Iron Fist

The Iron Fist Legacy

There have been many bearers of the name Iron Fist throughout history. Danny Rand is believed to be the 66th Iron Fist.

Other past Iron Fists have included Quan Yaozu, Li Park, Bei Ming-Tian, Wu Ao-Shi, Bei Bang-Wen, Kwai Jun-Fan, Fongji, and Orson Randall who was Danny’s immediate predecessor as Iron Fist and Wah Sing-Rand who is the Iron Fist of 3099 and a descendant of Danny.

Origin – Daniel Rand-K’ai, Iron Fist Number Sixty-Six

Daniel Rand is the son of Wendell Rand who had, as a youth, visited the mystic city of K’un-Lun, which materialized in the Himalayas once a decade. Founded roughly a million years ago by extraterrestrials, K’un-Lun was co-ruled by the aliens’ descendants and powerful beings called the Dragon Kings who were themselves subject to the godlike sorcerer Master Khan.

Wendell had saved the life of K’un-Lun’s ruler Lord Tuan, who adopted as his heir, to the resentment of Tuan’s son, Yu-Ti. During his time in K’un-Lun, Wendell married a woman named Shakari and fathered a daughter, Miranda Rand-K’ai. At some point, Rand won ritual combat against Davos, son of K’un-Lun’s greatest warrior, Lei Kung the Thunderer, which entitled him to claim the power of Shou-Lao the Undying, a man transformed into a mystic serpent over a thousand years ago by the Dragon King Chiantang; however, although great K’un-Lun warriors had periodically wielded Shou-Lao’s power as the Iron Fist, Rand declined the power. Ten years after coming to K’un-Lun, was showing Shakari the restored nexus when Yu-Ti’s men attacked them. Shakari was slain, and the grief-stricken Wendall returned to Earth. Within a year, he became a successful businessman and married Heather Duncan. In his absence, Lord Tuan died and became ruler of Feng-Tu, abode of K’un-Lun’s departed spirits; leaving Yu-Ti to rule K’un-Lun, while Lei Kung, shamed by Davos’ defeat, banished his son to Earth.

When Daniel Rand was nine, at roughly the time K’un-Lun was scheduled to materialize, his father decided to bring him and Heather to K’un-Lun. Accompanied by Rand’s business partner Harold Meachum, they traveled to the Himalayas, but Wendell fell from a mountain ledge; clutching the edge, he called to Meachum for help, but Meachum, hoping to control Rand’s business shares, caused Wendell to plunge to his death. Shortly afterward, Heather sacrificed her life to protect Daniel from a wolf pack, and her spirit ascended to Feng-Tu. The denizens of K’un-Lun found Daniel and took him in, while a frostbite-crippled Meachum learned of Daniel’s survival and spent the next decade preparing elaborate defenses against future attack.

Vowing to avenge his parents, Daniel Rand studied martial arts under Lei Kung the Thunderer, while growing up in K’un-Lun. His closest friends were Miranda Rand-K’ai, whom he did not know was his half-sister, and a K’un-Lun boy named Conal D’hu-Tsien. At nineteen, requested and earned an opportunity to win the power of the Iron Fist by confronting Shou-Lao the Undying, whose power resided within a flaming brazier. slew Shou-Lao, a feat no other warrior had ever accomplished, by pressing his chest to the dragon’s, cutting it off from the life energy it absorbed from it’s heart, which resided in a nearby brazier. This resulted in a dragon-shaped brand on his chest. He then plunged his hands into the brazier containing the dragon’s heart, and gained the power of the Iron Fist.

Creation

Iron Fist was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane and first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15 (1974). Iron Fist was created due to the Kung Fu craze of the 1970’s. Roy Thomas took the Iron Fist idea from the “Iron Fist ceremony” of the Hong Kong film King Boxer aka Five Fingers of Death (1972), another inspiration was the character Amazing Man, created by Bill Everett in the Golden Age for Centaur.

Major Story Arcs

The Iron Fist

Shou-Lao’s death angered Chiantang , who sought to destroy K’un-Lun in response but was imprisoned by Master Khan. Shortly afterward, fought off jealous peers with the aid of Conal and Miranda, whom Conal had taught martial arts in defiance of K’un-Lun law. Fleeing K’un-Lun, Miranda and Conal were captured by K’un-Lun’s ancestral enemies, the plant-beings called the H’lythri, and presumed dead. The dimensional nexus opened on schedule, and, as Iron Fist, traveled to, seeking vengeance on Meachum. Meachum knew of Danny’s return and placed a bounty of ten thousand dollars on his head. The open contract left open to attacks from other costumed menaces such as the man called Scythe. Iron Fist eventually overcame Meachum’s defenses, but on seeing Meachum was an invalid, he spared the broken man.

Meachum was instead slain by the ghostly Ninja, a servant of Master Khan. Blamed for the murder, Iron Fist eventually cleared himself with the help of two private detectives he befriended, samurai-trained Colleen Wing and cyborg ex-cop Misty Knight. Nonetheless, Iron Fist often had hostile relations with his new business partners, Meachum’s brother, Ward, and daughter, Joy. Iron Fist’s adventures continued against the likes of the Cult of Kara-Kai, worshipers of the goddess Kali; Warhawk , a war veteran turned assassin empowered by a process similar to that of Luke Cage; and the alien robot known as the Monstroid. In the process, he learned that the Ninja was using Colleen Wing’s father, Lee, as a host; Iron Fist ended this magical possession.

Soon afterward, Iron Fist fought the Steel Serpent, a master martial artist specializing in the delayed death touch. The Serpent had twice in the past been defeated by Yu-Ti in attempts to take over K’un Lun, and he fell victim to his own power during his assault on Iron Fist. Rand then encountered a woman named Jade and defended her from agents of Dhasha Khan, a demonic warrior sorcerer who had conquered Feng-Tu; however, more of Khan’s agents abducted Iron Fist and Jade, whom Iron Fist learned was the embodiment of humanity’s nobility, her soul bonded with the cosmic Firebird. Iron Fist was defeated by Khan’s enslaved warrior, the Silver Dragon, while Khan used his mystic Soulgem to rob Jade of the Firebird, which he used to transform Earth. Iron Fist defeated the Silver Dragon and discovered she was the spirit of his mother, Heather Rand. Iron Fist then defeated Khan in battle, using the Soulgem to restore Earth and return his mother to a peaceful afterlife. Although he had fallen in love with Jade and wished she could remain mortal, he knew that humanity needed the Firebird, and he used the Soulgem to restore Jade.

Over the next few months, Iron Fist became a noted crime fighter and clashed with enemies such as Master Khan, Scimitar, Chaka, the Wrecking Crew, Drom, the Backwards Man and Sabretooth. He sometimes worked with other heroic martial artists such as the Sons of the Tiger, the White Tiger, and Shang-Chi, the latter helping him save K’un-Lun from the sorcerer Quan-St’ar. Iron Fist then faced Davos, Lei Kung’s banished son, who sought to steal the Iron Fist power. Also calling himself Steel Serpent, Davos briefly succeeded in usurping the power before losing it back to and being defeated by Iron Fist; his soul was imprisoned within the alien Contemplator‘s Anomaly Gem.

Heroes for Hire

Iron Fist became Misty Knight’s lover; he defended her from Luke Cage, a super-strong mercenary blackmailed into serving Knight’s enemy, Bushmaster. Iron Fist, Knight, and Colleen Wing helped Cage break Bushmaster’s hold, and Iron Fist soon formed a partnership with Cage as Heroes for Hire, taking assignments as bodyguards and private investigators. While Iron Fist and the cynically down-to-earth Cage were very different, they shared a dedication to justice and became best friends. Soon, Iron Fist and Cage confronted Master Khan, whom they pursued to K’un-Lun. Reunited with Lei Kung, Iron Fist was appalled to learn that the population had been decimated by the H’ylthri, and he and Cage led K’un-Lun’s remaining warriors against their foes; however, Iron Fist’s time on Earth had changed him, and he became disillusioned by K’un-Lun’s regimented culture. He was then captured by his adoptive uncle, Yu-Ti, who hoped to use him to appease Master Khan; however, even Khan feared the full power of the Iron Fist and was threatened into releasing his enemies. Iron Fist destroyed the mystic emerald that stabilized K’un-Lun’s link to Earth, making future interfaces unpredictable, then returned to with Cage. Khan himself became trapped on Earth and was unable to prevent Chiantang from escaping and almost destroying K’un-Lun.

Khan later enlisted Ward Meachum, Cage’s enemies Shades and Comanche, and Fera in a plot against Iron Fist; Fera was actually one of the wolves who had slain Heather Rand, granted human form via the magical power of Shirrair and enslaved by Master Khan. Khan used the Power Gem of Quon to steal Iron Fist’s power and life force, nearly killing him; but with the aid of Cage, Misty, Colleen, the vigilante el Aguila, and policeman Rafe Scarfe, Iron Fist regained his power and banished Khan again. Many months later, Iron Fist and Cage befriended Bobby Wright, a troubled boy who could transform into the superhuman Captain Hero; unknown to them, “Wright” was the Super-Skrull, a powerful alien whom Master Khan had mesmerized into befriending Iron Fist. Meanwhile, Khan himself usurped the form of police officer Tyrone King and began romancing Misty Knight to undermine his enemy.

