Iron Fist (character)

Creation in Amazing-Man Comics #5 (September 1939). Art by Bill Everett Iron Fist, along with the previously created martial artist Shang-Chi, came from Marvel Comics during an American pop culture trend in the early to mid-1970s of martial arts heroes. Writer/co-creator Roy Thomas wrote in a text piece in Marvel Premiere #15 that Iron Fist's origin and creation owe much to the Bill Everett character, John Aman, the Amazing-Man, created in 1939. Thomas later wrote that he and artist/co-creator Gil Kane had The film mentioned by Thomas is King Boxer, aka Five Fingers of Death (1972), which presents the Iron Fist technique. Thomas further discussed the character's creation stating, "When Stan Lee gave me a verbal approval to star him in a series, I contacted Gil Kane and we worked out the costume and story. I had Gil give him a dragon brand on his chest, inspired by the one branded into Bullseye, a great western character created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. At Gil's urging, we took some story elements from Bill Everett's 1939 hero Amazing-Man, which itself had borrowed heavily from James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon and the first movie made from it, which introduced "Shangri-La" to the world." 1970s Debuting in a story written by Thomas and pencilled by Kane in the umbrella title Marvel Premiere #15–25 (May 1974 – October 1975), he was then written successively by Len Wein, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, and Chris Claremont, with art by successive pencillers Larry Hama, Arvell Jones, Pat Broderick, and, in some of his earliest professional work, John Byrne. As the Marvel Premiere issues had successfully established a considerable readership for the character, following this run, Iron Fist was immediately spun off into the solo series Iron Fist, which ran 15 issues (November 1975 – September 1977). The solo series was written by Claremont and pencilled by Byrne. A subplot involving the Steel Serpent left unresolved by the cancellation of the series was wrapped up in issues #63–64 of Marvel Team-Up, the latter of which featured Rand kiss Misty Knight, marking the first interracial kiss and first long-term interracial couple in Marvel Comics history, as well as the first depiction of an age gap between a couple since Knight was significantly older than Rand. Iron Fist's appearances outside his own title include three Iron Fist stories in Marvel's black-and-white comics magazine The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #10 (March 1975), an additional story co-starring the Sons of the Tiger in issue #18 (November 1975), and a six-part serial, "The Living Weapon", in #19–24 (December 1975 – May 1976). He made guest appearances in such titles as Marvel Two-in-One, Marvel Team-Up, the Submariner series Namor, Black Panther, and Daredevil. To rescue the character from cancellation, Marvel paired Iron Fist with another character who was no longer popular enough to sustain his own series, Luke Cage. The two characters were partnered in a three-part story in Cage's series Power Man #48–50. The title of the series changed to Power Man and Iron Fist with issue #50 (April 1978), although the indicia did not reflect this change until issue #67. Iron Fist co-starred in the series until the final issue (#125, September 1986), when the character was killed off. Writer Jim Owsley (subsequently known as Christopher Priest) later commented, "Fist's death was senseless and shocking and completely unforeseen. It took the readers' heads clean off. And, to this day, people are mad about it. Forgetting, it seems, that (a) you were supposed to be mad, that death is senseless and Fist's death was supposed to be senseless, or that (b) this is a comic book." Iron Fist then became a frequently starring character in the anthology series Marvel Comics Presents, featuring in three multi-part story arcs and four one-shot stories in 1992 and 1993. Two solo miniseries followed: Iron Fist (vol. 2) #1–2 (September–October 1996), by writer James Felder and penciller Robert Brown; and Iron Fist (vol. 3) #1–3 (July–September 1998), by writer Dan Jurgens and penciller Jackson Guice. Also around this time, he was among the ensemble of the group series Heroes for Hire which ran 19 issues (July 1997 – January 1999). 2000s Following a four-issue miniseries by writer Jay Faerber and penciller Jamal Igle, Iron Fist: Wolverine (November 2000 – February 2001), co-starring the X-Men character Wolverine and cover-billed as ''Iron Fist/Wolverine: The Return of K'un-Lun, came another solo miniseries, Iron Fist vol. 4 #1–6 (May–October 2004), by writer Jim Mullaney and penciller Kevin Lau. Subsequently, a new Iron Fist series premiered called The Immortal Iron Fist''. The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues #1–14 (January 2007 – June 2008) with artists David Aja and Travel Foreman. Fraction wrote issues #15 and 16 alone. From issue #17 (September 2008) to the series' cancellation at issue #27 (August 2009), the series was written by Duane Swierczynski and largely drawn by a returning Travel Foreman. 2010s Iron Fist appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 New Avengers series, from issue #1 (August 2010) through its final issue, #34 (January 2013). In 2014, Iron Fist was given new life and set to star in a new 12-issue comic book series written and drawn by Kaare Andrews titled Iron Fist: The Living Weapon as part of the All-New Marvel NOW! event. 2020s In January 2021, Iron Fist starred in the series Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon, written by Larry Hama with art by David Wachter. In October 2021, Marvel announced that Danny Rand will retire as Iron Fist and pass the mantle to a successor. The five-issue limited series, written by Alyssa Wong and art by Michael YG, was released in February 2022, which revealed Lin Lie as the new Iron Fist and Rand appearing in a supporting role. Iron Fist's 50th anniversary was commemorated in the one-shot Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1. Released in August 2024, the one-shot featured Danny Rand in several short stories set throughout his life that included Wolverine, Lin Lie, the Daughters of the Dragon and Heroes for Hire in supporting roles. The anniversary special featured the return of previous Iron Fist writers which included Claremont and Wong. The one-shot concluded with Rand being killed off in the final story, which was written by Jason Loo and illustrated by Whilce Portacio. Similar to the X-Men line of comics featured in the 2024 "X-Men: From the