 |
| Image Courtesy www.ign.com |
This Iron
Fist review will be fairly short as I am somewhat pressed for time this
week. There are a number of other
aspects of this show that I could certainly touch on before this one, but this
is the one that I have wanted to write since watching the series in the first
place. And it’s my blog, so I can do
what I want!
I’m talking,
of course, about all the comic book martial artists which were included in the
series. Like the show, the martial
artists run the gamut from the really well crafted and well thought-out to the
(for lack of a better word) embarrassing.
Hopefully future Netflix shows (including the potential Iron Fist
season 2) will be more consistently good.
All that
being said, there are three comic book martial artists in this series, and the
portrayal improves over the course of the season.
 |
| Image Courtesy www.thewrap.com |
Bride of Nine Spiders
When I looked
at iMDB (confirming that Lei-Kung the Thunderer really is Splinter from the
2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and saw that Bride of Nine Spiders
was credited in Episode 6, “Immortal Emerges from Cave,” I was really
excited. After all, I read the entire Immortal
Iron Fist series, as well as the Immortal Weapons in the month
before Iron Fist was released. That
they were going to include another Immortal Weapon in the series sounded
amazing: here’s their chance to give us
a mind-blowing fight sequence ripped straight from the comics.
Instead, we
got a Goth arachnologist who likes playing with needles. Wow. Pathetic.
At least she looks the part. That’s about all she has going for her, though.
The sequence
was set up like every martial arts movie ever:
the hero has to fight his way through multiple challengers to reach the
top fighter and save the girl (they did the same thing on Spongebob one
time, even). However, the fighters
chosen for this “Grand Duel” do not live up to expectations. Using the Bride of Nine Spiders as a Hand
champion was an interesting take on the comic book, but she doesn’t do all that
much in terms of actual martial arts. Instead,
she just dances around trying to seduce Danny and poking him with tiny needles
filled with spider venom.
And who is
she setting Danny up to face? It’s not
someone powerful like John Aman, the “Prince of Orphans” (the most powerful
Immortal Weapon in the comics). Instead,
it’s some dude who likes swords and goes down like a punk.
Frankly, I was
hoping for more.
 |
| Image Courtesy www.whatculture.com |
Zhou Cheng
By
comparison to the Bride, Zhou Cheng is positively ripped from the pages of the
comics. He appears in Episode 8, “The
Blessing of Many Fractures,” in which he guards the entrance to Gao’s factory
in China. When Danny confronts him on
his mission to find out what Gao’s doing, Zhou Cheng introduces himself as a
disciple of Ch’i-Lin and the “Sworn Defender of the Hand.” He is a master of Zui Quan (“drunken fist”) and
is constantly drunk because his master requires him to “keep his dragon sedated”
(not a direct quote). He quite
efficiently schools Danny throughout their battle until Danny gets worked up at
being called out for leaving his oath to defend K’un-Lun and finally knocks him
out.
This isn’t
exactly the Zhou Cheng from the comics, but all the elements are there. Rather than the “Sworn Defender of the Hand,”
Zhou Cheng is a warrior possessed by Ch’i-Lin, who is intent on devouring the
heart of Shou Lao the Undying (the dragon which gives the Iron Fist his
power). He does this by killing the Iron
Fist and creating a portal through the Iron Fist’s heart directly into K’un-Lun. During battle, Ch’i-Lin can actually transform
Zhou Cheng into his beastly form.
I really
like the way that they hint at the power lurking within Zhou Cheng, which he
must remain drunk to keep contained. The
use of Zui Quan as his signature fighting style was very refreshing as a change
of pace from Danny’s standard kung fu.
At the end
of the fight, Zhou Cheng is seemingly killed by Danny, but I really hope they
bring him back. And I hope he gets to be
sober the next time they face off! I really
want to see what Ch’i-Lin will look like!
 |
| Image Courtesy www.theshadowleague.com |
Davos
I think
Davos was portrayed the best out of the three comic book martial artists in the
show. He is the son of Lei-Kung the
Thunderer who was passed over in favor of Danny Rand to face Shou Lao the
Undying. However, the two of them remain
good friends/brothers despite Davos’ rejection, and Davos swears to serve as
Danny’s second as he defends K’un-Lun. However,
when Danny left K’un-Lun, Davos felt betrayed and rejected and was sent by his
father to bring Danny home. Though they
fight together against the Hand, they eventually fight each other when Danny
insists of freeing Rand International from the Hand rather than returning to K’un-Lun. The season ends with Davos conspiring with Joy
to kill Danny, while Gao listens in.
This is
almost exactly the story of Davos from the comics: he is Lei-Kung’s son who became jealous at
never having been given the opportunity to face the dragon when Wendell Rand
(Danny’s father) is chosen over him. He swears
vengeance against Danny Rand when Danny becomes the Iron Fist, and battles him
as the Steel Serpent. In the Immortal
Iron Fist, Davos is chosen by Crane Mother (the character on whom Gao seems
to be based) as her champion, the “Steel Phoenix.”
Davos is certainly
given the most faithful adaptation in the series, though it does replace
Wendell Rand with Danny for the sake of the story. Additionally, he looks poised to become a
primary villain in the second season, exactly what happened with him in the
comics. Davos’ role in everything is, I think,
the aspect of the (unannounced but set up) second season that I am most
interested to see.
Conclusion
Obviously there
is no way for the Netflix shows to be perfectly faithful in their adaptations
of comic book characters. However, I wish
they had given a little more thought to the Bride of Nine Spiders instead of using
her as a forgettable, throw-away character.
They did a much better job with Zhou Cheng and Davos; they could have done
her justice, too. I hope that moving
forward, Marvel and Netflix will give some thought to including other Immortal
Weapons in a more faithful and exciting manner—any of the other Immortal
Weapons would be good options.
What martial
artists from the Iron Fist comics do you want to see in the Netflix shows? Were you as disappointed by the Bride as I was? Let me know in the comics!
No comments:
Post a Comment