Iron Fist

Category : Comic Books

Subcategory : Marvel universe
Type : Hero
Game System : DC Heroes (Blood of Heroes S.E.)

Iron Fist v2.1

By Jackson, Richard Lyon and Sbastien Andrivet

Helper(s): Hart, Nick Yankovec, Philip Mason, Paul 'Z' Ewande, Skylord163, Jay Myers,
Gareth Lewis, Eric Langendorf, Capita_Senyera, Hoyasooner, Roy Cowan, Alan
Wilkinson

Source of Character: Marvel Universe

Reasons: Ladies and gentlemen, this version (though really detailed, clever and rather
long) is not yet it. The next step is to write early Iron Fist up, detail classic Iron Fist, and
break the writeup into three pieces (early, classic, current). This next step, however,
necessitates EVEN MORE RESEARCH, and everybody is getting a tad burned out at this
point. :-) Also people will likely kill me if I write up *more* 1970s street/kung fu stuff.

To make things even worse, please note that this entry was written before the excellent
Immortal Iron Fist series, and thus does not integrate it.

Game Stuff

Iron Fist - current

"Because people get... hurt around me. Keep the door locked."

"C'mon, fellas, don't tell me this is your first ambush. Don't you know I can't start
beating the snot out of you until you get off the john ? Anybody out there ? "

"I am retired."

(Iron Fist reflexively drops into a fighting stance as the Black Panther approaches from
behind)
Iron Fist : "Oh, it's you Your Highness."
Black Panther : "Shin Lai reverse ?"
Iron Fist : "Tae So, actually."
Black Panther : "You must show me that someday."
Luke Cage : "Ahem. If you ladies are done comparing recipes..."

Iron Fist
Dex: 09 Str: 04 Bod: 05 Motivation: Responsibility
Int: 07 Wil: 10 Min: 09 Occupation: Wanderer
Inf: 06 Aur: 06 Spi: 08 Resources {or Wealth}: 008
Init: 026 HP: 050
Powers: Cold immunity: 01, Detect (K'un-Lun mystical energies): 04, Mind probe: 08,
Suspension: 02, Telescopic vision: 01
Bonuses and Limitations:
Iron Fist's Expertise (K'un-Lun) can be employed to boost his Detect when it
comes to sensing mystical energies from K'un-Lun
Mind Probe is Seriously Marginal, has No Range and is Symmetrical (both
subjects gain RAPs of knowledge, deeply intimate in nature, about each other)
(total -5)
Detect has a R#09 that is tested *before* usage

Skills: Acrobatics*: 09, Charisma (persuasion)*: 06, Detective (legwork, clue analysis,
police procedure): 04, Martial artist (incl. Techniques): 10, Medicine (first aid): 04,
Medicine (medical treatment, surgery): 10, Thief (escape artist, security systems, stealth):
07, Vehicles (land): 04, Weaponry (melee, missile)*: 09
Bonuses and Limitations:
Medicine (medical treatment, surgery) is Seriously Marginal (and Iron Fist often
Pushes on top of that)
Medicine (medical treatment, surgery) can be used without any equipment (not
even a sterile environment) through the application of chi.

Advantages: Expertise (Asian cultures, martial arts lore, K'un-Lun), Iron Nerves,
Lightning reflexes, Language (Kunlunese, Japanese, several Chinese), Schticks (Iron Fist,
Master of Chi), Scholar (pain tolerance)
Connections: Luke Cage (High), Misty Knight (Low), Colleen Wing (Low), Shang-Chi
(Low), Sons of the Tiger (Low), Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Low), NYPD (mostly through
Detective Scarfe, Low), Namor (Low)
Drawbacks: Voluntary Exile (from K'un Lun), Unluck, Public identity, Attack
Vulnerability (making him doubt his role as Iron Fist, -1CS OV/ RV), SIA toward the
Self-Doubt Subplot

...like unto a thing of iron !

