Report: Shang-Chi Will Also Be In Iron Fist Netflix Series
By Nick Tylwalk
Looks like Danny Rand might not be the only master of kung fu in the Iron Fist Netflix series.
More from TV
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1 and 2 review: Aftermath
- The 9 best (and 8 worst) Arrowverse characters
- 10 things nobody wants to admit about The Walking Dead
- Harley Quinn renewed for a fifth season on Max (and it’s well-deserved)
- The Walking Dead: Every TWD spinoff show coming in 2024 and beyond
According to MCUExchange and That Hashtag Show, another formidable hand-to-hand combatant will be joining Iron Fist, with sources telling them that Shang-Chi will also appear on the show. Marvel is supposedly casting Asian actors for the role now, though whether that will calm the fans who were upset that Finn Jones will play Rand remains to be seen.
In the comics, Shang-Chi is a normal human in the sense that he has no true superpowers, but far from normal in terms of his fighting capabilities. He’s a master of both unarmed and armed combat, one of the top Marvel martial artists around — something that could also be said about Iron Fist. Shang-Chi is such a badass that he even joined the Avengers during Jonathan Hickman’s run prior to Secret Wars, though he did accept some technological help from Tony Stark to give him the strength to take on especially powerful opponents.
Along with serving as a secret agent in his own comic book series during the 1970s, Shang-Chi also has a history with Iron Fist in team-ups and through Heroes for Hire, though they weren’t members of that team at the same time for the most part. MCUExchange also notes that he was part of the 2010 “Shadowland” arc in Daredevil that also included Iron Fist, Luke Cage and a number of other characters already seen or coming soon to the Marvel Netflix universe.
Next: Power Man and Iron Fist #1 Review
It’s fair to wonder if a Netflix Shang-Chi will be more incorporated into Danny Rand’s back story, or if perhaps their friendship will take the place of Danny’s long partnership with Cage on TV. Regardless, he’s a great and often underutilized comic book hero that will certainly be welcome in Iron Fist or anywhere else he might pop up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.