History Characters / MCUDefenders

* ColorMotif: All defenders have their own colors frequently used as ColorWash or in uniforms. Matt uses red, Luke yellow, and Danny green. Jessica starts her series with Kilgrave's purple but ditches it for blue (with an occasional flash of purple) by the time of The Defenders.

** Luke is working with Misty Knight to track down Cole, after Cole's brother becomes the most recent victim in a string of murders in Harlem of young men who are getting recruited into a mysterious well-paying job associated with the Hand and then get killed off very shortly thereafter. He and Danny end up encountering each other while coming upon a “clean-up” project sponsored by The Hand. After Luke and Danny get into a fight caused by Luke interrupting Danny's attempt to interrogate Cole, Claire and Colleen get them into the Chikara dojo and force them to realize they're on the same side.

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Heroic Organizations > '''Defenders & Their Allies''' ([[Characters/MCUDaredevil Daredevil]] | [[Characters/MCUJessicaJones Jessica Jones]] | [[Characters/MCULukeCage Luke Cage]] | [[Characters/MCUIronFist Iron Fist]]) -]]]

[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Heroic Organizations > '''Defenders & Their Allies''' ([[Characters/MCUDaredevil Daredevil]] | [[Characters/MCUJessicaJones Jessica Jones]] | [[Characters/MCULukeCage Luke Cage]] | [[Characters/MCUIronFist Iron Fist]] | [[Characters/MCUThePunisher The Punisher]] | [[Characters/MCUKarenPage Karen Page]]) -]]]

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[[center: [- [[Characters/MarvelCinematicUniverse Main Character Index]] > Heroic Organizations > '''The Defenders''' ([[Characters/MCUDaredevil Daredevil]] | [[Characters/MCUJessicaJones Jessica Jones]] | [[Characters/MCULukeCage Luke Cage]]) | [[Characters/MCUDefendersAllies Allies]] -]]]

!!''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/defenders_2.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300:'''Stick:''' You think the four of you can save New York? You can't even save yourselves.]]-]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}''

->''"More death is coming, and the only thing keeping Manhattan from crumbling into a pile of dust is the four of you."''
-->-- '''Stick'''

A team of street level heroes defending the mean streets of New York from more grounded threats.
----
[[folder:General]]
* TenMinuteRetirement:
** Jessica [[RefusalOfTheCall Refuses The Call]] when she gets overwhelmed by [[TheReveal the massive amount of information being hurled at her]] in the restaurant. A few hours later she finds out the Hand are watching Raymond's family, so returns to the restaurant just in time for the fight.
** Matt at the start of the show hasn't done anything Daredevil-related since telling Karen his secret, out of guilt over Elektra's death and also over losing Nelson & Murdock. While getting ready for a court appearance, he briefly pauses mid-rehearsal when he hears a fight breaking out, but relaxes when he hears the police arriving to defuse the situation and resumes his rehearsing. After the earthquake, the amount of cries for help overwhelms him and he can't resist running to stop some looters and a store owner trying to shoot them with a shotgun.
* AlliterativeName: '''M'''att '''M'''urdock and '''J'''essica '''J'''ones.
* AntiHeroTeam: They're a much darker, morally grey team compared to the Avengers.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Despite living through [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the Incident]], to say nothing of their own super powers and dealings with the Hand, Kilgrave, and Diamondback respectively, Matt, Jessica, and Luke have a hard time believing in Danny's super powers.
-->'''Jessica:''' What are you on, lithium?
* BadassCrew: Composed of four of New York's deadliest fighters.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Matt and Danny have a few fights where they have to fight in civilian clothing, hence, suits and ties.
* BloodKnight: One trait that they all share in common. They are all broken people who have violent tendencies.
* CanonImmigrant: The MCU version of the Defenders made it into the mainstream comics, featuring the same quartet.
* CivvieSpandex: Matt is the only member that wears a superhero outfit, the rest wear ordinary clothes.
* ColorMotif: All defenders have their own colors frequently used as ColorWash or in uniforms. Matt uses red, Luke yellow, and Danny green. Jessica starts her series with Kilgrave's purple, but ditches it for blue (with an occasional flash of purple) by the time of The Defenders.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience:
** Matt is associated with the color red. His necktie, glasses, cane, and Daredevil armor are all red. While we don't see it here, we know that he sees the world in red flames, and his motif evokes a lot of imagery of rage and punishment. His scenes, such as the church, are shot with red colors.
** Jessica is connected with tones of blue - but no longer purple (except for a flash in her intro), due to her triumph over Kilgrave. Scenes focusing on her tend to look cold and unwelcoming, but her scenes which don't focus on her tend to show blue, hopeful colors, like the sky. She mostly wears entirely black clothing, except for her blue jeans, and scenes featuring her tend to feature blue furnishings and blue-filtered light or water.
** Luke has a lot of warm, welcoming yellow colors in his scenes - he wears a yellow shirt, his hoodie has yellow accents, and he's introduced wearing an orange jumpsuit. His scenes show a lot of natural sunlight or lights through yellow shades, and most furnishings in his scenes are yellow or a light wood.
** Danny primarily is shown with green, a very rich color, and he is the Defender with the most money. He wears green sweaters or jackets, his scenes such as Colleen’s dojo tend to have a lot of green hues, and his employees are also aware enough to compliment his company's green office space with green shirts.
** Fittingly, the Royal Dragon where the four of them regroup, rest, and eventually decide to work together has all of the above colors in its decor and lighting. Even the neon dragon sign is lit only with red, blue, yellow, and green bulbs.
* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames: Only Matt and Danny go by actual superhero codenames.
** Jessica turned down the idea of the codename "Jewel".
** Luke has been casually called "Power Man" as a [[MythologyGag tongue and cheek reference to the comics]] but typically he simply goes by "Luke Cage". [[spoiler: Of course, "Luke Cage" in and of itself is an alias taken to disguise his true identity as Carl Lucas, so technically he ''is'' using a codename after all]].
** "The Defenders" is never actually brought up InUniverse, despite not only being the name of the series but also its final episode (much like in ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', where in its own respective titular episode the codename ''was'' first brought up).
* CompositeCharacter: Bears the name of the Defenders, but the "street-level" themed team more closely resemble the ComicBook/HeroesForHire or the Marvel Knights.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: They're presented - first in their own individual shows and in this show - as gritty and urban crimefighters as opposed to the planet-level Avengers and the space-level Guardians.
* TheCowl: In contrast to the Avengers [[TheCape who get to show off their heroics in public, saving lives and getting wide recognition]]. The Defenders hunt down criminals and typically sneak about in an effort to keep a low profile. Even with Luke and Danny who lean towards TheCape with the hope they inspire, they still primarily operate by barging in on the villain's turf and bringing them down.