The Iron Fist Schtick allows a character to augment through HPs his EV by the APs of
his Martial Artist score, rather than his STR. It also allows to use the full Martial Artist
APs as EV substitution, rather than a limited version thereof, and does not necessarily
makes such an attack Killing Combat.

Thus, by going all-out and spending 10 HPs, he can strike with an EV of 10+10=20. This
makes Iron Fist's fist(s) glow with a coruscating aura of a warm colour, but he can make
his fists glow without spending any HPs, through simple concentration.
Said EV is generic EV - some people have house rules for defenses against Martial Arts-
boosted EV. If this is your case, the blows from the iron fist are not covered by this rule.

This EV has occasionally be used to crush something held in Fist's hand instead of
punching. Also, as a misc. bonus, the RV of the Fist's hand and wrist during the Phase he
uses the iron fist is equal to the EV he employs - as his fist becomes... like unto a thing of
iron !

Note that this ability can be mystically manipulated - Danny has often been deprived of
it, or had it stolen by another. For such purposes as Draining, Neutralizing, Duplicating,
etc. , this Schtick is treated like Mental Blast (ML, No Range): 10.

The breath of the dragons:

Daniel Rand-K'ai's ability to focus his inner energies into great feats is arguably
superhuman ; in game terms his Master of Chi Schtick makes him a specialist when it
comes to Pushing his abilities. The effects of the Schtick are as follow :

The minimum number of RAPs the Action Check for the Pushing attempt can
score is 1, even if it completely misses the mark
The "Push fee" is diminished from 3 HPs per AP down to 2 HPs per AP
Burnout only occurs on a failed roll of 7 or less
With the GM's permission, this Schtick allows the Character to use his Martial
Artist Skill for Power Tricks having to do with paranormal energies -- this
explains a lot of the weird, one-shot chi stuff Danny has done.

The Deadly Prana Of Overthinking Stuff:

Iron Fist spends his time into a bunch of subplots -- and most of them are not that good,
really. Why ? Because he needs HPs. He needs a lot of HPs, since his main powers are all
about spending HPs. Somebody playing Iron Fist will likely request half-baked Subplots
from his GM, too, to feed the HPs beast.

One of his most common Subplots his "Self-doubt and Overthinking Things", where he
starts, well, doing just that. While this Subplot is active, he can only spend HPs with the
permission of the GM. He, in fact, has a CIA toward this Subplot, which should be
checked before the start of each adventure (not game session - an adventure can cover
multiple game sessions). Thus, the Character might take a Subplot even if the Player
doesn't want to -- which helps explain how this traits ends up sounding so tiresome from
time to time in Iron Fist adventures.

This Subplot is a major reason why Iron Fist seems to bounce between being one of the
ultimate combat machines of the Marvel Universe, and being a whiny third-stringer who
seems to be sleepwalking through his part. Unluck is another.
Iron Fist - classic
"Gods of K'un Lun!"

Dex: 08 Str: 04 Bod: 05 Motivation: Responsibility

Int: 07 Wil: 09 Min: 07 Occupation: Hero for Hire
Inf: 07 Aur: 06 Spi: 08 Resources {or Wealth}: 008
Init: 026 HP: 045
Powers: Cold immunity: 01, Energy blast (ML): 15, Mind Probe: 08, Suspension: 02,
Telescopic vision: 01
Bonuses and Limitations:
Energy Blast has No Range, No AV (use Martial Artist or DEX) and is Gradually
Fatiguing (vs. Spirit due to Mystic Link)
Mind Probe is Seriously Marginal, has No Range and is Symmetrical (both
subjects gain RAPs of knowledge, deeply intimate in nature, about each other)
(total -5)

Skills: Acrobatics*: 08, Charisma( Persuasion)*: 07, Detective (legwork, clue analysis,
police procedure): 04, Martial Artist (incl. Techniques): 10, Medicine (first aid): 04,
Medicine (medical treatment, surgery): 10, Thief (Escape Artist, Security Systems,
Stealth): 07, Vehicles (land): 04, Weaponry (Melee, Missile)*: 08
Bonuses and Limitations:
Medicine (medical treatment, surgery) is Seriously Marginal (and Iron Fist often
Pushes on top of that)
Medicine (medical treatment, surgery) can be used without any equipment (not
even a sterile environment) through the application of chi.

