SPOILER WARNING for Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #6!
The Wakandan warrior Okoye recently gained her very own superpowers in Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon, and a new preview for the upcoming issue shows that she will finally be putting these abilities to use. One of Black Panther’s most trusted allies, Okoye is a fierce warrior in battle and a loyal defender of Wakanda. And now that undead warriors have begun to invade her city and a masked assailant slays several of her soldiers, Okoye gets roped into Danny Rand’s mystical journey to save the cosmic balance.
Iron Fist and Okoye’s initial confrontation comes as quite a shock for everyone, as Danny and his band of heroes find the Wakandan general holding the heart of a dragon that lies dead at her feet. Believing that the dragons are needed to stop the evil Hidden City from destroying everything, Iron Fist sees Okoye’s actions as a betrayal. While Okoye tries to explain that the dragon chose her to be its new champion though, she begins to absorb the dragon’s chi. Having gained his own powers similarly, Danny realizes what is happening and accuses Okoye of stealing the power before charging in to fight her. During their brawl, both heroes hold back from drawing upon their chi powers, which summons Quan Yin, the Mother of Mercy. Quan Yin explains that Okoye is not an enemy and that she will be vital to defeating the true enemy, the Hidden City’s hierophant. Before long, the hierophant arrives to kill the Mother of Mercy, and Okoye teams up with Iron Fist and his allies to stop the villain. The hierophant proves too powerful for the heroes to stop, but luckily Danny’s friend, Fooh, is able to distract the villain as the team teleports to the Hidden City.
Upon their arrival, the heroes are ambushed by the Ghost Dragon of the Hidden City, which Iron Fist claims are the hierophant’s weakness. This is where Larry Hama, Dave Wachter, Neeraj Menon, and Travis Lanham’s Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #6 picks up, as Okoye, Danny, and the rest of their party try desperately to fight the gigantic beast. Despite having just gotten her powers, Okoye already seems proficient with them, even managing to focus her chi into the end of her spear. Plus, having Iron Fist there to give instructions doesn’t hurt at all. Here are the preview pages and brief, cryptic synopsis for the upcoming issue:
- IRON FIST: HEART OF THE DRAGON #6
- THE END OF HEAVEN? The dragons have fallen. A champion rises. An ending…and a new beginning?
As one of the only heroes that is doing any damage in this fight, Okoye’s powers are already proving to be a major upgrade. Of course, she’s already an incredibly skilled warrior, but with a dragon’s chi flowing through her, she’s even more of a threat to her opponents. It remains to be seen whether or not this will be a permanent change for the character, but having Okoye act as a new Iron Fist would be an exciting change of pace for the Wakandan. Those hoping to see the rest of the story can buy Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #6 from Marvel Comics later this week.