of Siege, Rand joins the newly-reformed New Avengers.[32] 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.[33]

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 blew up.[34] 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 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.[35]

During the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Iron Fist and Lei Kung bring Hope Summers to K'un-Lun to train as an Iron Fist, in order to defeat the Phoenix-possessed X-Men.[36]

Marvel NOW!

In the Marvel NOW! era, Iron Fist joins Luke Cage as the Heroes For Hire, having been employed by Boomerang to arrest his former colleagues in the Sinister Six.[37]

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 dome by Blackout when his powers were enhanced by Baron Helmut Zemo using the Darkhold.[38]

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.[39]

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 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, taking down Black Panther (wearing his vibranium suit), 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.[40]

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,[41] Fujian White Crane,[42] Judo,[43] Karate,[43] Muay Thai,[42] Ninjutsu,[44] Wushu, and Wing Chun.[45]

Other characters named Iron Fist

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

Fongji

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 in the streets of K'un-L'un and has her trained as the Iron Fist.[46] Nu-An asks for 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.[47] 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.[48]

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 cavemen that lived outside K'un-Lun;[49] 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, 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.[50]

Fan Fei later banded together with Agamotto, Lady Phoenix, Odin, and Stone Age versions of Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and Star Brand to fought off a Celestial named the Fallen. They would go on to defeat it and seal it underground in what would later become South Africa.[51]

Unnamed Atlantean

During the 11th Century, an unnamed Atlantean princess wielded the powers of the Iron Fist. She was part of Thor's incarnation of the Avengers.[52][53]

Supporting characters
Main article: List of Luke Cage and Iron Fist supporting characters

Other versions

MC2

Iron Fist appeared in the pages of Spider-Girl #24, in which he is retired after the death of Misty Knight (his wife in this universe). However, he temporarily steps back into costume to aid Spider-Girl against the might of Dragon Fist.[54]

Marvel Zombies

Iron Fist is shown twice in battle during the Marvel Zombies miniseries. He can be seen in several splash panels, as well as being bitten by a zombie version of Luke Cage, punching a hole through a zombified Black Cat and once again being bitten, apparently avoiding infection through his healing abilities.[55] A different Iron Fist appears in Marvel Zombies Return in an alternate universe where he is unaffected by the zombie outbreak until Wolverine from the Marvel Zombies universe kills him with his claws.[56]

Ultimate Marvel

Daniel Rand has appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man. His first appearance in the Ultimate universe was in Ultimate Spider-Man #1/2. Later, he appeared in the Warriors story arc (issues #79–85) along with Shang-Chi, Moon Knight, and others. He reappears in the Ultimate Knights arc, as a member of a Daredevil-led team trying to take down the Kingpin. In Ultimate Spider-Man #107, however, he has apparently betrayed the group to the Kingpin. Daredevil has uncovered the deception and ends issue #109 demanding answers from Rand. In issue #110 Iron Fist reveals that he has a daughter and the Kingpin threatened her life, so he chose his daughter's life over Daredevil's, and the rest of the heroes that teamed up to take down the Kingpin. He did distract Kingpin while Daredevil grabbed Kingpin's wife. Rand is last seen with his daughter and his daughter's mother Colleen Wing.[57]

House of M

In the House of M reality, Daniel Rand emerges from K'un-Lun, unaware of the mutant-dominated planet. He is attacked by mutant police, and eventually joins Luke Cage's Human Resistance Movement.

