The Final Defender Has Arrived: 8 Things That You Didn't Know About Iron Fist

Marvel is finally bringing #TheDefenders together on Netflix, and the last player to join the upcoming collaboration is none other than The Invincible Iron Fist.

Marvel and Netflix dropped the official Iron Fist. Check it out below if you missed it.

Iron Fist will be a stark contrast to what we've seen so far in the #Netflix adaptations of the beloved characters.

So far we've seen:

• The blind lawyer Matt Murdock prowl the rooftops as #Daredevil
• The thick skinned #LukeCage take down a viper in Harlem
• A former superhero, #JessicaJones trying to start a detective agency.

Outside of Jessica Jones' super strength and tragic backstory, the focus of all these characters have been incredibly grounded and have offered a very traditional background to how they became the heroes that they are. Whereas Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, has a story that is steeped in lore, myth and mysticism, so it's incredibly exciting to see what #Marvel and Netflix have concocted for his screen debut in March.

As the final piece of the upcoming mini-series event, The Defenders, Iron Fist stars Finn Jones as the titular character. Now we'll likely see a story that focus on the more 'earthly' adventures, but before Iron First arrives, I thought it would be useful to take a look at some of the things that you may not have known about the character.

8. His story is a little out there.

As I stated earlier, Iron Fist's story is filled with lore, magic, myth and aliens. Yep, you read that right: magic AND aliens. Danny Rand has roots based in an origin story comprised of him being trained in the extra-dimensional world of K'un Lun, which is built around a crashed alien space craft.

Then, taking his story a bit further, he gained his title and powers from facing off against an immortal dragon and eventually became an immortal weapon himself, becoming the champion of K'un Lun, one of the Seven Cities of Heaven.

7. He has a great bromance with Luke Cage.

In the world of Netflix, we've already been introduced to Luke Cage thanks to actor Mike Coulter and his series was a great success. Luke and Danny were not introduced together in Cage's story, but they share several common characters through the #comics.

In the comics the two form a bond after Luke Cage is blackmailed by a villain named Bushmaster to abduct Misty Knight (yes, the same Misty that we met in the Netflix series). Luke is imprisoned, but escapes and after both Danny and Misty learn that he was wrongfully imprisoned and they decide to clear his name. Shortly after the two partner and become the Heroes for Hire.

6. His inspiration came from a Kung-Fu film in the '70s.

When Danny Rand/Iron Fist were created, it was at the prime of the martial arts craze in the '70s. Even though Marvel already had Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu, Roy Thomas believed that there was room for another martial arts master in Marvel comics.

After seeing a classic kung-fu film that had something called the ceremony of the Iron Fist, he was captivated by the name and took it to Stan Lee who agreed that the character was worthy of joining the growing legion of heroes. His creation as a white American likely came from the desire to separate Iron Fist from Shang-Chi and make him a unique hero.

5. Iron Fist joins in a mythic tournament every 88 years.

Part of the story behind the Iron Fist, is that with the title comes the responsibility of being called the Immortal Weapon of one of the Seven Cities of Heaven. Once every 88 years, the cities (all extra-dimensional) merge to form the Heart of Heaven and a tournament is held where each city brings their immortal weapon to fight. The winner earns their city the right to appear on Earth every 10 years while the remaining six cities appear only every 50 years.

Each of the warriors is able to manipulate chi in various ways – such as Fat Cobra being the fastest Immortal Weapon, even though he is the size of a traditional sumo wrestler.

4. Danny Rand has been Daredevil.

Matt Murdock and Danny Rand have a long history together of fighting crime. It's not really a secret that often heroes team up and interact throughout their stories, turning up in each others comic narratives. Since most heroes wear costumes, and their identities are, you know, secret and everything it could be anyone beneath the mask.

At a couple points in Matt & Danny's friendship, Danny put on the Daredevil costume to steer the police away from believing that Matt was in fact Daredevil.

3. He once stopped an inter-dimensional train from destroying The Seven Cites.

Now, there really isn't any way that Iron Fist could be considered the strongest hero in the entirety of Marvel's universe, but that doesn't mean that he can't handle his business. In the "Immortal Iron Fist" series, Danny meets Orson Randall (a previous Iron Fist) who knew Danny's father, and the two uncover a plot being created by a man named Xao and the Crane Mother.

In partnership with HYDRA, a train is built and loaded with explosives set to go through an inter-dimensional portal and destroy the seven cities forever. Danny brings together the other champions and they are able to thwart the attack but not before learning that there is a secret Eighth City.

2. He is heir to billions of dollars.

If you noticed in the trailer, Danny introduces himself and he looks far from a wealthy socialite, but in reality Danny is the heir to the Rand empire which puts him as the rightful leader of Rand Enterprises, even though Wendell Rand began the company with his partner Harold Meachum.

When Danny returned he was in line to take the company from Harold, leading to tension considering that Harold is a major reason why Danny became the man that he is.

1. He sides with Captain America in Civil War.

Although Marvel's big screen adaptation of the mega-crossover comic book event, #CivilWar, didn't quite match the expectations: it was still a thrilling tale. In the comics, the story was immense and crossed countless comic series including Daredevil and Iron Fist. The Civil War was in full swing at a time when Danny was assuming the role of Daredevil in place of Matt Murdock, and he was captured by Pro-Registration forces only to be freed later by Captain America's forces and even went to fight against Iron Man's team in the climax.

In the more recent Civil War II, Iron Fist took a neutral approach after Luke Cage sided with Tony Stark - saying that he was tired of seeing #superheroes fight against each other.

It will be incredible to finally see my personal favorite character on the screen and hopefully if you've never really heard of him before you'll join me in streaming the upcoming series.

And if you do know about Iron Fist, hopefully you discovered a little more about the incredible new addition to Marvel's upcoming Defenders series.