The latest addition to Marvel’s Phase Six has landed on Disney+, bringing a few key tweaks and some interesting backstories to the Black Panther mythos in Eyes of Wakanda. The animated anthology series dropped all four of its episodes on Friday, and Marvel fans have already been poring over the details to extract any Easter eggs or new characters ahead of the events set to unfold in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. While this is a standalone project than the main line cinematic universe, it does plant plenty of seeds for future projects that some fans have been calling for over the years.
A key addition comes in episode three of Eyes of Wakanda when Iron Fist enters the mix. But this episode is set hundreds of years before Danny Rand, Colleen Wing or Lin Lie have taken the mantle, offering an early glimpse at their predecessors and the power they could achieve. It’s even earlier than Kwai Jun-Fan’s Iron Fist from the 1800s that was introduced in What If…? The episode “Lost and Found” features a Wakandan War Dog named Basha returning a Vibranium artifact to Wakanda to keep it safe, only to encounter that era’s Iron Fist, Jorani, who has followed the War Dog home and is prepared to cause some headaches for the African warrior.
The result is the revelation that the power of the Iron Fist is strong enough to break Vibranium in the MCU, putting it in illustrious company with other powers and entities that can crack the rare space metal at the heart of Wakanda, like Thanos or The Sentry. The question it leaves us with is, where does this now place Iron Fist on the hierarchy of Marvel’s most powerful entities on screen? Will it also return if the character is reintroduced into the live-action wing of the MCU?
How Powerful Is Iron Fist in Comics?
As we learn when Jorani fights War Dog Basha in the Wakanda Vibranium Collection, she reveals she has been training her entire life to take over the mantle of Iron Fist. It mirrors the lifelong training of Basha within Wakanda, also similar to the mystical home of Iron Fist, K’un-Lun. Jorani’s origins are similar to the other Iron Fist candidates throughout history, powered the molten heart from the powerful ancient dragon Shou-Lao. The champion draws power from the heart of the ancient dragon, leading to its repeated deaths and resurrections, marking the close of the final trial for Iron Fist candidates.
With that power and the enchantments that come with it, we’ve been able to see the different versions of Iron Fist achieve magic feats of strength. Fans can see the comic version of Iron Fist take on the Avengers solo, harm the Hulk with a punch, defeat Colossus, and even take down a SHIELD helicarrier. Even without the Iron Fist powers, Danny Rand or Lin Lie are still formidable fighters with comparable levels to Luke Cage or Daredevil in strength and skill.
Iron Fist has punched through gods, vaporized demons, and even took on the Phoenix Five during Avengers Vs. X-Men. The power has been established for a while on the page, and now it would seem the MCU is ready to catch up.
Where The Iron Fist’s Powers Come From
Shou-Lao was introduced into the MCU via the Netflix Iron Fist series, but the power levels on display pale to what we’ve seen in the comics. The dragon is also never given a full introduction during the first season of Iron Fist, but it does get another reference in The Defenders, tying the Hand’s resurrections to the substance within the bones of Shou-Lao’s species.
What Jorani demonstrates during her fight in Eyes of Wakanda is how the modern Iron Fist is far from his full power potential. She manages to handle Basha using just her martial arts training, forcing him to utilize one of the Vibranium treasures to trap her. But once she’s able to focus and channel her energies, she effortlessly breaks free from her Vibranium handcuffs and then uses the power to blast the Wakandan War Dog against the wall, ending the fight.
Is the MCU Teasing More Iron Fist?
With Rand’s version of Iron Fist possibly returning on Daredevil: Born Again in Season Two, the display in the new animated anthology should get fans excited for the possibilities. We even got a look at the classic Iron Fist look with Jorani’s mask, almost mixing it with the look of the Black Panther helmet. With the tethers of Netflix removed and the MCU coming together under one roof, it would seem that we could witness the MCU’s version of Iron Fist reaching the heights of his comic book counterpart.
No matter what comes, Eyes of Wakanda succeeds in adding depth to the MCU mythos without overwhelming fans at the box office. It’s also an effective way to introduce concepts to audiences that might have overwhelmed them in the past. If we’ve reached the point where fans can navigate a muitiverse, plenty of aspects could be brought into play. The M’Kraan Crystal could be landing in a huge way with the future X-Men film.
Do you think Eyes of Wakanda delivers with its 4-episode premiere? What other parts of the Marvel Universe would you like to see expanded with this format? Let us know in the comments.
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