* DeadpanSnarker: An entire team of them. Jessica, being the most cynical of the group, puts extra emphasis on deadpan.
* DysfunctionJunction: Each of the four team members has a DarkAndTroubledPast:
** Matt was blinded in a car accident when he was nine years old. His boxer father was killed shortly thereafter for refusing to take a dive.
** Jessica lost her family, had to live with Trish's abusive mom, and has PTSD because she spent almost a year being mind-controlled by a sociopath.
** Luke is an ex-Marine who later became a sheriff's deputy, then got framed for murder by his own half-brother. While in prison, he got subjected to beatdowns, was forced to fight in an underground boxing ring, and got his powers in a special experimental operation meant to save his life. He then broke out and spent the next few years on the run.
** Danny is a billionaire heir whose parents were murdered by his dad's business partner. He has PTSD from surviving the same plane crash where he watched them die. The monks who raised him didn't help, as they beat him with sticks and taught him to suppress his childhood trauma instead of facing it.
** As Stick puts it:
--->'''Stick:''' You think the four of you can save New York? You can't even save yourselves.
* FightsLikeANormal: All of them, except perhaps Luke, predominantly rely on ordinary punches when fighting crime. Though Danny can enhance his with the Iron Fist when required.
* FireForgedFriends: By the end of ''The Defenders,'' they become this: Jessica and Luke are true friends, Matt admits that he's glad to have met them all, Matt and Jessica manage to earn respect for one another and see how they are NotSoDifferent, Danny and Luke get a budding {{bromance}}, and Danny is inspired by Matt to [[spoiler: carry on his mission to protect the people of Hell's Kitchen and New York after Matt's HeroicSacrifice.]]
* {{Foil}}:
** The street level counterpart to the Avengers. The Avengers are composed of high-profile respected heroes, while the Defenders are made up of lesser known heroes with relatively [[TheEveryman normal civilian identities]] (aside from Danny) and have more [[AntiHeroTeam morally ambiguous reputations]]. Also, while the Avengers are more associated with [[TheCape protecting civilians and serve as a symbol of hope]], the Defenders are vigilantes who are better known for [[TheCowl punishing and striking fear into criminals]]. Furthermore, while the Avengers get the glory for stopping the major supervillain threat, the Defenders typically deal with the unforeseen consequences of the Avengers' victory (most notably the aftermath of the Chiaturi invasion). The Defenders also typically end up as {{Failure Hero}}es, receiving {{Bittersweet Ending}}s.
** Also the low-level Earth counterpart to the space-based Guardians of the Galaxy. The Guardians are a band of misfits and outlaws that ultimately show heroism and bravery worthy of their name, forge an unshakable bond that make them as close as family, and learn that GoodFeelsGood. Meanwhile, the Defenders are more eclectic group of cynical vigilantes and various flavors of ReluctantHero with their own experience in crime-fighting and have all learned that BeingGoodSucks.
* FourPhilosophyEnsemble: Danny is the Optimist, Jessica is the Cynic, Matt is the Realist, and Luke is the Apathetic.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble:
** Matt (Choleric) - Calm, focused, and the most mission-oriented. However, he prefers being a lone wolf and would rather not work as part of a team.
** Jessica (Melancholic) - [[GoodIsNotNice rude]], [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]], [[TheCynic cynical]], and definitely the most difficult team member to work with. She also got [[KnightInSourArmor drawn into the hero business unwillingly rather than by choice]].
** Luke (Phlegmatic) - kind and easy-going, but [[ReluctantHero initially preferred not getting involved in the hero business]].
** Danny (Sanguine) - the [[NiceGuy most compassionate and friendly]] of the Defenders, having a case of ChronicHeroSyndrome and actively looks out for the well-being of others.
* GeodesicCast: They form a team that contrasts with Film/{{the Avengers|2012}} and the Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy.
* GlassCannon:
** Jessica is strong, but she lacks the superhuman durability of Luke, the protective armor of Matt, or the defensive chi applications of Danny's powers, meaning she's still vulnerable to blades and gunfire and a car impact can badly weaken her until she recovers.
** Danny's not nearly as durable as Luke or Jessica, and doesn't have protective armor like Matt, but at full power, his punches can far exceed the former two's SuperStrength, as seen when [[spoiler:he punches the floor of the Rand boardroom hard enough to upheave everyone standing on it and blow out all the windows with the shockwave.]]
* HeartbrokenBadass:
** The trauma of Kilgrave is still hovering over Jessica, and her alcoholism has gotten worse. Her apartment is still damaged from the fight with Will Simpson.
** Matt is still mourning over Elektra's death, to the point that he's given up on being Daredevil completely. In the meantime, he's doing ''pro bono'' law work for disadvantaged people in Hell's Kitchen. He and Karen Page are back on speaking terms, but are not quite sure about resuming their romantic relationship. In the first episode, he is seen going to confessional and opening up to Father Lantom about how difficult Elektra's death has been on him:
--->'''Father Lantom:''' This other life you led. Is your heart still with it [Daredevil], or is your heart with the one who walked through it by your side?\\
'''Matt:''' Elektra?\\
'''Father Lantom:''' Yeah.\\
'''Matt:''' I do miss her. But how do I know that the things she brought out of me were wrong?\\
'''Father Lantom:''' From what you've told me about her, I think she'd be happy about how well you're doing. \\
'''Matt:''' Maybe. Or maybe she'd tell me I'm abandoning that life and with it, her memory.\\
'''Father Lantom:''' You're not abandoning Elektra, you don't have it in you. What you're doing, we call that 'moving on'. Purgatory is a place for the dead, Matthew, not the living. There's nothing wrong with letting people go. She'll find her peace. I pray you find yours as well.
* HeroesActVillainsHinder: A sharp contrast to their Avengers counterparts. These heroes don't wait around for the villain to make a move, and actively take steps in bringing an established successful villain down. They do so by picking off the villain's lowly minions, slowly working up the hierarchy, until being able to confront the BigBad themselves.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Not that Jessica is short (5'9), but the guys mostly tower over her (5'10 Matt, 6'0 Danny, 6'3 Luke). That being said, Jessica has SuperStrength powers that put her on-par with the others in terms of power.
* InNameOnly: They have nothing in common with the Defenders team in the comics which was far from "street level", originating with most members being powerhouses like The Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Dr Strange. If anything the MCU team more closely resemble the ComicBook/HeroesForHire, a for-profit superhero team founded by Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Basically, they are Heroes for Hire ''calling themselves'' "The Defenders".
* KnightInSourArmor: They've all been broken by the world around them, but they continue to fight for what they think is the right thing.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: Several of these.
** Jessica and Luke are forced to fight when Luke gets [[BrainwashedAndCrazy put under the control]] of Kilgrave, the fight ends with Jessica knocking Luke out with a point blank shotgun blast to the head.
