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Iron Fist Reading Order (Danny Rand and Lin Lie)

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In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics was quick to respond to cultural trends sweeping across America. With Blaxploitation cinema captivating audiences, Marvel introduced Luke Cage, Hero for Hire in 1972—the first African-American superhero to headline his own comic. Simultaneously, martial arts were booming in popularity, thanks in part to Bruce Lee’s rise and the influx of kung fu films from Hong Kong. Marvel’s answer to this new craze was the creation of Iron Fist.

Debuting in Marvel Premiere #15 in May 1974, Iron Fist was the creation of writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane. Thomas, inspired by the martial arts films he and others at Marvel were watching at the time, crafted a character who blended the mysticism of Eastern legends with the action-packed energy of superhero comics. It’s worth noting that Shang-Chi, another Marvel martial artist influenced directly by Bruce Lee, had already launched in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973.

Iron Fist’s origin begins with young Daniel Rand, who, after witnessing his parents’ deaths during an expedition in the Himalayas, is taken in by the mystical city of K’un-Lun. There, he trains for a decade in martial arts and gains the power of the Iron Fist by defeating the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying.

Armed with superhuman chi and unmatched fighting skills, Rand returns to the Western world to avenge his parents. Though his solo series was short-lived, he gained new life when he teamed up with Luke Cage in the popular Power Man and Iron Fist series, turning them into Marvel’s go-to street-level duo.

After a brief “death” and resurrection in the ’90s, Iron Fist starred in acclaimed runs like The Immortal Iron Fist, which expanded his mythology and introduced a long line of past Iron Fists. Most recently, in 2022, the Iron Fist mantle was passed to Lin Lie, formerly known as Sword Master. With Danny Rand having lost the power of the Iron Fist, he now serves as a mentor to Lin, showing that while the torch has been passed, Rand’s journey is far from over.

Iron Fist has also entered the mainstream thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Portrayed by Finn Jones, Danny Rand appeared in the Netflix series Iron Fist, The Defenders, and the second season of Luke Cage. Though the show received mixed reviews, it brought renewed attention to the character and introduced Iron Fist to a new generation of fans.

Where to start? With the (mini) Iron Fist Omnibus Collection

For fans of Marvel Comics omnibuses, Iron Fist hasn’t always been well represented in that format. Until recently, there was little coverage of his stories in collected editions. Fortunately, Marvel has started to show more interest in the character—most notably with an omnibus collecting The Immortal Iron Fist run by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, a critically acclaimed era, and a perfect entry point for new readers. Also, an omnibus covering his classic early adventures is also on the way.

  • Iron Fist: Danny Rand – The Early Years Omnibus
    Collects Marvel Premiere #15-25, Iron Fist (1975) #1-15 And Marvel Team-Up (1972) #63-64 — Plus Material From Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu (1974) #10, #18-24, #29 And #31-33; Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu Special #1; And Bizarre Adventures #25.
  • Immortal Iron Fist & The Immortal Weapons Omnibus
    Collects Immortal Iron Fist #1-27 And Annual #1, Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall And The Green Mist Of Death, Immortal Iron Fist: The Origin Of Danny Rand, Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall And The Death Queen Of California, Immortal Weapons #1-5, Immortal Weapons Sketchbook And Material From Civil War: Choosing Sides And I Am An Avenger #1.

Iron Fist, Your Complete Comics Reading Order

  1. Iron Fist: Danny Rand – The Early Years
  2. The Return of Iron Fist, the 1990s
  3. Iron Fist with Daredevil and the Avengers
  4. The Immortal Iron Fist
  5. The Heroic Age of Iron Fist
  6. Iron Fist: The Living Weapon
  7. Power Man & Iron Fist Runited
  8. Marvel Fresh Start (and the New Iron Fist)

Introducing Danny Rand, the Iron Fist

Iron Fist made his first comic book appearance in Marvel Premiere #15 and featured in this title for several issues before having his solo series. The unresolved cliffhanger following the cancellation of the title after 15 issues took place in Marvel Team-Up.

All those early Iron Fist comics are also available in the hardcover classic collection Marvel Masterworks:

Also, the backup stories from the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu magazine published during that time (you can read them between Marvel Premiere #25 and Iron Fist #1) have been collected in one volume:

At that point, the Iron Fist series faced cancellation. To save it, Marvel Comics decided to move Danny to another series. He joined Luke Cage (who faced the same fate) in the “Power Man” ongoing comic book that was quickly renamed “Power Man & Iron Fist.”

