____ in training: artist, buddhist, comic nerd, community activist. but am a master of puns.

Mar 2, 2016

Iron Fist has usually been Asian..AND was a woman too

I have been putting off this post for a while so I could re-read some of the Iron Fist comic books. In case you haven’t heard, there’s been a large argument over the recent casting of a white man to play Iron Fist in an upcoming Netflix series.

There’s been plenty of coverage about this on the interwebs.

The list of articles goes on and on. Social media lit up too with several new hashtags gaining popularity including #AAIronFist and the very unfortunate #IronFistWasNeverAsian (more about this later).

These are just a smidgen of what has been said out there. I made the unfortunate mistake of reading the comments in the articles, as well as the unnecessary attacks on @angryasianman for his disappointment on the casting.

The Quick Summary

For those too scared or too lazy to read through all this mess, it can be summarized as this: People have generally known Iron Fist as Danny Rand (white guy) in the comics and when an Iron Fist Netflix series was looking for an actor, there are those who wished for the story to stick to the OG comic backstory, and there are those who felt that in a world where we are able to re-imagine comic book characters as different races, this was an opportunity to finally cast an Asian American man as a lead in a comic book TV world that sees so little diversity up front and center.

Of course other arguments have sprung from this. Why are Asian Americans fighting for a role where the Asian American man will learn kung fu and go hi-YAH half the time? Aren’t you Asians trying to break stereotypes? Why can’t you all push for a traditionally Asian character to get prominence (cuz you know people want a show called The Cat), or even advocate for a BRAND-NEW superhero to fill this void?

One BIG issue…Iron Fist was almost always Asian

See, Iron Fist isn’t only Danny Rand. Iron Fist is a bit like the Avatar in that each generation has its own Iron Fist. You read a lot about this in The Immortal Iron Fist series which went from 2006–2009. You learn as a reader that in order to become an Iron Fist one must train in the city of K’un L’un and earn the honor of fighting Shou-Lao the Undying, a mystical dragon that gives crazy ass powers to those who are able to defeat it in battle.

Immortal_Iron_Fist_Vol_1_24_page_11_Shou-Lao_(Earth-616)

Shou-Lao the Undying featured above.

Since the beginning, there have been over 60…60 folks who have taken the mantle of Iron Fist. And unless they change how the comics have been written, at least 64 of those have been Asians.

Quan Yaozu (first Iron Fist ever!)

Bei Bang-Wen (led China against the Brits and the French in Second Opium War, helped friend in India)

Wu Ao-Shi (aka the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay, more about her below)

Li Park (Succeeded as an Iron Fist even though he believed himself to be a pacifist)

Only the last 2, Orson Randall and Danny Rand have been white/non-Asian. They were able to take the powers on by entering the city and winning over the people there to earn the chance to become an Iron Fist. And I tell yah, Orson Randall’s parents didn’t necessarily arrive bearing smiles and gifts. Crash your airship into a foreign land, then threaten the locals to help you. Got it.

Orson Randall’s parents arriving in K’un L’un

What are we willing to push for?

Some people have questioned why Asian Americans are pushing so hard for an Asian American Iron Fist, especially when there’s this whole duality of us also fighting against the kung-fu stereotypes. Why not spend your time advocating for an Asian American superhero to get the greenlight for a Netflix show, or pitch a brand-new Asian American superhero.

Look pitching a brand-new superhero who is also Asian American would be great (and honestly, I think there are already movements out there who have been doing that for decades). BUT I feel that a lot of the folks who expressed disappointment in the casting of a white actor as Iron Fist for Netflix also probably understand the limitations of Hollywood and what they are willing to do. How we view Hollywood’s train of thought:

SAFE (let’s do it) — White Iron Fist
NOT AS SAFE (ehh I don’t know…) — Asian Am Iron Fist
UNSAFE and UNPROVEN (nope, no data to show this would pan out) — Female Asian Am Iron Fist
SHUT UP, NO WAY (absolutely not) — Asian Am Iron Fist who identifies as queer
IMPOSSIBLE (hahahahahah) — No need for Iron Fist because we’re going to genuinely invest to make another superhero for Asian Ams

Given that we are working off a scale somewhat like this, and given that we know Hollywood is unwilling to take huge risks, can you blame Asian Americans from going with the NOT AS SAFE option above?

Advocating for an #AAIronFist who is female

Even though Netflix has already chosen their Iron Fist, I’d like to pitch that we keep advocating for #AAIronFist. Specifically I think Wu Ao-Shi would make for a great TV series or movie.

Wu Ao-Shi being badass attacking pirates.

Wu Ao-Shi is a story of a strong female lead who flips the script on the traditional comic book model of a male protagonist and a weak, barely developed female supporting cast. She’s one of the fastest people to defeat Shou-Lao the Undying to become the Iron Fist, AND she’s credited for being crafty, teaching future Iron Fist’s how to embed their chi in to arrows/projectiles. In addition to being badass (if you didn’t get that already), there’s a sweet love story that also takes place throughout the comic that just screams Hollywood.

As with all the other comic posts I’ve made, I encourage you to support #APIcomics and go buy her comic. It’s a standalone comic so no need to read the rest if you aren’t interested. Check it out and then join me in asking Hollywood to give us better Asian American characters!