** Luke and Danny fight each other the first time they meet, with Luke mistaking Danny interrogating a Hand member as a mugging. Danny ends up using the Iron Fist technique on Luke, which actually works.
** When Danny tries to leave the complex, Matt tries to keep him there for safety. Danny doesn't cooperate and attacks, leading Matt and Danny to fight it out, with Matt mostly kicking Danny's ass. The other Defenders intervene, to which Danny eventually knocks everyone back with the Iron Fist. However Jessica ends the fight by knocking Danny out with a punch to the face.
* MythologyGag: Matt and Jessica's first meeting, with Matt showing up while Jessica is being interrogated is a scene lifted right out of the comics, complete with the line "Jessica Jones, stop talking."
* NewYorkIsOnlyManhattan: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]. Every member of the Defenders is from the New York borough of Manhattan, which is where the events of ''The Defenders'' take place. Matt and Jessica were born and raised in Hell's Kitchen while Luke is a proud native of Harlem and Danny simply lives in Manhattan itself as opposed to a specific neighborhood.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: In a world of super beings, the Defenders are the "street level" heroes and far beneath the Avengers weight class, but they typically deal with villains and criminals with either less or no powers as well, hence are still able to be "super" in their own right.
* NotWearingTights: Unlike their comic counterparts, Daredevil is the only one who regularly wears a costume.
* OneManArmy: All of the Defenders are capable of serving as this, taking on whole squads of {{mook}}s on their own. The one time they couldn't fight the fight solo is when they are forced to form the team.
* OutsideContextProblem: As a group, to the Hand. While the organization had experience with fighting Daredevil in his own second season, and a long history of being opponents to the various Iron Fists, most of the opponents they had been fighting so far were the Chastes, who were regular humans with ninja training. The current Iron Fist being backed-up by a team of other superhumans is something entirely new for them, and clearly something they aren't prepared for.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The Defenders are usually a team of powerhouses and mystical heroes, while here they are composed of street level heroes.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits:
** As Stick brilliantly puts it in the trailer:
--->'''Stick:''' The [[RedBaron Devil of Hell's Kitchen]], the [[DeadpanSnarker smartass]] [[PrivateDetective detective]], the [[WrongfullyAccused righteous]] [[ClearMyName ex-con]], and [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the kid]] [[KiManipulation with a glowing fist]].
** Danny joins in too:
--->'''Danny:''' We make quite a team.\\
'''Jessica:''' No?\\
'''Danny:''' What are you talking about? [[ImmuneToBullets Bulletproof]] (Luke), [[HandicappedBadass blind]] [[FightsLikeANormal ninja]] (Matt), [[AndZoidberg whatever it is you are]] (Jessica).\\
'''Jessica:''' [[SarcasmMode Classy]].
* RedOniBlueOni: Jessica and Danny are the hot-headed and reckless Red to Luke and Matt's rational and controlled Blue.
* SimilarSquad: The team holds a roster of similar roles to The Avengers.
** Matt fills the role of Iron Man. Being the premiere hero and BreakoutCharacter, first introduced in their respective franchises. Both excel at their day jobs which allow them to be both heroes in their secret identities and their alter egos. Both are one of the possible leaders for their respective SuperTeam, while both were also given their superhero codenames by the media.
** Danny takes after Thor. Both are from a mystical culture that are [[ProudWarriorRace trained to fight]], with their powers derived from mystical means, and has [[FishOutOfWater trouble adapting to modern society]]. Both also have the most personal connection with the BigBad that caused the team to form for the first time.
** Luke is in the seat for Captain America. Both were experimented on to be {{Super Soldier}}s and have their physical attributes enhanced to superhuman levels. Both are idealistic heroes who want to see the goodness in people. Luke is even called "Harlem's Captain America" by Cottonmouth.
** Jessica is in the seat of Black Widow. Both are (initially) the sole female members of their teams, but can kick ass just as fine as the other members. Additionally, both have a DarkAndTroubledPast and have dealt with being BrainwashedAndCrazy.
** Stick is the stand-in for Nick Fury. The defacto mentors of the team who inform them of their purpose and guide them through their mission. Both have eye-sight problems, both are leaders of an organisation[[note]]SHIELD for Nick Fury, The Chaste for Stick[[/note]] that rivals the villains organisation[[note]]HYDRA for Avengers and The Hand for Defenders[[/note]], and both have resorted to morally questionable means.
** The only member of the core Avengers who's absent is a Bruce Banner/Hulk figure.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: [[WideEyedIdealist Danny]] -> Luke -> Matt -> [[TheCynic Jessica]].
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Jessica's and Luke's SuperStrength as well as the latter's NighInvulnerable skin are glossed over in some fights. Although one could make an argument that the Hand's members are somewhat superhuman themselves considering their resurrection and enhancements, the same people then also fight on par with BadassNormal's like Colleen or Matt. {{Justified|Trope}} in Luke's case: Stick says he could do a lot more damage if he didn't pull his punches, but Luke says he doesn't want to kill anybody. In fact, he very likely would've been able to subdue Elektra if Stick hadn't gassed him with that incense.
* SuperStrength:
** Luke and Jessica's main [[JustForPun strength]].
** Danny when he's using the Iron Fist.
* SuperheroSpeciation: Played with, as most of the Defenders powers amount to some form of hitting people.
** Jessica and Luke have superhuman strength as their main powers. Matt and Danny have vastly different powers (super-senses, the Iron Fist) but use martial arts as their main mode of attack.
** On the other hand, Jessica is not bulletproof like Luke (Audrey Eastman called her bluff), but can run more quickly and jump higher than he. Although Matt doesn't have Danny's mystic abilities, he makes up for it with his [[SuperSenses heightened senses]].
** In a way, the whole team forms a spectrum from BadassNormal to flat-out superpowered:
*** Matt Murdock is essentially just a BadassNormal. He has SuperSenses as well, but they don't augment Stick's training. He's also the only member to use weaponry (his billy clubs and escrima sticks).
*** Danny Rand uses Supernatural Martial Arts (see below). While the Iron Fist gives him some level of Super Strength[=/=]EnhancedPunch, he usually FightsLikeANormal.
*** Luke Cage is a MightyGlacier. He has Super Strength, is ImmuneToBullets, and has a HealingFactor and SuperToughness in case anything ''does'' get through his skin. He also [[EmpoweredBadassNormal was a Marine]] but doesn't use his skills much.
*** Jessica Jones is a FlyingBrick. She has Super Strength, Super Toughness (though not as much as Luke), a Healing Factor, and [[NotQuiteFlight "guided falling"]]. However, she [[UnskilledButStrong doesn't know any fighting techniques]].
