Fast Facts About Iron Fist

Measuring in at 5ft 11in, Daniel Thomas Rand-K-ai, or better known simply as Danny Rand, has been a part of the Marvel universe since his first appearance in 1974. The latest in the Marvel and Netflix partnership and Defenders series, Iron Fist drops on March 17, 2017.

The series, formatted in 4K and HDR completes all four Defenders (Daredevil, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones) series. The series, which stars Finn Jones in the titular role, will be followed by The Defenders series, where the foursome team up, releasing sometime in 2017. The Punisher, an offshoot from the Daredevil series, will also come out this year.

So. Who is Danny Rand, why do his fists glow, and what is up with him showing off his chest all the time?

1. Danny Rand/Iron Fist first appeared in the May 1974 issue of Marvel Premiere #15.
2. Rand follows in the long line of rich kids who lose their parents at an early age and are destined to become superheroes. When he is nine, he accompanies his parents on a trip to the mystical land of K’un L’un. He vows to avenge his parent’s deaths by studying the mystical martial arts under Lei Kung.
3. Notice how his fists glow? At 19, the powers of the Iron Fist were granted to Rand after he defeated the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying.
4. This battle is also how Rand got that dragon tattoo on his chest. During the fight, Rand throws himself onto Shou-Lao’s scar, ultimately branding him with the mark of the dragon. (And judging by the promo shots for Iron Fist he sure does love showing it off)
5. Rand has been an Avenger. After opposing the Superhuman Registration Act, Rand joined fellow Heroes for Hire teammate Luke Cage on the team after Civil War.
6. Rand cured his own cancer. When Rand finds out he has cancer, Heroes for Hire ends, and Rand goes off to battle the Black Dragon Chiantang. However, it’s not really him that does the fighting, it is a doppelganger formed by the H’ylthri. While the double is eventually killed by Captain Hero, Rand has been incubating in a stasis, where he has focused his chi to defeat his cancer.
7. Iron Fist was almost a film. While Netflix has blessed us with their Marvel series, we could have seen a live action Danny Rand much earlier. In 2000, Marvel Studios called upon Artisan Entertainment to co-finance an Iron Fist film. The film experienced many pushbacks. The last that was heard of it was in 2013, when Disney CEO Bob Iger stated if the Netflix series does well, the movie may still have a chance.
8. Rand is not the first Iron Fist, he is the 66^th. Prior to his death, Wendell Rand, Danny’s father was poised to become the next Iron Fist.
9. While it looks like Marvel’s Iron Fist will put Rand and Colleen Wing together romantically, Iron Fist is more known to be romantically linked with Wing’s Daughters of the Dragon Partner, Misty Knight, who we have already met in Marvel’s Luke Cage.
10. Danny Rand has also been Daredevil… sort of. When Matt Murdock is publically exposed and arrested during Civil War, Rand, true to his nature of being a ‘Hero for Hire,’ is paid to essentially pretend to be Daredevil. Once the real Daredevil breaks out from jail, he confronts Rand and asks him to be Daredevil a little while longer while he tracks down Foggy Nelson’s murderer.
11. Other than Heroes for Hire and the Avengers, Rand has been a member of several superhero groups. Rand has also been a member of: The Defenders, Secret Avengers, Thunderbolts, New Avengers, Immortal Weapons, Secret Defenders and several others.
12. Other than K’un-Lun, his main base of operations is called the Thunder Dojo, and it is located in Harlem, NY.