Shortly afterward, Iron Fist was exposed to deadly radiation and, accompanied by Cage and Wing, he returned to K’un-Lun. Instructed in the use of his healing power by Lei Kung, Iron Fist learned that Chiantang’s attack had been in response to Shou-Lao’s death and became overwhelmed with guilt, but recovered with the help of his friends, who banished Chiantang. Preparing to return to Earth, Iron Fist was secretly ambushed by the H’ylthri, who sent a duplicate, believing itself to be Iron Fist, in his place. As for Chiantang, he too appeared on Earth, where Khan, as Tyrone King, slew him; however, even Khan was unaware of the H’ylthri’s substitution. Shortly afterward, the Iron Fist duplicate attempted to heal “Bobby Wright”, who was supposedly dying; the attempt seemed successful, but “Wright” suffered a relapse and, as Captain Hero, beat the duplicate to death in a rage. Khan, believing his enemy dead, then dismissed the Super-Skrull and eventually abandoned his King identity, leaving Cage to take the blame for the death of “Iron Fist”.

Resurrection

For months, the true Iron Fist remained the H’ylthri’s captive. While in stasis he manages to focus his chi, curing the cancer. But when the Super-Skrull impersonated Iron Fist himself, Knight and Wing learned that the “Iron Fist” they had buried had reverted to plant-like remains. Following the Super-Skrull’s defeat by Namor the Sub-Mariner, Knight and Wing brought Namor to K’un-Lun, where they rescued Iron Fist. Soon afterward, Iron Fist helped Cage defeat Bushmaster again. But, while Cage was pleased to see his friend alive, he was uninterested in re-forming Heroes for Hire. When Master Khan vengefully rendered Namor amnesiac, Iron Fist helped Knight along with Namor’s friends and family in locating the now-savage Namor. They were able to restore his memory and confronted Khan, who was apparently slain by Namor.

Iron Fist went on to aid other heroes against threats such as the mystic Legion of Vengeance, the feral mutant Sabretooth, and the forces of the mutated serial killer Carnage. When he began to lose faith in himself, the Contemplator realized Iron Fist’s inner turmoil was upsetting the cosmic balance through his link to Shou-Lao’s power. He had Iron Fist reassemble the Anomaly Gem, shattered during the H’ylthri invasion; this resurrected the Steel Serpent, who stole ‘s power and tried to conquer K’un-Lun. Given new purpose per the Contemplator’s plan, Iron Fist battled Steel Serpent and reclaimed his power, then renewed his relationship with Misty Knight. Months later, when Earth’s most prominent super heroes were seemingly slain by the psychic entity Onslaught, Iron Fist resolved to give the world hope and mystically bound himself to K’un-Lun, hoping to bring it to Earth and remake the world.

After Namor the Sub-Mariner’s Oracle, INC bought out Rand-Meachum, Iron Fist gained funding and formed an expanded version of Heroes for Hire, recruiting Hercules, the Black Knight and others to fight with him and Luke Cage, and to renew people’s confidence in heroes. This team reunited him with Cage, though the group proved to be temporary; the members were less than pleased when Namor sold Oracle (and by extension Heroes for Hire) to Stark-Fujikawa. After their new employers fired Cage and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) for their prison records, the remaining members disbanded. Weeks later, Iron Fist was manipulated into stealing the powerful Zodiac Key by Death Sting, actually Miranda Rand-K’ai, who, along with Conal, had been pressed into H’ylthri service. Iron Fist fought the pair and their H’ylthri masters, and both Death Sting and Conal were believed slain, although Death Sting survived.

Meanwhile, the heroes supposedly slain by Onslaught had returned, and Iron Fist, belatedly realizing that humanity would reject rule by K’un-Lun, sought to stop the process he had begun; but young Hand assassin Junzo Muto stole his power in order to bring K’un-Lun to . Heather Rand’s spirit told Iron Fist that Muto could not succeed without him, leaving K’un-Lun to move on to an unknown fate. Unwilling to risk K’un-Lun’s destruction, Iron Fist teamed with Wolverine, Yu-Ti and others to defeat Muto, but not before K’un-Lun began to merge with the city of. Yu-Ti then stabbed Iron Fist, reasoning that his death would separate the cities. K’un-Lun indeed returned to its proper place, but Iron Fist was met in Feng-Tu by his proud parents, who restored him to life.

Back in New York , former Heroes for Hire foe Nightshade resurrected Chiantang to use him against her current enemy, the Black Panther. Chiantang turned on her, re-empowered Iron Fist, and mentally enslaved him to fight the Panther, but Iron Fist regained his senses and helped defeat Chiantang. Returning to crime fighting, he found it unsatisfying and left to seek a new path. Yet all paths, it seemed, led back to K’un-Lun, for he soon faced Chi, a sorcerer exiled from K’un-Lun a millennium before, who hoped to use Iron Fist’s unique bond to K’un-Lun for conquest. Iron Fist defeated Chi, accepting his heroic role anew.

Civil War & Daredevil

When Matt Murdock was exposed as Daredevil and put in jail, Danny was hired to dress and act as Daredevil to create the illusion that he and Murdock were two separate people. Murdock broke out of prison, and confronted the false Daredevil. When realizing that it was his friend Iron Fist, Murdock asked Danny to remain as Daredevil so he had time to track down the murderer of his friend Foggy Nelson.

Danny, as Daredevil, joined Captain America‘s Secret Avengers, who were in opposition to the Super-Human Registration Act being enforced by Iron Man. He was later freed by Hulkling, who was impersonating Hank Pym, and he joined the final battle of the Civil War. After the surrender of Captain America, Iron Fist joined Luke Cage in the New Avengers, still opposing the Registration Act. On a mission to Japan to save Echo, who was kidnapped by The Hand, under the leadership of the assassin Elektra, Danny and the rest of the New Avengers discovered Elektra was in actuality a Skrull. The team lost their base of operations when Dr. Strange left the team, which prompted Rand to purchase an apartment for them to work out of.

The Last Iron Fist Story

Recently, was asked by a Chinese company, Wai Go, to produce an electromagnetic train. Danny refused, and the head of the company, Xao, decided to try and buy Rand International so he could get his train. After investigating Wai Go, Danny discovered they were affiliated with HYDRA. He then feels someone else using the power of the Iron Fist, and meets his predecessor, Orson Randall, who had been on the run for many years after accidentally killing another Immortal Weapon and fleeing the City of with the Book of the Iron Fist. Orson had spent much of his life being hunted down by people such as the previous Bride of Nine Spiders and John Aman, The Prince of Orphans, both Immortal Weapons from other mystical cities much like K’un L’un.

Randall reneged on his responsibilities to K’un L’un after suffering immense psychological trauma during the First World War. Randall is discovered in , apparently preserved by the spirit of Shou-Lao and in full possession of his powers, but living in drug-soaked seclusion. Randall is pursued by agents of the Steel Serpent and the terrorist group HYDRA. Jolted out of his decades-long ennui, Randall seeks out Daniel Rand in . Orson informs him that he not only knew his father, but taught him as well. He follows Orson down to his father’s secret subway station and is given the Book of the Iron Fist. He is told that the history and truth of his title is in this book, and that it will prepare him for the Tournament of the Heavenly cities.

Meanwhile, Xao, the head of Wai Go, kidnapped Jeryn Hogarth’s (A friend of Danny and the man who ran Rand International) mother, forcing Jeryn to build his electromagnetic trains. Xao is also revealed to be working with Davos to try and kill Orson. After a massive fight with the Steel Serpent, Orson sacrifices himself, but before he breaths his last, he allows Danny to touch his heart and take his chi. Danny rises to fight the Steel Serpent as equals, now with the powers of Orson Randall within him. He was then able to equal Davos, who having completed his mission, disappeared. Danny is summoned back to K’un-Lun by his master Lei Kung for the tournament.

The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven

The Kung Fu tournament occurred every 88 years, and was held to determine which mystical City of would appear on earth every decade. Each City’s Immortal Weapon was required to participate. During the tournament, Danny met his six mystical counterparts, and after losing in the first round of the tournament, he discovered a secret doorway between Earth and K’un L’un that allowed passage without the mystical connection every decade. This machine was created by Orson’s father, and Danny was shown it by Orson’s illegitimate daughter. After using the machine to escape to Earth, Danny managed to locate Ernst Erskine, Orson’s biographer, to learn more about the previous Iron Fist. He also discovered a resistance movement of women warriors, led by Lei Kung and Orson’s unnamed daughter, devoted to bringing down the corrupt Yu-Ti. At the same time, Hydra was attempting to breach the mystic barrier and destroy K’un L’un, led by Xao, using a magnetic train that Jeryn had been forced to build for him. In a final battle involving all 7 Immortal Weapons and Lei Kung’s army against Xao and HYDRA, Iron Fist was able to destroy the train, defeat Xao, liberate K’un L’un from Nuan’s corruption and lead the Immortal Weapons out into Earth to learn about the world.

