What I'm hearing is that Marvel still hasn't decided what the direction of the show will be. They've brought in a lot of people to pitch, and have been having a lot of discussions, but so far nothing has stuck. My understanding is that one of the big hold-ups is the mystical element, with lots of different opinions on just how much weird wuxia to bring in to the show. I don't know if there are other arguments about the race of the character, although I do hope they're considering how to best proceed with that.
In the comics Danny Rand is Iron Fist, and he is more than just a kick-ass martial artist. He trained with the mystical masters of the hidden city of K'un Lun (which appears on Earth once every ten years) and gained the power of the Iron Fist - he can channel all of his body's chi into his fist, which allows him to hit with superhuman strength, and which gives his fist a cool glow. This is what sets Iron Fist apart from, say, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu, who has no actual powers.
But will Danny have powers in the show? It's an interesting problem for the Netflixverse - the first season of Daredevil was so grounded that Daredevil's radar sense was backgrounded to an extent that some newbies told me they didn't even know Daredevil had powers. You could technically do that with Iron Fist - he could mention his chi and shit a couple of times, but you don't have his hand glow - but then why not just do Shang-Chi? At least that would get you an Asian hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I assume Danny Rand will be white because the character in the comics is white, and Marvel tends to default to reflecting the established character when it comes to major names. Part of what makes Iron Fist cool is the mystical stuff, and losing that just makes him feel like Baby Daredevil. And by the time Iron Fist debuts we will have had four seasons of Marvel on Netflix, which means it will surely be high time to bring in some high weirdness.
In the comics Danny Rand is Iron Fist, and he is more than just a kick-ass martial artist. He trained with the mystical masters of the hidden city of K'un Lun (which appears on Earth once every ten years) and gained the power of the Iron Fist - he can channel all of his body's chi into his fist, which allows him to hit with superhuman strength, and which gives his fist a cool glow. This is what sets Iron Fist apart from, say, Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu, who has no actual powers.
But will Danny have powers in the show? It's an interesting problem for the Netflixverse - the first season of Daredevil was so grounded that Daredevil's radar sense was backgrounded to an extent that some newbies told me they didn't even know Daredevil had powers. You could technically do that with Iron Fist - he could mention his chi and shit a couple of times, but you don't have his hand glow - but then why not just do Shang-Chi? At least that would get you an Asian hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I assume Danny Rand will be white because the character in the comics is white, and Marvel tends to default to reflecting the established character when it comes to major names. Part of what makes Iron Fist cool is the mystical stuff, and losing that just makes him feel like Baby Daredevil. And by the time Iron Fist debuts we will have had four seasons of Marvel on Netflix, which means it will surely be high time to bring in some high weirdness.
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Hopefully very mystical, hello Marvel you have Doctor Strange coming up, might as well get people acquainted with the magical side of this universe! :)
ReplyDeleteI think Marvel should introduce a little bit of the magical/mystical element into the show. Next year Doctor Strange will introduce some magic into the MCU so why not have Iron Fist do the same.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised
ReplyDeleteThey've already flirted with the mystical in the Daredevil episode Stick with the whole Black Sky thing. Besides the marvel universe in tv and film already has enough mystical elements (Cough infinity stones) that fans won't question anything more.
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to know who will play The Coveted role of Iron Fist.Come on Marvel,hurry the hell up!
ReplyDeleteUltimate!Danny's past is a bit toned down, maybe they'll just use that. I don't want it to be TOO outrageously magical, ground it a little bit, but on the other hand we do have the mystic side of MCU to explore. Loki is a sorcerer and we hardly know anything about that. Stephen Strange rolls around next year. A big of magical mysticism in Danny Rand won't be too bad. Plus it'll work well with Matt being comparatively ordinary next to him.
ReplyDeleteYes this.
ReplyDeletei dont know anything about this but the guy on the left turns into the guy on the right?
ReplyDeleteThe best part about Daredevil was the grittiness and realism. A viewer could believe a person like Matt Murdock could exist with little or no suspension of disbelief. I think being the first series Daredevil did set a tone that the other Hell's Kitchen series should attempt stay close to.
ReplyDeleteI am usually of the mindset that the less mystical the better....
That said, if the mysticism is made to feel "real" and not over-the-top meant to amaze I think it could have big pay off! I think I would prefer something closer to Daredevil than Mortal Combat though!
The guy on the left is Danny Rand (Iron Fist). The guy on the right is Luke Cage. They often teamed up in the comics.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree they are not mutually exclusive... as I said, if it can be grounded in reality I have no issue with it.
ReplyDeletePersonally I'm looking forward to more of the mystical aspect of Daredevil!..
I just do not want it (or the other series) to go too over-the-top with it. The grounded aspect of Daredevil is a large part of what separated it and made it better than just about every other superhero show on TV. Lose that and the bar lowers to me.