Rumor: Marvel Cinematic Universe To Introduce A Female Iron Fist In Upcoming ‘Eyes Of Wakanda’ Animated Series
Spencer Baculi
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Another day, another opportunity for Disney to pander.
According to the latest whispers on the digital streets, the hero Iron Fist will soon make their return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the franchise’s upcoming Eyes of Wakanda – but thanks to the history-hopping nature of the animated series’ narrative, rather than Danny Rand, the Living Weapon will instead be wielded by one of his female predecessors.
Developed as part of Black Panther duology director Ryan Coogler’s multi-year TV deal with Disney, Eyes of Wakanda will purportedly take viewer back into the MCU’s past in service of exploring the titular nation’s long-history in responsibly managing the existence of its signature resource, vibranium.
“Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts,” reads the series’ official logline, as provided by Marvel to Variety‘s BeAnna Bell. “This is their story.”
First announced in December 2023, as of writing neither Disney nor Marvel have provided any details as to the membership of Eyes of Wakanda’s creative team.
However, per a supposed insider source who spoke to Bell, the series will feature some level of involvement from the aforementioned Coogler – though exactly how much remains to be seen.
Likewise, the House of Mouse has also kept mum on the series’ cast, including which established Marvel characters, if any, may make an appearance throughout the series.
The same could be not said of noted scooper CanWeGetSomeToast.
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In a January 9th exclusive first shared with their paid Instagram scoopers and subsequently brought to public attention by a number of outlets including Cosmic Book News, the bread-hungry insider alleged that, at some point during the events of Eyes of Wakanda, the nation’s warriors would cross paths with a female champion of the Iron Fist.
CanWeGetSomeToast further noted that rather than being based on any such Marvel Comics incarnation of the concept, the female Iron Fist would instead be an original character by the name of Janora, her story reportedly set to intersect with that of a Wakandan native by the name of Basha.
To this end, given both the character’s ‘MCU Original’ label and Eyes of Wakanda‘s format as a cross-time anthology, it’s hard to speculate as to which of these numerous, previously established female Iron Fists (as seen throughout the images featured in this article), if any, Janora may pull inspiration from.
But in light of the cinematic franchise’s recent focus on its eponymous publisher’s widely-panned, post-2014 content – as seen with the adaptation of Sam Wilson’s promotion to Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the introduction of Riri Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the heavy push for Ms. Marvel to serve as the new ‘leading lady’ of the MCU, just to name a few a examples – it’s more than likely that should Janora bear any relation to a comic book character, it will be Fan Fei, the Iron Fist of 1,000,000 B.C.
Created by writer Jason Aaron and making her debut in his Marvel Legacy Vol. 1 #1 one-shot, Fei was not just a previous wielder of the Living Weapon, but in fact the very first person to ever fell the dragon Shou-Lao and prove themselves worthy of his power.
Despite this slaying being an accident, for the crime of killing the city’s resident deity, K’un L’un’s immortal martial arts master, The Thunderer, exiled Fei from their ranks and banished her to a life among the mortals on Earth.
Left to wander the planet in search of purpose, Fei would eventually find herself moved to defend the fledgling human race from the numerous threats that posted a danger to their continued existence.
As part of this mission, the Iron Fist eventually found herself a founding member of the very first Avengers team ever (yes, it’s just as ridiculous as it sounds), the pre-historic Avengers of 1,000,000 B.C., during which time she worked alongside them to fell the Fallen, a rogue Celestial whose madness-induced rage threatened to destroy the very planet itself.
As of writing, Eyes of Wakanda has yet to receive an official release date or window.
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