Following What If…? season 3, Marvel Studios now has six different versions of the Iron Fist in the MCU, even though Finn Jones’ low-rated version of the iconic Marvel hero doesn’t yet have a confirmed future in live-action. What If…? season 3 put weird and wonderful spins on some of the MCU’s best-loved characters, including Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier, Agatha Harkness, Bruce Banner’s Hulk and Shang-Chi. The latter appeared in What If…? season 3, episode 6, “What If… 1872?,” and starred alongside a surprising new addition to the MCU.

What If…? season 3, episode 6, explored a reality in which several notable MCU characters existed in the Wild West of 1872. The story focused on Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye, two outlaws on the hunt for Shang-Chi’s sister, Xu Xialing, who turned out to be the infamous Hood, a villain soon to debut in the MCU’s Ironheart series. As well as developing these pre-established MCU characters, however, What If…? season 3, episode 6, also introduced the sixth known iteration of the Iron Fist to the MCU.

What If…? Debuted The MCU’s Sixth Known Iron Fist

A New Iron Fist Was Teased In What If…? Season 3, Episode 6, “What If… 1872?”

While on their mission across the nation in search of the Hood, hoping to save Xialing from his clutches, Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop, who sought revenge for the murder of her family, come across a decimated town and a young boy who identifies himself as Kwai Jun-Fan. Jun-Fan informs Shang-Chi and Hawkeye about Sonny Burch and his levitating train, carrying brainwashed immigrants who would form the Hood’s army, one of which is Jun-Fan’s father. At one point, Jun-Fan is even saved by the interfering Watcher, hinting at his evolution into someone of great significance.

Die-hard fans of Marvel Comics will know Kwai Jun-Fan as the man carrying the mantle of the Iron Fist circa 1878 in the Wild West, most prominently in Texas. What If…? season 3, episode 6, is set in 1872, so it’s very possible that, six years after his adventure with Shang-Chi and Kate Bishop, the young Jun-Fan would become the host of the Iron Fist. This was even teased at the end of the episode, as Hawkeye remarks that Jun-Fan has “got some iron fists,” and the Watcher teases that this is the “origin story of a new hero’s rise.”

Every Iron Fist In The MCU Before Kwai Jun-Fan

Netflix’s Iron Fist Series Confirmed At Least 5 Iron Fists In The MCU

Had Netflix’s Defenders Saga not been confirmed to be canon to the MCU’s main timeline in early 2024, Kwai Jun-Fan’s debut in What If…? season 3 would have been the first ever mention of the Iron Fist in the franchise. However, Marvel Television’s Iron Fist series, despite being one of Marvel’s lowest-rated projects, has already established the Iron Fist as a formidable hero, the protector of K’un-Lun and sworn enemy of the Hand. When first introduced, it’s Finn Jones’ Danny Rand who carries the Iron Fist, having battled the dragon, Shou-Lao, and received its power.

After abandoning his post guarding the gates to K’un-Lun and returning to New York City, Danny Rand used the Iron Fist to become a vigilante and a hero alongside the other Defenders, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. His former friends from K’un-Lun did not approve of this, however, so Davos tracked him down and set plans in motion to steal the Iron Fist, which he succeeded in doing. Soon after, however, Rand and Colleen Wing stole the Iron Fist back, but put it into the latter instead, allowing Colleen to become a new Iron Fist.

Netflix’s Iron Fist ended with both Colleen Wing and Danny Rand wielding the Iron Fist, the former using it to protect New York, and the latter traveling the world with Ward Meachum in search of the enigmatic Orson Randall. Iron Fist also confirmed the existence of at least two former hosts of the Iron Fist, however. One protected K’un-Lun from a lost group of Chinese soldiers in 1948, who was seen to be wielding the Fist with both hands, and the other was the fabled Wu Ao-Shi, the first female host of the Iron Fist.

In Marvel Comics, the first person to receive the powers of Shou-Lao (named Shou-Lou in the comics) was Fan Fei, a female K’un-Lun native who lived in 1,000,000 BC. After several more iterations, Wu Ao-Shi became the Iron Fist in 1545, followed by Bei Bang-Wen in the mid-1800s and Kwai Jun-Fan in the 1870s. Orson Randall, who hasn’t yet appeared in live-action, was the first Westerner to become the Iron Fist in the late-1800s, and he fought during World War I, long before Danny Rand would assume the mantle.

Why Iron Fist Was So Badly Received

Netflix’s Iron Fist Was A Disappointment For The Defenders Saga

While there is a great deal of excitement about Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal and more reprising their Defenders Saga roles in the MCU proper, there hasn’t been the same amount of glee about the prospect of seeing Finn Jones return as Danny Rand’s Iron Fist. Unfortunately, the legacy of the Iron Fist has been somewhat tainted by the poor reception to the Netflix series, which ran for two seasons in 2017 and 2018. Iron Fist was criticized for being too predictable, having a slow pace and featuring some lackluster fighting scenes.

Finn Jones’ lack of real fight choreography meant that Iron Fist’s action scenes were slow, dragged-out and seriously underwhelming. Iron Fist season 2 was a marked improvement, but was still disappointing. Perhaps this is why Marvel Studios has introduced Kwai Jun-Fan to the MCU in What If…?, and will introduce a new Iron Fist in the Eyes of Wakanda series, before Danny Rand’s return. Even so, it would be great to see Finn Jones, who was arguably perfect casting for Rand, get another shot at bringing the Iron Fist to life in the MCU.

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