Iron Fist

There's no getting around it; Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist. the champion of K'un Lun, is an insensitively conceived character; a white guy who stumbles on an immortal race of Asian people and turns out to be better at their whole existence than them. That's the bedrock any creator has to deal with when crafting his stories. A similar challenge faces the blaxploitation-themed Luke Cage, who became Danny's partner in 1972 in Luke Cage, Hero For Hire, which became Power Man & Iron Fist, in order to save both characters from cancellation. Originally written by Chris Claremont, the book passed to Jo Duffy when he left to focus on the increasingly popular X-Men franchise. Duffy's solution to Iron Fist's problematic backstory? Make him an idiot.

It's obviously not the most disappointing thing about the series, but when it was confirmed that Netflix's Iron Fist show wouldn't feature the character's classic duds, my heart sank. Partly because it meant more screen time for Danny's civilian look (best summed up as "rich white kid who won't stop telling you how he really discovered himself on his gap year in Asia"), but mostly because the Iron Fist costume is a design classic.

Marvel’s ‘Iron Fist’ brings his glowing justice to New York as early as this Friday, introducing MCU takes on Colleen Wing, the Meachums and more along the way. We’ve already reviewed Marvel’s biggest misfire yet, but before your own binge, get answers to some of ‘Iron Fist’s most burning questions with our spoilery FAQ review of the first six episodes!

Controversy continues to swirl around Marvel’s Netflix Iron Fist, but even as cast and crew go on the defensive from bad reviews, many are intrigued to see the more fantastical elements of Danny Rand’s origin story in K’un L’un. Well, bad news on that front, as Iron Fist becomes the second series in which Finn Jones never gets to meet a dragon.

Superhero movie audiences have lived through enough high-profile bombs to recognize a common refrain, likening any bad reviews to critics misaligned with fan interests. We saw it with Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad, and now Iron Fist star Finn Jones is giving “we made it for the fans” the old college try in response to negative press.

At least two constants can be found in the majority of Iron Fist reviews that made their way online this week. For one, Marvel’s final Defender stumbles out of the gate. Secondly, everyone loves Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing, so let’s get to know her in a new featurette!

Marvel’s Netflix ‘Iron Fist’ punches through to the final ‘Defender’ series, but forgets anything resembling relatable characters, missing every chance to embrace its comic weirdness. Our early review, before all episodes start to glow on March 17.

The Netflix Defenders have an on-and-off relationship with costumes, between Daredevil spending the whole of Season 1 justifying the red suit, while both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage poked fun at their comic counterparts’ familiar attire. Iron Fist might have landed somewhere in the middle, but according to the showrunner, Danny Rand isn’t likely to don green and yellow anytime soon.

There’s an ominous cloud of skepticism surrounding Marvel’s Netflix Iron Fist, that for as many trailers and featurettes precede the March 17 premiere, the fourth Defender series invariably co-opts Asian culture with its white lead. Now, star Finn Jones offers in-depth response to the controversy surrounding Danny Rand’s “white savior” role, including changes to the diversity of the comics’ K’un L’un, and why viewers should give the series a chance.

Marvel’s Iron Fist hasn’t teased a central villain in the same way as its Netflix predecessors, but The Defenders are going to need some common enemy to rally against. So it is that Daredevil’s Madame Gao returns in a new Iron Fist featurette, and can The Hand be far behind?