The Defenders did a whole lot in only eight episodes. The show (finally!) brought together every major character from Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist -- with the notable exception of The Punisher -- and set them up against their greatest foe yet. Fans got to see some long-awaited moments, like Jessica Jones referencing her fling with Cage and having no time for any of Matt Murdock’s costumed nonsense. We got to see Danny Rand and Luke Cage start on the path to what promises to be a beautiful friendship (one can only hope, anyway), which will presumably lead to a Marvel/Netflix Heroes For Hire series sometime in the near future.
But that wasn’t the only major team-up that The Defenders hinted at. Colleen Wing and Misty Knight also got to meet for the first time, another comic book duo who happen to be best friends, and who fans can’t wait to see kicking ass together on the small screen. Known as the Daughters of the Dragon in the pages of Marvel Comics, Misty (and her bionic arm) teams up with Colleen to fight crime, sometimes as part of Heroes for Hire, and sometimes on their own. It’s a team-up that looks to be on the way, because not only have the two women finally met on the small screen, but Misty is about to get her bionic arm (after losing hers in the final battle) -- and that hints at a retirement from the Force and a move into vigilante crime-fighting. Whether we see a full-on-series for the Daughters of the Dragon, or just an appearance in future Defenders series, we can’t wait to see more of these two together.
They’ve Been Around Since The '70s
New fans of the Defenders who have come to these characters through the Marvel/Netflix series may not realize just how long it's been since the characters first popped up in the pages of Marvel Comics. Both Misty Knight and Colleen Wing appeared for the first time (separately) in the early 1970s, before teaming up in 1977 in the pages of ‘The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu’. So while they do have a little history as stand-alone characters, these two have spent the bulk of the time in comics as a duo (and were friends before they officially became a team).
Luke Cage and Iron Fist also got their start in the '70s, and are closely connected to the Daughters of the Dragon, although Daredevil has been around since the early '60s, and Jessica Jones didn’t make her first appearance until much later, in 2001.
They Teamed Up As PIs, Not Superheroes
Although these two would definitely be listed under the ‘superhero’ category when it comes to Marvel Comics, they didn’t set out to be vigilantes. The two originally teamed up to be private investigators - yup, just like Jessica Jones, albeit without the stint as a costumed hero at the beginning.
It’s unlikely that we’ll be seeing this in the series, of course, as Ms. Jones has already got the PI angle pretty much covered, but originally, it was a way for Misty to reconcile her time as a cop with her desire to take some more direct action. Prior to teaming up, Misty was on the force (before her arm was blown off in a terrorist attack), and Colleen partnered up with Iron Fist, using samurai skills taught to her by her Grandfather in Japan.
They Later Became Bounty hunters
While the Daughters of the Dragon started out as Private Investigators, they’ve gone through a few changes over the years, including a move from PIs to bounty hunters. Misty and Colleen re-vamped their agency to become bail bondsmen, specifically to hunt down supervillains who escape police custody. They took on villains like Rhino, who would be impossible for civilian bounty hunters to capture, but who were (relatively) easy pickings for these two expert martial artists (especially with the help of Misty’s arm).
Their decision to go the bounty hunter route (rather than being straight-up vigilante heroes, like most), is one that makes sure their actions are above the law, and that they get paid for the work they do. Really, it’s surprising that more superheroes don’t register themselves as bail bondsmen - although that might make the secret identity a little less than useful!
Daughters Of The Dragon Isn’t Their Official Name
Although Misty and Colleen are usually referred to as the Daughters of the Dragon, it’s not actually the official name of their business. When the two officially decided to team up together and work as PIs in New York, they named their business after themselves, and KnightWing Restorations was born (originally spelled NightWing, though they likely ran into a wall with DC Comics on that front).
Despite the official name of the company, even the comics usually refers to them as the Daughters of the Dragon, with their early appearances as a team always using that nickname, rather than the more ‘official’ KnightWing Restorations. Within the stories themselves, however, we see the KnightWing offices, and both Colleen and Misty refer to themselves that way the majority of the time. It’s just not as catchy as ‘Daughters of the Dragon’, though, is it?