Earth-13584

In A.I.M.'s pocket dimension of Earth-13584, Iron Fist appears as a member of Spider-Man's gang.[58]

Deadpool 2099

Iron Fist is one of the few heroes still alive in 2099, he is known as the "Defender of the Streets" and now leads a large group of martial artists to continue his vigilante activities. Deadpool requests his aid to help deal with Wade's daughter, Warda, and Rand agrees to help his oldest living friend.[59]

Secret Wars (2015)

During the Secret Wars storyline, Iron Fist is Rand-K'ai, member of the Iron Fist school and the sheriff and protector of the wuxia-inspired K'un-L'un region of Battleworld. In this reality, he unwillingly serves the long-reigning Emperor Zheng Zu, the master of the ruthless Ten Rings school, the enemies of the more benevolent Iron Fist school. Rand-K'ai hunts after Shang-Chi, the exiled son of Zu, for the murder of his master Lord Tuan although he suspects the emperor to be involved. Representing the Iron Fist, Rand-K'ai enters the tournament to decide the new ruler of K'un-L'un and eventually confronts Shang-Chi along with Red Sai, master of the Red Hand and the emperor's assassin, in the penultimate round of the Thirteen Chambers. During the fight, Shang-Chi is poisoned by Red Sai, who confesses that Zu had sent her to assassinate Tuan but ultimately failed. To spare his lover and her students from the emperor's wrath, Shang-Chi killed Tuan; Zu implicated and exiled his son for the murder to cover his own involvement. After the truth is revealed, Rand-K'ai uses his Chi to burn the poison in Shang-Chi's body and lets him pass so that he could defeat his father. After Shang-Chi emerges victorious, Rand-K'ai pledges himself to the new emperor.[60]

Reception

Iron Fist is ranked as the 195th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine.[61] 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,[62] and as #46 on their list of the "Top 50 Avengers".[63]

Collected editions

Bronze Age Collections

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Essential Iron Fist Vol. 1 Marvel Premiere #15–25; Iron Fist (vol. 1) #1–15; Marvel Team-Up (vol. 1) #63–64; Power Man #48–49; Power Man and Iron Fist #50 October 2004 SC: 978-0785115465
Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 1 Power Man and Iron Fist #51–72, #74–75 January 2008 SC: 978-0785127260
Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 2 Power Man and Iron Fist #76–100; Daredevil #178 March 2009 SC: 978-0785130727
Marvel Masterworks: Iron Fist Vol. 1 Marvel Premiere #15–25, Iron Fist #1–2 June 2011 HC: 978-0785150329
Marvel Masterworks: Iron Fist Vol. 2 Iron Fist #3–15, Marvel Team-Up #63–64 September 2012 HC: 978-0785159551
Epic Collection Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Fury of Iron Fist Marvel Premiere #15–25; Iron Fist (vol. 1) #1–15; Marvel Team-Up (vol. 1) #63–64 August 2015 SC: 978-0785191643
Epic Collection Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 1: Heroes for Hire Power Man #48-49, Power Man & Iron Fist #50-70 August 2015 SC: 978-0785192961
Epic Collection Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 2: Revenge! Power Man & Iron Fist #71-72, 74-89; Daredevil (1964) #178 October 2016 SC: 978-1302900137
Epic Collection Power Man & Iron Fist Vol. 3: Doombringer Power Man & Iron Fist #90-107 December 2019 SC: 978-1302920715
Iron Fist: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu - The Complete Collection The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (vol. 1) #10, 18-24, 29, 31-33; Bizarre Adventures #25 March 2019 SC: 978-1302916275

