It's a debate that's still haunting Iron Fist and his biggest fans. With Marvel Rivals really taking off everywhere, Danny Rand's biggest stans are taking another look at the character and wondering if his origin just makes the character too hard to pull off.

Marvel Rivals has been thrilling fans, with its enormous cast of playable heroes. But a small subset of fans weren't too pleased with its version of the Immortal Iron Fist.

Fans Debate If Danny Rand Leans Too Hard Into the White Savior Trope

Conversely, is it Problematic to Make Iron Fist Only Asian?

On Reddit, a fan meme taken from social media, claiming that making Iron Fist Asian by turning him into a generic martial artist character. The debate took a lot of different turns, with points being made about Danny’s origins to some discussing Lin Lie’s adoption of the Iron Fist Mantle. BobbySaccaro pointed out the real problem is the conflicting stereotypes of Iron Fist saying “The White Savior’ is a problem, but so is ‘All Asians Know Martial Arts’.”. Some s even noted that Marvel faced this issue before with the Iron Fist show and later, Shang-Chi.

Lin Lie became Iron Fist in Iron Fist #1 (2022)!

However, some s took issue with Danny being called a white savior, with some saying his story actually subverts the tropes found in old-school stories that unironically portrayed white saviors. Many even pointed out that the outsider nature is crucial to Danny and Iron Fist’s story. McGillis_is_a_Char, was more irritated that Danny’s mantle was given to Lin Lie when Danny already had an adopted daughter, Pei, who was the Iron Fist. Another did point out that Pei does still have the Iron Fist powers, as seen in the 50th anniversary Iron Fist comic released this year.

Some s, like horc00 have speculated that the shift to Lin Lie as Iron Fist is purely a business one to help Marvel in foreign markets, due to Shang-Chi underperforming. But others believed it was simply a way for Marvel to be done with the more problematic nature of Danny’s origin. Some did find comfort in the speculation that Danny is set to return in the comics under the new title ‘Ghost Fist’ after his shocking death in the 50th anniversary special.

Is There a Way for Danny Rand to Just Be Iron Fist?

Or is it Better for Lin Lie to Take Over?

This debate has been going on for years at this point, and it’s pretty much expected when discussing Danny. To be fair, it’s easy to look at his origin and see how it leans into the ‘white savior’ trope, even if later books did things to defy the out-of-date convention. The reality is that Iron Fist was created when martial arts were incredibly popular in America and Danny was meant to cash in on the craze. But culture moves at a rapid pace and what was seen as awesome in one era can become out of touch in the next.

...comics are full of legacy characters who eventually grow out of the shadows of their predecessors...

Lin Lie becoming Iron Fist did upset some fans, but not so much that it completely poisoned the character. At this point, he’s got a few years under his belt with the identity and Marvel Rivals is only helping cement him as the Iron Fist to a whole new crowd of fans. ittedly, that’s got to sting for people who like Danny. But comics are full of legacy characters who eventually grow out of the shadows of their predecessors, even becoming more popular than them.

Marvel is at least aware that Danny has a fanbase and its not ditching him. His death was immediately followed up by a tease that he was coming back (likely as the Ghost Fist). Maybe giving him a new identity alongside the new Iron Fist could be a good middle ground, at least while Marvel sees if Lin is a hit with a bigger audience or not. Is it ideal for hardcore Danny fans? Probably not, but that’s the nature of comics.

Characters Like Iron Fist Don't Have to Be Defined By the Past

Growing and Change Keeps Them Alive

Whether the argument has merit or not, as long as he’s Iron Fist, Danny’s just simply going to invite discussions about his origin being problematic. But this can be a chance for Danny to grow and find a new path in the Marvel Universe. Few characters stay completely the same forever and keeping the old Iron Fist around with a new identity is a good compromise for those who just want to read about Danny and stop hearing about his origin.

Source: Reddit