Their Nickname Was Given To Them By Davos
The first person to call Misty and Colleen the ‘Daughters of the Dragon’ was actually the Steel Serpent, Davos. The villain meant it as an insult, however, tossing it out over his shoulder as he runs away from a fight with Misty, Colleen, and Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Ups #64.
In this story, Davos nearly killed Danny Rand, draining his energy to try to take the power of the Iron Fist that he sees as his birthright, and Misty is having none of it! She calls on Colleen to help her defeat Davos and save Danny, along with Spider-Man. However, when Spidey disapproves of Colleen’s methods, he allows Davos to escape, and the Steel Serpent calls back over his shoulder “Farewell, Daughters of the Dragon, haha! With an ally like Spider-Man, you have little need of enemies!”. Way to go, web-slinger.
They Are Mostly Secondary Characters For Power Man And Iron Fist…
Misty Knight and Colleen Wing spent much of their early days on the page as secondary characters in the pages of Power Man and Iron Fist comics. Misty was in a relationship with Danny Rand, while Colleen became involved with Luke Cage. The two routinely showed up to help Power Man and Iron Fist, and occasionally to fight them (when enslaved against their will). While Luke and Colleen didn’t last, Misty Knight and Danny Rand had a long and complicated relationship. However, the two mostly appeared as a team in short story arcs or one-off appearances, and even when they were billed as the top characters for an issue, other heroes (like Spider-Man) often got the lion’s share of the attention.
…But Have Appeared Elsewhere
Although the Daughters of the Dragon are primarily supporting characters for Luke Cage and Iron Fist, they have popped up elsewhere over the years. As expert martial artists, the team has appeared in the martial-arts-focused series The Deadly Hands Of Kung Fu, alongside other ninja-style heroes. They’ve also appeared in the pages of Namor the Sub-Mariner, and alongside Wolverine in Marvel Comics Presents.
Like most Marvel heroes, they occasionally cross over into other titles and with other characters, but for the most part, the Daughters of the Dragon kept missing out on being the center of attention for more than an issue or two at a time. Even when they did appear in other series, they usually came along for the ride with Iron Fist or Luke Cage, cementing their place as supporting characters.
Thankfully, that trend was broken a few years ago.
They Finally Got Their Own Mini-Series in 2006
Finally, nearly thirty years after their first appearance, the Daughters of the Dragon got their own comic title in 2006. The series finally put them front and center, and set them up with a six-issue arc that introduced their enemies and reminded readers of a little bit of the duo’s history.
Hopes that the series would be extended past its miniseries order were for nought, and it ended after only six issues. Since then, the characters have continued to appear in the Marvel Comic universe, but have gone back to being members of larger teams, or making cameo appearances in other titles. They’ve also been at the forefront of the Heroes for Hire, but as part of a larger team, rather than as the Daughters of the Dragon or KnightWing Restorations.
Heroes For Hire Nearly Put Them Out Of Business
In their early days, KnightWing was the best PI/bounty hunter game in town - although neither Misty nor Colleen is super-powered in the traditional sense, one is an ex-cop with a bionic arm and the other is one of the world’s finest ninjas. They were the best in the biz, and the never had issues finding clients.
But when Luke Cage started Heroes for Hire, Knightwing Restorations suffered hugely from the competition. The pair found that when given the choice, most people would rather pay actual superheroes rather than KnightWing, and the business struggled to survive. They often ended up helping out the Heroes For Hire, instead, although they didn’t officially join that incarnation of the team. Nowadays, of course, there are multiple super-powered mercenary and PI organizations in the Marvel universe, including Jessica Jones' Alias Investigations, but at the time, these were the only two in direct competition.
They Have Their Own Rogues Gallery
Although the Daughters of the Dragon (and KnightWing Restorations) usually deal with the enemies of other heroes (like the Steel Serpent), they do actually have their own Rogue’s Gallery of villains and arch nemesis, originating from their short-lived series.