Advantages: Expertise (Asian cultures, martial arts lore, K'un-Lun), Lightning reflexes,
Language (Kunlunese, Japanese, several Chinese), Schticks (Master of Chi), Scholar
(pain tolerance)
Connections: Luke Cage (High), Daughters of the Dragon (High), Shang-Chi (Low),
Sons of the Tiger (Low), NYPD (mostly through Detective Scarfe, Low)
Drawbacks: Voluntary Exile (from K'un Lun), Unluck, Attack Vulnerability (making
him doubt his role as Iron Fist, -1CS OV/RV), SIA toward the Self-Doubt Subplot

Gradually Fatiguing Limitation (Factor Cost Mod : -1FC):

This limitation represents a power that taxes the character the more he uses it.

The character must make an Action Check using half (rounded up) the APs actually used
(which may be less than maximum) as the AV/EV. The OV of the check is equal to half
the APs of the power (regardless of how many APs were used), while the RV is either the
Character's Body, Mind, Spirit, depending on whether the Power is Physical, Mental, or
Mystical, respectively. Hero Points may be spent to increase the OV/RV of this check.
Each Phase the Character uses the power within a 15 AP time period (every day) the
above procedure must be repeated adding one AP to the AV/EV of the check past the first,
up until a maximum AV/EV equal to the amount of APs being used of the Power.

Background

Real name: Daniel Thomas Rand-K'ai

Other Aliases: Daniel Thomas Rand (legal name in the US), the Young Dragon, the
Living Weapon
Occupation: Adventurer. Former businessman, bodyguard, private investigator, research
assistant and warrior.
Known Relatives: Wendell Rand-K'ai (father, deceased), Heather Duncan Rand (aka the
Silver Dragon, mother, deceased), Yu-Ti (aka the August Personage in Jade, adopted
uncle), Miranda Rand-K'ai (aka Death Sting, half-sister), Lord Tuan (adopted paternal
grandfather, deceased), Lady Ming (adopted paternal grandmother, deceased), Thomas
Duncan (maternal grandfather)
Group affiliation: Former partner of Luke Cage aka Power Man II, former member of
the Heroes for Hire, former Defender.
Base Of Operations: New York City
Height: 5'11" Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Blond

K'un Lun :
K'un-Lun is a stronghold of a colony of human-like aliens, whose spaceship crash-landed
upon a small, extradimensional world a million years ago. For most of this period, the
warp drives of the ships somehow created an oscillating gateway between the pocket
dimension and Earth, revolving K'un-Lun into a remote corner of the Himalayas
(presumably in the Kunlun mountain range) once per decade.

The involuntary colonists settled a built a city around their crashed spaceship, both
cannibalizing it and using other materials to build the town in a style imitating the interior
of the ship. With the passing of millennia, none remembered their true origins, and that
the Hall of the Ancestors was once a spacefaring vessel. Their noble, traditionalist
civilization of excellence and respect continued to develop, though.

K'un-Lun is traditionally co-ruled by the aliens' human-like descendants and by powerful

beings called the Dragon kings, themselves the subjects of the godlike sorcerer Master
Khan. The mystical energies in K'un-Lun are in fact so strong that their land of the dead,
Feng-Tu, has physical existence in their pocket dimensions and the K'un-Lun dead have
been known to interface with the living on several occasions. Traditionally, the land of
the dead is ruled by the ruler of K'un-Lun, the August Personage in Jade, after he dies.
The mystical emerald crystal that regulated the interdimensional interface, making them a
regular cycle, was broken some years ago by K'-Lun adopted champion Iron Fist, making
the appearances of the city erratic and unpredictable. Later, Iron Fist made the interface
even more rare by binding it to his own heartbeat, making it impossible for K'un-Lun to
appear in a place where he wasn't.

