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Eyes of Wakanda tells the story of the Hatut Zeraze, Wakandan spies who venture out on missions to retrieve vibranium artifacts across various eras of history. But in widening the expanse of Black Panther's world, this new animated series also unexpectedly has an eye on Marvel's past with Netflix – and, specifically, Iron Fist.
You don't necessarily need to have seen any of the Marvel Netflix TV shows (released between 2015 to 2019) to understand what's going on in Eyes of Wakanda, but it sure would help when it comes to episode 3 in particular.
The penultimate chapter of the show introduces us to a Wakandan agent named Basha who's on a mission to retrieve a key vibranium artifact from China, circa 1400 AD. There, we see he's integrated with a local mountain town over the years, all with the aim of getting close enough to steal the vibranium back for his people.
But when Basha returns home with the statue in question, he accidentally brings another warrior along for the ride, and the pair go on to fight it out within the walls of Wakanda. It's the first time an outsider has ever infiltrated this secret society, yet the stowaway isn't just any old warrior.
The way of the warrior
Yep, Jorani is in fact a brand new Iron Fist who has never appeared in either the comics or Netflix's series of the same name. Voiced by actor Jona Xiao, this new take on the Living Weapon is one of many figures who have earned the Iron Fist's power over the centuries by defeating the immortal dragon Shou-Lao in K’un L’un.
Plenty have achieved that feat in the comics, but the only notable incarnation we've met before on screen was Danny Rand, the original Iron Fist, who was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane in 1974. Actor Finn Jones starred as Rand in two seasons of his own show on Netflix, and he also popped up in The Defenders and Luke Cage.
Looking back, it's safe to say that Iron Fist was the weakest link among these shows, disappointing critics and fans alike. Even Jones himself is well aware of the critiques, which include everything from the quality of the fight scenes to the story's pacing, and even Jones's performance.
Perhaps the biggest issue, however, was the whitewashing accusations. Because, yes, Danny Rand is white in the comics, so it was technically accurate to cast a white man to play him, but many have pointed out that there was nothing about the character that actually required him to be white. In fact, it was often suggested that casting an Asian actor would have improved Iron Fist tenfold because Danny Rand should have never been white in the first place.
Oh, Danny boy
The original story of a white guy learning the ways of an Asian culture, only to become better at it than people from that actual culture, is a cliched appropriation that we've seen time and time again in everything from The Karate Kid to The Last Samurai. Marvel had an easy opportunity with Iron Fist's show to rectify that and foreground an Asian version of the character who has an authentic connection to the setting of Iron Fist's origin instead of co-opting it.
Out of all the Marvel heroes who actually could have benefited from race-swap casting, Iron Fist was the most obvious choice, yet the studio chose to avoid that golden opportunity. In doing so, they stacked the odds against Danny before his show even started. The end of season 2 tried to rectify this by setting Jessica Henwick's Colleen Wing up to be the new Iron Fist, but that only lasted for one scene before the show was canceled.
Since then, the third season of What If…? has also introduced an Asian Iron Fist in the form of Kwai Jun-Fan, a comic book predecessor to Danny Rand who was active in the 1800s. But he was just a young boy still, and the closest we got to actual confirmation of him being Iron Fist was the nudge-nudge-wink-wink moment when Kate Bishop says the boy has "some iron fists on him."
With the arrival of Jorani, Eyes of Wakanda has finally introduced an Asian Iron Fist to the MCU who exists beyond just one scene or name drop. It might not be in live-action, but that doesn't matter. Jorani is still a fully fleshed out character who plays an integral role in the show, and she's a badass to boot.
A new hope
For longtime fans of Iron Fist who were disappointed by his Marvel Netflix series, it's extremely gratifying to see Jorani impress in fight scenes actually worthy of the Iron Fist mantle. And it's strangely fitting that this would happen in Eyes of Wakanda, of all places.
After all, the series is wonderfully diverse already, expanding the Black Panther franchise with gorgeous animation inspired by Arnie Barnes and other Black artists. With the inclusion of Jorani, it's clear that this mission statement expands beyond African culture too.
For all the reasons mentioned prior, it's about time that an Asian Iron Fist took centre stage on screen, even if it's only in one episode for now. Moving forward, there's plenty of potential to see more of Jorani in an Eyes of Wakanda spinoff, or even a similar take on that format which highlights different Iron Fists throughout the centuries instead.
And why stop there? We already have an incredible Asian Iron Fist in live-action too thanks to Colleen Wing, who was always a more interesting character than Danny ever was. Henwick has often expressed interest in returning to the role, so now's the perfect time to bring Colleen back as the official Iron Fist alongside other returning Defenders Saga characters such as Jessica Jones in new seasons of Daredevil: Born Again. You don't need the cunning of the Hatut Zeraze or the smarts of Shuri to see that's a good idea.
Eyes of Wakanda is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more Marvel goodness, check out our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows, as well as how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