---->'''Jessica:''' Jesus, am I the only one left who doesn't know karate?!
* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: They deal with the smaller threats local to New York that get overlooked by the Avengers.
* SupportingProtagonist: Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. Despite the ''Defenders'' series being billed as a superhero team-up, and all four heroes getting equal screentime, it mostly revolves around Matt, Danny, and the mystical war between the descendants of K'un-Lun. Once the initial incidents draw them into the investigation, Luke and Jessica are mostly muscle, and their MythArc about [=IGH=] and Reva's experiments go unmentioned and unrelated to the Hand's plan.
* TheTeam: When faced with a threat that none of them can deal with on their own, they band together to fight in the "War for New York".
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Much like the Avengers, they don't all get along with each other immediately. Jessica was weirded out by Matt when he abruptly shows up in her life, while Luke and Danny get into a fight with each other. Jessica also keeps her cold snarky attitude towards the rest of the team.
* ThouShaltNotKill: As noted in their individual sections, all four of them have codes about killing their enemies, though to varying degrees; Matt openly touts it as his number-one rule and even goes out of his way to prevent allies from landing kills. Luke also actively refuses to kill and has to restrain himself during fights to avoid landing fatal blows on his opponents. Jessica killed Reva on Kilgrave's orders, and only killed Kilgrave after all other non-fatal attempts to stop him failed. Danny almost killed Harold Meachum but was spared the blood of murder by Ward showing up to finish him off. [[spoiler:After all the atrocities that the Hand commit while coming after them, and with their global power and influence, the Defenders ultimately conclude that they have no choice but to ''kill'' the Five Fingers of the Hand just to make the nightmare stop.]]
* TheThreeFacesOfAdam: Danny is The Hunter (righteous, but naive), Matt is The Lord (represents the law) and Luke is The Prophet (the everyman from the streets).
* TrueCompanions: As much as Luke and Jessica don't want to admit it, they do end up becoming this to Danny and Matt. Colleen says that she and the Defenders are starting to fill the hole that the death of Danny's parents left him with, which means that they're as important to Danny as Colleen is. Later, Matt admits that while he wished the circumstances of meeting them were different, he is ultimately glad that he managed to find people like him.
* TokenMinority: Luke is the sole non-white Defender. Matt could also be included, as he is the only one with a physical disability thanks to his blindness. Jessica is also the sole female member.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: Luke and Jessica have some shade of this, as Jessica still shows some level of attraction to Luke, but he's currently hooked up with Claire.
* WeakButSkilled: Compared to Luke and Jessica, this is Matt and Danny. Danny has access to super-strength when he wields the Iron Fist, but that's inconsistent. Matt is this again compared to Danny, which he demonstrates by [[LetsYouAndHimFight handing Danny his ass]] before taking cover from the Fist.
* WhiteMaleLead: Matt is the most conventionally super-heroic of the four, while the Hand's scheme was started in ''Daredevil'' season 2 and ''Iron Fist'' season 1. [[spoiler: Matt even symbolically passes the torch to Danny at the end, despite his competence having been called into question through most of the series.]] Jessica and Luke have some cool moments, but have to be brought in to help via cases that are tangential to the plot.
* WorkingClassHero: All of them save for Danny come from these roots. Matt comes from a working-class background and mostly handles ''pro bono'' legal work for disadvantaged people in Hell's Kitchen who can't afford the higher-priced firms. Luke deals with street crime in Harlem. Jessica is a private investigator who has clients of all backgrounds, both rich and poor.
* WorkingTheSameCase: Each of the four are investigating the criminal activities of the Hand, and find themselves in Midland Circle at the same time.
** Jessica is tracking down John Raymond, after receiving a threatening call from someone using a voice scrambler to not take the case. When John kills himself rather than let Elektra kill him, she gets brought in by Misty, who caught her stealing evidence from the crime scene. Matt gets dragged in through this case as Foggy sends him to be Jessica's attorney, and he follows her to Midland Circle.
** Luke is working with Misty Knight to track down Cole, after Cole's brother becomes the most recent victim in a string of murders in Harlem of young men who are getting recruited into a mysterious well-paying job associated with the Hand and then get killed off very shortly thereafter. He and Danny end up encountering each other while coming upon a “clean-up” project sponsored by The Hand. After Luke and Danny get into a fight caused by Luke interrupting Danny's attempt to interrogate Cole, Claire and Colleen get them into the Chikara dojo and force them to realize they're on the same side.
** Danny and Colleen are already investigating the Hand, and have had a setback when, while following up on a lead in Cambodia, Elektra attacks them, wounds Danny, and kills the man they were seeking to get information out of.
* YouAllMeetInACell: Matt and Jessica meet when Matt, out of the blue, shows up to provide impromptu legal counsel while Misty is interrogating her.
* YouAllMeetInAnInn: PlayedWith. They don't all actually meet up in the Royal Dragon, but immediately after all four do meet in Midland Circle, they run into the Royal Dragon to lay low. Danny convinces the owner to let them stay by paying his rent for the next six months, and ordering "four of everything." Stick finds them shortly thereafter, and thus begins an InfoDump that sets up our heroes teaming up to defeat the Hand.
[[/folder]]
----
!!Members
[[index]]
* [[Characters/MCUDaredevil Matt Murdock / Daredevil ]]
* [[Characters/MCUJessicaJones Jessica Jones]]
* [[Characters/MCULukeCage Luke Cage]]
[[/index]]

[[folder:Danny Rand / Iron Fist]]
!!''Daniel Thomas Rand-K'ai / ComicBook/IronFist''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mcu_iron_fist_5.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I '''am''' the weapon."'']]
!!!'''Species:''' Enhanced human
!!!'''Citizenship:''' American, K'un-Lunan
!!!'''Affiliation(s):''' Rand Enterprises, The Bombers, Order of the Crane Mother, Chikara Dojo, Royal Al Moving, Defenders
!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/FinnJones, Jeremy Lanuti (teen), Toby Nichols (young)
!!!'''Voiced By:''' Juan Pablo Muñoz (Latin-America Chilean Spanish dub), Fabrício Vila Verde (Brazilian Portuguese dub)
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/{{Iron Fist|2017}}'' | ''Series/{{The Defenders|2017}}'' | ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'' [[note]]([[Recap/LukeCage2016S2E10TheMainIngredient S2E10 "The Main Ingredient"]])[[/note]]

-->''"I'm still trying to figure out who I'm gonna be as the Iron Fist. Lei Kung taught me that I was a powerful weapon... a flame meant to destroy our enemies. But I keep thinking that... maybe I can be something else. A light... for those trapped in the darkness."''