The Immortal Iron Fist

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
The Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Last Iron Fist Story The Immortal Iron Fist #1–6; Civil War: Choosing Sides August 2007
November 2007		 HC: 978-0785128540
SC: 978-0785124894
The Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 2: The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven The Immortal Iron Fist #8–14, Annual #1 June 2008
September 2008		 HC: 978-0785129929
SC: 978-0785125358
The Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 3: The Book of the Iron Fist The Immortal Iron Fist #7, #15–16; Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death; The Origin of Danny Rand; covers of Marvel Premiere #15–16 October 2008
February 2009		 HC: 978-0785129936
SC: 978-0785125365
The Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 4: The Mortal Iron Fist The Immortal Iron Fist #17–20; Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California April 2009
July 2009		 HC: 978-0785129943
SC: 978-0785132967
The Immortal Iron Fist Vol. 5: Escape from the Eighth City The Immortal Iron Fist #22–27 September 2009
November 2009		 HC: 978-0785133926
SC: 978-0785131793
The Immortal Iron Fist Omnibus The Immortal Iron Fist #1–16, Annual #1; Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death; The Origin of Danny Rand; Civil War: Choosing Sides June 2009 HC: 978-0785138198
The Immortal Iron Fist: The Complete Collection Volume 1 The Immortal Iron Fist #1–16, Annual #1; Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death; The Origin of Danny Rand; Civil War: Choosing Sides December 2013 SC: 978-0785185420
The Immortal Iron Fist: The Complete Collection Volume 2 The Immortal Iron Fist #17–27; Orson Randall and the Death Queen of California; Immortal Weapons #1–5; Immortal Weapons Sketchbook June 2014 SC: 978-0785188902

Power Man and Iron Fist

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Power Man and Iron Fist: The Boys Are Back In Town Power Man and Iron Fist #1–6 September 2016 SC: 978-1302901141
Power Man and Iron Fist: Civil War II Power Man and Iron Fist #6–9, Sweet Christmas Annual March 2017 SC: 978-1302901158
Power Man and Iron Fist: Street Magic Power Man and Iron Fist #10–15 September 2017 SC: 978-1302905392

Iron Fist

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Iron Fist: The Return of K'un-Lun Iron Fist (1996) #1–2, Iron Fist (1998) #1–3, Iron Fist (2004) #1–6, Iron Fist/Wolverine #1–4, Uncanny Origins #14, material from Marvel Knights Double-Shot #4 April 2015 SC: 978-0785192183
Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Trial of Seven Masters Iron Fist (2017–2018) #1–5 September 2017 SC: 978-1302907761
Iron Fist Vol 2. Sabertooth – Round 2 Iron Fist (2017–2018) #6–7, #72–76 April 2018 SC: 978-1302907778
Doctor Strange: Damnation – The Complete Collection Doctor Strange: Damnation, Damnation: Johnny Blaze – Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange #386–389, Iron Fist #78–80, Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #15–17 July 2018 SC: 978-1302912604

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon – Vol. 1: Rage Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #1–6 December 2014 SC: 978-0785154358
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon – Vol. 2: Redemption Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #7–12 September 2015 SC: 978-0785154365
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon – The Complete Collection Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #1–12 April 2017 SC: 978-1302904494

Miniseries

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Immortal Weapons Immortal Weapons #1–5 March 2010 SC: 978-0785138488

