Warning: The following article contains spoilers!
The spring 2017 semester has finally come to an end, which means I can finally binge watch Netflix TV shows without the daunting guilt over my head that I am being unproductive. Admittedly, I started a few episodes of Marvel’s Iron Fist to avoid the agony that came with studying for a few of my finals, but that is besides the point. As I do with most shows, I asked around to see what others thought of Iron Fist. The general consensus was that the show had a slow beginning and did not pick up until later in the season. I kept this in mind, and definitely did notice it when watching, but I also understood that Marvel needed to check a lot of boxes in order to set the stage for its upcoming series, The Defenders, set to premiere in August of 2017.
Iron Fist depicts the life of Danny Rand, wielder of the Iron Fist, who was thought to have returned from the dead fifteen years after his disappearance. His parents were killed in a plane crash in the Himalayas as they were en route to China, leaving Danny as the sole survivor of this tragedy. Rand was found by monks during a blizzard alongside his dead father and the pilots operating the plane, it is later revealed that they have been intentionally poisoned in an effort to eliminate the entire Rand family. Danny was then taken to a capital city of Heaven, K’un Lun, where he trained tirelessly to prove he was worthy of the gift of the Iron Fist, which ultimately he proved himself worthy to hold. After earning the role of the Iron Fist, he took an oath to protect the gates of K’un Lun and labeled the evil entity that goes by the name of “The Hand” as his sworn enemy. Danny failed to remain loyal to K’un Lun as he fled in order to satisfy his curiosity in regards to what happened to his family. Danny returned to New York City after a decade and a half to rekindle lost friendships with his father’s business partner and best friend’s children, Joy and Ward Meachum. In returning to New York, Danny struggled to prove his identity and to gain access to his now deceased father’s assets. Those were the least of his issues; he also fell in love with a martial arts instructor who later revealed herself to be a part of the Hand, and had many violence-filled encounters with organization as they ran a synthetic heroin operation through the Rand company.
One of my favorite things about this show had to have been the frequent references to the other three Marvel shows that were released on Netflix prior to Iron Fist being streamed on the service. For example, the attorney who represented Danny Rand, in order for him to receive his rightful share of his father’s company after his disappearance was the very same Jeri Hogarth that paid private investigator Jessica Jones to do all sorts of odd jobs for her law firm. Hogarth also appeared in season two of Daredevil, offering Murdock’s best friend, Foggy a position at her firm. Another familiar face that appeared in all three of these series was Claire Temple. She played the role of Colleen’s trainee, who was working to learn martial arts in order to be able to defend herself, which is logical considering she was always in a rut as she nursed these heroes back to health. Claire held both a position of comedic relief through her sly comments throughout the series and also of common sense as she was constantly putting extremists, such as Colleen and Danny, in check. Without mentioning a name, Joy Meachum even referenced Jessica Jones when referring to a rarely sober private investigator who helped her gather blackmail on the board members of Rand, who wanted the Meachums out of the business. The most important of these overlapping attributes had to be the incorporation of the Hand and its leader, Madame Gao, in both Iron Fist and Daredevil. Perhaps this is the common evil in New York City that the Defenders will take on?
This show was well-developed, but it had its fair share of pros and cons. For example, I loved the caring relationship between siblings Joy and Ward Meachum, who constantly had each others back no matter the circumstances. It was quite interesting to see the siblings feelings for Danny swap roles. Ward wanted nothing to do with the back from the dead heir of Rand enterprises, while Joy was more than welcoming. By the season’s finale, Ward sought comfort in Danny and enjoyed his company while watching his father be cremated. Joy, on the other hand, acknowledged the trouble that Danny has caused since his return and is now potting his death with K’un Lun’s very own Davros. The series had a good mix of plot and action, by incorporating a myriad of intense fight scenes. My favorites had to have been with in the final two episodes. In episode 12, “Bar the Big Boss”, Ward, who desperately wants his father dead, revealed Joy and Harold’s location to Bakuto. Usually, the skilled warriors on this show leave battle scratch free, but the fight that followed the Hand’s departure of the penthouse and Joy’s shooting expressed the struggle that Danny, Colleen, and Davros went through to take down Bakuto’s henchmen as they were all seriously injured. In the final episode, “Dragon Plays With Fire”, Danny battles Harold, who proves to be the true murderer of his parents, on the rooftop of Rand’s headquarters. Danny is able to access the iron fist even after draining his chi, but does not have it in him to kill his father’s best friend and would rather him spend his life in prison. As Danny turns away from Harold’s impaled body, he lets his guard down allowing Harold to reach for a gun. It was a self righteous moment for his son, Ward, who ended the life of his constant torturer with a bullet to the chest, which lands him on the sidewalk next to the multistory building.
Now for the cons! The show alluded to some sort of romantic relationship between Danny and Joy, only to barely have them share a scene with one another toward the end of the season. I also was not a fan of Colleen’s revelation of being involved with the Hand. It became sort of obvious after the introduction of her sensei, Bakuto, that her entire network of trainees and masters were involved with the hand. What doesn’t make sense is that Danny was vocal about his hatred towards the Hand almost instantly after meeting the martial arts instructor; it wasn’t until her sensei attempted to recruit him that Ms. Wing decided to bring up her involvement. I noticed a character flaw of some sort in Danny throughout the progression of the series. Instead of getting progressively more meticulous and calculating, Danny seemed to impulsively and blindly put himself into life threatening situations, more often than not, due to his emotions.
Overall, I would recommend the show to anyone who is looking for an action-packed, yet comical, story about a quirky superhero on the rise. The show would be especially appealing to those who are keeping up with Marvel’s other Netflix original series and are looking forward to the Defenders.
