Defenders Trailer Breakdown

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You know, after nearly 10 years it’s possible the Marvel magic is wearing off.  I don’t mean that their films are getting objectively poorer or even that I’m enjoying them less, Civil War is a classic of the genre and Ant-Man, and Dr. Strange are two of my favorite Marvel movies.  No, what I’m talking about is the shock and awe of “I can’t believe they did that!” as a cornerstone of Marvel’s cultural capital.  

Where this is most evident is in the realm of Marvel TV, an arena in which they still struggle even though they’re making some serious gains.  I’m speaking, of course, about The Defenders, Marvel’s impending team-up show meant as the capstone to the past 2 years of Netflix endeavors. 

Earlier on the premise of Defenders felt like it could be a modern and daring new Marvel team but since the announcement that feeling has definitely faded.  First, we realized that the Netflix shows would be more or less divorced from the cinematic universe, then there was the slow realization there wouldn’t be any costumes.

Then Daredevil season 2 was a seriously mixed bag, and Luke Cage was a well-intentioned misfire, then finally Iron Fist came out and we realized this whole thing might’ve been a mistake.  Now, the series has its first full trailer and, brace yourselves, but it actually has me kind of excited for the show. 

Cover Story - Top 10 Iron Fist Covers

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So, let’s talk about Iron Fist.  By now you’ve probably heard at least a little about him from his new Netflix show and the stewing Online controversy over it.  I don’t want to get too bogged down in that particular conversation, largely because we’re here today to talk about comic covers.  

However, I am still looking at artwork revolving around a white savior trope with a lot of it steeped in Orientalism.  In that regard let me just say that Iron Fist as the great white hope has always been a bad character concept, even when it was widely considered okay back in the mid-'70s. 

What’s more, I’d dare argue that Iron Fist has always been brought down by the awkwardness of trying to fit an Asian pulp aesthetic into the superhero world, so much so that I was barely able to fill out this list of covers.  However, there are still good Iron Fist covers out there and some of the best ones actually manage to address this pretty well.  So, let’s dive into the 40 years of Iron Fist history to see the best of the middle ground. 

Iron Fist Trailer 2 Breakdown

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One of the interesting things about Marvel’s lead up to Defenders is that each of the lead-up series has focused on a street level social issue that their hero is dealing with.  In Daredevil season 1 the story was about gentrification, Jessica Jones was all about rape culture, Luke Cage touched on race relations within the black community, and Daredevil season 2 was about…ninjas.  That last one, the one that breaks the chain and remains the weakest of Marvel’s Netflix offerings, despite Punisher’s excellent presence, seems to be the one most influential on the upcoming Iron Fist TV show.  

In a way that match up is pretty much perfect.  Daredevil Season 2 is a lot like Iron Man 2 in that it only happened because nobody expected Daredevil season 1 to be such a big hit, so the rush was on to get more of him out there as we pushed towards Defenders.  In that rush, the season ended up without much depth or passion outside Punisher because it was only really produced out of obligation, which is exactly the case with Iron Fist.  All the way from inception up to this latest trailer the message of Iron Fist has been “we’re making it, but don’t think we really care,” and this trailer shouts that loud and clear.

Iron Fist Trailer Analysis

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Edited by Robert Beach 

So far, Marvel has produced three original series on Netflix (Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil); Iron Fist will be the studio’s fourth foray into this particular arena.  Scheduled to premiere in March 2017, Iron Fist will be the last original show before Defenders, which will feature a crossover between all four of the Marvel series along with, presumably, the Punisher. All of the Marvel shows have followed along a somewhat similar track: emphasizing brutal violence, a dark and gritty aesthetic, and a very street-level vision of New York. 

Iron Fist will be the first to break from this aesthetic as the titular Iron Fist, AKA Danny Rand, is both a wealthy CEO and a living weapon, master of the mystic kung-fu technique of the Iron Fist. The whole mythos is full of that kung-fu fantasy weirdness like secret hidden cities, other living weapons, and outright dragons, magic, and chi channeling. It’s a different aesthetic is my point. After months of controversy, campaigns, and disappointing casting announcements, we have a full trailer to give a voice to that tone and boy, is it ever mediocre. 

Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Defenders Trailer Breakdowns

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Edited by Robert Beach

As the saga of Marvel Studios continues, the story of their Netflix offshoot has slowly become a production unto itself. Launching in 2015 with the blockbuster Daredevil series, then following it up with the even better Jessica Jones show in the fall, Marvel’s Netflix shows have become their own little universe. 

The inter-continuity of New York street-level super crime has forged the shows into their own phase 1. Heck, there's multiple dangling plot threads supporting super people who could be their own stars like Punisher, Elektra, and Nuke. 

Now, Marvel Netflix is looking to premiere another three shows over the next year and a half starting with Luke Cage this September, followed by Iron Fist in spring of 2017, and culminating in the massive team-up show Defenders in fall of next year. With all that in the cards, Netflix has now released a triple threat of teasers for each of its new shows. Let’s take a look. 

Iron Fist News Round-Up

Edited by Robert Beach 

At time of writing, Marvel has successfully produced 3 Netflix original series with a 4^th ready to premiere this fall. Marvel’s Netflix output has been…mixed to say the least. Jessica Jones is one of the greatest iterations of the superhero genre ever produced while Daredevil season 1 featured a breakout performance from Vincent D’Onofrio as the Kingpin. Conversely, Daredevil season 2 has been met with a good amount of dislike owing to the plethora of unresolved plot threads, lack of a strong antagonist, and abysmal adaptation of Elektra.  

The second season did boast the incredible Jon Bernthal as the Punisher, who’s apparently getting his own Netflix show down the line. For the moment, the Marvel/Netflix saga isn’t in as strong a place as it was in 2015 when it first burst on the scene. That could all change this fall with Luke Cage, but only one name is dominating the Marvel/Netflix news cycle, and that is Iron Fist. And that’s not a good thing either.

Moon Knight May Replace Iron Fist on Marvel's Netflix Series

Edited by Robert Beach

You may have heard some seriously weird rumors about Marvel’s Netflix line up lately. In case you hadn’t heard, Marvel is planning a whole slew of interconnected Netflix shows over the course of the next couple years. This shared Netflix universe already started earlier this year with Daredevil and is set to continue this November with Jessica Jones. Next year we’ll see Marvel’s Luke Cage show in spring, which will mark the first Marvel enterprise to be headlined by a black character.  

After Luke Cage, the plan was for there to be an Iron Fist show about the character of Danny Rand: a billionaire who was trained in martial arts in the hidden city of K’un-Lun and gained the ability to channel his life energy into his fists. After that, the plan was for all of four of Marvel heroes to crossover in a mini-Avengers style mash up called Defenders; however, the Iron Fist show has hit some serious hiccups, and now the rumor is it’s been canceled. With Daredevil season 2 slouching in to fill its spot in 2016, rumors that a new show featuring Moon Knight will take Iron Fist's place.