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Iron Fist Reading Order

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In 1972, Marvel tackled the growing popularity of Blaxploitation with the introduction of Luke Cage. During that period of time, martial arts also gained momentum, and Iron Fist was created in response to that—Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, was already launched.

Writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane created the powerful Iron Fist in the pages of Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974). The story starts with Daniel Rand finding the path to K’un-Lun (a Shangri-La type of city up in the Himalayas). There he spent a decade training under its immortal inhabitants.

After years of tutelage, he became an unmatched master of martial arts and spiritual control; armed with the shattering power of the iron fist, he left immortality behind to set out into the Western world and avenge his parents’ death.

Iron Fist quickly got his own ongoing series but, as the martial arts craze faded, he was teamed up with Luke Cage in the pages of the new Power Man and Iron Fist series. After that, he was left for dead but came back during the 1990s. Once again, he worked with Luke Cage, but also Colleen Wing and Misty Knight!

In 2022, Danny Rand passed the mantle to a successor named Lin Lie, but that doesn’t mean he disappeared…

Like many other Marvel characters in the last decade, Iron Fist/Danny Rand has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he has been portrayed by Finn Jones in Iron Fist, The Defenders, and the second season of Luke Cage.

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

For all the lovers of omnibuses, poor Iron Fist is not well covered in that collection. Actually, Marvel Comics started recently to take interest in the character in that format and released an Omnibus covering one of the most popular eras of the character – the run of Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction which can be a great entry point for new readers. Also, coming soon is an omnibus covering his early years.

  • Iron Fist: Danny Rand – The Early Years Omnibus (in 2024!)
    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

Introducing Danny Rand, the Iron Fist

Iron Fist made his first 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.

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” series 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 Namor, The Sub-Mariner, 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 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 decided to give Iron Fist multiple miniseries. In between, he also appeared in other 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 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 miniseries as a supporting character and becoming really 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 (see full reading order of the 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 own new ongoing 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 time period, Danny Rand also appeared in the New Avengers series and in 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 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.

 

After Fear Itself, Iron Fist joined another fight, this time next to Spider-Man in Spider-Island (see reading order).

  • 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 series written by Matt Fraction.

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon

During the first part of the Marvel Now era, Iron Fist was not really present, 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 series.

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.

  • Civil War II
    Collects Civil War II 0–8, Free Comic Book Day 2016.

A new ongoing Iron Fist 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 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 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!

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

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