Ashes" relaunch, the special included a QR code leading to an extra digital stinger page, in which case teased a possible resurrection for Rand. In September 2025, Rand was resurrected and made his debut as Ghost Fist in the four issue limited series The Undead Iron Fist, with Loo returning as writer and Fran Galán on art. Artist Von Randal designed Ghost Fist's costume, which included arnis sticks, armor encasing his right arm (which had been severed in the Anniversary Special) and a full cowl mask inspired by the Wildstorm and DC Comics character Grifter. Initially, Randal incorporated a dragon motif on the armor's spaulder, but editor Danny Khazem requested it be replaced. Randal ultimately settled on an eagle, which he felt better aligned with the themes of The Undead Iron Fist. In November 2025, it was announced that The Undead Iron Fist would be followed with ''Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun'', a five issue limited series written by Yifan Jiang and illustrated by Paco Medina, which began publishing in February 2026. ==Fictional character biography==

Background Danny Rand was born in New York City. His father, Wendell Rand, discovered the city of K'un-L'un as a boy. During his time in K'un-Lun, Wendell saved the life of the city's ruler, Lord Tuan, and was adopted as Tuan's son. However, Wendell chose as an adult to leave. Becoming a wealthy entrepreneur, he marries socialite Heather Duncan. Wendell organizes an expedition to again seek out K'un-Lun, taking his wife Heather, his business partner Harold Meachum and nine-year-old Danny. During the journey up the mountain, Danny slips off the path, his tie-rope taking his mother and father with him. Meachum, who also loves Heather, forces Wendell to plunge to his death but offers to rescue Heather and Danny. When she rejects him, Meachum leaves her and Danny for dead. The pair come across a rope bridge that appears out of nowhere and are attacked by savage wolves. Heather sacrifices herself to save Danny even as archers from K'un-Lun attempt to save her. The archers take the grieving Danny to see their master, Yu-Ti. When Danny expresses his desire for vengeance, Yü-Ti apprentices him to Lei Kung the Thunderer, who teaches him martial arts. Danny proves to be the most gifted of Lei Kung's students. At 19, the young man is given the chance to attain the power of the Iron Fist by fighting and defeating the dragon Shou-Lao, who guards its disembodied molten heart. Guessing that the heart provides life energy to Shou-Lao through the dragon-shaped scar on its chest, Danny covers the scar with his own body and hangs on until Shou-Lao collapses and dies, in the process burning a dragon brand into his own chest. Having killed Shou-Lao, he enters its cave and plunges his fists into a brazier containing its heart, emerging with the power of the Iron Fist. It is later revealed that Danny is part of a long lineage of Iron Fists. When K'un-Lun reappears on Earth after ten years, Danny turns down Yu-Ti's offer of immortality and a place among the city's monks to complete his mission of vengeance. Returning to New York, Danny Rand, dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Iron Fist, seeks out Harold Meachum, now head of Meachum Industries. After overcoming a number of attempts on his life, he confronts Meachum in his office, only to discover that Meachum is now an embittered amputee, having lost his legs to frostbite. Meachum threatens Danny with a gun and demands that he kill him, but a disgusted Danny leaves instead. At that moment Meachum is murdered by a mysterious ninja, and his daughter Joy blames Iron Fist for the death. Eventually, Danny clears his name and fully embraces the duty of the Iron Fist to fight for justice, aided by his friends Colleen Wing and Misty Knight. Notable adversaries in his early career include Sabretooth, the mysterious Master Khan (whom the ninja that killed Meachum once served), and the Steel Serpent; the exiled son of Lei Kung who covets the Iron Fist power. Heroes for Hire While working undercover, Misty Knight infiltrates the organization of crime lord John Bushmaster. When Bushmaster discovers Knight's treachery, he kidnaps Claire Temple and Noah Burstein, close associates of Luke Cage, better known as Power Man, and holds them hostage to force Cage to eliminate Knight. Iron Fist is on hand to stop him, however, and after a battle, the truth comes out. Rand helps Cage and the Daughters of the Dragon (Knight and Wing) battle Bushmaster, rescue Temple and Burstein, and obtain evidence that proves Cage's innocence of prior drug charges. Afterwards, Iron Fist and Power Man become partners, forming Heroes for Hire, Inc. Iron Fist, in his secret identity of Danny Rand, resumes control of his parents' fortune as half of Rand-Meachum, Inc., making him quite wealthy. This causes tension between Rand and Cage, who was raised poor. Power Man and Iron Fist's partnership ends when Rand is diagnosed with cancer and gets kidnapped as part of a plot masterminded by Master Khan. Just prior to a battle with the Black Dragon Chiantang (the brother of the mythical Dragon King), Danny is replaced by a doppelgänger created by the extra-dimensional H'ylthri. The double (who wears a red variant of the Iron Fist costume) is killed by Captain Hero a short time later. Cage, now the prime suspect in Rand's apparent death, becomes a fugitive. Resurrection While in stasis in K'un-Lun with the H'ylthri, Iron Fist manages to focus his chi, curing the cancer. He is later freed from stasis by Namor. Rand and Cage reform Heroes for Hire, Inc. with an expanded team, this time working for Namor's Oracle Corporation. Namor ultimately dissolves Oracle as well as Heroes for Hire, Inc. Iron Fist later loses his powers to Junzo Muto, the young leader of the Hand, and subsequently becomes the guardian of a pack of displaced dragons in Tokyo. His powers are eventually restored by Chiantang, who brainwashes Iron Fist and forces him to battle Black Panther. Black Panther is able to free Iron Fist from the creature's control, and the two work together to defeat the Black Dragon in Wakanda. In the Iron Fist miniseries, Miranda Rand-K'ai also returns from the dead. The H'ylthri revive her and promise to restore her to full life if she retrieves the extra-dimensional artifact known as the Zodiac Key. To this end, she takes the identity of Death Sting, bringing her into conflict with Iron Fist as well as with S.H.I.E.L.D. When the H'ylthri try to kill Iron Fist, Miranda turns the power of the Zodiac Key against them, seemingly killing herself in the process. However, exposure