K'un-Lun undoubtedly gave rise to numerous Chinese legends about the mountain range
being the home of the Taoist immortals, since there are obvious similarities between
K'un-Lunians and such immortals.

Years ago, American businessman Wendell Rand discovered K'un-Lun and entered the
city. During his stay, he saved the life of K'un-Lun ruler Lord Tuan, who adopted him as
his heir - to the resentment of Tuan's actual son, Yu-Ti. Rand also married a woman
named Shakari, and fathered a daughter, Miranda Rand-K'ai. At some point, Rand Sr. also
won ritual combat against Davos, son of K'un-Lun's greatest warrior, Lei Kung the
Thunderer. Being the victor won him the right to claim the power of Shou-Lao the
Undying, a man transformed into a mystic serpent over a thousand years ago by a Dragon
king named Chiantang. Wendell Rand declined the opportunity, though, and thus didn't
join the long line of K'un-Lun's best warriors who had wielded the power of the iron fist.
Lei Kung, however, banished his son to Earth in shame.

Ten years after entering K'un-Lun, Rand was showing Shakari the dimensional interface
when Yu-Ti's men attacked them. Shakari was slain, and the grief-stricken Rand seized
the opportunity to return to Earth.
Powers and Abilities

Iron Fist is capable of summoning his chi (sum total of his body's natural energy) to
reinforce his natural abilities. He is capable of focusing that energy into his hand and
draw upon the super-human energy derived from the mystic serpent Shou-Lao and make
his fist inhumanly powerful and resistant to injury. Early in his career Danny could only
use his "iron fist" a limited amount of times because of the drain on his system, but has
shown recently that he can use it much more frequently.

He can also use his chi to heal himself and by focusing that energy into another person,
healing them. This ability has proved able to cure almost any injury or disease, although
it is quite taxing on Iron Fist. Danny can also use his superhuman power to fuse his
consciousness with that of another person, albeit temporarily, forming a "mind meld."
Daniel cam routinely channel his chi to ignore cold or enter a deep meditative state
(Suspension).

Iron Fist is a master of martial arts of K'un-Lun - which seems to include every Asian
martial art ever devised, including many lost ones. He is generally considered to be one
of the greatest martial artists alive, although not on the level of Shang-Chi or Captain
America. He is also extremely adept at gymnastics and acrobatics, and is an experienced
detective. His sight is remarkably acute.

History:

Daniel Rand-K'ai the son of businessman Wendell Rand, who had once lived in the fabled
city of K'un-Lun, which exists in an otherdimensional realm and materialized in the
Himalaya once a decade. Wendell Rand-K'ai, as he was know there, was the eldest son
and heir of Lord Tuan, who ruled K'un-Lun, in the guise of the August Personage in Jade.
However, Wendell was driven from K'un-Lun by his brother who not only wanted to rule
K'un-Lun himself, but who was Wendell's rival for the love of a woman named Shakari.
Wendell found refuge on Earth and became a successful businessman in the United
States. In his absence, Tuan died and Wendell's brother succeeded him as the August
Personage in Jade. Within a year of coming back to Earth Wendell married a woman
named Heather, who bore him a son, Daniel.

When Daniel was nine, his family and his father's business partner, Harold Meachum,
went on a mountaineering expedition in search of K'un-Lun - which was scheduled to
interface with the Earthly plane soon. When a storm arose and Daniel and Heather fell of
a cliff, Wendell was dragged along. While Heather and Daniel landed safely on a ledge,
Wendell dangled above the chasm. Meachum, hoping to gain control of the business, and
harboring a secret love for Heather, refused to assist Wendell and instead crushed his
hands so that Wendell fell to his death. Meachum offered to help mother and son but both
refused him and forced him away.

