Here's the first word on Marvel's upcoming Netflix Exclusive, Iron Fist.
Netflix and Marvel are all set to introduce the world to their newest superhero series, following the grand success of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the best of the all, Daredevil. Iron Fist is the fourth in a lineup of web TV shows leading up to the ultimate superhero teamup in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe – The Defenders. But, the upcoming miniseries started making headlines way before Finn Jones (Ser Loras Tyrell of Game of Thrones) was offered the part of the human weapon.
It was (still is) largely contended that Marvel’s choice of a ‘White’ guy playing the Iron Fist, a superhero with deeply rooted orientalist philosophies, was racist and would not go a long way towards Marvel Entertainment’s promise of diversity and representation in content.
Even before Marvel announced British Actor Jones as the casting choice for Iron Fist, a furore of sorts had risen in certain superhero fan communities, people who would much rather see an Asian American take up the mantle of the human weapon than an all-American white male. Advocates of fairness and race representation took it upon themselves to lambaste Marvel’s choice of Jones as the billionaire, caucasian Danny Rand, instead of an Asian or an Asian-American counterpart.
Imagine if @leochu88 @planeteric @stevemaeda @MagicBranch @ketomizu or @MoTancharoen had run #AAIronFist https://t.co/1pDmpgll3F
— The Nerds of Color (@TheNerdsofColor) March 9, 2017
While most might want to keep beating that dead horse, I concur with Marvel (And, I am brown). There is nothing wrong with their choice of a 'white' superhero and It does not make them racists, or supremacists just because they tried to keep the origin story of the character intact. Chastising Iron Fist's origin story and giving it a race agenda is exactly the kind of thing that trivialises centuries of race-conflict, and takes away from the earnestness with which the problem should be addressed. While all mediums of communication, including cinema, have a responsibility of breaking stereotypes that have plagued society since way before you and I came into this world, resting that responsibility on the shoulders of a television show which is clearly directed towards fans of the comic books (and the newly evolved audience of the superhero genre) takes away from the gravitas of the problem of representation.
In the original Iron Fist comic book, the immortal superhero was indeed a white male. That’s just a fact. For this sole reason and many more that can be listed here, I did not think the show was ‘racially offensive’. Sometime you have to view entertainment for what it is – entertainment. Whether it’s good or bad is mostly a personal choice, but playing the race card where it isn’t really required is just petty.
Did we forget to mention Marvel’s next Captain America will be Black and Thor will be a woman!
Now that we have that off our chests, let’s talk about Marvel’s Iron Fist, the show.
Spoilers Ahead (but, not that many)
While Iron Fist might not have been one of the more sought after characters in Marvel’s Universe, his back story is anything but boring…In the comics, that is. Marvel seems to have strayed from the story presented in the original comic books, where Danny Rand, son of business tycoon, William Rand accompanies his parents and Rand’s business partner Harold Meachum, to the mystical city of K’Un Lun, where he eventually masters martial arts as an apprentice to Lei Kung, The Thunderer. While Danny struggles with the death of his parents, he goes on to defeat Shou-Lao the dragon, which ultimately gives him the power of the Iron Fist.
The show changes some very important events from this comic book opening story, starting with how Danny’s parents die and how he finds himself in the mystical K’Un Lun. We won’t tell you how, but if you have read the comic books it will be pretty obvious. If you haven’t I suggest you give them a read after you watch at least the first 2 episodes of the show.
While I didn’t agree with Marvel’s decision to change some of the key story points from the original comics, I couldn’t also bring myself to compare the show to Daredevil; an obvious comparison given both Matt Murdock and Danny Rand are unlikely superheroes who have their own TV shows, which will ultimately merge into one grand finale.
Yes, the famous Night Nurse, played by Rosario Dawson, appears to save the day yet again and the unnaturally strong heroin queen-pin Madame Gao is still leading the efforts of the deadly Ninja order of The Hand, but as great as shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage were at tying in other characters from the Defenders’ universe, Iron Fist lacks that feel of familiarity. Or so it seems after screening 6 episodes of the show.
If the fights were something you were looking forward to, you will be disappointed by the small bursts of action sequences in the first three episodes. The glowing fist, his biggest strength, is underplayed and very subtly placed to have any form of real impact at the beginning of the show. Major fight sequences, one where the Iron Fist is attacked by axe-wielding Yakuza fighters or another where he fights through a series of battles scenarios presented by The Hand, seem a tad drab and lack the much needed support of special effects. However, things do pick up episode 4 onwards.
There’s this conversation between Danny and Colleen Wing, the Samurai specialist, where the two discuss their experiences of eating…Errr…Donkeys. When you reach this part in the show, you will realise how the dialogue could have very well been something much more relevant to the story, than a forced discussion about eating an Ass (yes, that’s still a synonym for Donkey).
Another fail is the soap opera-style evolution of Danny's relationship with his estranged friends, children of his father's corrupt business partner Harold Meachum. While Danny returns to city life and his multi-billion dollar company after spending 15 years training at K'Un Lun, his childhood confidant Joy Meachum and childhood bully Ward Meachum have trouble accepting his sudden ressurection. So much so that one tries to institutionalise the PJ-wearing vagabond superhuman, while the other tries to, well, kill him. As twisted as this may sound, it all plays out pretty quickly, without any major upset for any of the characters. Long drawn conversations kill the pace of the show, and that is something I kind of expected given how Luke Cage dragged on towards the end of the show.
Overall, the six episodes of Iron Fist I have seen so far are no great shakes. The story moves along at snail’s pace and the exciting plot revelations are few and far apart. That said, I would give the show another chance to redeem itself and am looking forward to seeing how the story pans out after Danny manages to supremely upset his mystical master.
In conclusion, I would reiterate that Iron Fist definitely failed at recreating the glory of Daredevil (or Jessica Jones and Luke Cage), but is worth a watch just to keep up to date with the evolving Defenders’ storyline.
Marvel’s Iron Fist premieres March 17, exclusively on Netflix.
Follow Us
Adamya Sharma
Managing editor, Digit.in - News Junkie, Movie Buff, Tech Whizz! View Full Profile