As bounty hunters, they deal with plenty of super-powered criminals, but it’s a crew composed of 8-Ball, Freezerburn, Humbug, and Whirlwind that gives them the most trouble, as well as arch-nemesis Ricadonna. A wealthy publisher with designs on ending the world (while she relaxes on her own private island), Ricadonna is the big bad of the Daughters of the Dragon series, and later appears in the KnightWing-fronted Heroes For Hire series. Humbug also makes a reappearance, although as a converted villain who now fights alongside Misty and Colleen.
They Were Friends Long Before They Were Partners
Not every comic book team up is between friends - with a lot of teams being brought together by outside forces, other heroes, or even just because it happens to be convenient at that point in time. Misty and Colleen, however, have been best friends since day one. In Colleen’s first ever appearance in the pages of Iron Fist, she is kidnapped by a Kali Death Cult, and while Danny hunts for her, he meets Misty Knight, who is busting down doors and demanding to find out what happened to her best friend.
Later, we learn that Colleen and Misty met when the latter was still a cop, and saved Colleen during a shoot out. Then, when Misty lost her arm and her position on the force, Colleen stood by her side as she came to terms with her new situation, before the two officially teamed up as private investigators.
They Were Pro-Registration During Civil War
During the events of Civil War, Misty and Colleen were recruited by Tony Stark to hunt down those superheroes who refused to register - including Captain America. Initially, the two were reticent, not wanting to bring in their friends, and people that they believed to be heroes. However, they supported registration from the beginning, and Misty’s history as a cop made her easier to sway.
Although they were recruited as a duo, they then brought together a new Heroes For Hire team to help them out, including Humbug, Shang-Chi, The Tarantula, and Black Cat. Although this title ran under Heroes For Hire and not Daughters of the Dragon, Misty and Colleen were very much front and center, and even their old foe Ricadonna reappeared in the series.
They Have A Superhuman Office Assistant
In the Daughters of the Dragon series, and then again for Heroes For Hire, readers were introduced to the KnightWing Restorations’ indestructible office assistant, Otis ‘Danger’ Johnson. Otis is a diminutive man with glasses who looks like he would run at the first sign of trouble, but we quickly discover that thanks to an ‘accident’, he is entirely indestructible and impervious to pain.
It makes him the perfect administrator for a bail bondsman company, as he proves when he is shot at, attacked, and thrown around by various over-powered types over the course of his employment. His gifts also make him useful for sting operations, as he can be in the line of fire without any risk that he will get hurt. Despite this, Otis has yet to appear outside the world of KnightWing and Heroes for Hire.
A TV Series Was In The Works In 2001
Right now, Marvel/Netflix fans are convinced that a Daughters of the Dragon series is on its way - or at the very least, that the team up is going to appear in the upcoming season of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, or even a possible second installment of The Defenders. But this isn’t the first time that the Daughters of the Dragon were rumored to be getting their own series.
Back in 2001, Rick Ungar of Marvel Studios said that a Daughters of the Dragon series was in development. However, the show would not be featuring Misty Knight, who was then planned for an Iron Fist movie, and would instead feature three unnamed lead characters (one of which would have to be Colleen Wing). Of course, the show never made it out of development and into production, but that may not be a bad thing, as it means that Marvel/Netflix can start from scratch with zero expectations from casual fans.
Finn Jones Is On Board For A Daughters Of The Dragon Series
Marvel/Netflix have not yet confirmed whether Misty Knight and Colleen Wing will be getting their own spin-off series (as many fans hope), or whether they will continue to be supporting characters in one of the other Defenders series. However, Iron Fist star Finn Jones has already said that he would be on board to see a Daughters of the Dragon series.
Earlier this year, Jones said that “I think it would be awesome to see a television series with the Heroes for Hire and the Daughters of the Dragon working together to take down crime. That would be cool.”. Of course, Jones is simply commenting on what he would like to see, rather than giving any indication of what is actually in the works, but in this case, there will be plenty of fans on board with his idea and ready to see Luke Cage and Iron Fist working with Misty Knight and Colleen Wing more closely in the near future.
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