Heather led her young son in search for a way home but became lost in the storm until
she found a suspension bridge. However, a pack of hungry wolves were stalking the two,
and sensing their prey would escape attacked. Heather urged her son on while she
sacrificed her life to save him. Her heroic death in close proximity to K'un-Lun, however,
meant her spirit ascended to K'un-Lun's lands of the dead : Feng-Tu. Meachum also
survived, through crippled with severe frostbite. Having learned of Daniel's survival, he
spent the next decade heavily fortifying his home, waiting for the inevitable attempt at
vengeance.

Daniel was found by the citizens of K'un-Lun and trained in their martial arts by Lei
Kung, the Thunderer. Daniel was naturally adept at the martial arts and by age sixteen
had accomplished many advanced levels. He toughened his hand by thrusting them into
dust, then sand, then gravel and finally, rock. His closest friends where Miranda, whom
he didn't know was his half-sister, and a lad named Conal D'hu-Tsien. Rand secretly
taught martial arts to Miranda, in defiance of K'un-Lun sexist laws.

When Rand turned nineteen, he was given the opportunity to claim the mantle of "Iron
Fist" by battling the serpent, Shou-Lao the Undying. During the battle, Daniel grabbed on
the serpent and was permanently scarred by its chest marking, so that he now has a flying
dragon tattooed on his chest. Rand not only defeated the creature, but actually slew it, a
fit never matched by any of the K'un-Lun warriors before. He plunged his hand into its
molten heart and gained superhuman powers to reinforce his blows.

His exploit has consequences. The death of Shou-Lao angered the Dragon King
Chiantang, his creator, who attempted to destroy K'un-Lun in retaliation. While his
enormous power would have made that quite possible, he was banished by Master Khan
before he could do so. Also, some of the warriors of K'un-Lun grew jealous of the
incredibly talented foreigner, which triggered a brawl against Daniel, Miranda and Conal.
After the fray, Conal and Miranda had to flee but were captured by the enemies of K'un-
Lun, the plant-like beings called the H'lythri, living outside of the city in the non-Earth
dimension.

Rand opted to return to the America rather than stay in K'un-Lun for another ten years.
When he returned, he confronted Meachum, only to discover that he was now an invalid
from frostbite. Rand took pity on him, but Meachum was later assassinated by the ghostly
Ninja. Rand had to clear his name of the murder, an endeavour in which he associated
with two female private detectives he befriended, samurai-trained Colleen Wing and
cyborg ex-cop Misty Knight. While adjusting to America, he also started adventuring as
iron Fist, fighting such menaces as a cult of Kali or Warhawk.

Although Rand's business relationship with Meachum's brother, Ward, and daughter, Joy,
were not the best, they eventually reached an agreement in which Rand he became a full
partner in Rand-Meachum (and thus a rich man) while Joy actually ran the company. This
allowed Rand to concentrate on his good deeds as Iron Fist, and on his relationship with
Misty Knight. Iron Fist fought such foes as the Steel Serpent (a martial artist specialized
in dim-mak who had tried several times to conquer K'un-Lun) or Dhasha Khan, a
sorcerer-warrior who had conquered Feng-Tu. During that adventure, Iron Fist met Jade,
a woman who was embodiment of all that was good with humanity due to being the
receptacle of the cosmic Firebird ; and was defeated by a warrior from Feng-Tu serving
Dhasha Khan, the Silver Dragon. After he defeated the Silver Dragon ina rematch, he
discovered "he" was actually the spirit of Heather Rand. Vanquishing Dhasha Khan, he
returned his mother to her quiet afterlife and, although he loved Jade and wished for her
to remain human, accepted to let her become the Firebird more fully as humanity needed
her in that role.

