Marvel issued a press release announcing that Danny Rand will make his return in Iron Fist: The Living Weapon. Since the whole Marvel Now thing began and The Defenders ended the Immortal Weapon’s only appearance in a few issues of Deadpool and A + X. The series drops in April and will be written and drawn by Kaare Andrews. Andrews’ previous work for the company includes A + X and the excellent but underrated Spider-Man: Reign.
Andrews plans to streamline Iron Fist’s background enough so new readers can easily enjoy the series. We can expect to see some familiar faces though. The series will also explore a part of Iron Fist’s history that is largely overlooked: the whole reason Rand left the city of K’un L’un and came to Earth was for vengeance. Way back in the 1970s issues of Marvel Premiere Iron Fist was first looking to make those responsible for the death of his parents pay.
Iron Fist has long been one of my favourite Marvel characters. I was both upset and confused why he wasn’t featured in the Infinity crossover’s Mighty Avengers volume, maybe the planning of this series was why. Of course, I’m sure the upcoming Netflix series helped. Iron Fist’s solo series, The Immortal Iron Fist was arguably one of the best “superhero” comics in modern history. The acclaimed creative team behind the first volumes of the title now work on Hawkeye.
The use or misuse of Iron Fist is a topic that’s interested me for a while. In recent times Marvel’s given him a lot of false starts. During Fear Itself he was featured in the series Iron Man 2.0. In that series Danny was revealed to be under demonic possession or something of the sort. Dr. Strange comment on it, foreshadowing future stories that never happened. I thought the dangling plot would be addressed once he met Strange again Defenders was announced, but nope.
There are numerous examples of this, such as Iron Fists connection with the Phoenix Force which was inadequately explored. In the first story arc of the second volume of New Avengers his costume was turned white and there was an implied connection with the Eye of Agamotto that hasn’t been referenced since. In subsequent appearances his costume has remained white, although I’m hoping it’s switched back in this new series. Let’s face it, no one pulls off green like Iron Fist.
Are you excited by this announcement? What are your thoughts on Iron Fist’s history? Let’s know in the comments below.
