They made Iron Fist cool.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those nerds who automatically assume Iron Fist to be the worst show out of the Netflix Marvel Comics Universe solely because it’s about Iron Fist, one of the lamest heroes in the history of Marvel Comics. Frankly, I thought season one wasn’t terrible, and I maintain my unpopular stance that it was stronger than either season of Jessica Jones.
In the grand spectrum of the Netflix MCU, both are still at the bottom of the barrel in comparison to Daredevil, Luke Cage and the Punisher, but we all know that they all had to exist and be created in order for there to even be a The Defenders in the first place. But if you ask me, Iron Fist stands above Jessica Jones, and it’s not really that much of a contest.
But I just finished season 2 of Iron Fist, and my general reaction isn’t one of relief that I ground through it and that I’m up-to-date on Netflix MCU programming (like I did after Jessica Jones S2), but one of a general satisfaction, and reason to be optimistic that the series could continue in a positive direction in the upcoming season(s) that I genuinely hope come to existence someday.
Frankly, unending kudos go to Netflix, the writers and the showrunners for taking such a weak property and molding and shaping a halfway decent program out of it. It was undoubtedly better than the first season, and the performances from the crew were all pretty decent in their capacities. I can’t say that I really followed the comics at all, but from what I understand the season has been a somewhat fair portrayal of source materials while seeming fresh enough to adapt to live performances.
Despite the overall lower-echelon tier of Iron Fist compared to other Netflix MCU shows, I would still say that Iron Fist has the best action sequences of them all. Daredevil most certainly has some great action sequences, but it’s still one character kicking ass; but Iron Fist has several strong characters who get chances to shine, from Danny Rand (who was vastly less of a bitch (but still kind of a bitch) than the season prior), Colleen Wing, and even Misty Knight, who appears to have taken the mantle of Rosario Dawson as the character that keeps all the series linked together. The action is fast paced and exciting, and is far preferable to when Luke Cage and Jessica Jones just kind of throw people around with their OP invulnerability.
It goes without saying that it’s Jessica Henwick’s performance as the aforementioned Colleen Wing who carries the show, and if there’s one consistent trope of the Netflix MCU, it’s that the titular characters are rarely the most interesting of their respective shows, and Colleen Wing emerges from Iron Fist as the strong powerful female character that Jessica Jones wishes they could produce. And not to spoil anything, it’s Colleen Wing that basically solely makes it possible to accomplish the unthinkable, in making Iron Fist cool and respectable.
Not to go unmentioned was the interesting and good call for the writers to introduce and incorporate the character who most comic fans know as Typhoid Mary into this season. I never saw it coming because I refuse to watch previews, and I didn’t even connect the dots when she was introduced, because typically, she’s been a character more involved with the Spider-Man and Daredevil franchises in the comics, but frankly Iron Fist could use all the help it can get, so I was pleasantly surprised to see her emerge in this show. I think she’ll be a good edition to future seasons of Iron Fist or any other Netflix MCU shows later on.
The bottom line is that I was surprisingly pleased with Iron Fist S2. It was way better than the previous season, still better than Jessica Jones, and I have tons of reason to believe and feel optimistic that the Netflix MCU is headed in a positive direction, even after the first season of the Defenders kind of shook things up for all involved franchises.