After some more adventures (involving Master Khan, Scimitar, the Wrecking Crew,
Sabertooth or Davos, now also calling himself the Steel Serpent) Rand eventually became
acquainted with Luke Cage and the two soon became partners in Heroes For Hire Inc. It
was not his first partnership, as Iron fist had often worked along with other martial artists
such as Shang-Chi, the Sons of the Tiger or the White Tiger, but it was to be his most
lasting.

At one point, Fist and Cage went back to K'un-Lun, only to discover the H'lythri had
struck and decimated the eternal city. The heroes led the remnants of the K'un-Lun
warriors against their foes, but Iron Fist had been changed by his time on Earth and was
now disillusioned with the regimented culture of his hometown. Yu-Ti betrayed him in an
attempt to appease Master Khan, but even Khan feared the iron fist and the heroes walked
way free. Iron Fist then damaged the crystal controlling the interface cycle between K'un-
Lun and Earth, making it erratic instead of predictable. Khan himself was trapped on
Earth, allowing Chiantang to escape and nearly destroy K'un-Lun. Khan enlisted villains
to strike back against Cage and Fist, stealing the iron fist power and nearly killing him.
However Iron Fist managed to strike back, recover his power and banish Khan.

Then Iron Fist apparently died in a twisted plot where nothing was what it seemed.
Teenage Bobby Wright alias Captain Hero, whom Iron Fist was trying to save via healing
chi, was actually the Super-Skrull, who had been mesmerized by Master Khan. Iron Fist
wasn't Iron Fist - but a H'lythri duplicate who had come to believe himself to be Iron Fist.
Thus, when Wright turned to Captain Hero while Iron Fist was healing him and beat him
to death in a rage, it seemed Khan's plan had worked - however, Fist was still a prisoner
of the H'lythri. Khan, in his triumph, seduced Misty Knight to steal her from Rand (in his
guise as NYPD policeman Tyrone King, the one-man SWAT team), killed Chiantang
(who had made it to Earth after a recent banishment from Iron Fist) and framed Cage for
the murder of "Iron Fist".

However, months later, the Super-Skrull, no longer the pawn of Khan, used his power to
imitate Iron Fist as a ploy against Namor. Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, now doubting
the death of Iron Fist, exhumed his remains to reveal plant-like tissue, making it clear that
it had been an impostor who had been killed. Namor and the two women made it to K'un-
Lun and freed Rand from the clutches of the H'lythri. Khan turned Namor into am
amnesiac as a revenge, but Rand, Knight and Wing restored him and the Submariner
apparently slew Master Khan. Cage's named was cleared, although by that point he wasn't
interested in actively reforming his adventuring duo with Rand. Iron Fist also discovered
that while he was gone Oracle Inc., Namor's company, had bought Rand-Meachum ;
allying himself with Namor, Rand took a position at Oracle.

Iron Fist continued his career as a relatively minor hero ; at one point he started losing his
faith in himself, which due to his link with Shou-Lao threatened to have mystical
consequences. The alien Contemplator gave him new purpose ; during that quest the Steel
Serpent was resurrected and tried yet again to conquer K'un-Lun. The two men fought
and Iron Fist recovered his power, even renewing his relationship with Misty Knight.

