(Note: This post contains massive spoilers for the ending of “Iron Fist” Season 2, so read on at your own risk.)
“Iron Fist” Season 2 is all about who has the power of the Immortal Iron Fist, who should have it and, perhaps most importantly, why they actually want it.
Throughout the season, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) grapples with his adopted brother and best friend, Davos (Sacha Dhawan), who is convinced that he should have become the Iron Fist instead of Danny. Davos executes an elaborate plan to steal the power of the Fist using an ancient ritual, and succeeds, gaining two red fists as the Steel Serpent. He goes on something of a perverted crime-stopping spree after that, murdering anyone he thinks deserves it.
At the end of the season, Danny and Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) hatch a plan to get the power of the Fist back from Davos. But Danny discovers over the course of the season that he really shouldn’t be holding the power of the Fist, either. He only pursued the Iron Fist because that’s what people do in K’un-Lun, the mystical city where he was adopted. In the end, he decided he wasn’t ready to wield the Fist, and needs to figure himself out instead.
But Danny and Colleen know that Davos can’t be left with the power of the Iron Fist, so someone has to hold it in the meantime. Danny convinces Colleen to become the Iron Fist. They use the same ritual on Davos that he used on Danny, and transfer the power to Colleen. Unlike Danny’s yellow Fist or Davos’ red one, Colleen ends up with a white Fist. The season ends with Danny leaving to find out more about being the Fist, and Colleen stays in New York to protect the city.
Colleen becoming the Iron Fist is a move for the show that has no precedence in the Marvel Comics on which the Netflix show is based. There have been women Iron Fists before, but Colleen wasn’t one of them. The white version of the Iron Fist that she sports is also something new — while the Fist’s glow is usually portrayed as yellow, it occasionally has been drawn as white, too. The interesting question about Colleen’s version of the Fist is whether it’s different from the power that Danny and Davos wielded, something we’ll probably come to find out next season.
There is a link to the comics in some of the backstory that came with Colleen gaining the Iron Fist in Season 2, though. At the end of the season, Danny speculated that Colleen’s ancestor might be the Pirate Queen Wu Ao-Shi, thanks to a story her mother told her and the family heirloom box Colleen discovered in the first episode. Wu Ao-Shi was also the first woman Iron Fist, which probably means there’s a whole lot more interesting backstory for the show to explore.
There’s not too much we can glean from the comics about what’s coming next in “Iron Fist.” In the comics, Colleen does become a superhero in her own right, forming the Daughters of the Dragon with Misty Knight (Simone Missick). Whether “Iron Fist” Season 3 will deal with that team-up — and whether Colleen as Iron Fist will be a part of it or if we’ll see her change into her own kind of hero — are questions that are still up in the air.
Every Marvel Comics Live-Action TV Show Ranked, from 'Incredible Hulk' to 'Daredevil'
The recent high-profile shows on Netflix, ABC and FX aren't the first ones Marvel has taken to the small screen. Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Blade and even knock-off-ish X-Men had a go before the current golden age. Here are all the Marvel shows, ranked from goofiest pajama costumes to best character-driven dramas.
18. “The Amazing Spider-Man” (1977-79) A 1977 attempt at a live-action “Spider-Man” is a fun throwback -- but in a purely ironic way because Peter Parker’s wall-crawling "special effects" are pretty cringe-worthy. Watching Spider-Man fight guys using extremely hokey choreography gives the whole thing a pretty goofy vibe.
17. “Spidey Super Stories” (1974-77) Spider-Man takes on some super-boring villains. He goes up against The Prankster (a school principal who keeps pranking his students) and The Spoiler (who just likes to everyday things for people) in these goofy sketches in PBS’ “The Electric Company.” Worth a few minutes of watching on YouTube.
16. "Mutant X" (2001-04) Delightfully 2001 in every way, the syndicated “Mutant X” is the knock-off "X-Men" TV show with a low budget a lot of people probably wanted. With obviously pulled punches and early CGI, “Mutant X” scratches an itch for a brand of superhero show that’s completely rooted in the world of 20 years ago.
15. "The Inhumans" (2017-current)
Nobody seemed able to get over bad wigs and CGI of "The Inhumans" when it first started, and the show didn't improve much from there. Thin plots and boring characters make this the least interesting of all the modern Marvel shows.