to chemicals from the H'ylthri pods prevented her death. Posing as Daredevil Rand disguises himself as Daredevil to convince the media and the public that Matt Murdock is not the masked vigilante. During the "Civil War" storyline, he opposes the Superhuman Registration Act, joining Captain America while still pretending to be Daredevil. Rand is apprehended by Pro-Registration forces. He is later freed from the Negative Zone Prison, joining Captain America's team to battle Iron Man's forces. New Avengers After the arrest of Captain America, Rand joins the New Avengers, an underground group provided with secure accommodation by Doctor Strange and which includes his former teammate Luke Cage. In the public eye, Rand is able to avoid arrest with legal loopholes. Rand leaves the New Avengers, due to a variety of problems, but lets them know, if they ever need him, to give him a call. He later aids the New Avengers in locating and rescuing Cage from Norman Osborn after Cage suffered a heart attack and was summarily taken into custody as a fugitive. The Immortal Iron Fist Orson Randall, Danny Rand's immediate predecessor, seeks out Danny Rand in New York and gives him The Book of the Iron Fist, a sacred ledger supposedly containing all the kung fu secrets of previous Iron Fists, which Randall claims will be necessary if Rand is to compete successfully in the coming tournament of the Seven Champions. The Steel Serpent, whose powers have been greatly augmented by the Crane Mother, dispatches Randall. On the brink of death, Randall surrenders his chi to Rand, giving him sufficient power to battle the Serpent to a standstill. After the battle, Rand is summoned by his master, Lei Kung (who is also the father of Steel Serpent) to compete in a tournament that will decide the cycle according to which each of the Seven Cities of Heaven appears on Earth. However, the leaders of the Seven Cities had secretly erected gateways between Earth and each city without the knowledge of the populace. The corruption of the leaders of the Seven Cities of Heaven spurs Iron Fist, Lei Kung, Orson Randall's daughter, and John Aman to plan a revolution. Iron Fist discovers that Crane Mother and Xao, a high-ranking Hydra operative, are planning to destroy K'un-Lun by using a portal. Upon learning of the plot, Steel Serpent helps Rand and the other Immortal Weapons defeat Xao. Rand destroys the train intended to destroy K'un-Lun by extending his chi to find the train's electromagnetic field. Meanwhile, the revolution orchestrated by Lei Kung and Orson's daughter proves successful, with Nu-an, the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun fleeing in terror. When Rand confronts Xao, Xao reveals that there is an eighth city of Heaven before killing himself. Rand suggests Lei Kung as the new Yu-Ti, with Orson's unnamed daughter as the new Thunderer. After learning that the Randall fortune that started Rand International was formed from the oppression of the Cities of Heaven, Rand decides to transform the company into a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping the poor. He also sets up the Thunder Dojo in Harlem to help inner-city children, buys back the old Heroes for Hire building as the new Rand International Headquarters and his new home, while offering Luke Cage a position at the company. He also tries to reconnect with Misty Knight. Rand, on his 33rd birthday, learns every single one of the previous Iron Fists died at the age of 33, except Orson Randall, who vanished at that time. Soon afterward, Rand is attacked and defeated by Zhou Cheng, a servant of Ch'i-Lin, who claims to have killed the Iron Fists in order to enter K'un-Lun and devour the egg that births the next incarnation of Shou-Lao every generation, thus wiping out K'un-Lun's Iron Fist legacy. Luke, Misty, and Colleen arrive and save Rand. Rand has his shoulder dislocated during a second battle with Cheng, but manages to defeat Cheng even in his weakened state. Following the duel, the Immortal Weapons, Luke, Colleen, and Misty arrive, and reveal to Rand that they have discovered a map in Cheng's apartment that leads to the Eighth City of Heaven. Rand and the others realize that this is where Ch'i-Lin originated, and depart for the Eighth City. In the Eighth City, he meets Quan Yaozu, the first Iron Fist, who became disillusioned with K'un-Lun and rose up to rule the Eighth City as Changming. Rand and Fat Cobra manage to defeat Quan. Rand's actions during their battles impress Quan, who decides that Rand 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 Rand returns to New York, 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 International is destroyed, but Rand and Misty escape unharmed. Now left with only a fraction of his former net worth, Rand and Misty purchase a new condo in Harlem, and Rand 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, Misty accepts and reveals that she is pregnant with Rand's child. Avengers reform In the aftermath of Siege, Rand joins the newly reformed 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. During the "Shadowland" storyline, 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, a survivor of a building that Bullseye blew up. Iron Fist becomes the new Power Man's mentor and the two become a team. During the "Fear Itself" storyline, Iron Fist and the Immortal Weapons are summoned to Beijing to close the gates of the Eighth City that are on the verge of opening. However, Danny is placed under mind control which creates a mystical interference with the ability of the Immortal Weapons to close the gate. He is then forced to battle his allies. 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. During the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Iron Fist and Lei Kung bring Hope Summers to K'un-Lun to train as an Iron Fist, in order to defeat the Phoenix Force-possessed X-Men. Marvel NOW! In Iron Fist: The Living Weapon, Iron Fist is approached by a young monk named Pei, who tells him to return to K'un-Lun. Upon returning, Iron Fist discovers the city in ruins and Lei Kung dead at the hands of the One, a chi-powered robot who believed itself to be Danny's father Wendell Rand. Iron Fist is defeated by the One, but is rescued by his childhood friend Sparrow and the One's creator Fooh, who nurse him back to health and warn him that the One and Davos were working together to turn New York into New K'un-Lun. During Iron Fist's and the One's second confrontation, the One opens an artificial portal between Earth and the Heavens in an attempt to retrieve Wendell's deceased wife Heather Rand from the afterlife, the but