The wealthy heir to the New York-based Rand Enterprises who went missing years ago over an uncharted region in Asia in a plane crash that killed his mother and father. In truth, Danny was taken in by monks from a [[HiddenElfVillage rumored mystical city]] known as "K'un-Lun", where he was trained in the ways of SupernaturalMartialArts. Now Danny fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his incredible kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the power of the fiery Iron Fist.
----

* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: While the life of Danny Rand in the comics was no picnic, he generally kept a sane head on his shoulders and was known for his amiable, jovial, open-minded, social, laid-back, and casual joking personality. ''This'' Danny is more obviously suffering from the trauma he endured (and had to suppress) during his time in K'un-Lun, and as a result is much more serious and straight-forward and impulsive and hot-blooded. [[spoiler: He gets better in time for his cameo in season 2 of ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', the explanation being that he's finally acclimated to modern society.]]
* AdaptationOriginConnection: Danny, K'un-Lun, and the Iron Fist have ''nothing'' to do with the Hand in the comics, save for a few fights here or there, while here the Hand are directly tied to K'un-Lun and the Iron Fist is seemingly bestowed for the sole purpose of keeping them out of K'un-Lun.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Danny has obvious parallels with both Creator/ChristopherNolan's [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy Bruce Wayne]] and Series/{{Arrow}}'s Oliver Queen; an heir to a powerful company who vanished and was declared dead, only to reappear with finely honed combat skills on a crusade to purge first his company and eventually his hometown of evil which has corrupted it.
* AMFMCharacterization: He's a fan of hip hop music, including Music/DrDre, Music/{{Outkast}}, Music/CampLo, Music/KillahPriest, Music/TheCoolKids, and Music/AndersonPaak.
* AmbiguousDisorder: He hallucinated his sifu, spoke to his hallucinations as if they're real, and has PTSD-like flashbacks when he freaked out. [[spoiler:This intensified in ''Iron Fist'' Season 1's finale after Harold frames him and Gao breaks him with her speech.]]
* AmbiguousSituation: It's never really explained how he got [[spoiler:the Iron Fist back during the Season 2 finale without taking it from Colleen. If the show hadn't been cancelled, it likely would have been explained how he got them back.]]
* AmicableExes: [[spoiler:With Colleen at the end of season two. They still love each other, but with Danny giving up the Iron Fist and Colleen taking it in his stead, they decide they need some time apart to find themselves.]]
* AwesomeYetImpractical: The Iron Fist power that Danny can summon is ''devastating'', but can only be used sparingly due to it draining Danny's chi and requiring time to build the energy back up. This leaves him unable to use it a few times during the first season of his own show.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: He's the youngest of the Defenders. Since he's also the most naive (though he's grown a bit since his own series) and impetuous, Stick frequently calls him "The Kid".
* BackToBackBadass: Does this with Davos when they try to break out of the Hand complex.
* BadassBeard: Danny gives Thor's a run for its money.
* BadassInANiceSuit: He can kick ass while wearing a corporate attire. A great example would be when he confronted the Hand in the Midland Circle and met the other Defenders in the process.
* BarefistedMonk: He fights with his bare fists. It's probably because any sparring gloves or hand wraps will impede the Iron Fist.
* BarefootLoon: He [[BarefootPoverty couldn't afford shoes]] after his time in K'un Lun, and it makes him look like a crazy vagrant. He continues ditching his shoes, in line with martial arts traditions, whenever possible throughout season 1 and ''The Defenders''. But by season 2, he's grown out of it and always wears socks when seen without his shoes (Out of universe explanation probably being due to Finn Jones's numerous tattoos on his ankles and feet.) That said, he still retains a quirk or two about it - he removes his shoes when entering Pop's Barber Shop, an Asian tradition that nonetheless confuses Luke, and he's earned the infamous nickname "the barefoot billionaire", hinting that he ''still'' does it in public now and again.
* BashBrothers:
** With Davos back in K'un Lun.
** With Luke, post ''Defenders'', even improvising [[CombinationAttack coordinated maneuvers with Luke's strength and Danny's chi powered strikes.]]
* BattleCouple: With Colleen in the second half of the first season.
* BenevolentBoss: He made sure that, even as a factory payload were all being laid off, they were all compensated at great financial loss to Rand Enterprises.
* BerserkButton: Probably because of the extreme way in which he was taught, Danny becomes enraged when he sees Colleen's students slacking off and joking during practice, saying they were disrespecting the Dojo.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Among the Defenders, he's the cheeriest member you'll meet despite him having suffered comparable trauma during his youth, with his temper having a very high threshold. He also hits the hardest once that threshold is breached.
* BigEater: Luke is astounded how much a scrawny guy like him can eat. Danny explains he needs to in order to replenish his chi.
* BroughtDownToBadass: For half of second season, he loses the Iron Fist [[spoiler:after Davos steals it for himself]] but he remains a highly skilled martial artist without it. [[spoiler:And at the end of the season, when they have the chance to take it back, he insists on Colleen taking it, leaving him a BadassNormal to the end. At least until the epilogue.]]
* ButtMonkey: Having easily the goofiest-sounding backstory of the Defenders does him no favors when everyone introduces themselves, and they keep ragging him on it for the rest of the show.
* TheCape: Compared to the other Defenders, Danny goes out of his way to check on the wellbeing of civilians and tries to inspire hope in them, having a case of ChronicHeroSyndrome even at the risk of damaging the reputation of his day job. However he does have TheCowl aspect to him towards The Hand, whom he will ruthlessly hunt down if significantly motivated.
* CassandraTruth: Try as he might, Danny cannot convince anyone he got the Iron Fist by punching a dragon. He even calls Luke on this one during their second team-up.
* CastFromCalories: His chi requires a lot of energy to summon so he needs to eat a lot to recharge. Luke is amazed at how someone so skinny can keep on eating long after everyone else is full.
* CatchPhrase: "I am the (Immortal) Iron Fist." He says it so often that Colleen actually makes a joke out of it.
* CelibateHero: Danny took a self-imposed vow of chastity to further reduce the amount of distractions that stood in the way of his training. Colleen gets him out of this. He's also notably the only Defender to not have any kind of romance with Claire since even Jessica had some mock flirting with her.
* CharacterDevelopment: Starts off his solo series as a naive, reckless IdiotHero who is little more than a ruthless instrument for K'un-Lun. In ''The Defenders'', he starts to realize that just beating people up as the Iron Fist isn't enough and actively uses his wealth and business connections to fight the Hand and by the end, embraces New York as his new home and [[spoiler: inspired to become a full-fledged superhero by Matt's presumed death.]]
** Continues in season two of ''Luke Cage'', being calmer and more mature and introspective. Luke even [[InvokedTrope comments on it,]] saying that Danny seems more "settled."