The Mortal Iron Fist

During the tournament, Danny also discovered that the root of his family’s fortune was the Randall fortune, which was rooted in the blood and oppression of all Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. So Danny decided to give all his money away, and turned Rand International into the world’s largest and most deeply funded not-for-profit organization. Because of these changes and his mother’s kidnapping by HYDRA, Jeryn decided he should move on, despite respecting what Danny was trying to do. Meanwhile, the five Immortal Weapons Danny brought to Earth ( Fat Cobra, Bride of Nine Spiders, Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter, Dog Brother #1 and The Prince of Orphans) were investigating Xao’s claim of an Eighth City.

Using his fortune, Danny has bought back the old Heroes For Hire building and started up the ”dojo, a place in for kids to come and learn Kung Fu, among other things, such eating and tutoring. Danny has also started driving around in a van named “Orson’s Race”, helping out homeless people. Then one day, while studying the Book of the Iron Fist, Danny notices something. Every single Iron Fist, except Orson, has died at the age of 33. And right after that discovery, Luke, Colleen and Misty enter the room, wishing him a Happy Birthday. A Happy 33rd Birthday.

Soon afterward is attacked by a servant of Ch’l-Lin, defeating easily. He claims that he has killed many Iron Fists. However, Luke, Misty, and Coleen arrive just as the servant prepares to slay . Luke manages to get a hold of the mysterious assassin, but he then suddenly vanishes. searches for answers in the Book of the Iron Fist to try to understand how Orson Randall was able avoid being slain by the Ch’l-Lin’s assassin. However, one of ‘s new business associates calls up to alert him of the Ch’l-Lin Assassin staking out the Thunder Dojo.

Danny heads for the dojo, where he finds the assassin, whose real name has been revealed as Zhou Cheng. Having placed some sort of telepathic command upon the students to kill each other if does not surrender. bows before Cheng, but this is quickly revealed to be only a ploy, as Luke, Misty, and the other Immortal weapons arrive to aid . While still formidable in combat, correctly guessed that an opponent who was tailored to fight the Iron fist would not be as effective against the other weapons. The group defeats Cheng, but he vanishes into thin air.

The Immortal Weapons embark on a hunt for Cheng, while attempts to learn about his new adversary. He soon learns that Orson Randall was only able to escape Cheng by addicting himself to heroin, thus damping his chi and leaving Cheng under the assumption that he had died. While searching for a way to defeat Cheng in the Book of the Iron Fist, Iron Fist, discovers that his assistant, Nadine, is an accomplice to Cheng, after she poisons his coffee. While ‘s chi prevents the poison from killing him, it is sufficiently strong to weaken him significantly. All of a sudden, Cheng arrives in ‘s office, thanks Nadine (who, although being Cheng’s “beloved,” appears to have been a rather reluctant accomplice), and prepares to finish what he and Rand started. Just then, Nadine steps in and attempts to stop Cheng, revealing to him that she is pregnant with his child, and does not wish for their baby to be the child of a murderer. Cheng, is it revealed, is seeking the retrieve the heart of the Iron Fist in order to enter K’un Lun and devour the egg that births the next Shou-Lao the Undying every generation, thus wiping out K’un Lun’s Iron Fist legacy. Despite having slain every previous Iron Fist who did not otherwise fall in battle or relinquish their power (excepting Orson Randall), Cheng has always failed to reach the egg.

Cheng, who it is also revealed has been slowly buying out Rand Int. over the past 20 years, throws Nadine out of the way, and continues his attack. has his shoulder dislocated during the battle, but manages to defeat Cheng even in his weakened state. Following the duel, the Immortal Weapons, Luke, Coleen, and Misty arrive, and reveal to that they have discovered a map in Cheng’s apartment that leads to the Eighth City of Heaven, whose existence was mentioned by Xao during the tournament of the seven cities. Rand and the others realize that his is where the Ch’l-Lin originated, and depart for the .

Escape from the Eighth City

Before their departure, Davos arrives at the behest of Lei Kung to inform Rand that the Eighth city is, in fact, a prison constructed to hold demonic creatures that had once threatened K’un Lun and the other cities of Heaven and its gate only allows for passage in but not out, making it effectively synonymous with Hell. However, Davos also informs that the previous Yu-Ti had housed anyone who attempted to rebel against his rule in the Eighth city, and Lei Kung commissions Rand and the Immortal Weapons to rescue the wrongful prisoners, and informs them that the in-not-out rule can be bypassed by all six of the Immortal Weapons.

Upon arrival at the gates of the city, Rand and the others are literally sucked into the depths of the city, whereupon they are attacked by the prisoners of the Eighth city, which is ruled by the nefarious Changming, and forced to fight the demons of the city one by one, each time beaten nearly to death (their Chi weakened by having been pulled into the city) and rotated repeatedly, while being allowed to heal to just enough to be able to fight again. While is in his cell after a fight, he hears a tapping on his cell wall, and realizes it is being done in Chinese, with the message “You are an Iron Fist. Just like me.”Meanwhile, it is revealed that Davos has not been honest with and the Immortal Weapons about their mission, as he has posted a spy outside of the gate of the , who reports there being “no signs of life,” but that “something is clearly happening,” and Davos determines that this requires him to battle once again.

Rand’s fellow prisoner reveals himself to be Quan Yaozu, the very first Iron Fist. Quan reveals that in the early days of K’un Lun’s history, Changming had risen to power during a time of moral decadence in the city. Changming had been the one who had originally summoned all of the demonic creatures that had once plagued K’un Lun into the city, including Shou-Lao the Undying, and used them to quickly conquer the city. One day, however, a lone warrior had entered the dragon’s cave to challenge it.

Before Quan can finish, he and Rand are removed from their cells and brought into the arena for a fight. By now, Changming has learned that Rand and the Immortal Weapons have been formulating a plan to rescue the prisoners of the and make their escape, by leaving each other Morse code messages in the arena after each fight. Changming declares that Rand and Quan will fight to the death. refuses to “fight an old man,” but Quan, now in his Iron Fist suit, replies, “Sorry, Young Fist. I’ve been waiting for this chance for freedom FAR LONG.”

However, once the fight begins, immediately senses that his opponent lacks any perceivable martial arts skills and realizes that he is not the true Quan Yaozu. As the Immortal Weapons manage to escape and defeat the guards during the fight, Changming reveals that he is, in fact, the true Quan Yaozu. He explains that he voluntarily stayed in the to keep K’un Lun’s demons from escaping. However, upon seeing his lost love thrown into the Eighth City, Quan became disillusioned, and believed that K’un Lun was not worth saving, eventually rising up to rule the Eighth City as Changming. Rand and Fat Cobra manage to defeat Quan in the battle, and prepare to ask him the true nature of the and why they have been sent there.

However, soon discovers that the Immortal Weapons are pawns in a plan Quan has hatched. As the door to the Eighth City can only be opened from the inside by the Immortal Weapons, his plan was for the Immortal Weapons to make an escape attempt, thereby opening the gate and unleashing Quan and his army to take his revenge on the Seven Cities for having sentenced him and many of their citizens to an eternity in the Eighth City.

Quan forces Rand to lead him out of and back to K’un Lun, but after making it outside the gate, the two encounter Davos, who is waiting outside the gate with a sniper rifle. He tells that he has been sent there by Lei-Kung to assassinate Quan, as he and Lei-Kung believe that lacks the ability to take a life. In the ensuing battle, manages to defeat both Davos and Quan, going as far as to take a bullet in the hand for the latter’s actions impress Quan, who decides that 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 returns to , 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 Int. is destroyed, but Rand and Misty escape unharmed. With Rand Int. destroyed and now left with only a fraction of his former net worth. Rand and Misty purchase a new condo in, and 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, thinking it may only be “one of those honor things”, Misty accepts and reveals that she is pregnant with ‘s child.

Thunderbolts

Rand is surprised one day when he finds Norman Osborn waiting for him in his office, and is then ambushed and captured by several of the Thunderbolts. Osborn uses new technology to brainwash Rand, using a mentally-induced simulation in which Rand kills Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Captain America but cannot bring himself to kill Luke Cage. Ghost suggests completely mind-wiping Rand, but Osborn does not want him to lose his skills so he forces Rand to undergo a dangerous procedure where his mind is further tampered with. Iron Fist assists in capturing Luke Cage, who later escapes thanks to the Ghost’s tampering. Iron Fist attacks Cage (who had been assisted in his escape by Ant-Man, whom he had previously swallowed), and rand makes it appear that he killed Cage, allowing the two to escape by surprise. It is later revealed that when Rand used his focused chi to punch Cage, it had cleared his warped mind.