Xian fire god Zhu Rong emerges in Manhattan to punish the mortals for upsetting the universal order. By focusing his chi energy into his fist and launching himself into Zhu Rong, Iron Fist defeats the fire god. Meanwhile, Davos attempts to take the power of the Iron Fist from a reborn Shou-Lao, but is stopped by Pei, who gains the power of the Iron Fist to defeat Davos and revive Shou-Lao, naming his adolescent reborn form "Gork". As the youngest person to ever bear the mark of the Iron Fist, Pei is subsequently taken in by Danny as his ward. In the Marvel NOW! era, Iron Fist rejoins Luke Cage as the Heroes for Hire, having been employed by Boomerang to arrest his former colleagues in the Sinister Six. All-New, All-Different Marvel In the All-New, All-Different Marvel era, Rand and Cage are forced to return to crime fighting after former Heroes for Hire secretary Jennifer "White Jennie" Royce becomes embroiled in a gang war with Black Mariah against Tombstone. After that is dealt with, Power Man and Iron Fist once again take to the streets as the Heroes for Hire. Meanwhile, Rand continues mentoring Pei as her Thunderer while struggling with raising her as both his pupil and legal guardian. While investigating several disappearances in Chinatown, Iron Fist uncovers a conspiracy involving a demonic takeover of Earth by the demon overlord Mara, resulting in a confrontation with the demon and his daughters at Pei's school, who in their human disguises had attempted to drive a wedge between Rand and Pei. The two Iron Fists are able to defeat the demons but Pei is pulled into Mara's home dimension. Using the Book of the Iron Fist, master and student are able to work together to summon Pei back to Earth. During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Iron Fist became a member of the Defenders alongside Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. They, alongside Cloak and Dagger, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Woman, fought the Army of Evil during Hydra's takeover of the United States where they were defeated by Nitro. Iron Fist and those with him were trapped in the Darkforce dome by Blackout when his powers were enhanced by Baron Helmut Zemo using the Darkhold. Finding himself disconnected from K'un-Lun and struggling with summoning his chi, Iron Fist participates in several underground fights around the world to reawaken his powers but to no avail. He is approached by Chosin, a representative of the mystical island of Liu-Shi, and is offered to participate in a tournament that can restore his power. Iron Fist accepts and travels to Liu-Shi, where he must fight against seven champions scattered throughout the island. However, Iron Fist discovers that Liu-Shi is made up of exiles and dissidents from K'un-Lun, and the tournament is a ruse conducted by Choshin and the other members of Liu-Shi's council to steal Rand's dormant powers for themselves and use them to overthrow K'un-Lun and replace it with Liu-Shi. With the help of some sympathetic masters, Iron Fist prevents Chosin's scheme and manages to face his final opponent: Shu-Hu, the original One. Rand eventually reawakens his powers and defeats Shu-Hu, who acknowledges him as a worthy Iron Fist. Upon returning home, Iron Fist discovers that the Book of the Iron Fist has been stolen from his penthouse by the new Constrictor. Iron Fist recruits Sabretooth, the original one's former partner, to track down Constrictor and recover the Book before he can sell it Choshin. A battle between Constrictor and the Serpent Society and Choshin and his forces over the Book commences when the two parties argue over payment but despite Iron Fist's and Sabretooth's interference, Choshin takes and the Book and uses it to open a portal to K'un-Lun for invasion. Iron Fist returns to K'un-Lun with Sabretooth and a resurrected incarnation of Shou-Lao to defend K'un-Lun from Choshin. During the events of Damnation, Iron Fist is recruited by Wong into the Midnight Sons to stop Mephisto in Las Vegas. After being separated from the Midnight Sons, Iron Fist is found by Fat Cobra, who takes him to a fight tournament where the star fighter is Orson, who accepted a deal with the fight promoter D'Kay to return to the living in exchange for participating in D'Kay's fights. Rand and Fat Cobra decide to help Orson escape by fighting alongside him, but D'Kay summons the souls of Rand's sister Miranda and Fat Cobra's mother and forces them to participate as well. While fighting D'Kay and his champions, Orson sacrifices himself to help Rand and the others escape. After sending Miranda, Fat Cobra, and his mother to his penthouse, Rand reunites with the Midnight Sons to defeat Mephisto. Heart of the Dragon The dragons of the Heavenly Cities are being targeted by armies of undead ninjas and several villains, including Taskmaster, Lady Bullseye and Midnight Sun for their hearts, resulting in the deaths of many dragons and Tiger's Beautiful Daughter, prompting Iron Fist to team up with Luke, Pei, Gork, Fooh and the remaining Immortal Weapons to save the other dragons. At the urging of the Xian goddess of Mercy Quan Yin, Iron Fist and the others use Fooh's portal technology to manifest the Heavenly Cities on Earth so that other heroes, including Okoye and Sunspot, can join in the defense against the hordes of zombies and villains. When the zombies prove too much for them, Iron Fist and the group retreat to the Heart of Heaven, where they come across Okoye killing the dragon of the Heart of Heaven, who takes advantage of their shock to kill the newly rescued dragon of the Kingdom of Spiders as well; Okoye explains that she was told to kill them by Quan Yin and the Heart of Heaven's dragon in order to secure the cosmic balance, thus gaining the power of both dragons. Yama Dragonsbane, Danny's former lover Brenda Swanson, subsequently appears in the Heart of Heaven and reveals herself to be behind the dragon killings in order to use their hearts to empower her master, the Hierophant, who is also summoned to the Heart of Heaven. While Fooh distracts the Hierophant, Iron Fist and the others travel to the Eighth City to destroy the Hierophant's undead army but are attacked by the city's Ghost Dragon. When the Ghost Dragon proves impossible to harm, Pei and Gork reluctantly allow Okoye to kill Gork for his heart, knowing that he and the other dragons can be revived if she can defeat the Hierophant. With Pei's and Gork's powers, Okoye is able to kill the Ghost Dragon and claim his power. When the Hierophant arrives, Danny transfers the Iron Fist to Okoye, granting her the full power of the Heavenly