* ChildhoodFriends: With Joy Meachum but not with Ward Meachum, who frequently antagonized, belittled, and bullied him. By Season 2 it has reversed, Joy has become an enemy of his while Ward became friends with him. Also with Davos, who was his first (and probably only) friend in K'un-Lun, but they also fell out by the end of Season 1, with Davos swearing vengeance on his former best friend.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: He can't help but do the absolute squeaky clean right thing, even if it is in direct opposition to his company's interests. He used his 51% shareholder status to make Rand Enterprises sell drugs "at cost", while he directly apologizes to a possible victim of Rand Enterprise pollution which got filmed and went viral.
* CivvieSpandex: He really wear his comic book costume consisting of a yellow mask and green tights. He wore a gi and the yellow mask when fighting Davos for the Iron Fist in K'un-Lun but never brought it back after returning to New York. He mostly fights in regular, civillian clothing, and as seen BadassInANiceSuit above, suits.
* CombatSadomasochist: Downplayed. He enjoys getting hurt in combat because it keeps him focused and it gives him a brief sense of purpose.
* ComicallySmallBribe: Jeri Hogarth once secretly cussed at an unbearable superior of hers back while she was still an intern at Rand Enterprises... while a young Danny was in earshot. She gave him five dollars to stay mum about it. Keep in mind, he's the son of her billionaire boss.
* ConservationOfNinjutsu: He's a OneManArmy LightningBruiser who can easily take out a group of {{Mooks}} with ease. The only fights he struggles with are individual opponents with comparable skills to his like Davos, Bakuto, and Zhou Cheng.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: All of the previous Defenders had [[TheEveryman relatively normal civilian identities]], while Danny is well-known as the heir to Rand Enterprises. All of the other Defenders gained their abilities through unwilling scientific accidents and/or experiments, Danny trained his entire life to gain his powers through mystical means. The rest of the Defenders excel at their day jobs (Matt is a CrusadingLawyer, Jessica is a GreatDetective, Luke is proficient at the [[NewJobsAsThePlotDemands various casual jobs he's taken up]]), while Danny is a hopeless CEO. Finally, all the other Defenders serve as TheCowl with criminals being terrified as they get hunted down, while Danny leans more towards playing TheCape and tries to inspire hope among civilians, even though The Hand [[TheDreaded still fear him]].
* CoolCar: In episode 5 he's shown driving an Aston Martin [=DB11=].
* CrimefightingWithCash: Whenever Danny can't defeat an enemy with brute force, he turns to his wealth and resources.
** He offers to pay for the rent of Coleen's dojo in exchange for her help.
** He uses Rand enterprises resources to track down the Hand's headquarters at Midland Circles, then uses his authority position to arrange a meeting with the board, to which he fights the Alexandra's Hand minions head on.
** To hide from the Hand, the Defenders take refuge in the Royal Dragon, where to owners cooperate after Danny offers to pay for their rent for a year.
** While working with Luke, he buys the land rights to a drug warehouse they burn down, meaning no-one's going to press charges for it.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He's rash, impulsive, tends to act without thinking and is quite naive. He's also a kung-fu master.
* CunningLinguist: He's fluent both in his native English and Chinese Mandarin. In addition, he was able to read an ancient Tibetan language that is considered dead to the rest of the world outside K'un-Lun.
* DeadpanSnarker: He wouldn't be a Defender if he wasn't one of these, but he's the least venomous.
* {{Depower}}: Partway through Season 2 of his show, [[spoiler:Davos steals the Iron Fist from him... and Danny decides not to take it back, but arranges it so Colleen inherits the Fist instead. But the last scene of the season shows that Danny manages to get the power back some other way... and far stronger than before.]]
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: He's spent his entire life trying to find something to give him purpose. For fifteen years, he fought to become the Iron Fist, thinking that was what he was meant to be doing, but in the end that failed to fill the emptiness inside him. He then returned to New York and his company, thinking that would be it, but it wasn't. Destroying the Hand wasn't as simple as he thought either. He spends the entire season struggling to hold onto a clear goal, but in the end he can't do much better than fight to survive. [[spoiler:It's not until ''The Defenders'' that he decides that, with the Hand destroyed, his real goal is to protect the city of New York in Daredevil's presumed absence.]]
-->'''Danny:''' Buddha said that your purpose in life is to find your purpose.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: He wanted to become the Iron Fist not for power, glory, or righteousness, but because he thought that becoming the Iron Fist would help him win the respect of the people who had saved his life and flee the memory of his parents' deaths. He didn't actually have a plan for what he'd do once he became an Immortal Weapon - especially as he was still called "Gweilo" even ''after'' he completed the ritual. This is later shown to be a reoccurring problem of his, he gets back his company and has no idea what to do after that, and later [[spoiler:he decides to capture Gao but has no idea what to do with her afterwards.]]
* DistressedDude: He turns out to be the target of the Hand, and is therefore tied to a chair by the other heroes to prevent him from leaving and getting caught by the Hand. [[spoiler:He's kidnapped anyway when Elektra comes for him.]]
* DrugsAreBad: They impede his flow of chi, hobbling his overall combat abilities. He also runs afoul of the same drug distribution Hand racket that Matt has encountered.
* EarlyBirdCameo: He was name dropped in the official ''Film/IronMan'' video game, years before the Netflix series was even announced.
* TheEmpath: He has the ability to sense the emotions of people and animals, and can broadcast his own feelings into others. After breaking into Joy Meachum's home, Rand was able to stop her dog from attacking him by sending his own calm emotions into the dog, causing it to lay down and become uninterested. While helping Luke Cage in his fight against Bushmaster, Rand was able to feel the turmoil in Cage, how he was at war with himself and how it was putting his mind and body off balance.
* EndearinglyDorky: After so much time out of society, he is a naive FishOutOfWater. It gets worse given his rich upbringing (he tries to order takeout... but the only restaurant he knew was a fancy one) and all the weird stories he shares from K'un-L'un.
* EnhancedPunch: Danny's signature move, concentrating his chi to enable him to punch with superhuman hardness and impact, while his hand becomes impervious to pain and injury.
* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: To use the Iron Fist, one needs a clear mind and an exceptional command of one's own chi. Danny has no problem summoning it at the start of the show, but it starts to go haywire once his resolve and emotions are rattled during the last third of his first season.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: In his first season, his hair is shaggy and unkempt, befitting someone who spent half his life in a monastary. It's neater in ''The Defenders'' and in ''Luke Cage'' and season two of ''Iron Fist'', it's cut short.
