With the recent release of the first full-length Iron Fist trailer, excitement surrounding the Living Weapon is at an all-time high.
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As we’ve covered throughout the past few days, the trailer gave us a few treats including a look at a possible classic costume for Danny Rand and some singed clothing hinting we may see the dragon Shou-Lao.Also in the trailer, we catch glimpses of Madame Gao, the high-level crime boss we’ve previously seen in Daredevil in addition to Colleen Wing, one-half of the crime-fighting duo Daughters of the Dragon.
We’ve seen plenty of faces we know and perhaps better yet, we’ve been shown even more people that we haven’t been introduced to just quite yet. In a few shots in both this new trailer, as well as the previous teaser released at New York Comic Con last October, there’s a character that looks an awful like the Bride of Nine Spiders.
Wait. Who? The Bride of Nine Spiders — the protector of the Kingdom of Spiders, one of the Seven Cities of Heaven. The Bride of Nine Spiders, who’s true identity who has yet to revealed in the comics, was first introduced in the widely-popular Immortal Iron Fist run by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja.
Once every 88 years, the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven appear on Earth and intertwine forming a location called the Heart of Heaven. Each city has a dedicated protector, often referred to as an Immortal Weapon, that serves as the respective city’s warrior in a tournament each time the Heart of Heaven is formed. The winner of the tournament doesn’t get money or riches — rather the winner’s city gets to appear on Earth once every seven years instead of the 88 years it takes for the Heart of Heaven to form.
It’s worth mentioning that the primary power each Immortal Weapon has the ability to focus all of their energy and manipulate their chi in various ways.
If we’re correct and the character in the above picture is indeed the Bride of Nine Spiders, who’s to say we won’t be seeing any of the other Immortal Weapons?
We know that Daniel Rand-Kai, the Iron Fist, is the Immortal Weapon for K’un-Lun and we know that the Bridge of Nine Spiders is the Immortal Weapon for the Kingdom of Spiders. But that’s only two of the seven cities covered — who are the other five Immortal Weapons? See a rundown of the other five Immortal Weapons, and the cities that they represent, in the slideshow below.
Davos the Steel Serpent/Steel Phoenix (K’un-Zi)
K’un-Zi is primarily known for its people’s use of dark magic. Ruled by the Crane Mother, K’un-Zi first appeared in the Marvel universe in Immortal Iron Fist #4, where it’s revealed that the city’s champion is typically the Crane Champion.
We’re shown in that issue that Orson Randall, the man who wore the Iron Fist mantle prior to Danny Rand, killed the Crane Champion. The only problem? The Crane Mother can only give birth to a Crane Champion just once every 300 years. Because of this, the Crane Mother listed the help of Davos the Steel Serpent to act as K’un-Zi’s champion during the last Tournament of the Heavenly Cities. During the tournament, Davos took up the mantle of The Steel Phoenix.
Davos, as you probably know by now, is the arch-nemesis of Danny Rand. The two were both in K’un-Lun at the same time training to become the Iron Fist. Danny was able to kill Shou-Lao, the dragon from which K’un-Lun drew its power, and become the Iron Fist, much to Davos’ dismay.
Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter (Tiger Island)
A peaceful tropical paradise, Tiger Island used to be a land in which the women used to serve as the island’s warriors. After an invasion twenty years prior to the events of Immortal Iron Fist left the island’s female population nearly extinct, the male population struck a truce with their invaders.
Following the expiration of the truce, one of the island’s young ladies named Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter, daughter of the famous Tiger Warrior, rallied the troops and prepared them for war. The army, led by the Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter, came back victorious and removed the invaders from their island completely.
She went on to represent Tiger Island in the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities and although defeated by Davos in the first round, she did manage to cut of Davos’ hand during the fight. Perhaps one of the most patient of the Immortal Weapons, Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter has been shown to meditate for nine days straight, while Iron Fist and Fat Cobra only managed to meditate for three days and 12 hours, respectively. Along with being able to manipulate her chi, like the rest of the Weapons, Tiger’s Beautiful Daughter also wears a metal mask a defensive mechanism and uses a pair of razor-sharp fans as a weapon alongside two spears.
Fat Cobra (Peng Lai)
Fat Cobra hails from Peng Lai Island, a place where nearly all of its citizens serve as pig farmers. Much like the origin of Iron Fist, where he must defeat Shou-Lao to take up his superhero mantle, the champion of Peng Lai must defeat Xiang Yao, a serpent that lives beneath the island’s surface.
Although he has the size of a traditional sumo wrestler, the 111-year-old Fat Cobra focuses his chi upon his agility and reflexes, making him one of the fastest Immortal Weapons. Even when not focusing his chi, he’s been able to run at speeds upwards of 35 miles per hour.
Fat Cobra shows immense strength, being able to lift at least twice his body weight. Due to the culture of Peng Lai and debauched way of life, his memory at times can end up a little blurry.
Dog Brother #1 (Under City)
Born in Hong Kong, Dog Brother #1 serves as the Immortal Weapon of Under City. An orphan himself, Dog Brother #1 travels the world to find and rescue fellow orphans, allowing them refuge in Under City.
Unlike Iron Fist or Fat Cobra, the Dog Brother mantle doesn’t pass on after an individual slays a beast. Rather, the current Dog Brother searches the world for the lost and eventually finds an orphan who is destined to become the new Dog Brother. The current Dog Brother will lay does his weapons and armor and the orphan must kill him to absorb his chi and consequently, his powers.
Prince of Orphans (Z’Gabo)
The Prince of Orphans, or John Aman as his alter ego, comes from Z’Gambo, a city-state located in the deepest, darkest parts of the African jungle. During the events of Immortal Iron Fist, the Prince of Orphans easily defeated the Davos during the tournament before joining up with the other Immortal Weapons to defend the Heart of Heaven during a Hydra invasion.
Aman was trained by The Council of Seven to manipulate his chi in several unique ways. His signature technique is a martial arts move called the ‘Jawsnapper in Twilight’ and he’s able to turn his physical body into a green mist. While in his mist form, the Prince of Orphans is able to enter nearly any location and is able to continue striking opponents as if in his physical form, although unable to be harmed by his opponents. Everything isn’t always greener, however, as there have been times in which Aman was trapped in his green mist form.