Immortal Weapons

In present day Yunnon Province, China, John Aman stumbles upon the body of a dead villager. He summons Danny Rand in knowledge that the body is portent of things to come. If Danny does not hurry millions of people may die. Two thousand years ago China was ruled by the emperor Qin Shi Huang. A brutal tyrant , he also united the country. When he died his son Qin Er Shi ascended. However Er Shi was weak and timid, easily manipulated by greedy men who convinced him to turn on the very warriors who helped his father unite China.

The Loyal Ten Thousand, they were called. Each was worth a hundred lesser men in battle. Er Shi lured the warriors to a temple to ready for a campaign and when The Loyal Ten Thousand least suspected it, he imprisoned them with magics. Er Shi then went about making the temple impenetrable by giving it a guardian, a giant 200 foot long red serpentine-dragon. However in recent years the dragon has grown old and feeble, slowly losing its sight and its mind. The dragon had begun to stray from her duties and let loose some of the imprisoned warriors, hence the nearby village of three dozen murder victims. Aman warns Danny that if the dragon fails and the Ten Thousand were to be set free the damage they would inflict would be incomprehensible.

Danny assumes that the Prince of Orphans wants him to fight the deceased warriors. However, John Aman reveals that only his Jade Mist form can harm the warriors. What is required of Danny is to slay the dragon guardian who is revealed to have hailed from the mystical city of K’un-Lun and is also twice as long as Shou-Lao the Undying in addition to being a fire breather. John Aman breaks into the impenetrable temple using his “Mountain Strength Blow”.

As the Prince of Orphans it is John Aman’s job to lead spirits bound to Earth into the next world. Hoping that their leader, General Sheng will lead his legion into the next world, Aman proceeds to awaken the leader of the Loyal Ten Thousand. However, having spent two millennia wrongfully imprisoned General Sheng proceeds to awaken his 10,000 troops in an effort to wreak vengeance on the descendants of the traitorous Qin Er Shi. Aman does battle with the leader of the Loyal Ten Thousand, ascending to the ethereal plane via his Jade Mist. The general, who had long gone insane from his years of imprisonment leads his troops to nearby Kunming City but Aman ends up impaling Sheng on his own spear and convinces the rest of The Loyall Ten Thousand to crossover to Heaven.

The Heroic Age

Following the end of the Siege and the Dark Reign, Danny rejoined his friend, Luke Cage as Cage bought Avengers Mansion from Tony Stark in order to make his team of Avengers official. The team had little time to begin when they were attacked by what appeared to be the Ancient One who abducted Danny and told him that the Eye of Agamotto was stolen from him by Dr. Strange and not given to him as originally told. Iron Fist returned to Earth, now wearing a new white costume that was supposed to signify that he was the current and most powerful Iron Fist currently living. He attacked Dr. Strange but soon discovered that he had been lied too. The Ancient One was really Agamotto in disguise who wanted his eye back and had been freed after the death of the Vishanti. During the final battle with Argamotto, Dr. Vodoo sacrificed his life to stop Agamotto but was killed in the process. Danny decided afterwards to stick with Luke, Jessica Jones and his goddaughter with the rest of the 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.

Shadowland

Iron Fist is amongst the heroes who battle Daredevil and the Hand. Luke Cage and Iron Fist are asked by Captain America, Iron Man and Thor to speak to Daredevil concerning the Hand’s martial law imposed in Hell’s Kitchen. As the former Heroes for Hire make their way to Hell’s Kitchen, they witness Daredevil brutally murder Bullseye. 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 who was a survivor of the building that Bullseye blew up.

The day after Bullseye’s murder, Iron Fist and Luke Cage are discussing Murdock’s actions when they are visited by the Kingpin, who comes to warn them that soon they will need to take Murdock down. Iron Fist later joins Luke Cage and the other street heroes when talking to Daredevil. When Kingpin unleashes Ghost Rider upon Shadowland, Daredevil suspects them behind Ghost Rider’s attack and orders his ninjas to hunt them down.

In the final battle for Shadowland, Iron Fist uses his chi to heal Murdock’s body and soul, giving Daredevil the power to fight back against the beast inhabiting his body.

Iron Fist joined Misty in a reorganized, non-profit Heroes for Hire. Misty remaining behind the scenes as “Control” and hiring individuals with specific skills for select missions, mainly exchanging favors or information. Purple Man intended to use Misty to covertly build a criminal empire by eliminating the competition and manipulated reformed villain Puppet Master to kidnap Misty early on in her endeavor, inducing her into a coma while controlling her team. Earpiece implants given to the heroes allowed Puppet Master to enslave them, and the cybernetics in Misty’s prosthetic arm improved his control. He targeted Atlantean drug dealers distributing ultra-addictive narcotic Hook, Baron Brimstone selling cursed Demonica Soulcutter guns, and Simon Serrati for trafficking women and exotic animals from the Savage Land. Paladin discovered Misty’s disappearance and enlisted Iron Fist’s help to find her.

Power Man and Iron Fist

After Shadowland, Iron Fist becomes the new Power Man’s mentor and the two became a team. Their first case was investigating the murder of reformed criminal Crime-Buster, by Jennie Royce, Heroes for Hire’s former secretary and Crime-Buster’s lover. Jennie was given the enchanted mask of Columbina, a member of the European assassins Commedia Dell’Morte. Columbina’s spirit possessed Royce, who then killed Crime-Buster. The mask was given to her by Gerry Kammill, founder of Aryan prison gang Divine Right, who was planning on expanding his criminal empire through taking over the private prison security firm Penance Group and running Rykers Island penitentiary through it. Crime-Buster, discovered the plot and Kammill had him sent overseas. Crime-Buster kidnapped Columbina to escape back to the States. After which, Kamill used the possessed Royce to murdered Crime-Buster. Kammill then gave the mask to crimeboss Pokerface to hide Kammill’s involvement.

While investigating Crime-Buster’s death, Victor and Fist encountered Darkforce wielding Noir, seeking to avenge her father. Her father, Muhammed Zebari, was a former prison chaplain who founded the Penance Group. He was killed by Kamill, as part of his plot to take over the Penance Group.

The Commedia discovered the location of Crime-Buster’s apartment and found Power Man, searching for evidence of Royce’s innocence. Believing Power Man knew where Columbina was, they threatened him for information, but Iron Fist saved him; battling the Commedia until police arrived, and the Commedia escaped. Victor learned of a black market auction for Columbina’s mask at Pokerface’s undersea casino. At Pokerface’s auction, Fist’s girlfriend Joy Meachum found Columbina’s mask and was possessed by her. She sought to sacrifice Power Man to avoid limbo but was unable to after Fist accidentally damaged the structure during another battle, flooding the casino. Kammill’s Penance Group ambushed Power Man and took him to Rykers.

Iron Fist allied with the Commedia Dell’Morte, who sought vengeance for the mask’s misuse, and worked with them to free Victor and defeat Kammill’s organizations. As Kammill fled from Power Man and Iron Fist, Noir hid in his helicopter until it flew over the water, heading to New Jersey, and then she shot him, leaving Kammill to fall into the river. Although Iron Fist wanted to arrest Noir for her crimes, Power Man convinced him not to as her powers were needed to help protect Manhattan. Commedia Dell’Morte regained control of the mask.

Fear Itself

During the event Iron Fist and the Immortal Weapons are summoned to Bejing, China to close the gates of the Eighth City that are on the verge of opening. However, Doctor Strange’s prediction that Iron Fist is the problem and not the solution comes true. Danny is placed under mind control which is also creating a mystical interference with the ability of the Immortal Weapons to close the gate. He is then forced to battle his allies, including War Machine who had accompanied their group on this trip. 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. Iron Fist joined the Avengers in stopping the Asgardian Serpent (Cul), using borrowed Asgardian-enhanced weaponry.

Spider-Island

Shang-Chi is told by Madame Web that people with spider powers are running amok in Manhattan. When he sees Iron Fist fighting the Spider-Man imposters and Peter Parker nearby, Shang-Chi springs into action. Bride of Nine Spiders inexplicably starts attacking and abducting her teammates in the Immortal Weapons. When trying to figure out what his recurring dream means, Shang-Chi learns from Silver Sable that she has found possible locations in Manhattan for Bride of Nine Spider’s lair. Although Shang-Chi manages to defeat Bride of Nine Spiders and frees Iron Fist, he discovers that the person behind this is the demon Ai Apaec who is seeking to feed off the Immortal Weapons.As Shang-Chi fights Ai Apeac, Iron Fist scrambles to free the other Immortal Weapons. Shang-Chi mutates into a spider during the battle as a result of the infection, but Iron Fist uses his Chi force to cure Shang-Chi, leaving Iron Fist in a weakened state. After making sure Iron Fist and the rest of the Immortal Weapons are evacuated, Shang-Chi collapses the mansion hide-out on top of Ai Apeac leaving him immobilized for the Avengers to put back into custody.