In other media

Animation
  • Iron Fist appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "A Brat Walks Among Us", voiced by Mikey Kelley. He is seen as a member of Heroes for Hire (alongside Luke Cage and Misty Knight) when Brynnie Bratton hires them to help look for her father.
  • Iron Fist appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "To Steal an Ant-Man", voiced by Loren Lester reprising his role from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. He and Luke Cage are hired by Henry Pym to retrieve his Ant-Man suit from a thief who uses it in bank robberies. The character later appears in the episodes "Yellowjacket", "New Avengers" and "Avengers Assemble".
  • A teenaged version of Iron Fist appears as one of the main characters in Ultimate Spider-Man,[64] voiced by Greg Cipes.[65] He is portrayed as Luke Cage's best friend and often voices his opinions through on-the-spot proverbs befitting the given situation. Danny is a vegetarian, practices meditation and is well versed in martial arts. Despite Danny's great wealth from his father's company, the Rand Corporation, he chose to live a simple life amongst his friends as part of his training. Having the majority of his training in K'un-L'un completed, Danny joined S.H.I.E.L.D to make better use of his skills and gain more worldly experience. In the episode "Return to the Spider-Verse Pt. 1", Iron Fist brings Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid to K'un-L'un where Nick Fury and Madame Web are currently hiding out so that they can send Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid to the different universes to piece together the Siege Perilous. The same episode showed a version of Iron Fist who is a vampire that is loyal to Lizard King. Using a combination of the Siege Perilous shard and a UV light, Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid were able to cure everyone of the vampire strain. In the episode "The Spider-Slayers Pt. 3", after Nova attacks Scarlet Spider because he learned that he was Dr. Octopus's spy for revealing Spider-Man's identity, to endanger S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy and Aunt May, he along with Power Man and Squirrel Girl attack the Spider-Slayers and when they stop they agree to watch him with Agent Venom for his bad actions that deserve to be locked up for life, before his energy was drained by Kaine. At the end of "Graduation Day Pts. 1 and 2", he, Power Man, White Tiger and Nova team with Spider-Man for the last time to find Dr. Octopus, protect Aunt May and, fight the Scorpion and Crossbones (who becomes the new Lizard) and defeat them. Then, at the graduation ceremony, he is trapped with the team in a contracting shield in the Triskelion and in the end is released by Spider-Man.
  • Iron Fist appears in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload miniseries, voiced by Greg Cipes.[66]
  • Iron Fist appears in the Wolverine: Weapon X motion comic, voiced by Brian Drummond.[66]
  • Iron Fist appears in Avengers: Secret Wars, voiced again by Greg Cipes.[67] He was in K'un-Lun at the time when Beyonder snatched it from Earth and used to make Battleworld. Iron Fist was reluctant to let Black Panther and Falcon claim Heimdall's sword due to the fact that it was used to seal away Dracula. When Dracula is freed, Iron Fist assists them in fighting Dracula and his forces even when it was discovered that a Venom symbiote has possessed Dracula. After Dracula is repelled, Iron Fist plans to go after Dracula and keep him from reaching the Battleworld location where more symbiotes are dwelling.
  • Iron Fist appears in the Marvel Future Avengers anime series, voiced by Go Shinomiya in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in English.

Marvel Cinematic Universe
Finn Jones as Danny Rand in the Netflix series Iron Fist
  • Finn Jones stars in the Iron Fist series based on the character,[68][69] while his younger self is portrayed by Toby Nichols. At a young age, he had a friendship with Ward Meachum and Joy Meachum when both their fathers ran Rand Enterprises. After a plane crash orchestrated by Harold Meachum happens, Danny survives and is rescued by some monks in K'un-Lun where he is trained by them. Years later, he returns to New York City where he plans to regain his family's company, after which he allies himself with Colleen Wing and uncovers an evil plot by the Hand.
  • Jones reprises his role in The Defenders, a crossover miniseries.[70] When the Hand puts their plans into motion that involves harvesting the dragon bones that are beneath Manhattan, Rand teams up with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage to fight them.
  • Jones reprises his role in the second season of Luke Cage in the episode "The Main Ingredient" where he helps Cage look for Bushmaster and Tilda Johnson.[71]

Film
  • In May 2000, Marvel Studios brought Artisan Entertainment to co-finance an Iron Fist film,[72] hiring Ray Park to star and John Turman to write the script in January 2001.[73] Park extensively read the comics Iron Fist had appeared in.[74] Kirk Wong signed to direct in July 2001, with filming set for late 2001/early 2002.[75] Iron Fist nearly went into pre-production in March 2002.[76] Wong left the project in April 2002.[77] By August 2002, pre-production had started.[78] Filming was pushed back to late 2002,[79] and then to late 2003.[80] In March 2003, Marvel announced a 2004 release date.[81] In April 2003, Steve Carr entered negotiations to direct.[82] In November 2003, the release date was moved to 2006.[83] In March 2007, Carr placed Iron Fist on hold due to scheduling conflicts.[84] 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, along with others such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Nighthawk, and Vision.[85] In August 2010, Marvel Studios hired Rich Wilkes to write the screenplay.[86] Marvel has a future Iron Fist film project planned.[87] 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 such as Iron Fist but that if the Netflix series became popular, "[it was] quite possible that they could become feature films".[88]

Video games

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