Marvel’s Iron Fist is less than two months away. As the latest Marvel series on Netflix draws near, more information about the character, the series, and his role and the crossover series Marvel’s Defenders.
There’s also been plenty of photos of Iron First, but there’s something missing from these. None of the photos of Iron Fist so far show Danny Rand in the actual Iron Fist costume. Instead, actor Finn Jones has mostly appeared in an open shirt that shows off the dragon tattoo on Iron Fist’s chest.
So will fans get to see the classic Iron Fist costume on the Netflix series? It’s hard to say. Looking at the three Marvel series released on Netflix so far, the pattern has been downplaying the importance of a superhero persona for these street level heroes.
In Marvel’s Daredevil Season 1, Matt Murdock only dons the Daredevil costume in the final episode. He wears an upgraded version throughout Marvel’s Daredevil Season 2. However, Daredevil is an exception among the Defenders in that he is the only hero in the group who has a true secret identity.
Jessica Jones briefly played with the idea of a costume and a secret identity, mostly at the urging of Trish Walker. Jessica’s run-in with Kilgrave put an end to that and to her time playing at being a superhero. Now she’s private investigator with a public persona.
In a way, the very persona of Luke Cage is a secret identity, since Cage was born Carl Lucas. Even so, Cage doesn’t make use of a costume. There was a reference to Cage’s classic costume in an episode of Marvels Luke Cage, but otherwise, the closest thing to a costume the Cage has worn is a hoodie. Now that his identity and abilities are publicly known, he has even less reason to pursue a secret superhero persona.
So where does that leave Iron Fist? If Danny Rand is planning on keeping his persona as a corporate leader, then he may employ some kind of masked hero identity, perhaps by cutting some eyeholes into a bandana. This seems like it will become a necessity eventually.
On the other hand, perhaps Rand leaves his corporate life behind and joins up with Luke Cage to form Heroes for Hire full time? If that’s the case, he may not need a superhero costume and if he does use one it would almost certainly be a bit more modern and realistic than his comic book look.
Our best bet is that we at least see a version of Iron Fist’s classic costume during his journey to K’un Lun. The look would seem far less outlandish in such a fantastic realm. Whether or not he leaves the look behind when he returns to Earth could go either way.
There have been hints that the threat the Defenders will face in their series is most closely related to Iron Fist lore. If that is the case, there may be cause for Iron Fist to have a more traditional look.
Marvel’s Iron Fist premieres on Netflix on March 17, 2017.