Cities. Okoye uses her combined dragon chi to defeat the Hierophant and Dragonsbane while Iron Fist and the others finish off the remaining undead. The Hierophant's death releases the hearts of the dragons slain by him and Okoye back to their respective Cities, although the Iron Fist powers of Danny, Pei and Gork remain with Okoye. Okoye attempts to return the Iron Fist back to Danny, who refuses, declaring that Okoye is the new Iron Fist. Due to her obligations to Wakanda, Okoye refuses and instead transfers the Iron Fist to Gork's newly reborn egg, leaving the title and power vacant. Despite being powerless, an undeterred Danny declares to Luke that he will "live [life] to the fullest". Devil's Reign During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Mayor Wilson Fisk outlaws superhero vigilantism in New York City. Despite his retirement as Iron Fist, Danny is apprehended at his office by NYPD officers led by Thunderbolts member Crossbones. Danny attempts to fight them off but is overpowered and incarcerated in the Myrmidon along with others targeted by the new law. Danny, Moon Knight, and Tony Stark are able to escape with the help of Sue Storm and Reed Richards. After Fisk is defeated and Luke is elected mayor of New York City, Danny accompanies Luke on several of his first outings as mayor. Meeting the New Iron Fist While a powerless Danny fights several demons attacking a Chinese antique shop in Flushing for a mysterious green shard, he is helped by Lin Lie - formerly the superhero Sword Master - who succeeded Danny as the new Iron Fist. After they defeat the demons and recover the shard, Danny attempts to question Lie about his background and offers his help, but Lie rebuffs him and flees with the shard through a portal in a nearby subway back to K'un-Lun. Danny enlists Fat Cobra and the Bride of Nine Spiders with tracking down the new Iron Fist, eventually finding him in Gansu. When an army the same demons from Flushing appear, Danny, Luke and the Immortal Weapons join forces with Lie and his friends to fight them. When Sparrow and her best warriors are summoned by Danny for backup, the demons' leader and Lie's brother, Lin Feng, uses the opportunity to steal Sparrow's portal to K'un-Lun to find the final tomb of his master Chiyou, leaving the K'un-Lun citizenry trapped on Earth. Danny offers housing to the displaced citizens and formally introduces himself to Lie. Danny compliments Lie's acquired skills and offers to complete his training; Lie readily accepts. Gang War In the "Gang War" storyline, Danny is recruited along with Cloak and Dagger and Jessica by Luke as part of his new vigilante team when New York's criminal underworld escalates into a city-wide war. Danny and Luke's team are able to thwart Alistair Smythe and his Spider-Slayers from attacking New York during the Gang War. When Luke suspects Shang-Chi's motives due to the Five Weapons Society's involvement in the war, Danny joins him and several other heroes to confront Shang-Chi at the House of the Deadly Hand in Chinatown. Shang-Chi is ultimately able to prove his loyalty to the heroes and Danny helps him fight off an invasion from the Society's enemies in the war. During the final gang battle in Central Park, Danny and Shang-Chi are sidetracked by fending off tanks while the other heroes intervene between the warring forces of Madame Masque and Beetle. Death After a night out celebrating his 34th birthday with Luke and Jeryn Hogarth, Danny is ambushed at his penthouse by the same Ch'i-Lin that previously attempted to kill him on his 33rd birthday and has now possessed the body of Razor Fist. Due to the Ch'i-Lin confusing Danny with an illusion-making mist and having hired the Shocker to keep Lie and Pei preoccupied, a powerless Danny is overwhelmed and killed by the Ch'i-Lin. Danny is given a Buddhist funeral at Calvary Cemetery, which is attended by Luke, Lie and many of his close friends and former teammates. Weeks after his death, a purple skeletal hand emerges from Danny's grave. Orson explains that Quan Yaozu was behind the deaths of every Iron Fist to siphon their chi for himself but Danny has a chance to be resurrected into the mortal world if he takes down Quan. Osiris agrees to make Danny his avatar but he must undergo a trial to destroy Quan before a tapestry representing his soul burns away. Otherwise, Danny's spirit would be permanently bound to the underworld. After months training under Osiris, Danny is resurrected and bestowed with new powers as the Ghost Fist. As Ghost Fist makes his way to the Rand Building, Quan sends his minions, the Wraithlins, to stall Danny. With his new powers, Ghost Fist is able to sense and exorcise the Wraithlins from their human hosts. Due to being unrecognizable in his new costume and unable to see the Wraithlins, passerby mistake Ghost Fist for a costumed criminal attacking civilians, leading to a brief confrontation with Spider-Man. ''Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun'' While continuing to reside in the underworld, Danny is visited by Loki, who informs him of Lin Feng's destruction of the Heavenly Cities and his plans to conquer Attilan by invading New York. When Osiris learns that Feng is the avatar of Chiyou, an old enemy of his, he immediately sends Danny to prevent Chiyou's resurrection. ==Powers and abilities==

Plunging his fists into the molten heart of the dragon Shou-Lao infused the dragon's superhuman energy into Rand. This, along with being trained by Lei Kung the Thunderer, gave Rand the power of the Iron Fist, allowing him to summon and focus his chi energy (also called natural energy or life-force energy) to enhance his natural abilities to extraordinary levels. His strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and senses can all be greatly intensified, almost comparable to superhuman levels. He is able to concentrate his own chi and the superhuman energy from Shou-Lao's heart into his hand, with it manifesting as a supernatural glow around his hand and fist. So concentrated, this "iron fist" can strike with superhuman hardness and impact, while his hand becomes impervious to pain and injury. Some of Rand's feats with the "iron fist" is knocking out Luke Cage, knocking out a drunken Hercules, almost defeating Black Panther before ultimately losing, and taking down the S.H.I.E L.D Helicarrier with a single punch. However, summoning the power required by this feat leaves Rand physically and mentally drained, unable to repeat the act for a time, as long as an entire day in certain instances, though after years of using the ability, it has become less draining. He