* FailureHero: Out of all the Defenders, Danny's first season outing was the least impressive. All of his achievements were short-lived and most often manipulated into: [[spoiler:becoming the Iron Fist was for the wrong reason and he couldn't achieve full power; becoming Danny Rand was only possible because of Harold's manipulation; taking down Gao and Bakuto was entirely inconsequential because Gao got away unscathed and Bakuto can resurrect himself. The finale also implied that his leaving his post as the Gate Guardian led to a Hand invasion and the disappearance of K'un-Lun]]. That being said, he's able to enjoy '''some''' success come ''The Defenders'' [[spoiler:when most of the Hand is destroyed, although that doesn't explain what happened to K'un-Lun]].
* FightsLikeANormal: Though he is a master of the Iron Fist -- an attack capable of blasting the door off a bank vault -- it has a significant cooldown time during which he is weakened. He thus uses it only when pressured, but remains a world-class martial artist even without it.
* FireForgedFriends: With Ward. They had an antagonistic relationship even when they were children, but after defeating his father Harold Meachum, they begin to get along.
* FishOutOfWater: Danny is a pleasant person, but being raised by monks in a hidden mystical city has left him ignorant of certain things: women, shoes, that people may have a hard time believing some guy off the streets claiming to be a kid whom everyone thought to have died in a plane crash. This also [[spoiler:proves to be one of his biggest weaknesses. His lack of social understanding makes him an easy target to manipulate by the people around him. He does get better as the story goes.]] See SkilledButNaive below.
* ForceAndFinesse: The Finesse to Luke's Force. Danny is incredibly powerful with the Iron Fist, but only uses it in times of dire emergency or if he's losing a fight, relying more on refined skill when in control of a fight. Luke, on the other hand, just [[UnskilledButStrong brute forces]] his way into fights because he's tough enough to withstand explosions and power through walls.
* FormerTeenRebel: He had a rebellious streak as a teenager. He and Davos used to steal wine and food and peek at the village girls bathing, although they once saw their master bathing nude during one of those times.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: In the Defenders, he's Choleric.
* GlassCannon: Compared to the other Defenders. He's not nearly as durable as Luke or Jessica, and doesn't have protective armor like Matt, but at full power, his punches can far exceed the former two's SuperStrength, as seen when [[spoiler:he punches the floor of the Rand boardroom hard enough to upheave everyone standing on it and blow out all the windows with the shockwave.]]
* GoneHorriblyRight: His devotion to becoming the Iron Fist made him a prime candidate for the position. One of the final trials to do so, the relinquishing of his previous identity came easily to him as a result. As an unforeseen consequence, it also reminded him of his old life as Danny Rand, causing him to return to New York to find himself.
* GoodVersusGood: Luke and Danny have a [[LetsYouAndHimFight brief scuffle]] the first time they encounter each other in the streets. [[spoiler:Later he gets into a fight with Matt, which leads to him getting his ass kicked when Luke and Jessica intervene.]]
* GroundPunch: He can use his Iron Fist to do this. It was so powerful that the entire floor he was in got demolished.
* GunsAkimbo: [[spoiler:At the end of Season 2, he can somehow channel the Iron Fist into two handguns.]]
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: He has blonde hair and is an affable, easy-going guy.
* HealingHands: He's capable of healing his wounds by channeling his chi. When a bullet pierced his hand, he was able to regenerate the wound in a matter of seconds by summoning the Iron Fist. Also, by holding his hand over her body, Rand was able to use his chi to burn the poison that was killing Colleen Wing.
* TheHeart: He's the one who tries to convince the Defenders to come together and stay together. In the words of Finn Jones, "Danny Rand, he's the one that kind of drives the group to get shit done."
* HeterosexualLifePartners:
** Was this with Davos during his childhood. Unfortunately, this is permanently ruined by the end of season 1, where the two become enemies.
** Becomes this with Ward by season 2. They now refer to and consider each other as brothers, and said season ends with [[spoiler:the two of them WalkingTheEarth together]].
* HonestCorporateExecutive: Deconstructed. Once [[spoiler:Harold Meachum]] agrees to give him his father's stocks in Rand Enterprises, Danny tries to act as a moral center for his new board of directors. However, it turns out that being away from civilization for over a decade and being a WideEyedIdealist doesn't lead one to make the best business decisions, which leads to friction within the company. [[spoiler:He nearly gets fired before handing his position as CEO to Ward Meachum, who is thankfully more willing to embrace Danny's idealistic take on the company while being a good corporate executive.]]
* HumbleHero: He's kindhearted, wise, and very generous.
* {{Hypocrite}}: In "Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch", he lectures Colleen's students for not displaying respect for the dojo, while taking over the class without the permission of the dojo's master and the proceeding to needlessly attack one of her students for not taking him seriously. Neither of those things are particularly respectful, Danny.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: In ''The Defenders'', he's the most eager for the team to pool their resources. Given that he spent most of his growing up in a very lonely environment and has very few friends, this makes sense.
* IdiotHero:
** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] at least in his own series. Danny is not a stupid man, but he makes decisions primarily on [[ATragedyofImpulsiveness impulse]] and emotions, repeatedly demonstrates [[WhatWereYouThinking critical lack of common sense and foresight,]] initiates fights with SuicidalOverconfidence, and is quick to dismiss cold rational arguments as irrelevant. He is well aware of these [[FatalFlaw flaws]] and acknowledges that they prevent him from being a good businessman, and make him doubt if he is fit for his duty as Iron Fist. Unfortunately, his enemies also see these weaknesses clear as day and are quick to [[FlawExploitation exploit them.]]
** In ''The Defenders'', Danny is the nicest, most approachable person out of the four Defenders, who not only succeeds at uniting the team but is also a great fighter in his own right. Stick, however, calls Danny a "thundering dumbass", with good reason:
*** [[spoiler: Deliberately and needlessly confronting the Hand at their stronghold alone, in broad daylight, without bothering with research or basic preparation. Unsurprisingly, Danny gets overrun pretty fast and is saved only by coincidental [[BigDamnHeroes intervention of Luke Cage.]]]]
*** [[spoiler: When Matt, Jessica and Luke suddenly lose some IQ points themselves and decide that grounding Danny is the best course of action he does not try to make a solid argument for his case or put effort in debating them. Instead he just punches Matt in the face and ends up outnumbered again, this time by superhumans.]]
*** [[spoiler:Once Danny's kidnapped and taken beneath Midland Circle, Elektra outright tells him that the Iron Fist is needed to open the barrier. Then she tries to manipulate him into joining her and when that fails makes obvious attempts to make him angry enough to activate the power. This transparent plan actually works.]]
*** And of course, the thing that made Stick call him a thundering dumbass: Bringing a smart phone, with a traceable GPS, to the Royal Dragon. You can guess how well that works out.
* ImmuneToBullets: His Iron Fist can NoSell bullets, as seen when Harold tries to shoot him with a pistol only for Danny to block it with the Iron Fist.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: At the end of Season Two, he's able to [[spoiler:use the Iron Fist on guns to shoot bullets out of the air, ''after'' they've been fired.]]