Defenders

Hulk needs Dr. Strange to gather their old Defenders teammates and stop Nul, Breaker of Worlds, released from his hammer after the Hulk destroyed it, from walking the earth. They first contact Namor, then Silver Surfer. Hulk refuses to go any further, saying he doesn’t dare go near Nul, but suggests his ex-wife Betty (the Red She-Hulk) if they want some extra muscle. Betty, whom they discover bored and frustrated in Pamplona, Spain, is willing to come along, provided she can bring her “big-ass sword.” Needing transportation, they call on Daniel Rand, whose own life had taken a turn for the interesting when an assassin attacked him during tests of a zero-g plane. Nul’s pattern of destruction shows him to be en route to Wundagore Mountain. As the Defenders follow his trail, Rand’s very expensive new plane is brought down by a missile, leaving them stranded but mostly unharmed, until Iron Fist is shot by Prester John, brandishing the Evil Eye and vowing that the Defenders will not be permitted to interfere.

Iron Fist lies critically injured on the slopes of Wundagore Mountain. With an effort of will, he uses his chi to force the bullet out and close the wound. Then he joins his fellow Defenders in battle with Prester John and his beast-headed New Men. The Defenders, though outnumbered, are able to match their adversaries until Prester John turns the Evil Eye on the Silver Surfer, enclosing him in an odd bubble of energy. Under threat of having that same power turned on them, the rest of the Defenders surrender and are taken to New Avalon, a secret city below the mountain.

Strange and Namor try to reason with Prester John, saying that Nul is coming and would destroy them all, but John already knows. He tells them Nul is being drawn to the Concordance Engine, and that when he breaks it, he will break the world — a world John thinks needs breaking because it is “violent, loveless, [and] entirely mad.” Prester John plans to bring his faithful aboard an ark: a spaceship that will carry them to a new home in the new universe. The Concordance Engine, a shining arrangement of pipes that seems to make everything around it less real, is located deep beneath Wundagore Mountain and guarded by a silent, masked knight whom Prester John calls brother. As the Defenders stand before it, Nul arrives and begins to fight his way into New Avalon.

As Nul rampages through New Avalon’s upper levels, Prester John releases the Silver Surfer. He tells the Defenders they must choose between going with him into the new universe or remaining behind to witness the end of the old one. The Surfer is dismayed at being laid low by a mere man and says they must destroy Nul and prevent Prester John from leaving the universe: a tall order. The Defenders feel sickened by the proximity of Nul, but it doesn’t stop the Red She-Hulk from sprinting into battle.

The Surfer, realizing that Prester John’s ship will destroy the universe just by firing its engines, leaves the Engine and his teammates to stop it. He has leads Prester John’s ship away from Earth, infused it with the Power Cosmic, and set it on an unchangeable course into space, presumably for centuries, carrying John and his hapless New Men with it.

The Defenders have moved the Concordance Engine from its place under Mt. Wundagore to the upper room of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. The Engine activates and delivers to him Martha, a lost love from Strange’s student days. Martha finds Strange contemplating the Concordance Engine.He tells her that he wished her back into his life, unknowingly using the Engine’s power to change reality. He says he believes it is now his responsibility to keep others from wishing for worse. Contemplating the Engine again, Strange receives a message from Namor. The Atlantean ruler has found an undersea wall bearing the distinct outline of a Concordance Engine.

Namor, the Red She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Doctor Strange (in astral projection) are at the site of an Atlantean excavation which has revealed a tomb marked with the symbol of a Concordance Engine. Inside is the body of a giant, with a submersible ship embedded in its chest. Among the ship’s treasures is a second Concordance Engine. In Danny’s Harlem apartment, he is attempting to reconnect with Misty Knight over a candlelit dinner when Fat Cobra staggers in, near death, and exclaims, “He’s killing us all.. and it’s your fault!”

Danny uses the Iron Fist to save his life. Unfortunately, a quick survey by Danny reveals that the Immortal Weapons are indeed being murdered. With the aid of the Silver Surfer, Danny searches his own library for references to the Concordance Engines. They find a series of accounts written by Ernst Erskine, one of Wendell Rand’s teammates with a group called the Confederates of the Curious. John Aman, the Prince of Orphans, arrives. He is dead-convinced of two things: that Danny and “his gang” are going to shut the Engines down and that he must be killed. Iron Fist tries to ask whether Aman murdered the other Immortal Weapons by mistake, but cannot get a clear answer before the Silver Surfer intervenes, inhaling Prince of Orphans’ mist form and carries him off, depositing him in the caldera of an active volcano. Danny calls his attention to another passage in his book of the Confederates of the Curious. They found an Engine in Z’Gambo, guarded by John Aman, Captain Nemo, Leonard McKenzie, Princess Fen, and others; moreover, they also found evidence of more Engines all over the world. Danny resolves to shut the Engines down.

The Defenders arrive in the neighboring state of Wakanda to meet with T’Challa and his sister Princess Shuri. Iron Fist is eager to pursue the connection between Z’Gambo, the Concordance Engines, and Prince of Orphans — an Immortal Weapon who may have been killing the others to protect an Engine. T’Challa and Shuri inform them that Wakanda and Z’Gambo have a ceasefire agreement because of a long and painful history of war between the two nations, and that no one crosses the border from one to the other. As soon as T’Challa mentions John Aman’s name, the man himself appears and attacks him with poisonous mist. Doctor Strange struggles to save his life, while T’Challa tells Shuri to avenge him. Shuri says that Z’Gambo and Wakanda are now at war.

Black Cat infiltrates Z’Gambo, to steal the Brass Frog, but is caught almost instantly by John Aman, the Prince of Orphans. As he is about to take her life, he senses the approach of the Defenders, arriving from Wakanda in a desperate bid to neutralize Aman and prevent the two micro-nations from going to war. Aman releases Black Cat and heads off to deal with them. The Defenders, particularly Iron Fist, are alarmed to see that Z’Gambo is nothing but bones. Aman appears and confronts them. Cursing the Defenders for their ignorance, Aman holds off their attacks with ease. Black Cat intervenes to rescue Doctor Strange, but she quickly falls as Aman uses a poisonous attack intended to murder them all. Silver Surfer, who does not need to breathe, is immune, and he fires a cosmic blast which temporarily incapacitates Aman.

The Defenders meet the Council of Antiquarians in their airship and compare notes. The Council has apparently taken possession of all of Aman’s treasures, though the man himself (contained in a purple bubble) will be sent to Wakanda as a prisoner. The three Brass Frogs, united, reveal the power of a Concordance Engine. Aman, seeing it, smiles and remembers his time with a special band of nine people who devoted their lives to protecting the Engines. Once, on the run from a Death Celestial, he hid an Engine in the form of three Frogs, modeled after those in a terrarium he used to enjoy on Captain Nemo’s ship. Now reassembled, the Engine’s power frees Aman from his bubble and bursts the heads of the Council of Antiquarians. Aman tells the Defenders and Black Cat that he must guard the Engines in order to save the universe. He then apologizes and erases them from existence.

Avengers vs. X-Men

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. In the present, as Lei Kung reads this account, Nu-An tells him that that those records have been sealed until the Phoenix returns and now he must teach Iron Fist what to do. In the past, Nu-An asks for Leonardo da Vinci to come to K’un-L’un in order to help protecting 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. In the present time, Iron Fist tells Fongji’s story to Hope and she is taken to the current Yu-Ti (whose visions indicate that she must be trained by Spider-Man). Spider-Man teaches Hope that “with great power, there must also come great responsibility” and makes her reflect about this as the potential Phoenix host.

The Living Weapon

When Danny was attacked by zombie ninjas, he was also approached by a hooded young girl, Pei, who told him it was time for him to return to K’un-Lun. While Brenda, Danny’s current lover later revealed as Harold Meachum’s daughter, brought an injured Pei to the hospital, Danny used his chi to teleport to K’un Lun.

Danny found K’un Lun destroyed and Thunderer killed. He faced off against the culprit, The One, a mechanical beast who was once a test for potential Iron Fists, possessed by the corrupted soul of Danny’s father. Danny didn’t fare as well as he did when he first proved himself as Iron Fist. Both his hands were crushed, giving The One the opportunity to turn New York into New K’un Lun.

Luckily, Danny was nursed back to health by a childhood friend, Sparrow, and Fooh, the ghost of One’s creator stuck in limbo. The One had been siphoning chi from the residents of former K’un Lun, but Fooh re-directed it into Danny super-charging him. This was the One’s plan all along. He needed Danny to access the chi. The One used the chi to open a rift and bring Danny’s late mother back. He conjured Zhu Rong, God of Fire, instead.

Zhu Rong was a giant made of fire who wanted to punish humanity for attempting to cross the barrier between heaven and Earth. To fight him, Danny channeled his chi both through The One and Rand Tower, thus becoming a giant mech to defeat Zhu Rong. When the dust settled, Danny took in Pei after she proved to be a potential future Iron Fist.

