Danny Rand has carried the mantle of the Iron Fist for decades in the pages of Marvel Comics, and his mid-2000’s comic book title The Immortal Iron Fist is easily Danny’s greatest comic book tale. Created in 1974 by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Danny Rand is a New York City billionaire who was raised as a child in the otherworldly city of K’un Lun, one of the Seven Cities of Heaven and which only rotates into Earth’s plane ever 10 years. Raised as a Buddhist monk and trained in martial arts, Danny eventually earns the right to challenge the mythical dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, and gains the power of the Iron Fist after his victory. Danny then returns to New York City, and begins his life as the superhero Iron Fist, becoming close friends with other heroes like Luke Cage, Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, and Daredevil.
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As the Iron Fist, Danny’s powers include not just the greatest kung fu skills in the world, but the ability to control his internal energy, or chi, using it either for healing, or focusing it into his fist to make it as strong as iron, hence his name. While Danny Rand has wielded the Iron Fist on many comic book adventures, The Immortal Iron Fist stands as his best by far (and one that should be drawn heavily upon in the event of Iron Fist making a Disney+ comeback a la Daredevil: Born Again.)
Immortal Iron Fist Is An Epic Kung Fu Movie In Comic Book Form
As a superhero conceived during the ’70s kung fu movie boom, Iron Fist has always been closely linked to martial arts films and Asian mythology, both of which of heavily reflected in his comic book history. Matt Fraction’s run on Immortal Iron Fist reads like an updated version of Danny Rand’s early ’70s exploitation movie-esque adventures, re-imagined for the 21st century. Like an old school martial arts flick, Immortal Iron Fist is steeped in a lore combining supernatural elements with grounded human grit, presenting not just Danny Rand, but K’un Lun, Danny’s arch-enemy Davos a.k.a. Steel Serpent, and many other characters with the kind of legendary aura one would expect in Enter the Dragon or The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.
Immortal Iron Fist emphasizes such classic kung fu movie staples as a wise mentor, a far away city where a tournament of warriors will be held, a book of secret, centuries-old martial arts techniques in the Book of the Iron Fist, a seemingly undefeatable villain, a student who must hone his skills for the battle he faces, a wide collection of different martial arts disciplines being put to use, and esoteric elements like chi as a tool for both combat and healing. While most of these elements had been seen in Iron Fist comics before, Immortal Iron Fist presents them in a package meant to recall the nostalgia of the ’70s kung fu craze re-imagined in a modern context, and Immortal Iron Fist still isn’t done there with its deep reverence for Danny Rand or the martial arts genre.
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Immortal Iron Fist Exploded Its Hero’s Mythos (Including With Its Memorable Artwork & Other Iron Fists)
As the first solo comic book devoted specifically to Danny Rand since Marvel’s six-part Iron Fist mini-series “Breathless” from 2004, Immortal Iron Fist treats Danny’s story in it as if readers were being introduced to Iron Fist for the very first time (I should know, I was one of them), even if it’s not an origin story. One of the best contributions Immortal Iron Fist makes to is the vast expansion of Iron Fist lore and canon seen throughout the entirety of its run. These include Danny’s mentor and Iron Fist predecessor Orson Randall, the introduction of the other six otherworldly Cities of Heaven, and the Immortal Weapons originating from each city as competitors in the tournament Danny must enter. With that and the revolt that Danny eventually leads against K’un Lun’s ruthless ruler Yu-Ti, Danny effectively forms a new Marvel martial arts-themed superhero team known as the Immortal Weapons consisting of himself, Fat Cobra, Dog Brother #1, Bride of Nine Spiders, Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter and John Aman, the Prince of Orphans (even if what could have become a phenomenal Iron Fist-led team book ended up being more of a one-off.)
Additionally, not every issue of Immortal Iron Fist was devoted to Danny Rand’s story, with issues periodically exploring several of the Iron Fist’s that preceded Danny as K’un Lun’s protector, including the first female Iron Fist, Wu Ao-Shi, and others like Bei Bang-Wen, Li Park, and even an Iron Fist in the year 3099, Wah Sing-Rand. With Immortal Iron Fist also devoting attention to Orson Randall’s origin story and even the time Danny’s father Wendall Rand spent training in K’un Lun as a potential Iron Fist candidate, Immortal Iron Fist placed Danny Rand into a lineage of warriors and mythology the likes of which had never been established before in Iron Fist comics.
On top of that, David Aja’s artwork on Immortal Iron Fist drew clear influences from Chinese art, while also capturing the martial arts sequences with real stand-out flair. Practically every panel in every fight scene in Immortal Iron Fist could have been a snapshot right out of a kung fu movie, and paired with the Chinese-influenced artwork of the book gave Immortal Iron Fist a genuine novelty as the definitive martial arts-themed comic book on the market at the time, and the definitive Iron Fist run of all time.
Iron Fist Season 2 Began Bringing In Elements Of Immortal Iron Fist (& Disney+ Can Continue That)
With the foundation of so much mythos already laid out, the best case scenario for a comeback of Netflix’s Iron Fist is undoubtedly a Daredevil: Born Again-esque revival that pulls liberally from the lore and story on Immortal Iron Fist. Indeed, Iron Fist on Netflix was already dipping its toes in those waters with Finn Jones’ Danny Rand introducing himself with the title of the Immortal Iron Fist from the start, along with Bride of Nine Spiders (Jane Kim) even appearing. Say what you will about Iron Fist season 1, but the makers of the series clearly learned their lesson with a tremendously improved season 2, which itself also ended on the clear indication that Immortal Iron Fist was going to form much of the basis for the show moving forward.
As season 2 ends, Danny reveals to Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) that she is a descendant of Wu Ao-Shi, with Danny and Ward Meachum (Tom Pelphrey) heading for the Far East to find Orson Randall. Danny himself provides a tease of Orson’s style of Iron Fist heroics in season 2’s final scene, donning a green duster and wielding dual pistols, which he is able to channel his chi into as he fires rounds from them. Since Daredevil: Born Again is more or less Daredevil season 4 already, and the return of Matt Murdock’s fellow Defenders is a growing necessity, Disney+ can easily deliver on the teases of Iron Fist season 2’s ending with an Immortal Iron Fist-based revival series. Indeed, Immortal Iron Fist itself could even be the perfect title, establishing itself as a continuation of Danny Rand’s journey in Netflix’s Iron Fist while setting itself as something altogether new, as well, and all of it based principally upon the greatest Iron Fist comics run there has ever been.
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