Warning: Full spoilers for Marvel's Iron Fist continue below.
Marvel's Iron Fist is the last piece of The Defenders puzzle. The group will come together on Netflix in September, meaning the story of Danny Rand is the last standalone series before The Defenders brings these characters together. Because it's the fourth of four origin series, that puts a little extra pressure is on the shoulders of Iron Fist to align and build upon story pieces from previous Marvel series, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, to put the final groundwork in place for The Defenders.
The first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown Marvel is more than capable of putting down stepping stones from one hero to another before bringing them together. They've done it to a lesser degree in this pre-Defenders era, but Iron Fist did set up and add to a few beats that will lead into The Defenders.
If you watched Iron Fist for more than five minutes, you know the primary purpose of Danny Rand's Iron Fist is to destroy the Hand. The organization played a key part in this series and a different "good" faction was revealed.
But Danny Rand isn't the only Defender-to-be to view The Hand as a formidable foe: the evil organization played into Daredevil: Seasons 1 and 2. With the group being an enemy of two of the Defenders, I can't imagine they won't have a part in the series. It would be odd if they didn't. (The series logo revealed at San Diego Comic-Con is a giant hand grabbing "Defend," after all.)
Iron Fist went into more ins and outs of the group. We learned how Madame Gao moves the heroin marked with the Steel Serpent symbol we first saw in Daredevil. (Davos is Steel Serpent and actor Sacha Dhawan has said he won't be in The Defenders, by the way.) We saw how much the Hand throws in with powerful corporations they can use and leverage to their advantage -- corporations like Rand Enterprises and Midland Circle. They hide behind the scenes and use companies' existing structures to move drugs and accomplish their end goals.
Midland Circle was mentioned in Season 2 of Daredevil as the company behind the giant pit in New York. Iron Fist revealed money from Gao's drug trafficking is going to Midland Circle. And hey, Midland Circle HQ is where the Defenders are supposed to first run into each other.
If the Hand is a villain in The Defenders, how does Sigourney Weaver's Alexandra fit in? Given how the Hand works with corporations, maybe she's a character like Harold Meachum, but more stable and ambitious. She's been described as "sophisticated, intellectual, dangerous" by Defenders showrunner Marco Ramirez. Those adjectives could certainly apply to a business person working with the Hand.
Another Hand-related point relevant to The Defenders: Iron Fist showed the consequences of being resurrected by the organization. Never-ending life has its drawbacks. Harold's returned from the dead twice and a piece of him has unhinged each time. This matters because as far as we know, the Hand exhumed Elektra, a.k.a. Black Sky, with the intent of bringing her back to life. Can you imagine Elektra with a malicious I've-been-resurrected-and-am-more-damaged vibe? It's not going to be pretty for Matt and the other Defenders. Iron Fist also revealed the only way to kill those given the gift of resurrection by the Hand is by beheading them.
Also of note: the creepy blood draining bit we saw in Daredevil popped up again in Iron Fist.
Iron Fist is one of the Immortal Weapons, champions of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. Danny wasn't the only Immortal Weapon in the show. He faced off against Bride of Nine Spiders; she was working for, you guessed it, the Hand. The door is open for other champions to appear, and they could be pitted against the Defenders. But, like the mystery of the missing K’un-Lun, the Immortal Weapons could be a thread for more Iron Fist rather than the Defenders.
Claire Temple keeps trying to live her life, but superpowered people keep finding their way to her. She's appeared in all the Marvel Netflix series so far and has delivered more than her fair share of "Stop being an idiot" speeches. Given the amount of Hand business in Iron Fist, it's a mystery as to why she didn't reach out to Matt Murdock, but that misstep aside, she's a strong thread between all the soon to be Defenders.
At various points Iron Fist included or made reference to: Karen Page, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Matt Murdock, and Jeri Hogarth. All of this on top of the Claire factor means the dots can be connected between everyone without too much of a stretch. The degree to which Claire got involved in Iron Fist means she might be a bit more battle ready next time around. She's not a fighter first and foremost, but she's trained and acquired some bada** claws. Defenders already has four main players to juggle, but it looks like Claire will have a significant role.
It's worth noting that the only standalone Marvel Netflix series to include another one of the main Defenders was Marvel's Jessica Jones, which introduced Luke Cage. That this didn't happen in Iron Fist as well is a missed opportunity to pull the universe closer together, especially as an entry point to the team-up series. Instead, Iron Fist went big picture. Danny's perspective could help the group in whatever battle they end up embroiled in, but the plot points with Davos and K'un-Lun are framed for a second season of Iron Fist (it's yet to be renewed) rather than The Defenders.
What are you most looking forward to in The Defenders? Let us know in the comments.
Amy Ratcliffe is a writer for IGN TV. She made it through 13 episodes of Iron Fist. You can follow her on on Twitter at @amy_geek.
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