Thus, when most of the world's most prominent heroes disappeared after the Onslaught
crisis, Iron Fist was willing to carry on their heritage. Using Oracle money, he launched a
new, bigger version of the Heroes for Hire (with the brief help of Cage) to serve as a new
major hero group, and launched a scheme to bind K'un-Lun to himself so he would bring
it to Earth and trigger a new golden age by fusing both cultures and realities. . It all went
sour, however. Namor sold Oracle to Stark-Fujikawa, who thus became the new masters
of the Heroes for Hire and fired Cage and ant-Man due to their criminal records ; the rest
left in disgust. The heroes lost in the Onslaught crisis came back, anyway, making the
whole point moot. Iron Fist also came to the conclusion that a merger of Earth and K'un-
Lun would never work, and started working on stopping what he had put into motion.
That didn't go well, either. Iron Fist found himself fighting against Conal and Miranda,
the later now known as Death Sting. His childhood friends weren't dead, but were now
H'lythri agents. As for his plan to bring K'un-Lun to Earth, it was hijacked by the Hand,
led in this endeavour by teenage assassin Junzo Muto. Muto became a member of the
club of people who stole the iron fist power, then kidnapped Misty Knight and brought
her to Tokyo - he had realized that K'un-Lun now couldn't manifest on Earth with the
presence of Iron Fist since they were bound, and wanted Fist to come to him so he could
summon K'un-Lun over Tokyo. The ghost of his mother informed Rand that he just had
to wait - unable to manifest on Earth without him, K'un-Lun would just bounce off to a
random dimension. Unwilling to risk the destruction of K'un-Lun and the torture and
death of Misty Knight, Iron Fist went to Tokyo.

His presence allowed the Hand to complete the process, and K'un-Lun started to appear
in and merge with Tokyo, with catastrophic results. Iron Fist teamed up with Wolverine,
Yu-Ti, Cage and some other heroes (including Sunfire, Captain America, Iron Man and
Psylocke) to defeat the Hand and stop the merger. While they succeeded in beating back
Muto, the ninja horde and the hypnotized dragons of K'un-Lun, the merger seemed to be
permanent until Yu-Ti, reasoning it couldn't exist without Iron Fist, fatally stabbed him
from behind. He succeeded and K'un-Lun mostly recessed from Earth, although it left
some elements behind, such as some of the dragons.

Iron Fist was resurrected on the spot by the spirits of Feng-Tu, led by his mother, and
decided to stay for a while, helping the Japanese deal with the left-overs from K'un-Lun
and helping the dragons adapt to their new home. However, some time later, old Heroes
for Hire enemy Nightshade resurrected Chiantang in order to use him as an unstoppable
weapon against the Black Panther. She blackmailed him via a genetic bomb introduced in
his DNA, but Chiantang begun to spin an elaborate web of deception, disguising himself
as the demon Mephisto and eventually switching bodies with Ross Everett, the US liaison
of the Black Panther. He also used mystical means to give the iron fist power back to iron
Fist, then unbalanced his chi and hypnotized him to serve as his weapon against the Black
Panther.

Both martial arts masters fought fiercely, though T'challa only survived the hits he took
through the vibranium impact-dampening mesh he was wearing. Even with this
formidable protection, the cumulative damage from fighting an unhinged Iron Fist
resulted in a brain aneurysm that would have dire repercussions in the near-future. Still,
with the help of the Black Panther, Iron Fist broke his conditioning. Chiantang then
manifested in his full dragon form in New York city, but was attacked by Black Panther,
Iron Fist, a powerful Wakandan military task force and nearby US armed forces. The
fight eventually drifted to Wakanda, where Chiantang was defeated.

Going back to the US, Iron Fist resumed his career as a minor hero. However, during an
altercation with armed thugs, Iron Fist dodged a bullet that flew on to kill a young mother
at a nearby window, leaving an orphaned baby behind her. This terrible event made Iron
Fist doubt the good he was doing, especially since he had broken up with Misty Knight
again in the past weeks. He decided to retire to Colorado, buying a big, isolated house.
However, he was tracked down by Mary Blue Cloud, a teenage American Indian with
precognitive powers. Mary had foreseen the return of the exiled K'un-Lun wizard Chi,
whose agents the shadow-thieves waled the Earth to sustain his immortality. Chi had
become aware of Iron Fist's bond with K'un-Lun, and was trying to capture him so as to
exploit that that link and come back to k'un-Lun for vengeance. His agents stepped up
their activities, killing hundreds to fully power him so he could execute his plan. A
reluctant Iron Fist eventually defeated Chi in K'un-Lun with Mary's help, and returned
back to the path of the hero.