14. “Blade: The Series” (2006) Spike TV took the successful “Blade” movies and made a TV show. It’s a decent precursor to the grittier Marvel takes that would later show up on Netflix. Violent, blood-splattered vampire hunting couldn’t hold an audience in 2006, though.
13. “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (2013-current) For much of its run, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” has been more or less answering the question, “Hey, what are the normal people up to?” That can be pretty engaging, although keeping the show up with the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity on a budget sometimes reigns it in.
12. "The Defenders" (2017) After four separate, individual series, Netflix and Marvel unite Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage and the Iron Fist to save New York in "The Defenders." The culmination of several series' stories and the combination of all four different personalities makes "The Defenders" a lot of fun, but the short series winds up confusing and a bit anti-climactic in its final few episodes.
11. "The Incredible Hulk" (1977-82) Green Lou Ferrigno helped carry “The Incredible Hulk” through five seasons. The formula of David Banner wandering around America, getting into adventures and helping people, is pretty standard for TV. But there’s plenty of wrong-doers to trigger the Hulk’s rage and get him involved — for justice.
10. “Spider-Man” (1978-79)
A pretty deep departure from the Marvel Comics stories, the Japanese take on “Spider-Man” is worth a look just for the way Spider-man pushes a button on a bracelet that shoots out his suit. This version fully understands to folly of trying to make a serious Spider-Man thing in the '70s and goes gleefully the other way with plenty of self-awareness.
9. "The Runaways" (2017-current)
Hulu's first Marvel offering takes a different tack than its other shows. Focusing on a diverse group of teenagers, it's much more about a mystery concerning the parents -- who might, in fact, be evil -- than a bunch of people punching each other.
8. “Agent Carter” (2015-16)
TV gives Marvel the chance to dig into smaller side stories adjacent to its movies. “Agent Carter” takes that idea to its logical extent, turning out a period show led by a woman and Captain America pal. It gets to explore minor characters pretty intimately, while adding depth to the world when it comes time to turn on an “Avengers” movie.
7. "The Gifted" (2017-present)
Spinning off from the realm of "The X-Men," "The Gifted" starts out as a pretty standard superhero story. But with a family angle, some interesting and involving characters, and story topics that go beyond the usual "X-Men" fugitive angle, "The Gifted" is evolving into an interesting new take on the "X-Men" idea.
6. “Luke Cage” (2016-current)
Giving a different perspective on superheroes than anything that’s come before it, Netflix’s “Luke Cage” adds breadth to the MCU that shows how deep and interesting it can be. It’s also very aware of its time and place in culture and doesn’t shy away from the issues inherent in focusing on a bulletproof black man.
5. “Daredevil” (2015-current)
The first of Netflix and more down-to-earth superhero TV shows that take place in shadow of the Marvel Cinematic Universe does a great job of making Daredevil seem like a mostly regular dude. It’s also full of great, visceral fight scenes that pack an intensity that CGI can’t really achieve. And season 3 took the series to a whole new level, elevating it from simply fun to watch to legitimately good.
4. "Iron Fist" (2017-2018) The first season was really, really rough in every way, but season 2 was a whole different animal. It's fun and adventurous in a way none of these other shows are -- basically masterful trash.
3. “Jessica Jones” (2016-current)
Another lower-key superhero story, “Jessica Jones” brings heroes and villains down to their very human flaws. The way it taps into and explores feminist themes gives a whole different take on the idea of superpowers in the Marvel universe.
2. “Legion” (2017-current)
Visually gorgeous, this slow-burn look at one of the “X-Men” universe’s most powerful mutants does, so far, a phenomenal job of exploring its anti-hero. The focus on the mystery of David’s sanity digs deep into what it’s like, and how to cope, with being a mutant in a way that’s very different from other “X-Men” takes.
1. "The Punisher" (2017-current)
The best of the Netflix Marvel shows so far is "The Punisher." Following the exploits of former soldier Frank Castle, it spends most of its time concerned with a bunch of characters struggling to deal with their own personal tragedies. It also has some of the better action scenes Marvel has yet put in its Netflix series.
1 of 19
There have been more shows based on Marvel Comics than you probably know
The recent high-profile shows on Netflix, ABC and FX aren't the first ones Marvel has taken to the small screen. Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Blade and even knock-off-ish X-Men had a go before the current golden age. Here are all the Marvel shows, ranked from goofiest pajama costumes to best character-driven dramas.