The Boys Are Back

Danny and his buddy Luke get in over their head when they do a favor for their mutual friend, Jennie Royce, upon her release from prison. She tells them that Tombstone came into possession of her grandmother’s heirloom necklace, and she wants them to get it back. It is actually the magical Supersoul Stone, and Tombstone won it fair and square. So, he sics all the neighborhood goons on them.

To get Tombstone off their case, they need to hunt down Jennie, who took the stone and ran. She teamed up with Black Mariah and was getting corrupted by the stone. Now, Jennie is targeting Tombstone, and Tombstone would rather hire Danny and Luke for protection rather than kill them.

Based on the know-how of Senor Magico, Danny and Luke needed to do more than fight demonic Jennie. They needed to reach her on an emotional level, which they accomplish with the help of her new friend Black Mariah

Civil War II

In the midst of the Avengers’ second civil war over a new precognitive inhuman, Ulysses, Danny and Luke get hired by some retired ex-cons they used to tangle with because they were being hunted by a gang called Preemptive Strike. That gang followed the ex-cons to Danny’s place where a fight broke out. When the cops showed up, Danny was arrested with half of the ex-cons, while Luke got away with the other half.

Desperate, Luke decided to stage a jailbreak, but Ulysses saw the whole thing. When he reported it to Captain Marvel, she decided her team was going to stop them. Danvers’ Avengers confronted Luke Cage and his makeshift team outside of Rykers’ eventually spilling into the prison causing the breakout. Danny was able to get in on the fight, but cooler heads eventually prevail. Danny and Luke walk away but not without giving Carol an earful about her preemptive actions.

The New Pride

It turned out Preemptive Strike was using a supernatural software that could use facial recognition to create criminal records for innocent people. Danny with Luke makes it their top priority, but Alex Wilder, back from Hell, steals the tablet with the software before they can do anything about it.

Alex is using it to create a new criminal network, the New Pride, by manipulating people with trumped up charges he creates. Jennie gets roped into his demonic drug that causes possession but hires Danny and Luke to help her when she gets cold feet. They find themselves in the middle of a gang war between The New Pride and former members of the Fang Gang.

Ultimately, the demon they were deriving the drug from attacks Alex, freeing everyone from his manipulation. Discouraged, Danny thinks about quitting until all the ex-cons they helped show up to pitch in cleaning up the neighborhood

Trial of the Seven Masters

Danny could feel his connection to the Iron Fist getting further and further away ever since K’un Lun was destroyed. He traveled the world testing his fighting skills in various tournaments looking for the push he needs to reconnect. He finally finds that challenge when the mysterious Choshin invites him to the island of Liu-Shi to fight worthy foes.

Danny was promised that each fighter had their own chi, and he will be able to absorb it after he defeats them. The Council of Liu-Shi has other plans. They believe if their fighters can defeat the Iron Fist that their island community can earn similar legitimacy as K’un Lun. Danny claimed victory after victory, even when members of the council tried framing him for murder. In the final round of the tournament, Danny faced off against the Divine Wolf, a fighter who was the original final challenge of Iron Fists before being replaced by The One.

Danny claimed his victory and with it his connection to the Iron Fist and a path forward to rebuilding K’un Lun.

Immortal Iron Fists

Danny finds himself in the role of Thunderer to the young monk, Pei, the youngest to bear the mark of Shao Lou. He has trouble balancing his responsibilities to her when Detective Li pulls Danny into a missing person case. Their first suspect turns out to be a demon with one of the Ten Exponential Scrolls. They hunt for the remaining scrolls, which would signify the end of the world once all were collected.

Danny was being manipulated though. He didn’t notice that Madame Yeoh (the housekeeper he hired to keep an eye on Pei), Aisyi (the interdimensional demon hunter who teamed up with Li and Danny), and Candace (the popular girl grooming Pei at school) were the daughters of demon, Mara, who would manifest when all 10 scrolls were together.

Pei and Danny fought back, but Mara ripped Danny’s heart out. He offered it to Pei, to become the official Iron Fist, or let the world be destroyed. Pei recognizes Mara as a tempter and takes heed of Danny’s advice that there is a “third option.” She gives her chi to Danny who Iron Fist punches Mara and his daughters back where they came from.

Unfortunately, not only was Pei physically taken with them, but her memory faded from Danny and her new friends as well. It wasn’t until a social worker showed up for a surprise inspection did Danny’s memory get jogged. He could now sense her across dimensions and focused his chi to open a portal. She returned from a gladiatorial world where she passed her Iron Fist tests, earning her powers and ready to continue under Danny’s training.

The Defenders…again

With Diamondback (Willis Stryker) inexplicably back from the dead and with superpowers, he targets Danny and his friends: Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil. They decide to work together to flush Stryker out and defend their city. Unfortunately, that means clashing with The Punisher (gunning for Stryker), avoiding Black Cat’s gang (dealing with Stryker), and many trips to Night Nurse‘s clinic.

They are finally able to track him down when he shoots Black Cat causing a “crazy pants gang war” (Jessica Jones’ words). With their combined strengths, they are able to beat Stryker and get him arrested. Danny and his new team still have the gang war to contend with, mixing it up with Elektra, Deadpool, The Punisher (again), and Stryker (still). Luckily, with help from a bunch of allies, they take down an amped-up Stryker.

Contagion

Iron Fist was surprised by his old friend Sparrow, the new Yu-Ti of a rebuilt K’un Lun, with a warning. A dangerous supernatural fungus has escaped K’un Lun though subterranean tunnels and made it all the way to New York. Danny hits the streets only to find a number of victims including 3 of the Fantastic Four. The Thing, the survivor, said patient zero seemed to absorb their powers in addition to infecting them.

It wasn’t long before Iron Fist and Thing were calling in the big guns. The Avengers. Doctor Strange. Luke Cage. Cloak and Dagger. Pretty much anyone who would or could help. So, while many of them tried to punch the plague, Danny recruited a group of sorcerers, led by Senor Magico, to throw up a magic barrier around Manhattan.

It was Moon Knight who ultimately saved the day, though. His multiple personality disorder allowed him to connect to the hive mind of the fungus without losing his wits and disconnect the infected heroes one by one.

Age of Khonshu and the Phoenix Force

As the present day Iron Fist, he was targeted by the present day Moon Knight, who, under Khonshu‘s orders, was collecting the powers of the mantles who composed the Avengers B.C. team in order to face off against the Phoenix Force.

Moon Knight, suspicious of Khonshu’s motives, eventually rebelled and returned the powers back to the mantle bearers. Not long after, the Phoenix returned, residing on a nearby island to Avengers Mountain. It kidnapped a number of heroes, including Avengers, to battle in a tournament to be it’s new host. Iron Fist stayed behind to help the Avengers monitor the island.

Heart of the Dragon

Danny is called away when the dragons of the Heavenly Cities are targeted so the Hidden City can consolidate its power. Danny is unable to save the Under City Dragon from Taskmaster cutting out and stealing its heart, but he is able to stop Lady Bullseye from hurting Pei’s pet dragon, Gork. After he gets the news that the dragon of Tiger Island and Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter were both slain, Danny uses Fooh’s portal machine to team with the other Immortal Weapons and Luke Cage to defend the other dragons.

They are able to manifest the cities on Earth so that other heroes can join their defense, including Okoye. Unfortunately, they lose many of the dragons, so The Prince of Orphans collects Danny, his team, and the Spider Island Dragon to bring to the Heart of Heaven. There, they find Okoye, already directed to this city by The Prince. She had slayed the dragon of the Heart of Heaven and quickly slayed the Spider Island Dragon saying she needed to secure the cosmic balance.

That’s when Brenda Swanson appears with her new master, the Hierophant. She used the power of the dragon hearts to free him from his dimension. Iron Fist and Okoye combine theirs powers of the Iron Fist and the Heart of Heaven to stop him. While he is distracted, Fooh is able to destroy the gates, delaying the Hierophant in the Heart of Heaven so the heroes can travel to the Hidden City, where they are attacked by the Ghost Dragon.

The heroes are no match for the Ghost Dragon. They need one more dragon heart to empower Okoye, so Pei and Gork agree to sacrifice Gork’s life, knowing the dragons can be reborn if they win. With this new edge, Okoye is able to slay the Ghost Dragon and claim his power for the Heavenly Cities. When the Hierophant catches up to them, Danny lends his power to Okoye given her the full power of the Heavenly Cities while he and the other heroes fight off Hierophant’s army of undead ninjas.

After Okoye has succeeded, she tried to give the Iron Fist back to Danny, but that is not how it works. Danny says she is the Iron Fist now, but Okoye refuses due to her responsibilities to Wakanda. Instead, the power goes back to Gork (a resurrected Shou-Lao the Undying) who had transformed into an egg. Danny, as a result, is now without his abilities.

Abilities

The Iron Fist is trained to be a “Living Weapon” making them one of the best martial artists in the world. They have mastered all of K’un-Lun’s martial arts and many of those from Earth and has also trained in the use of all martial arts weapons and they possess the power to harness the mystical spiritual energy, or chi of Shou-Lao the Undying.

