Let’s see if Netflix debuts a masked ‘Iron Fist’ hero
MARVEL and Netflix released a new trailer on Tuesday for Iron Fist, their next streaming superhero series. It will be the final piece in the lead-up to the Defenders series, which will feature the mystical martial artist as well as Marvel/Netflix’s other heroes, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.
Much like Daredevil, fans have costume expectations for Iron Fist. In the Marvel Comics, Iron Fist (Danny Rand), who has the ability to channel energy into his fists to create a destructive force, is known for his yellow mask and green and yellow suit.
If anything resembling that look is to appear in Iron Fist, it looks like Marvel and Netflix are taking the same approach as Daredevil. In 2015, Marvel and Netflix revealed a photo of Charlie Cox (Daredevil/Matt Murdock) in his red-and-black superhero suit just hours before Season 1 began streaming, so the surprise of his costumed look wouldn’t be spoiled by social-media posts. If Rand (played by actor Finn Jones) does indeed wear a super-suit to go along with his glowing fists and black dragon chest tattoo, we probably won’t see it until just before Iron Fist’s March 17 debut on Netflix.
Most of Iron Fist’s first season looks like a journey of discovery for Rand, if the trailer is any indication. He’s been gone for years after surviving a plane crash that took his parents from him (very Batman Begins-like). Presumed dead, Rand trains in martial arts in the otherworldly realm of K’un-Lun, eventually returning to New York to take his rightful place at Rand Enterprises. While back at the company his father built, Rand must root out corruption within (which, again, is very Batman Begins-ish, but still faithful to the Iron Fist comics).
That corruption appears to include a shadowy presence in the form of Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho), who first appeared in the Marvel/Netflix universe as a foe to Daredevil. Madame Gao showcased supernatural martial-arts ability in a brief encounter against Daredevil. In the Iron Fist trailer, she whispers from the dark that New York is no place for Rand. A showdown between her and Iron Fist seems imminent. Whether that showdown will be a masked affair, we’ll have to wait and see.