The theme of a “journey” can be representative of several different things. It can be a physical journey to a foreign land. It can be an inner journey towards finding one’s self. It can even be a spiritual journey in which someone grows to understand a higher being, the world, or themselves. The new "Iron Fist" comics, written by Ed Brisson and drawn by Mike Perkins, embodies all three of these different journeys. Published in 2017, following the hero’s television premiere in his own Netflix original series, these comics follow Danny Rand and his journey to regain his powers and discover what it means to be the living weapon: the Immortal Iron Fist.

Issue #1 opens in a moment of darkness for our hero. K’un-Lun, the city that Danny draws his powers from, has been attacked and destroyed. His connection to the chi of the city has been cut off. In the aftermath of these events, Danny wanders the globe in search of fights to help him prove his worth while drinking to numb the pain of the loss of his home and his own perceived failure of his job as protector of K’un-Lun. No matter where he ends up, the fights don’t satisfy him; they don’t present the challenge that he was hoping for and he is still nowhere near regaining his lost powers and his identity. Danny's attitude does not change until he is approached by a mysterious man named Choshin who, after a brief fight, invites Danny to participate in a tournament on the island of Liu-Shi, an island of Kung Fu. Danny accepts the invitation and begins his journey to a foreign land and hopefully a journey to reclaim his self.

In Issue #2, Danny and the readers are introduced to the Council of Liu-Shi, which is made up of seven houses. He’s given the details about the tournament, in which he will face one “champion” from each house. By providing combatants who will fight against the Immortal Iron Fist, the council members hope to bring legitimacy to the island and all that they’ve set up there. Danny’s incentive to participate in the tournament is that after each fight, the winner will be able to absorb the chi of the loser. Danny’s first fight against the champion of The House of the Eel, The Eel of Blessed Waters, ends with Danny’s victory, and he is amazed when he discovers that the council wasn’t bluffing about absorbing the chi of his defeated opponents.

The comic cuts to the council in the aftermath of the first fight and readers learn their true intentions. The council wishes to defeat the Iron Fist and absorb his chi, allowing Liu-Shi to take the place of K’un-Lun as the seventh heavenly city. The comic cuts back to Danny as he is led to his next opponent by his guide, Hark. Danny’s next opponent is the champion of The House of the Rat, The Rat of 12 Plagues, who the comic provides backstory for through a conversation between Danny and Hark. This conversation ends when they arrive at a destroyed village, the home of the next opponent. Danny enters the village and is caught off guard when he is attacked by The Rat of 12 Plagues and poisoned by a toxic slash to his abdomen. Danny is faced with the first true obstacle in his journey and the comic ends.

Issue #3 is a flash-forward continuation of Issue #2's brutal fights. Danny’s fight with The Rat of 12 Plagues isn’t going well and the poison is affecting him greatly. He then decides to focus his chi to burn off the poison — it works. He channels the power of the Iron Fist and defeats his opponent. The comic cuts once again to the council and the scene ends when Choshin leaves the council to attend to unknown personal matters. This is followed by a return to Danny and Hark, who are now on their way to the next opponent and are having a conversation about Danny’s past and how an “outsider” managed to become the Iron Fist.

The two men arrive at the Island of the Resourceful Snake, Danny’s next opponent from The House of the Snake. Before the fight begins, the comic cuts back to Choshin who enters a mysterious building and talks to a group of people about plans to take out the Iron Fist and assure victory for Liu-Shi. In a cut back to Danny's fight, his overconfidence gets the better of him and amidst the fight, The Resourceful Snake gives his backstory- he was once a warrior of K’un-Lun like Danny. Danny, now humbled, defeats his opponent and absorbs his chi. Danny and Hark leave for the next fight but are intercepted by Choshin’s men in the woods. Hark is killed and Danny is weakened by some sort of gas. The men reveal a plot to frame Danny for the killing of Hark which would give them a reason to kill him. All seems hopeless but Danny is saved by a mysterious individual.

Danny’s journey is not yet over, in fact, it’s just beginning.