Iron Fist Season 2 could turn Danny Rand (Finn Jones) into the best Defender. As unlikely as that may seem, especially after the poor critical and fan reception Season 1 received when it premiered on Netflix in 2017, Iron Fist has since been on a quiet road to redemption. When his second season arrives later this year, Danny Rand might just overtake his fellow street-level Marvel heroes Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), and Luke Cage (Mike Colter) as a fan favorite.
The rehab of Danny Rand’s image has already begun. When he was introduced in Iron Fist, Danny alienated many fans (and his fellow MCU allies). Returning home to claim his company, Rand Enterprises, after 15 years of living in the mystical city of K’un-Lun where he became the Immortal Iron Fist, Danny proved to be inexperienced, short-tempered and needed a lot of help in his quest to defeat the Hand. By the end of the season, Danny only won a partial victory against his enemies, discovering K’un-Lun mysteriously disappeared because he abandoned his duty to return to New York.
The Defenders picked up the story a few months later, but as he teamed with his fellow superheroes to ultimately defeat the Hand, Danny’s status slowly improved. Though he was still the butt of everyone jokes - Daredevil’s sensei Stick even declared “The Immortal Iron Fist… is still a thundering dumb ass!” - Iron Fist finally won against his ancient enemies. Upon his apparent death, Daredevil charged Iron Fist with a new cause: become the protector of New York City. In Luke Cage Season 2, Iron Fist’s image rehab continued. Danny guest starred and he appears to be excelling in his mission. Iron Fist is now centered, cool, and most importantly, he’s treated with respect. Wherever in Harlem Luke took him, people were in awe to meet Danny Rand, billionaire superhero. He even had words of wisdom for Luke, placing him in the role of mentor for the Hero of Harlem.
All of this sets the stage for Iron Fist Season 2. Here’s why, when it arrives, the redemption of the Living Weapon of K’un-Lun could finally be complete:
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Iron Fist Season 2 Has A New Showrunner
The blame for the poor quality of Iron Fist Season 1 falls on the shoulders of its former executive producer Scott Buck (Dexter). Issues with the season included the unlikable way Danny was written, the disappointing fight scenes (especially after Daredevil set the bar high), and how the series centered on the shady corporate dealings of Harold Meachum (David Wenham) and the Hand as opposed to what fans had hoped to see: an exciting kung-fu superhero adventure story. Buck left Iron Fist to become the showrunner for Marvel’s Inhumans, which likewise fared poorly. Luckily, Iron Fist is under new management.
Replacing Buck as the new showrunner is Raven Metzner. No stranger to Marvel, Metzner co-wrote the failed 2005 Elektra feature film starring Jennifer Garner but his filmography afterward greatly improved. As a writer and executive producer on Falling Skies, Heroes Reborn, and Sleepy Hollow, Metzer shows he’s adept at the sci-fi and superhero genres. In addition, Marvel TV Head Jeph Loeb touted Metzner’s lifelong love of martial arts films; this is the type of expertise the adventures of Iron Fist desperately needs. The jury is out until fans get to see Season 2, but there’s reason to be optimistic that Iron Fist will benefit from and improve under Metzner’s guidance. Finn Jones has already promised season 2 will indeed be special.
Iron Fist’s Mythology Is Mostly Untapped
Developing the rich backstory of Iron Fist will hopefully be one of Season 2’s priorities. Fans justifiably groused that very little of Season 1 was actually set in K’un-Lun and that outside of a few brief flashbacks, the mystical city was mostly avoided. Danny spoke ad nauseam about how he became the Immortal Iron Fist by defeating a dragon called Shou-Lao, which nearly everyone scoffed at upon hearing, but it’s time fans got to see this legendary battle and how Danny earned the power of the Iron Fist. Season 2 will hopefully delve into not just Danny’s time in K’un-Lun but also the history of the ancient city and of the many Iron Fists who preceded him.
What’s more, there are major story threads to pick up on. Chiefly, the fact that K’un-Lun has left this Earthly plane. Where did it go, and can Danny find the ancient city? There is also the fact that Danny’s former best friend Davos is still alive and was last seen recruiting Joy Meachum (Jessica Stroup) to his cause against Danny at the end of Season 1. Davos believes that he is much more deserving of the power of the Iron Fist and his alliance with Joy threatens Danny’s existence on every level.
Moreover, there’s hope Season 2 markedly improves upon Season 1’s bad fight scenes since Finn Jones should now have had ample time to master the necessary choreography; he was infamously given little notice of when season 1 began. Iron Fist simply needs to become the kind of kung fu superhero show fans deserve and that will hopefully be what Season 2 delivers.
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Danny Rand Has Great Partners And Enemies
Besides his kung fu skills and his glowing fist, one of Danny’s unspoken superpowers is his ability to garner the loyalties of some of the best allies Netflix’s MCU has to offer. While Daredevil spent his second season alienating his best friends and both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage lost key loved ones in their sophomore years, Danny has managed to gain friends and supporters. Chief among them is Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick), who has stood by Danny throughout everything as his sword-wielding partner in crimefighting, his lover, and moral compass. In addition, Danny and Colleen remain friends with Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) and they should continue to rely on the former nurse’s expert medical training.
After being enemies throughout Season 1, Danny and Ward Meachum (Tom Pelphrey) finally patched up their differences. Danny, who is admittedly a poor businessman, is happy to let Ward continue to run Rand Enterprises. Luke Cage may return the favor and guest star in Season 2, and Detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick) is confirmed to be joining Iron Fist’s cast. After all, it’s thanks to Danny’s resources that Misty now has a robot arm to replace the limb she lost in The Defenders.
Danny likely also retains the legal services of Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Ann Moss) and, as a publicly known billionaire superhero, he’ll need her expertise more than ever. Especially since Danny also has some key enemies; not just the aforementioned Davos and Joy Meachum, but Alice Eve is also joining the season as a mysterious, unnamed castmember. Some fans speculate Eve could be portraying the villainous Lady Gorgon. Eve’s character and more details about season 2 will no doubt be revealed when Iron Fist takes center stage at San Diego Comic-Con.
Danny Rand’s Other Superpower Is His Money
Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and until recently, Luke Cage, have always just been scraping by financially, but an important thing that separates Danny Rand from his fellow Defenders is his money. As 51% owner of Rand Enterprises, Danny is a famous billionaire; he is essentially the Tony Stark (or Bruce Wayne) of the Netflix MCU. In Season 1, Danny alternated between rejecting his fortune and being irresponsible in how he used it, but Season 2 could hopefully bring some maturity to Danny and how he uses his vast resources.
It will be interesting to see how Danny utilizes his billions in his new role as protector of New York. With his money, Iron Fist can actually be far more than merely a street-level vigilante who punches criminals in seedy alleys. Danny could use his wealth to affect real social change and actually help the disadvantaged. In Season 1, Danny and Colleen saw how the Hand used youth shelters and martial arts as a way to recruit young people to join their evil cult (which is how Colleen joined the Hand).
Danny could use Rand’s resources to do something similar but in a positive way that would improve lives. This is something that even Tony Stark isn’t doing in the MCU, though Black Panther ended with King T’Challa embracing the idea of sharing Wakanda’s resources with the United States, starting in Oakland. Danny should be doing the same in New York City. This would turn Danny Rand into much more than a vigilante in Iron Fist Season 2 - it would make him a hero in the way his super friends aren’t.
Although, above all, like with Daredevil fans hope Iron Fist will finally wear his classic costume.