can focus his chi inward to heal himself or outward to heal others of injury, as well as to give himself psychic senses and to telepathically fuse his consciousness with another person when looking directly into the pupil of his eye. Rand is also a skilled acrobat, gymnast, and a master of all of K'un-Lun's martial arts, as well as various fighting styles from Earth, including Shaolin Kung Fu, Aikido, Fujian White Crane, Judo, Karate, Wushu, and Wing Chun. After relinquishing his Iron Fist powers and being killed by the Ch'i-Lin, Danny was resurrected as the Ghost Fist and bestowed with new powers by Osiris, which allow him to channel a mystical purple aura that acts similarly to the chi of Shou-Lao. In addition to using this energy to empower his hands like the Iron Fist, Danny can also project it as destructive energy blasts. However, during his initial resurrection, Danny was warned that overusing this ability would take away his remaining time on Earth. In addition to his new Ghost Fist powers, Danny could sense and see supernatural or demonic forces that are normally undetectable to humans. ==Other characters named Iron Fist==

This section lists the other people who have been called Iron Fist: Fan Fei In 1,000,000 BC, a K'un-Lun native named Fan Fei was born to the Green Lotus House and had taken a fascination with the cavemen that lived outside K'un-Lun; going so far as to train a few of them in secret. After she was exposed, Fan Fei was chained up and forced to watch as her students were fed to Shou-Lao by Lei Kung. When she broke out, in the hopes that she will die fighting Shou-Lao, Fan Fei punched the dragon in his chest tattoo and gained his powers. Lei Kung had Fan Fei exiled from K'un-Lun, believing Shou-Lao was dead, and she traveled the world; fighting Deviants and the Gorgilla Clan of Man-Apes along the way. Fan Fei was approached by Mephisto, who wanted her to use her powers to conquer Earth, but she declined. In response, Mephisto granted his gifts to the Gorgilla Clan. After a fight with Fan Fei, Mephisto led the Gorgilla Clan's Ape King to the Power Gem, which he used to fight Fan Fei again. After recuperating, Fan Fei found herself at the entrance of K'un-Lun. Lei Kung states that her sentencing was wrong, as they learned Shou-Lao was immortal, and wanted to bring her home. However, she declined, stating that Earth was her home and her fights here are just the beginning. Fan Fei later banded together with Agamotto, Lady Phoenix, Odin, and Stone Age versions of Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and Star Brand to fight off a Celestial named the Fallen. They would go on to defeat it and seal it underground in what would later become South Africa. Quan Yaozu One of the first Iron Fists, Quan Yaozu was sent to the Eighth City to imprison the demonic creatures sent from there that had been plaguing K'un-Lun and the other Heavenly Cities, voluntarily staying behind to prevent them from escaping. When the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun began using the Eighth City to imprison citizens who threatened his rule, including innocents, Quan became disillusioned with K'un-Lun and eventually took control of the Eighth City, ruling it as "Changming". Quan would orchestrate the death of subsequent Iron Fists to siphon their chi for himself by sending the Ch'i-Lin after them. He created the Book of the Iron Fist to acquire his successors' secrets and use the Book to manipulate them. Centuries later, when Danny and the Immortal weapons arrive in the Eighth City at the behest of Lei Kung to free the wrongfully convicted prisoners, Quan has them captured and forces them to fight to the death in numerous matches. When Danny finds out about Quan's history, he is able to prove his altruistic intentions, which convinces Quan that K'un-Lun is no longer the corrupt city as it once was and agrees to meet Lei Kung. However, Quan's redemption would not last due to his continued grudge against K'un-Lun and he would eventually orchestrate Danny's death. After Danny is killed, Quan takes up residence in the Rand Tower and reclaims the Book of the Iron Fist. When Danny resurfaces as the Ghost Fist, Quan sends his minions after him. Quan is killed when he is thrown to his death by Danny and T'an-Long, a heavenly dragon he previously murdered and T'an-Long drags his soul to the underworld. Li Park In 730 A.D., a pacifist named Li Park became the new Iron Fist, who sought to resolve conflict by avoiding direct conflict. As a local village battled with a Chinese general intent on conquering K'un-Lun, which had been struck by a plague, Li utilized his newly discovered hypnotic fist technique to dissuade the soldiers. When his technique failed to save the villagers, Li put aside his pacifism and used more aggressive actions. Ultimately, Li was able to rescue the remaining villagers and led them to K'un-Lun, where they helped repopulate the city. Gale During the 11th Century, the outlaw Atlantean princess Gale wielded the powers of the Iron Fist. She was part of Thor's incarnation of the Avengers. Bei-Ming Tian Bei Ming-Tian was the Iron Fist circa 1227 AD. He protected his village from the invading Mongol Army and even slew Genghis Khan himself in battle. Zhang Di Around the 15th century, Zhang Di was the Iron Fist for only two weeks until he died against the H'ylthri. Wu Ao-Shi In 1545 A.D., a young protégé of Lei Kung named Wu Ao-Shi defeated Shou-Lao and claimed the power of the Iron Fist for herself. During her training, she fell in love and became betrothed to a fisherman, who became distraught at the violence destined for the Iron Fist and left her and K'un-Lun once the city merged with Earth; Wu followed shortly after to search for her love. During her travels Wu made a living as a mercenary and took on a job to liberate Pinghai Bay from the Wokou pirates, but was defeated and imprisoned. Wu was rescued by her beloved, and killed the pirates by infusing her chi into an arrow, turning it into an explosive projective. Wu and the fisherman spent their remaining years together in the liberated territory, with Wu later becoming known as the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay. Centuries later, Wu Ai-Shi's exploits were adapted into a film called Pinghai Bay. Nu-An asks for Leonardo da Vinci to come to K'un-Lun in order to help protect 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. Bei Bang-Wen Sometime in the mid-19th century, an Iron Fist known as Bei Bang-Wen developed an Iron Fist technique known as the Perfect Strategy Mind, which let him use the chi of Shou-Lao in more