Because of its exotic nature, the Asian continent has been a subject of fascination for Western culture, leading to stories where Caucasian men travel there and bring something unusual back.  One of the prime examples of this is Doctor Strange, who traveled to Tibet and learned mystical arts from the wise yet powerful Ancient One.

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Continuing with this same tradition was Iron Fist, whose training in the fictional city K’un Lun gave him the power to emit energy that makes him physically deadlier.  Having made appearances in different media, let us rank the various costumes he’s worn over the years.

Iron Fist Netflix Series

Following the success of Netflix’s Daredevil series, Marvel Television gave the go-ahead to adapt other lesser-known superheroes to the streaming platform including Iron Fist.  While the first season of his show was universally panned, the second did better by contrast.  But that doesn’t change the fact that Iron Fist never got to wear his iconic costume.

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While something akin to it was teased in The Defenders crossover series according to Comic Book, the closest thing we got was the above outfit.  Though it gets points for simplicity, it looks like a poor man’s attempt at replicating Green Arrow’s costume from the first season of Arrow with a yellow bandana covering the bottom-half of his face.

Classic Comic-Book Costume

An image of Iron Fist leaning on the wall in the Marvel Comics

Now the above costume may seem silly at a glance, it makes sense in context.  Back in the 1970s, martial arts movies were incredibly popular with the Bruce Lee ones being among the top-ranking ones.  This was also the decade where popped collars and fancy belts were among the most common articles of clothing worn during this time.

So naturally, Iron Fist embodies these two things since he officially debuted in 1974.  Yet despite this costume’s silliness by today’s standards, it has “Survived for decades” as stated by Inverse.  Plus, given that the current Marvel movies embrace the goofier elements of their comic-book counterparts it’s a shame we didn’t get to see a version of this outfit in Netflix’s Iron Fist.

The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Animated Series

Following the success of the Iron Man films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to take shape leading to the eventual release of The Avengers which served as a launchpad for the films to come.  In preparation for the latter, Disney XD released an animated series called The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes which ran for two seasons before being succeeded by Avengers Assemble after The Avengers movie performed well.

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Because both series borrow elements from the Avengers comic-books, a lot of characters appeared including Iron Fist.  As the above picture shows, he’s sporting the classic outfit straight from the comic-books with a few minor changes including a bigger collar and the dragon tattoo on his chest looking slightly different for a faithful yet slightly new take on the character.

Iron Fist (Orson Randall)

Since the collaboration between Marvel Television and Netflix ended recently, all the superhero shows on the latter platform have been abruptly cancelled.  This in turn left many unresolved plot threads, including the mention of a character named Orson Randall towards the end of Iron Fist’s second season.

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While the Iron Fist that most people know of is Danny Rand, the heir to a wealthy business who got stranded in K’un Lun after his parents died, he’s far from the only one.  Another inheritor of the Iron Fist technique was Orson, who fought in World War I and went into hiding until later according to IGN.  Hence, Orson’s Iron Fist outfit resembles that of a soldier but with the same yellow mask thus making it unique though still recognizable.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Video Game

Known for its impressive roster of characters, the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video games allow players to create custom teams of up to four superheroes and/or villains while adapting elements from the comic-books.  In the case of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, it’s a direct adaptation of the Civil War event comic which also inspired the movie Captain America: Civil War.

So among the characters that can be played is Iron Fist, whose costume is much better than the outfit from the Netflix series.  The combination of black yellow and green goes really well together, with the overall outfit being very ninja-like aesthetically which makes it stylish.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2006)

As is the case with any comic-book ever conceived, a reboot always comes along every few decades.  So was this the case with Iron Fist, whose initial solo series in the 1970s didn’t do very well.  Thus, he only appeared in other comic-books until 2006 when he got a new solo series titled The Immortal Iron Fist.

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In it his origin changed to being one in a long line of people who inherited the Iron Fist title, as before it was just him, and he got a new costume.  Sleeker in design with the dragon tattoo being replaced by a symbol stitched onto the front of his suit, it’s less goofy than the original and seems more practical in its sleekness which therefore makes it more appealing.

Ultimate Spider-Man Animated Series

Not to be confused with the comic-book series of the same name, Ultimate Spider-Man was another animated series that premiered on Disney XD alongside The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.  While the series primarily focused on its titular hero, it also brought in other heroes including Iron Fist who is reimagined as a teenager.

Thus, his appearance was slightly altered along with his costume.  Compared to the previous ones, his blond hair is now sticking out from underneath the mask he wears and the dragon symbol looks different as well making for a bolder reinterpretation of the modern Iron Fist outfit.

Fear Itself (2011)

Published in 2011, the Fear Itself comic-book miniseries focused on the Avengers battling a fallen god called Serpent who sets out to reclaim the throne of Asgard from his brother Odin.  In the process, Iron Man forges new costumes and weapons for the Avengers to wield in their fight against Serpent’s generals known as the Worthy.

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At the time, Iron Fist was an Avenger and so he got a new outfit along with an Asgardian mace attached to a chain.  In the above picture alongside Doctor Strange, it’s clear the outfit adds yellow-orange lines to the modern Iron Fist costume with the dragon symbol glowing the same color creating a very Neo-martial arts look.

Power Man And Iron Fist (2016)

When Iron Fist’s first solo series ended in the 1970s, he was paired up with another lesser-known Marvel superhero called Power Man (better known as Luke Cage these days).  Together, they formed the superhero team Heroes for Hire while their comic-book series Power Man and Iron Fist did surprisingly well.

Then in an effort to promote the Iron Fist Netflix series, Marvel rebooted Power Man and Iron Fist in 2016 giving the heroes new outfits in the process.  Now sporting a dark green tracksuit with yellow sneakers and a smaller collar around his neck, Iron Fist embodies “A living Bruce Lee tribute” Inverse proclaims by blending elements from his original and newer costumes.

Weapon Of Agamotto

Among the mystical artifacts that Doctor Strange is known to wield is the Eye of Agamotto, which in the MCU movies was actually one of the Infinity Stones.  In the comic-books, though, the Eye of Agamotto’s origins are a lot more complicated involving an extra-dimensional being called Agamotto who could perceive various things across time and space even dispelling illusions which the Eye was capable of as well.

During The New Avengers comic-book series in 2010, Strange had to give up the Eye due to being corrupted by a demon leading to a series of battles over who would possess it.  Eventually, the Eye ended up in Iron Fist’s hands and he was given a new costume that was basically a white-and-gold palette swap of his traditional green-and-yellow one.  Shiny and visually stunning, it’s hard not to look at. 

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