Marvel’s Netflix universe is still shrouded in mystery. How connected is the Netflix family of series to the rest of the MCU? Will Netflix characters show up on the feature film side? Will Agents of Shield crossover with the Netflix world? Red herrings and easter eggs have managed to unite the Marvel universe film, television and streaming offerings. A Defenders miniseries will be the culmination of the Netflix experiment. And we, the fans, know nothing about the most anticipated series to lead up to the Defenders. Iron Fist is completely shrouded in mystery. No showrunner, writers or leads have even been alluded to as far as the public is concerned. In fact, foundationless rumors are swirling around that Iron Fist may be cancelled before it has a chance to come into fruition.
But Iron Fist is a large part of the Netflix experiment and may anchor this brave new world, being the connective thread of The Defenders and may even definitively tie-in the feature side and small screen. After all, Iron Fist was in development at one recent time as a feature, and the Iron Fist mythology sure seems to lend itself better to a feature sized budget. Let’s actually see what the combined worlds of New York and K’Un-Lun will have in store, because Iron Fist is definitely coming with a powerful blow sure to knock our socks off.
How important will Iron Fist be? The world on the streaming service is still so young and new, but everything seems to be leading up to just this series:
Iron Fist Easter Eggs litter and loiter the landscape of the Daredevil series to an extent that has never been done before in a solo outing of the MCU. The aura of the Steel Serpent haunts the series and Madame Gao gave Daredevil a backhand slap that lets him know he’s ill-prepared to step into her realm.
If it weren’t for Daredevil’s expertly told story and performance, the mystical might of the Hand may have dominated the series. But the Hand decided to give the Devil his time to rage. Iron Fist and Daredevil are probably most connected through this mysterious ninja cult in this MCU version. And who’s to say Nobu expired anyhow? And what is so important about that particular block that Nobu had to have? Does that specific location contain a dimensional doorway, or gate if you will, to some otherwordly dimension? And just what is this Black Sky? My spidey-sense tells me it is something more connected to Iron Fist than we think. No other Defenders member was even remotely treated with such connective morsels in the Daredevil series as Iron Fist was. By contrast, we've heard nothing of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in the lone Netflix series.
And then there is Carrie-Ann Moss’ mystery role in Jessica Jones. Of course no longer a mystery, she was revealed to be portraying Jeri Hogarth, a re-envisioning of Jeryn Hogarth, a staple in the Iron Fist mythology who is arguably as important to Danny Rand as Alfred is to Bruce Wayne. And then we all know there is Luke Cage, a partner to Danny and Hero for Hire.
Let’s not forget that Danny Rand’s flame Misty Knight, will appear in the Luke Cage series as well. Daredevil Season 2 comes by with Stick and possibly his faction garnering more exposure. Stick will be in 3 episodes for season 2. And make no mistake, Stick, Stone, the Chaste and Hand, may all join a brewing battle by the time The Defenders assemble. The biggest foretelling of how these ninja factions are more connected to Iron Fist in the MCU than they are in the comics, is by Stone's question if Matt will be ready "by the time the gates open". These gates are probably an MCU version of the Rand gates. By the time Iron Fist rolls around, we may very well be inundated with much of the supporting fiber of Iron Fist. This leaves the gates open, perhaps literrally, for the mythos of Iron Fist to be fully fleshed out with the support of the other series.
The Iron Fist series might be set part in New York and part in one or more mythical cities in another dimensional realm. Of course one of those is K'Un L'un. In fact, the Doctor Strange feature film may first explore other worldly dimensions, opening up Iron Fist to live in this space. The dimensional connectivity might be the final ingredient that will truly bring the feature side and Netflix world together. As viewers we will grow to accept the feasibility of potentially ghostly realms in this grounded and gritty reality. Marvel probably learned its lesson from The Madarin scandal and won’t devoid its fan the proper treatment this time around. Due to this, Iron Fist has the potential to become an ancient and at the same time New York City modern, mystical, Asian influenced, Games of Thrones type portrayal, adept with fire breathing dragons, or at least one dragon with a molten heart sitting in some simmering cauldron somewhere.
Iron Fist will be the biggest and most influential series by the time everything is said and done. Taking time with the execution, and letting the other series help build its foundation, is not a bad idea at all. Patience is a virtue, so says the power of the Fist.
Thanks for reading and leave your comments below. What would you like to see in the series and how influential do you think Iron Fist will be to the Defenders mini-series?