On September 7th, Marvel fans will have a fresh dose of new content to sink their teeth into when both Spider-Man PS4 and Iron Fist Season 2 launch simultaneously worldwide. While we’ve seen more than enough footage from Insomniac Games highly anticipated title, Netflix has kept details on Iron Fist’s new season under wraps until now.
Having already seen the first six episodes of the upcoming season, I can personally say that so far Iron Fist Season 2 is already significantly better than it’s predecessor. Here are a few spoiler-free reasons why this season might be worth watching when it debuts on Netflix in a few short weeks.
Stronger Lead Protagonist
One of the significant points of criticism with Iron Fist Season 1 stemmed from Finn Jones portrayal of Danny Rand. While some considered his casting controversial, the overall character had several issues dealing with uncertainty, presentation, and weak dialogue choices when encountered by friends and foes. It’s worth stating that the first season also had to function as an origin story for Iron Fist and usually these characters tend to get more interesting only after their backstory explanations end.
In the case of Iron Fist Season 2, Finn Jones does a better job at conveying the trials and tribulations that Iron Fist must face as one of New York City’s sworn protectors. Because of the promise he made to Daredevil at the end of The Defenders, the character now serves a higher purpose, and the audience will be able to witness the weight of this responsibility on his shoulders throughout the entire season. Facing ups and downs certainly can cause one to evolve, and we are guaranteed to get that from our lead protagonist this upcoming season.
Better Villains
Another major criticism that stood out to me during the first season of Iron Fist was the inconsistent and weak choices of villains from start to finish. While one could argue that Bakuto, Madam Gao, and The Hand were all formidable threats, the addition of the Meachum family and the ongoing business drama involving Rand Enterprises soured the overall experience and dragged down what could have at the very least been an above average season.
While the Meachums are expected to appear in Iron Fist Season 2, the focus shifts towards Davos (played by Sacha Dhawan) which succeeds in giving Danny both a personal and challenging obstacle to overcome. The conflict between the two friends started last season, and now that Davos has a power that is right on par with the Iron Fist, their impending showdown is expected to be nothing short of brutal and intense. Even more interesting than this is the fact that Davos isn’t the only adversary as another was teased recently on the Iron Fist Twitter account. We definitely will revisit this topic in our review once the season is out but needless to say, the villains are more intriguing this season and are guaranteed to keep our heroes on their toes at all times.
Cool Cameos
Shortly after the events that took place in Marvel’s The Defenders, Danny Rand made a cameo appearance in Luke Cage Season 2 with the intent of helping his friend stop Bushmaster’s violent reign of terror. While this short guest appearance never materialized into an actual fight between the duo and the sympathetic supervillain, there was no denying that both heroes had great chemistry together on-screen, leaving the door wide open for a full-fledged Heroes for Hire series should Marvel and Netflix decide to take that route later on.
In Iron Fist Season 2, fans can expect Misty Knight to make an appearance on the show. Her involvement was a given since Luke Cage Season 2 when Danny sent her a bionic arm and Colleen Wig (played by Jessica Henwick) showed up briefly to check on her. Misty was without a doubt one of the most interesting characters on that show and her story arc over the course of the entire season succeeded in transforming her into the stronger protagonist that she aimed to be. Given that I’ve only seen six episodes of Iron Fist Season 2, it’s hard to gauge which other guest appearances might happen, but if you’re a fan of Misty Knight, then you’ll gain satisfaction by seeing her return.
Better Fight Sequences
Marvel’s Daredevil is not only the best Netflix series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s also widely praised for its high-intensity fight sequences. Given that Iron Fist is considered a martial arts expert, one would assume that phenomenal fight sequences would be the single most substantial aspect of the series. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the first season and fans have been very vocal about their disappointment in this category.
In what I’ve seen so far from Iron Fist Season 2, I can personally say that the fight choreography sequences are better in almost every way imaginable. Finn Jones has gone on record publically to say that all of the actors performed a majority of the fights seen this season with very little use of stunt doubles. They also hired on Black Panther Fight Coordinator Clayton J. Barber and succeeded in channeling a real old school Kung Fu stylized approach to combat. Fans can expect every altercation to feel more natural in context and keep the excitement level high throughout.
The following concludes my opinion piece on why Marvel’s Iron Fist Season 2 is significantly better than the first. Stay tuned for our full spoiler-free review later this month.
Marvel’s Iron Fist Season 2 debuts globally on Netflix starting September 7th. Are any of you planning on checking out the new season? Please feel free to let us know your thoughts on Iron Fist and the other Netflix Marvel shows in the comments section below.