Description:

See illustrations. Nowadays, Iron Fist tends to be drawn manga-style, giving him a
youthful air. He wears his hair somewhat short, in an anime hero cut.

Personality

Early in his career, Iron Fist was quite unfamiliar with the normal world, and was
obsessed with avenging his parents. This very intense, very focused worldview collapsed
when he couldn't take Meachum's life, leaving empty from then on.

Due to this life-consuming buildup and anti-climax, Danny is somewhat aimless despite
his incredible training and mental and spiritual integrity. He tends to doubt his abilities,
his actions and his role as a hero because he wasn't born to be one - he keeps being
dragged into being Iron Fist as a textbook Responsibility for Power motivation. He is
overtly analytical and quite skeptical about what he does ; if an innocent is killed due to
what he perceives to be his own fault (and he will easily decide things are his own fault),
he may retired until fate drags him yet again into the life of a fighter.

However, despite those doubts, Danny almost never descends into self-pitying and
whining. He lacks a clear path, but this is more of a philosophical dilemma than any kind
of angst. His questions are much, much closer to "am I doing the bright thing ? Should I
be wearing a costume a kicking arse ?" than "woe is me !".

In fact, he's overall a very amiable, likeable guy. He's usually social and jovial, although
his humour is a normal kind of joking around, not killed one-liners and dialogue like a
Peter David-written Spider-Man. He's not really funny or a talented comedian, but he's
obviously laid-back and rarely incites violence of it can be avoided. He's open toward
others, but will drop his light wit and banter if he's made too aware that, due to the
violent nature of his life, people around him tend to suffer. When he's not pondering his
role, his goals are pretty simple - a good life, which means he's after money and is
generally nice so he can enjoy positive situations.

Iron Fist alternates between group work (where he will soon feel he relies too much on
others, and that it dulls him) and solo work (where he will soon feel he could achieve
more as part of a dedicated force for good). He finds his best equilibrium as part of a duo
- and is of course at his best operating along with Cage, though they haven't really been
venturing together for a while. The friendship between Cage and Danny is rock-solid
despite their vast differences - they both know the other is truly a good man, dedicated to
justice and having overcome formidable obstacles to become what he is.

Part of Iron Fist's doubts and feelings of inadequacy come from his K'un-Lun upbringing
- he's supposed to be the champion of an otherdimensional civilization with Oriental
trappings that is a million years old. K'un-Lun has vast, formidable traditions and a very
rigid sense of honour and duty that is nigh-unbearable for a normal human being. Danny
view this fantastic legacy as an incredible, shining Camelot, and considers that his K'un-
Lun heritage and culture have much to bring to humanity. However, being a one-man
agent of cultural change toward something incomprehensible to most of his
contemporaries is likewise too big, and doomed to doubt and failure.

Thus, while Danny may seems to some like an hesitant, superficial slacker, his ability to
live his life without being crushed by who he is and where he comes from, and in fact
remain a nice and amiable person, is quite remarkable.

Iron Fist has been around for years and his on friendly terms with a large number of
heroes - such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, the X-Men, the Black Panther, Namor, etc. He
pretty much never calls on their help so they aren't Connections, but he will easily work
with them during chance encounters.

DC Universe History:

Obvious parallels exist in DC during the high flying Kung Fu action days of the 70s. Iron
Fist would have met Richard Dragon, Ben Turner (Bronze Tiger), and Lady Shiva
(Collectively known as the Kung Fu Fighters). Also story arcs involving the League of
Assassins come to mind.

In fact, Fist could conceivably *replace* Richard Dragon, as the two can be amalgamated
without too many problems. His friendship with Cage would of course be replaced with
his friendship with Turner, and there are definitely similarities between K'un-Lun and
Nanda Parbat.

Search for an entry

Name :
Category :
Sub Category :
Type :
Note :
Submit