The Return of Iron Fist, the 1990s

Presumed dead for a while now, Iron Fist made his comeback in the Namor, The Sub-Mariner comics, written and drawn by John Byrne. Danny first reappeared in Namor, the Sub-Mariner #16-17, then came back in #22-25, (and for a cameo or just a bit more in) #28, 33-34. They are collected in:

Then, Iron Fist reconnected with Luke Cage in Cage (vol. 1) #9, 11-13 (really, mostly #11-12, just one page in #13):

During the Maximum Carnage comic book event, Danny Rand joined the fight, especially during the second part of the event (starting with Spider-Man #36).

  • Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Maximum Carnage
    Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #378-380, Web of Spider-Man (1985) #101-103, Spider-Man (1990) #35-37, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #201-203, Spider-Man/Punisher/Sabretooth: Designer Genes (1993) one-shot, material from Spider-Man Unlimited (1993) #1-2.
  • Iron Fist: The Book of Changes
    Collects Spider-Man (1990) #41-43 and material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #111, 113-118, 125-137, 140-141 & Namor Annual #3.

With The Avengers and the Fantastic Four disappearance (see the Heroes Reborn storylines), Power Man and Iron Fist reformed the Heroes for Hire, but with some new players under the guidance of writer John Ostrander:

Luke Cage and Danny Rand reunite in team-ups with Spider-Man and …Sabretooth?! And they’re just in time to relaunch the expanded HeroesFor Hire! A supervillain prison break inspires Iron Fist to fill the void left by the Avengers and Fantastic Four — but his ex-partner Luke will take some convincing. Hercules and White Tiger are eager recruits, but is the Hulk a joiner? Maybe She-Hulk would be a better fit. A transformed Black Knight rides in, and Luke has his arm twisted by the master of the World. But will he stay after Power Man battles Iron Fist? The team will face Deviants, Punisher, and the Thunderbolts — there must be a little room left for Ant-Man to help out.

After that, Marvel Comics decided to give Iron Fist multiple miniseries. In between, he also appeared in other comic books as a guest star, in Daredevil (#38-40, 59-60) and Black Panther (#16-17, 38-40) mostly.

  • Iron Fist: Return of K’Un Lun
    Collects Iron Fist & Wolverine #1-4, Iron Fist (1996) #1-2, Iron Fist (1998) #1-3, Iron Fist (2004) #1-6, Uncanny Origins #14.

Iron Fist with Daredevil and the Avengers

Iron Fist became a player in Daredevil‘s world during the Bendis/Maleev comics run–see Daredevil #38-40 in Daredevil Vol.5: Out and Daredevil #59-60 in Daredevil Vol.9: King of Hell’s Kitchen. Then, he teamed up with the New Avengers, which led him to the House of M event before appearing in a couple of comic book miniseries as a supporting character and becoming involved in Daredevil’s life (now from Brubaker and Lark):.

In 2006-07, the heroes of the Marvel Universe were divided by the famous Civil War crossover event. Danny Rand sided with Captain America at a time he pretended to be Daredevil (see Daredevil vol. 2 #87) to help Matt Murdock convince the public he was not the Man Without Fear.

  • Civil War
    Collects Civil War #1-7, plus extras.

The Immortal Iron Fist

After that, Danny got his new ongoing comic series, one that will become quite celebrated, The Immortal Iron Fist, written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction with artists Travel Foreman and David Aja. It’s so popular, you can find this run in multiple collections, including the Immortal Iron Fist & The Immortal Weapons Omnibus listed at the beginning of this article. But also:

The Immortal Iron Fist: The Complete Collection

The Immortal Iron Fist: The Trade Paperbacks

During that period, Danny Rand also appeared in the New Avengers series and some of the big events.

The Heroic Age of Iron Fist

During Marvel’s Heroic Age, post-Siege, Iron Fist became a member of the New Avengers comics by Brian Michael Bendis.

Daredevil Reading OrderLike most of the street-level heroes of New York, especially those connected to Daredevil, Shadowland was inevitable. You can find out more about the event with our Reading Order. In it, Iron Fist was quite active.

