As Iron Fist made an appearance in the MCU's Phase 6 kick-off show, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Studios made one major addition to the character's powerset, making it different from Danny Rand's superpowers that have been on display in live-action. Eyes of Wakanda spent a lot of time focusing on the history of Wakanda, but specifically in Episode 3, the show included a female version of Iron Fist named Jorani.
During a specific scene in Eyes of Wakanda Episode 3, it was made clear that Jorani's version of Iron Fist was radically different from Danny Rand's in one particular way in terms of how their powers were displayed. For reference, Danny Rand's version of Iron Fist gained a lot of popularity when his self-titled Netflix series was released, which is available to stream on Disney+.
In that third episode, during a fight scene, Jorani raised her fist in the air and began to use her Iron Fist power. When this happened, her fist glowed orange and looked extremely similar to how Danny used his own Iron Fist power. However, when she then pounded her fist into the ground, a burst of energy was emitted all around her, sending strips of orange light out from her fist.
That burst of energy was a major change to how Iron Fist's powers have been showcased in the past.
For example, in the Iron Fist series, as mentioned, Danny's hand also glowed orange. This indicated that he was about to harness the power of Iron Fist.
However, when he struck the ground with his powers, the energy blast that Jorani emitted was not present. There was still some sort of effect, but it did not look nearly as devastating and was not as prominent as Jorani's. Instead, it appeared as though orange dust came from Danny's fist, not lines of energy.
It is worth noting, though, that Danny's powers still had a great effect. Even though they weren't visually represented in the same way, Danny's ground strike still caused a lot of damage to not only his adversaries but the surrounding environment as well.
It is important to remember that Jorani and Danny Rand are two completely different characters who have taken up the Iron Fist mantle, so they were portrayed in different ways on multiple levels.
Eyes of Wakanda is now streaming on Disney+ as the only Phase 6 project currently available on the platform. The series features a cast including Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, and Steve Toussaint. While Episode 3 included Iron Fist, Episode 4 showcased a direct nod to a scene from the first Black Panther film, connecting the two projects.
Where Will Iron Fist Show Up Next?
The Iron Fist mantle has now been a part of multiple MCU projects, specifically What If...? in Phase 5 and Eyes of Wakanda in Phase 6. Since the character has popped up more than once, it is clear that Marvel Studios is eyeing a future for the character on-screen, and it is only a matter of time before a version of Iron Fist pops up in live-action.
One of the most likely places for Iron Fist to appear would be in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars since both of those movies will include dozens of Marvel heroes from across different franchises and timelines.
However, Marvel may decide to hold off on bringing the character into live-action in one of those films since they have not been introduced in live-action yet.
Therefore, it is possible that Danny Rand's Iron Fist could pop up in Daredevil: Born Again. Now that Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk are integrated members of the MCU, other characters from the Netflix continuity have been coming into the fold as well.
For instance, Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle is now slated to make multiple appearances, and Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones will also be introduced into the Marvel Studios franchise. So, it wouldn't be a surprise if Iron Fist made his first live-action appearance in a future season of Daredevil: Born Again, or in a project that showcases a lot of those Netflix characters.
