History
The Book of the Iron Fist was created by the early Iron Fist, Quan Yaozu, to document the history and techniques of every Iron Fist.[1][2] Its parchment was made from the scales of Shou-Lao the Undying, which is why it glowed whenever an Iron Fist touched i, and its scriptures are only recorded in a text only decipherable to the Iron Fist and anyone who wrote in it.[2][3]
While ruling over the Eighth City, Quan would later tamper with the Book to orchestrate the death of every subsequent Iron Fist to siphon their chi for himself.[4]
Several hundreds years ago, an encounter between an unknown Iron Fist and Master Izo was recorded in the Book.[5] The existence of the Beast and the means of killing it were recorded in the Book as well.[6]
In 1933, Orson Randall stole the Book after he was stripped of his title for refusing to participate in the Tournament of the Heavenly Cities. Orson held onto the Book for decades while he was in hiding and passed it onto his successor Danny Rand to help him prepare for the next Tournament. After Orson's death and the Tournament's conclusion, Danny kept the Book.[7][8][9]
While studying the Book, Danny discovered that every Iron Fist listed in the Book except for Orson had died at the age of 33 just on the eve of his own 33rd birthday.[9] As it turned out, the Ch'i-Lin and its hosts would hunt down Iron Fists on their 33rd birthday for their hearts to gain access to Shou-Lao's egg in K'un-Lun, which it hoped to consume. Danny tried in vain to look for clues in the Book to defeat the Ch'i-Lin.[10]
After his girlfriend Misty Knight's pregnancy was determined to be false, Danny spent days studying the Book and discovered that an Immortal Weapon's chi could produce a false positive.[11]
When Danny was appointed as the new Thunderer, he introduced the Book of the Iron Fist to his potential successor Pei.[12] He would use a special technique from the Book to summon Pei when she was trapped in Kamaloka.[13]
The Book was stolen from Danny's vault by the Constrictor, who tried bartering for it with Choshin for money but talks fell through when Constrictor increased his price for it. Danny and Sabretooth confronted Constrictor and the Serpent Society at their hideout to reclaim the book just as Choshin, the Rat of 12 Plagues, Liwei, Eel of Blessed Waters, and Choshin's henchman arrived to take the Book by force. Constrictor fled with the Book in the confusion but was defeated and looted by Choshin and his allies, who used the preserved hand of Zhang Di to decipher the Book and create a portal to K'un-Lun to sack the city. Danny was able to recover the Book during the battle and used it to summon Shao-Lao back to the city to defeat Choshin.[14]
After he died and ended up in the Underworld, Orson uncovered Quan's treachery. He revealed this secret to Danny after he was killed by the Ch'i-Lin and arrived in the Underworld. Orson said that Danny had a chance to resurrect himself if he could take down Quan, who had reclaimed the Book after Danny's death.[15]Trivia
- While the Book of the Iron Fist states that every Iron Fist listed in its pages would die at the age of 33, with many of them being killed by the Ch'i-Lin, there have been several exceptions to this rule:[16]
- Quan Yaozu is said to have died in battle in the Book but he was trapped in the Eighth City for centuries and managed to live until the present day.[17][18]
- Orson Randall was about 33 years old when abandoned his position and injected himself with drugs to hide his presence from the Ch'i-Lin, becoming the first known Iron Fist to escape from it and live past the age of 33.[19]
- Danny Rand managed to be the first Iron Fist to defeat the Ch'i-Lin in battle on his 33rd birthday.[20] Unfortunately, he would meet his end to the demon on his 34th birthday after giving up his title.[21]
- In an alternate future, the adolescent aged Wah Sing-Rand died in battle against President Xing.[22]
- Fongji Wu left Earth, never to be seen again, making it extremely unlikely she was killed by the Ch'i-Lin.[23]
- Resourceful Snake was still alive and residing on Liu-Shi in the present day.[24]
- Zhang Di was killed by the H'ylthri rather than the Ch'i-Lin.[25]
- It is never stated of how Gale died, although her presence does contradict a further detail from the Book.
- The history detailed in Book of the Iron Fist has been contradicted several times. According to Orson Randall, the Book had hidden many details to its readers.[15]
- Quan Yaozu's status as the "first" Iron Fist would be contradicted by the revelation that the first Iron Fist was Fan Fei circa 1,000,000 BC.[26][27]
- Even though Orson Randall was described as the first outsider to be an Iron Fist, the Atlantean princess Gale being the Iron Fist during the 11th century contradicts this.[28][29][30]
- The Book lists Wu Ao-Shi as the last woman to be an Iron Fist in 1545 AD despite the existence of Fongji Wu in 1596 AD.[31][32]
- The Book makes no mention of Resourceful Snake, who even managed to live well past the age of 33 and into the present day. However, his omission was likely due to his short tenure and having his title involuntarily stripped from him.[24]
See Also
- 19 appearance(s) of Book of the Iron Fist
- 8 mention(s) of Book of the Iron Fist
- 1 image(s) of Book of the Iron Fist
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Undead Iron Fist #2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Immortal Iron Fist #5
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #8
- ↑ Undead Iron Fist #1–3
- ↑ Daredevil (Vol. 2) #113
- ↑ Daredevil (Vol. 2) #510
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #5–6
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #8–9
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Immortal Iron Fist #16
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #18–19
- ↑ I Am an Avenger #1
- ↑ Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #12
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fists #6
- ↑ Iron Fist (Vol. 5) #73–77
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Undead Iron Fist #1–2
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #16–20
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #22–23
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #25
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #16–19
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #20
- ↑ Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 Happy Birthday, Danny
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #21
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 2) #27
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Iron Fist (Vol. 5) #3
- ↑ Iron Fist (Vol. 5) #75
- ↑ Marvel Legacy #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #13
- ↑ King Thor #4
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 8) #61
- ↑ Wakanda #3
- ↑ Immortal Iron Fist #7
- ↑ Avengers vs. X-Men #6