  • Daredevil: Shadowland Omnibus
    Collects Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil #1; Daredevil (1998) #501-512; Shadowland #1-5; Shadowland: Elektra, Bullseye, Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, After The Fall; Shadowland: Moon Knight #1-3; Shadowland: Blood On The Streets# 1-4; Shadowland: Daughters Of The Shadow #1-3; Shadowland: Power Man #1-4; Thunderbolts (1997) #148-149; Daredevil: Reborn #1-4.
  • Heroes for Hire: Control
    Collects Heroes for Hire (2011) #1-5.
  • Power Man & Iron Fist: The Comedy of Death
    Collects Power Man and Iron Fist (vol. 3) #1-5.
  • Fear Itself
    Collects Fear Itself: Book of the Skull, Fear Itself 1-7.
  • Fear Itself: Avengers
    Avengers #13-17, New Avengers #14-16.

After Fear Itself, Iron Fist joined another fight, this time next to Spider-Man in Spider-Island.

  • Spider-Man: Spider-Island
    Collects The Amazing Spider-Man #666-673, Venom #6-9, Spider-Island: Deadly Foes #1, and Amazing Spider-Man #659-660; 662-665 (Infested stories).
  • Spider-Man: Spider-Island Companion
    Collects Spider-Island: The Amazing Spider-Girl #1-3, Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger #1-3, Spider-Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1-3, Herc #7-8, Spider-Island: Avengers #1, Spider-Island: Spider-Woman #1, Black Panther #524, Spider-Island: Heroes for Hire #1, and Spider-Island Spotlight #1.
  • New Avengers By Brian Michael Bendis Vol. 3
    Collects New Avengers #16.1 & 17-23.

Iron Fist also became part of the Defenders, the comics written by Matt Fraction.

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon

During the first part of the Marvel Now era, Iron Fist was mostly absent, except for a few guest appearances. He made his proper comeback in the series Iron Fist: The Living Weapon, written and drawn by Kaare Andrews.

Also collected in:

More Iron Fists appeared in:

The 2015 Secret Wars! The interdimensional Incursions have eliminated each and every alternate universe one by one. And now, the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe have collided…and been destroyed! All that exists in the vast empty cosmos is a single, titanic patchwork planet made of the fragmented remains of hundreds of devastated dimensions: Battleworld! Go here to find the full reading order of the event. It is NOT an event full of Iron Fist, in fact he barely appeared in the first issue, but I put it here because it rebooted the Marvel Comics Universe.

Power Man and Iron Fist Reunited

Luke Cage’s time with the Avengers is over and, once again, he teams up with his friend Danny Rand in the new Power Man and Iron Fist comics.

Civil War 2! When a new Inhuman emerges with the ability to profile the future, Captain Marvel wanted him to work with the Ultimates in order to preemptively tackle disasters before they happen, but Iron Man opposed the idea, suggesting it was dangerous to take his visions for granted for several reasons. For more, go to the Civil War II Reading Order.

A new ongoing Iron Fist comic book series was launched. This time, Ed Brisson was the writer. He sent Danny to a mystical martial arts tournament. In the middle of that, Marvel entered its Legacy era, returning all its titles to their original numbering.

 

The Secret Empire crossover event was used to launch the new Defenders series (the same team composition as the Netflix show).

Marvel Fresh Start (and the New Iron Fist)

In 2018, after the All-New, All-Different Marvel and the Legacy era, Marvel Comics entered the Fresh Start! era. Iron Fist is not as visible as he was before. He was part of the Digital Comic line launch at that time, in his own short series, but also as a recurring character in Luke Cage.

The New Iron Fist!

Danny Rand no longer wields his legendary power. He’s just a guy who knows a lot of kung fu. So who will take Danny’s place…as the Iron Fist?! A new heroic legacy begins now, as a young warrior in great pain turns to the martial arts masters of K’un-Lun for aid — and gets far more than he bargained for! Can this lost soul balance his chi, win the favor of Shou-Lao the Undying, and join a long line of champions? The world had better hope so, because a dark god is rising — and all hope of stopping him lies with the newest Iron Fist!

During the Gang War event, Danny Rand teamed up once again with his friend Luke Cage. You may want to read the main story in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man for context. 

Did we forget an important issue? Did we make a mistake? Let us know in the comments!

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