Chi Augmentation: Plunging his fists into the molten heart of Shou-Lao the Undying gave Rand the power of the Iron Fist, allowing him to focus his chi and enhance his natural abilities to extraordinary levels. Through concentration, Iron Fist can harness his spiritual energy, or chi, to augment his physical and mental capabilities to even superhuman levels. Recently his powers, skill, and awareness have been all augmented to vastly higher levels; while the extent is unknown, it was stated his sense of self has grown ten thousand fold and his capabilities now posses infinite depth. He no longer tires from using his chi and is capable of using his powers for greater tasks. Examples include destroying a train with the iron fist punch as it collided with his attack at full speed, healing himself from several external injuries, and detoxifying unwittingly ingested poison in his body with his chi.

• Peak Human Strength: Typically, Iron Fist possesses the pinnacle physical strength of a human man of his particular age, height, and build that engages in intense regular exercise. He possesses the peak level of strength a human can reach without being considered superhuman. With the use of his spiritual energy, Iron Fist is capable of augmenting his strength to incredible superhuman levels which limits are unknown but he was able to go toe to toe with a being who easily manhandled the likes of Luke Cage, and bring down and break off a foot of a monster hundreds of feet tall with one strike.

• Peak Human Speed: Iron Fist is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete and is naturally as fast as a human can be without being considered superhuman. Iron Fist can use his spiritual energy to augment his speed to incredible superhuman levels which limits are unknown. He was able to hit a large monster over a hundred feet tall, nearly a hundred times, in the span of a few seconds at speeds faster than the human eye can track/see, move faster than a bullet and so on.

• Peak Human Stamina: Iron Fist’s musculature is enhanced to generate less fatigue toxins than the musculature of normal humans. He can exert himself physically at peak capacity for over an hour before fatigue begins to impair him.

• Peak Human Agility: Iron Fist’s natural agility, balance, and bodily coordination are superior to those of any Olympic athlete that has ever competed, and is agile as it is humanly possible.

• Peak Human Reflexes: Iron Fist’s reaction time is superior to that of any Olympic athlete that has ever competed, and are enhanced to the point where they could be considered superhuman. His reflexes are so efficient that he can dodge point blank gun fire, catch arrows in mid flight, and has even been capable of snatching and tagging bullets out of the air etc.

• Peak Human Durability: The tissues of Iron Fist’s body are harder than those of humans. While still vulnerable to physical injury, Daniel is able to use his spiritual energy to augment his durability to vast superhuman levels. He was able to strike a train carrying “enough raw explosives to make the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima look like nothing more than a sparkler,” and survive the explosion at point blank range, without any sign of harm.

• Chi Enhanced Healing: If he sustains injury or illness, Iron Fist can focus his chi for the purposes of healing his injuries. On the brink of death after a battle with Radion the Atomic Man, Daniel received a vision of Yu-Ti revealing that “the Iron Fist is not a weapon but a force of will which could perform miracles including healing,” saving his life. By focusing enough he can even purge his own body of poison, however Daniel experienced great pain in the process. Recently he has proven capable of healing himself almost unconsciously and does not feel drained in the slightest. He is also capable of channeling this energy into other people, allowing them to heal with more efficiency as well.

• Iron Fist Punch: By summoning his chi and focusing it into his hand, he can draw upon the superhuman energy derived from the heart of the mystic serpent Shou-Lao and make his fist inhumanly powerful and super humanly resistant to injury and pain on a very high superhuman level. This “iron fist” technique does not involve a physical transformation of any kind, simply a psychic channeling of concentrated natural energy. With his fist in this state, Iron Fist can shatter wood and brick, rip through steel, and punch his opponents with extraordinary concussive force without sustaining injury to himself. He can hit with such vast force that he has knocked out incredibly durable Super humans such as the likes of Colossus with his Iron Fist, shatter Scorpion‘s tail, destroy Thunderball‘s wrecking ball weapon, smash through jets, mechs, and in extreme cases, he has brought down the Hammer Helicarrier with one strike, The act of summoning and using his chi for the Iron Fist technique used to mentally drains him after long periods of use but no more.

• Mind Meld: Iron Fist can use his power to temporarily fuse his consciousness with another person, resulting in a sharing of knowledge, emotions, and memories.

• Energy Absorption: At times, he has absorbed energy directed at himself and channeled it to augment his own power.

• Energy Manipulation: Learned how to tap into energy fields, most notable the electromagnetic field

• Heightened Awareness: Recently his awareness has increased to new levels. To what level it is unclear. His senses are so great he can hear the sweat running down the cheek of a person in another room, and even with his back turned he is able to sense when a complete stranger (The Iron Fist Killer.) is going to strike before they actually do. [6].

• Enhanced Sight: He has unusually keen eyesight, but it is unclear if it extends to superhuman level.

• Environmental Adaptation: His entire body is oriented to combat, enabling him to adapt to any environment with minimal exposure.

Chi Manipulation: The Iron Fist grants Danny with many abilities that he has possibly not yet learned, such as channeling the Shou-Lao chi into a ranged weapon, such as a gun or bow, to increase its striking capabilities; this technique is used both by Orson Randall and Wu Ao-Shi. Also another ability demonstrated by Orson Randall is hypnosis, Danny has mastered this ability according to himself after being shown it. He has also shown the ability to project his chi as a concussive blast.

Abilities

Master Martial Artist: Danny is a master of K’un-Lun’s martial arts and many of Earth’s. Among them being Kunlunquan, Shaolinquan, Judo, Aikido, Karate, and has even displayed proficient boxing, loose brawling and street fighting tactics. Danny is one of the greatest martial artists who has ever walked the earth; having held his own against Wolverine and Captain America struggling more with Wolverine in a contest of pure skill, defeated the likes of Sabretooth while temporarily blind, and even defeated Spider-Man, Daredevil, Colossus, and Nightcrawler. Recently his skill has been augmented to unknown levels. He, for example, possesses infinite ways to kill a man, such as the Black-Black Poison Touch which uses his chi to kill anyone in the close vicinity.

Weapons Master: He has been trained in the use of almost all martial arts weapons.

Nervous System Control: He has near-complete control over his nervous system, enabling him to deaden himself to pain but not in a fight as it takes alot of concentration. He also is able pass lie detector tests.

Skilled Acrobat: Danny is a skilled acrobat and gymnast capable of many difficult feats.

Multilingual: He can speak fluent American English, Chinese and Japanese.

Strength level

Without increasing his strength with chi, Danny possesses the peak human level of strength a man of his age, height, and build that exercises intensively. He is capable of lifting at least twice his body weight and can press lift at the very least 350 lbs.

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Character Profile

• Height: 5’11”
• Weight: 175 lbs
• Eye Color: Blue
• Hair Color: Blond
• Citizenship: American, K’un-Lun
• Place of Birth: Unrevealed, possibly K’un Lun or New York
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Adventurer, co-owner of Rand-Meachum, inc., dojo instructor, Thunderer of K’un-Lun
• Known Relatives: Wendell Rand-K’ai (father, deceased), Heather Duncan Rand (aka Silver Dragon; mother, deceased), Miranda Rand-K’ai (aka Death Sting; half-sister), Danielle Cage (god-daughter)
• Distinguishing features: Has a dragon shaped brand on his chest. His fist glows when his powers are in use.

Alternate Realities

House of M (Earth-58163)

In the House of M reality Daniel Rand was a member of Luke Cages Human Resistance Movement.

Marvel Zombies (Earth-2149)

Iron Fist is seen being bitten by a zombified Luke Cage and punching a hole through a zombified Black Cat.

MC2 Earth-982

In May’s time, Danny has retired from the hero business to become a teacher. He has also lost the knack for heroics following the death of wife, Misty Knight. He came out of retirement to help Spider-girl take down the evil Dragonfist. After the battle, Danny left again, but will return as the Ironfist. If the time comes.

Beyonder Rules Earth-538

After the Beyonder remade Earth, Iron Fist became one of the many who worshipped and adored him.

Age Of Apocalypse (Earth-295)

In Astonishing X-Men (vol. 1) #2, a man bearing the mark of the Iron Fist on his shoulder is seen running from Holocaust.

Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610)

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Iron Fist appeared in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, most notably in the “Warriors” and “Ultimate Knights” story arcs. He’s first introduced in the midst of a misunderstanding involving a shoplifter, which causes Danny to get punched out by Spider-Man and arrested by the police. He is eventually released from prison some months later, and meets up with his old buddy Shang-Chi in Chinatown. After Shang-Chi is attacked by Hammerhead and his thugs, the two martial artists decide to take down the gangster and his organization. This leads to a massive confrontation that includes Spider-Man, Hammerhead, Elektra, Black Cat, the Enforcers and Moon Knight, which ultimately ends with Hammerhead being rendered comatose by Elektra.