intellectual ways but also left him overconfident. In 1860, Bei assisted the Chinese against the British and French forces during the Second Opium War. Despite forming a scenario taking down tens of thousands of enemy soldiers at the Taku Forts, Bei and his Chinese allies were defeated at the Taku Forts and Bei was taken prisoner. After befriending fellow captive and mythical warrior Vivatma Visvajit, the two escaped from prison and journeyed to Vivatma's homeland of Burma, where they were ambushed by the energy-draining assassin Tiger Jani. Bei and Vivatma defeated Jani with their reawakened their Iron Fist and Brahman powers, respectively. A physically and mentally worn Bei returned home to K'un-Lun, relinquishing his powers so that the cycle of the Iron Fist could begin again and took a wife who bore him thirteen sons. Kwai Jun-Fan Bei Bang-Wen's successor to the Iron Fist, Kwai Jun-Fan ventured the Wild West of Texas circa 1878 AD where he was killed by Zhou Cheng under the influence of Ch'i-Lin. Wong Fei-hung At one point, the folk hero Wong Fei-hung became the Iron Fist and combined his powers with Drunken boxing, creating a technique called the "Drunken Dragon Fist". By 1924, he had retired the mantle but still retained his powers. He and the Ghost Rider Knuckles O'Shaugnessy defended Hong Kong from Mephisto with help from the time displaced Avengers. Resourceful Snake At an unknown point, the man simply known as Resourceful Snake was able to defeat and claim the heart of Shao-Lao. However, after losing his final trial to the One, he was punished for his hubris by having his arms severed and being stripped of his title. Orson Randall Born and raised in K'un-Lun after his parents' airship crashed in the city in the late 19th century, Orson Randall became the Iron Fist after besting Shou-Lao when he was seventeen years old, becoming the first Westerner to do so. During World War I, Randall joined the Freedom's Five along with Union Jack, Phantom Eagle, Crimson Cavalier and Sir Steel. The bloodshed Randall witnessed in the war deeply traumatized him, causing him to turn to drugs to escape. In 1933, Randall was summoned back to K'un-Lun to participate in the Tournament of Heaven, but refused to participate, having been changed by his experiences in the war. When confronted by the Immortal Weapons, Randall killed the Crane Champion of K'un-Zi in self defense and fled, taking the Book of the Iron Fist with him. While in hiding, Randall met young orphan Wendell Rand and adopted him as his ward, training him in martial arts while filling his head with stories of K'un-Lun and the Iron Fist, causing Wendell to seek the city out himself once he came of age. Sometime after the 1960s Randall was believed to have died, leaving behind a vast fortune to Wendell, making him incredibly wealthy. In truth, Randall was living in drug-soaked seclusion in Thailand for decades. While the next Tournament of Heaven neared, the Steel Serpent and his allies arrived to kill him, causing Randall to flee to New York to seek out his successor and Wendell's son Danny, giving him the Book of the Iron Fist and informing him of the upcoming Tournament and their histories. During another encounter with the Steel Serpent, Randall is mortally wounded and transfers his chi to Danny before dying. During the events of Damnation, Orson accepts a deal by Mephisto to reclaim his soul and live again if he wins 24 fights in 24 hours at a tournament held in the Hotel Inferno in Las Vegas. Danny and Fat Cobra attempt to talk Orson out of fighting but he refuses. When Danny refuses the fight promoter D'Kay's offer to fight for him, D'Kay has Orson fight Danny's deceased half sister Miranda as his final opponent. Danny reluctantly accepts and D'Kay forces him, Orson, Fat Cobra and Miranda to fight the Legion of Vengeance. Realizing they are outmatched, Orson sacrifices himself to free the others at the cost of his soul. Instead of ceasing to exist, Orson's spirit survives into the underworld. Pei A young monk of K'un-Lun, Pei fled from the city when Davos and the One staged a coup, taking the unhatched egg of the latest incarnation of Shou-Lao with her. Pei was able to find Danny in New York and told him to go back to save Kun-L'un. While under her care, the egg prematurely hatches into an adolescent dragon, whom Pei names "Gork". When Davos catches up to them and kills Gork, Pei inadvertently ends up with the power of the Iron Fist, becoming one of the youngest to do so, and uses its power to defeat Davos and revive Gork and all previous incarnations of Shou-Lao. Danny subsequently takes her under his wing as his ward and the two begin training together to master their Iron Fist powers. During the Hierophant's attacks on the dragons of the Heavenly Cities, Pei reluctantly allows Okoye to sacrifice Gork and transfers her Iron Fist power to augment Okoye's acquired dragon chi to defeat the Hierophant and save the dragons. While Danny is away on a business trip, he sends Pei a mystical K'un-Lun medallion that gives her powers similar to her lost Iron Fist powers. Pei meets and teams up with Danny's successor Lin Lie against the Shocker, who unbeknownst to both had been hired by the Ch'i-Lin to keep them preoccupied while it kills Danny. Wah Sing-Rand In an alternate timeline set in the 31st century, Wah Sing-Rand, a K'un-Lun native and Danny's possible descendant, defeats Shou-Lao, becoming one of the youngest Iron Fists in history. While traveling to the planet Yaochi to free it from the tyrannical President Xing, his shuttle is frozen in a temporal pocket, leaving him trapped for 24 years. In circa 3099 AD., he was able to defeat Xing and liberate Yaochi but at the cost of his own life. ==Supporting characters==

Iron Fist is ranked as the 195th-greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked Iron Fist as the 68th-greatest comic book hero of all time stating that in the Marvel Universe, mastery of martial arts is enough to qualify as a superpower, and none are more "super" at the art of fighting than Iron Fist, and as #46 on their list of the "Top 50 Avengers". Controversy The story of Iron Fist has been criticized for cultural appropriation, orientalism, and reinforcing a white savior narrative, with Rob Bricken of io9 summarizing Danny Rand as a clichéd "white guy [who] discovers a foreign culture, learns its ways, and becomes better at it than the people born into it". Upon the announcement of the television series, an online movement was started to change Iron Fist into an Asian-American character to subvert offensive tropes while providing some depth to the character. Supporters of the movement included comic writer Gail Simone, who acknowledged she was a fan of Iron Fist but agreed that the character should be changed to Asian-American. The role ultimately went to English actor Finn Jones, whose performance was panned by critics, along with the series's depiction of Asian culture during its first season. Roy Thomas, co-creator of Iron Fist, defended the character in response to criticism, arguing that Iron Fist was created for a less "PC" time. While Thomas added that he would not be bothered if Iron Fist had been changed to Asian-American, he was not "ashamed" for making Rand white. Comic book creator Rob Liefeld also defended the character, denying that Rand's story was racist and argued that changing his race to Asian was "reverse whitewashing". Other commentators have echoed similar sentiments; while acknowledging that Rand's origins were problematic, some felt that changing him to Asian would reinforce the stereotype of Asians being proficient in martial arts. In an apparent response to the controversy, Marvel announced in 2021 that a new, younger Iron Fist of Asian descent would be introduced in a new comic series helmed by an Asian creative team. Writer Alyssa Wong explained that it was "impossible to be unaware of the controversy", and took this into consideration when writing the series. While noting that there had been Iron Fists of Asian descent before, Wong pointed out that all of them were supporting characters in Rand's story or long dead, arguing that the new Iron Fist was an important step forward for the title and the ongoing push for diversity. Wong also acknowledged Rand's sizeable fanbase despite criticisms, reassuring that he would play an important role for the new Iron Fist and that the new series would not "erase" Rand's history and legacy but instead build upon it. The new series, which revealed the Chinese superhero Sword Master as the new Iron Fist, has since received critical acclaim. ==Collected editions==

Bronze Age Collections The Immortal Iron Fist Power Man and Iron Fist Iron Fist Iron Fist: The Living Weapon Miniseries ==In other media==

Television Animation • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "A Brat Walks Among Us!", voiced by Mikey Kelley. This version is a member of the Heroes for Hire. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in ''The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', voiced by Loren Lester. voiced by Greg Cipes.In the present, Rand returns as an adult to regain control of Rand Enterprises, during which he allies himself with Colleen Wing and battles the Hand. • Rand appears in The Defenders (2017), in which he join Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage to helps found the eponymous group to defeat the Hand. • Rand appears in the Luke Cage second season episode "The Main Ingredient" (2018). • Rand will appear in the third season of Daredevil: Born Again (2027). • A child version of Kwai Jun-Fan appears in the What If...? episode "What If... 1872?" (2024), voiced by Allen Deng. • Jorani, a wielder of the Iron Fist at the end of 14th century K'un-Lun, appears in the animated series Eyes of Wakanda (2025), voiced by Jona Xiao. Film In May 2000, Marvel Studios brought Artisan Entertainment to co-finance an Iron Fist film, hiring Ray Park to star and John Turman to write the script in January 2001. In preparation, Park extensively read the comics that Iron Fist had appeared in. Kirk Wong signed to direct in July 2001, with filming set for late 2001/early 2002. Iron Fist nearly went into pre-production in March 2002, but Wong left the project in April 2002. By August 2002, pre-production had started. Filming was pushed back to late 2002, and then to late 2003. In March 2003, Marvel announced a 2004 release date. In April 2003, Steve Carr entered negotiations to direct. In November 2003, the release date was moved to 2006. In March 2007, Carr placed Iron Fist on hold due to scheduling conflicts. In 2009, Marvel announced they had begun hiring a group of writers to help come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Iron Fist. In August 2010, Marvel Studios hired Rich Wilkes to write the screenplay. Marvel has a future Iron Fist film project planned. In November 2013, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that they "probably were never going to make feature films about" characters featured in Marvel's Netflix TV series, but that if the Netflix series became popular, "[it was] quite possible that they could become feature films". Video games • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as an assist character in Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist makes a cameo appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, voiced by John Rubinow. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in the Vicarious Visions version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Peter Dobson. This version is a member of the New Avengers who supports Captain America in opposing the Superhuman Registration Act. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist makes a cameo appearance in Ryu's ending in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. • Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, voiced by Loren Lester. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Marvel Avengers Alliance. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in LittleBigPlanet via the "Marvel Costume Kit 5" DLC. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as an assist, later playable, character in Marvel Heroes, voiced initially by JP Karliak This version is a member of the Heroes for Hire. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Andrew Kishino. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Disney Infinity 2.0, voiced again by Greg Cipes. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced again by Greg Cipes. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'', voiced again by Greg Cipes. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight. voiced by Stephen Fu. The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist is depicted as deceased in the game's narrative while his white and gold costume from the "Heroic Age", titled "Immortal Weapon of Agamotto", appears as an unlockable alternate skin for Lin Lie. Miscellaneous • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in the Wolverine: Weapon X motion comic, voiced by Brian Drummond. • The Danny Rand incarnation of Iron Fist appears in the War of the Realms: Marvel Ultimate Comics motion comic, voiced by Aidan Drummond. ==References==