Later on, both Iron Fist and Shang-Chi become part of the Ultimate Knights, a team of street-level vigilantes assembled by Daredevil to take down the Kingpin. However, it turns out that Iron Fist is actually a mole who is providing Kingpin with information on his teammates, including Daredevil’s true identity. After the Kingpin has Matt Murdock’s law office destroyed, Daredevil realizes that Iron Fist is the one who sold him out, and attacks him. Danny confesses to being the traitor, and reveals that he has a daughter with a woman named Colleen (implied to be the Ultimate version of Colleen Wing). After the Kingpin threatened his daughter’s safety, Danny agreed to work for him. This revelation shatters the morale of the group, causing both Shang-Chi and Doctor Strange to quit in disgust. Danny later attempts to redeem himself by acting as a distraction so that Daredevil can storm the Kingpin’s penthouse, and is last seen reuniting with his daughter after the Ultimate Knights disband. It is unknown what became of Iron Fist after this.

Mutant X

One of the brave second wave of people who fought The Beyonder and died.

Dormammuverse (Earth-5113)

A reality in which Dormammu reigns over all.

Marvel Apes (Earth-8101)

Home to simian versions of Marvel heroes and villains, this world is very similar to Earth-616, but also has a lot of differences. The justice system of this world is that villains are trialed and if they refuse the join the “good guys”, they are beaten to death. This reality’s Captain America was replaced by Baron Blood and frozen in an iceberg. Baron Blood later sired this reality’s Invaders as vampires, except Simian Torch because of his android nature, who they killed because of that.

AAFES Universe (Earth-33900)

Earth-33900 developed very similarly to Earth-616. The Invaders fought alongside Allied Forces in World War II. Captain America and Bucky both disappeared at the end of World War II. Captain America was later found by the Avengers and became their leader. The Avengers grew into the New Avengers. Steve Rogers was believed killed after the events of Civil War, and Bucky took up the mantle of Captain America.

Dwayne Taylor is Iron Man (Earth-81156)

Earth-81156 is a world in which Dwayne Taylor wasn’t killed in the Stamford explosion, and instead took control of the Initiative from Tony Stark, sending both heroes and villains to another universe using the Nth Projector.

Earth-Z (Earth-91126)

Its revealed the remaining zombies from Earth-2149 such as Spider-Man and Wolverine were teleported from New Wakanda to separate locations of this universe.Eventually this universe is also taken by the zombie virus. Iron Fist was present at the fight club where a zombie version of Wolverine crashed through a wall. Iron Fist asked Wolverine if he was alright and Wolverine killed him while remarking “Never better, Iron Fist”.

Apes World Invaded (Earth-95019)

A version of the Marvel Apes reality where they were invaded by Marvel Zombies.

Heroes for Hire Inc, Multinational (Earth-989192)

As leader of Heroes for Hire and their Avengers, Danny ran the privatized superhero industry alongside his best friends, Piotr Rasputin and Luke Cage.When he made an impulsive decision not to help the Silver Samurai defend Japan against Moses Magnum, millions of Japanese died. Rand later soon regretted this upon heeding to Samurai’s call once he and the Avengers were over a devastated Japan. He was killed by Piotr so that the Exiles could fulfill their mission and move on.

Daredevil Died Saving Elektra (Earth-TRN071)

25 Years From Now (Earth-10511)

Iron Fist was a rebel who fought against Roxxon, which ran the government. He was slain by the Deathlok.

Luke Cage (Earth-8545)

Power Fist’s reality was overrun by Vi-Locks until the original Exiles came to help. Once they left, he stayed a hero and helped the world finish recovering. He eventually helped Quentin Quire (Earth-91172) learn about the Exiles, and went back to Quentin’s reality to save it from being overrun by the Hulk’s Annihilation Wave.

Other Media

Television

Marvel Super Hero Squad Show

Iron Fist appears in the episode “A Brat Walks Among Us” alongside other Heroes for Hire members Luke Cage and Misty Knight. He was voiced by Mikey Kelley.

Ultimate Spider-Man

Iron Fist appears in Ultimate Spider-Man as a teenager closer in age to Spider-Man. He is voiced by Greg Cripes. In this series his personality is a cross between a monk and a skater, offering sage advice and non-sequesters, but talking and behaving in an air headed fashion which often confuses his teammates.

Iron Fist acts as the den mother, seeking to keep his teammates tempers in check and there teamwork up. He has shown to be able to encase his fist in a golden energy that can break through anything and even overpower the claws sonic abilities along with being an expert martial artist. So far his fist has shown no other powers beyond it’s enhanced strength. He has also stated to be a pacifist and wears a speedo with the monks symbol on it saying “it’s a monk thing”.

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

Iron Fist first 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 is a member of Heroes for Hire along with Luke Cage. The two are hired by Henry Pym to retrieve his Ant-Man suit from a thief who has stolen it. Luke Cage and Iron Fist go to track down some informants to locate the thief that stole the Ant-Man costume. Luke Cage and Iron Fist run into the thief that stole the Ant-Man costume. With help from Henry Pym’s Pym Particle tracker, they find the thief and discover that he is Scott Lang, who needed the money to pay off his former partner Crossfire, who had captured his daughter Cassandra Lang. Later at Lang’s meeting with Crossfire and his men, Pym arrives with Luke Cage and Iron Fist where they help Lang rescue his daughter and defeat Crossfire. After Pym hands over the mantle of Ant-Man to Lang, Iron Fist offers him a position on the team with him and Cage. In the episode “Yellowjacket”, Iron Fist makes a cameo appearance paying respect at Pym’s funeral. In the episode “New Avengers”, Iron Fist is one of the super-heroes that unites to fight Kang the Conquerer.

Marvel Future Avengers (2017)

Iron fist appears in the Marvel Future Avengers anime, voiced by Go Shinomiya in the Japanese version and by Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dub.

Iron Fist

In 2017, a live-action Iron Fist TV series was launched as part of Marvel’s collaboration with Netflix. The series starred Finn Jones as the title character, as well as Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, Simone Missick as Misty Knight, Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum, Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum, Sacha Dhawan as Davos and Alice Eve as Typhoid Mary.

The first season detailed Danny Rand’s origin story, as well as his battle against the Hand, the ancient enemies of the Iron Fist. The second season sees a version of Danny inspired by Daredevil be the hero his city needs while also dealing with his legacy to his family’s company and to his adopted home, K’un-Lun.

The show also set the stage for Netflix’s Defenders limited series, which saw Danny team up with Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Despite being heavily panned by critics, Iron Fist ran for two seasons on Netflix.

The Defenders

Following the strategy of the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Netflix produced four shows: Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist and this fifth crossover season, The Defenders, where all 4 titular characters and select supporting characters teamed up against The Hand.

All actors, including Finn Jones as Iron Fist, reprised their roles, and the events of The Defenders had lasting effects on the continued individual series.

Luke Cage

Finn Jones reprises his role in the second season of Luke Cage in an episode titled “The Main Ingredient,” after befriending the titular character during The Defenders. He offers his help in tracking down Bushmaster.

Video Games

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  Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage – Iron Fist’s video game debut as a summonable character during certain missions in-game.

• Spider-Man: Friend or Foe – Iron Fist makes his debut playable appearance as a SHIELD Agent that needs to be rescued off of Tangaroa Island. After Spider-Man saves him he becomes playable.

• 

  Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 -Iron Fist appears in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game locked into the Anti-Registration side of the story.

• Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 – Iron Fist appears as one of 12 new playable characters. His alternate costume is his Ultimate design from Ultimate Spider-Man. In his ending, after he defeats Galactus, Iron Fist forms a new Heroes for Hire team out of both Marvel and Capcom characters consisting of Luke Cage, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Ryu, and Batsu Ichimonji. He was voiced by Loren Lester.
• Marvel Heroes – Iron Fist appears in the game, voiced by JP Karliak and Johnny Yong Bosch.
• Lego Marvel Super Heroes – Iron Fist is a playable character.
• Marvel Future Fight – Iron Fist appears in the game.
• Marvel Contest of Champions – Iron Fist appears in the game.
• Marvel Puzzle Quest – Iron Fist appears in the game.
• Lego Marvel’s Avengers – Iron Fist is again a playable character.

• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order – Iron Fist is a playable character in the game, voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch.

Merchandise

• Toy Biz released an Iron Fist figure as part of the Apocalypse Build-a-Figure Marvel Legends wave.
• Hasbro released an Iron Fist figure for the Marvel Universe line.
• Bowen Designs released a statue and bust of Iron Fist.
• Hard Hero created an Iron Fist statue.
• Hard Hero created an Iron Fist statue.
• Iron Fist was featured in the Minimates line from Diamond Select.
• Iron Fist was featured in the “Doc Ock Ambush” Lego kit.
• Diamond Select produced an Iron Fist PVC statue based on his Netflix design.
• Hasbro released a figure of the teenage Iron Fist for the Ultimate Spider-Man line.
• Hasbro released an Iron Fist figure for the Allfather Build-a-Figure Marvel Legends wave. Another figure was later released as part of the Dormammu Build-a-Figure wave.
• The Netflix version of Iron Fist was featured in the Marvel Legends Defenders box set from Hasbro, which was an SDCC 2018 exclusive.