* IncompletelyTrained: Danny discovers that the power of the Iron Fist holds more uses than just as sheer force. Bakuto, cast out of K'un-Lun with the other founding Fingers of the Hand, is able to teach Danny new facets of this power by studying legends about the Iron Fist.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Jeri Hogarth. He even has a nickname for her: "J-Money".
* JackOfAllStats: While lacking the enhanced abilities of [[SuperSenses Matt]] or [[ImmuneToBullets Luke,]] he can fight as well as any of the Defenders without being burdened with the [[BlessedWithSuck crippling drawbacks]] that come with their [[SensoryOverload hypersensitive senses]] or [[WoundThatWillNotHeal unbreakable skin,]] and eventually becomes uniquely capable of [[spoiler:[[HealingHands healing others]] with his Iron Fist power.]] Not to mention being a [[CrimefightingWithCash billionaire with the financial stability and resources of a giant corporation at his disposal.]]
* KiManipulation: Focuses his spirit to enhance his martial arts. Unlike many cases, doing so weakens him for a time, making it a DesperationAttack. He later learns to channel it for [[spoiler:healing powers like purging poison from the human body.]]
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: He's thoroughly impressed by Jessica's SuperStrength when he sees her barricading a door at the Royal Dragon. He also pretty much gushes over Matt's billyclub.
* KungFuWizard: He has both the Iron Fist and superb martial arts skills. This helps him when he is unable to utilize the Iron Fist or it's taken from him. They can take away his powers, but not his skills.
* LaserGuidedKarma: He's not proud of it, but he bought a stolen passport and stole a man's identity in Morocco so he'd have the proper documents to enter America. When he's locked in Birch Psychiatric, the medical staff find the item among his belongings and assume he's actually the original owner of the passport and is just pretending to be Danny Rand.
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: Raised and trained in martial arts to become the sworn enemy of the Hand.
* LegacyCharacter: There have been multiple holders of the Iron Fist title and power over the years; Danny is merely the latest wielder.
* LightningBruiser: Has the fighting skills, agility, and acrobatic ability of Matt Murdock, but can hit hard enough to shatter concrete and punch out metal doors with his Iron Fist power when needed.
* LivingMacGuffin: In ''The Defenders'' the Hand want him captured alive to [[spoiler:use the Iron Fist to unlock a magical door that's guarding dragon bones, allowing them to make more of the serum that can resurrect people.]]
* LivingWeapon: The Iron Fist is literally described as a weapon for K'un-Lun, intended to protect the sacred city from invaders and to fight off the Hand.
* LoserProtagonist: In stark contrast to the rest of the Defenders who excel at their day jobs and are reasonably proficient at their superhero duties, Danny is a hopeless CEO and failed his duty as the Iron Fist.
* {{Manchild}}: Being the youngest of the Defenders and never spending a day outside of K'un-Lun in fifteen years, he has a childish and immature personality, causing him to be ignorant to how modern society works and incredibly naive.
** After fifteen years of being thought dead, he did not see the illogic that by returning to New York City, shoeless and unshaven, he would have been confused for a homeless or delusional person except after when he was submitted to a mental institution.
** His only connection to modern day New York are the several locations he knew when he was young, such as the restaurant his father ate at is where he got takeout for Colleen and him.
** Whilst his youth, lack of intelligence and forethought makes him easy to be manipulated as well his tendency to act on anger or impulse, his innocence is also his greatest strength as Claire Temple noted that, on account of having met people with powers beforehand, he has a heart and kindness that they all lacked.
* MasterOfNone: He has Matt's hand-to-hand expertise, but none of his gadgets, heightened senses, or crimefighting experience. The Iron Fist can grant him durability and super strength on par with Jessica or Luke, but only for short bursts.
* MasterSwordsman: His mastery of ancient Chinese martial arts also extend to swordsmanship, as shown by him wielding a wooden practice sword in a manner similar to a Jian and was able to effortlessly bring down Colleen's student by striking him in the leg. He managed to fight equally against the skilled weapon expert, Mary Walker, using Colleen Wing's Katana.
* MrFanservice: Like Matt and Luke, he has plenty of shirtless scenes over the course of the series.
* MrViceGuy: Inside the dojo, he and Davos were the pinnacles of discipline as children. They were quick to get into mischief once outside of it: stealing sacred wine, recklessly driving their shared donkey cart, and trying to catch glimpses of the girls in their village bathing.
* MultiMeleeMaster: While he prefers fighting hand-to-hand, he's also good with other weapons such as katanas, nunchucks, and presumably other Asian weapons. He's also good with guns.
* NiceGuy: Out of all the Defenders, he is the most benevolent. One of his first orders of business after he gets his company back is to order that the company sell a lifesaving drug at cost instead of upping the prices.
* {{Omniglot}}: He can speak English and Mandarin fluently. He can even understand ancient Tibetan.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Finn Jones' natural British accent can be heard at the Royal Dragon when he's describing the team members.
* PastExperienceNightmare: He regularly has nightmares about the dying monks of K'un-Lun condemning him for abandoning them and letting them get killed.
* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: [[spoiler:He abandoned his post in K'un-Lun]] to suss out the circumstances of his parents' death.
* ThePoorlyChosenOne: While he earned the right to face Shou-Lao the Undying and winning that battle grants him the power of the Iron Fist, there are various implications that he becoming the Iron Fist was not the product of destiny everyone thinks it was.
** While the Iron Fist was meant to stay in K'un-Lun and guard it from anything that wished ill upon it, he instead fled to the outside world the first chance he had, leaving it to be ransacked and presumably destroyed in his absence.
** While he managed to defeat the Iron Fist's mortal enemy -- The Hand -- he was only able to accomplish this with help and even then he has been shown a willingness to negotiate with them, Colleen being the most notable example.
** While K'un-Lun believes that mercy is a weakness that the Iron Fist cannot afford to have, Danny has always shown [[ThouShaltNotKill a strong aversion to killing]] and will even drop out of a fight if it means sparing someone's life.
** [[spoiler:By the time Danny and Colleen figure out how Davos took the Iron Fist, he decides that he is unworthy to wield it and convinces Colleen to take it instead.]]
* PowerGlows: His fists light up yellow when he channels his ki to summon the power of the Iron Fist.
* ThePowerOfHate: Madame Gao claims that Iron Fists are at their most powerful when they have purged their souls of conflict, leaving only two sole occupants: duty and ''rage''.
* ThePowerOfLove: Danny's Iron Fist punches thrown in bouts of anger are rather impressive, but the blow he strikes to save Colleen from [[spoiler:getting shot by Harold]] is of tremendous impact.
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: He can send people flying with the Iron Fist. Special mention goes out to how he does this to Luke Cage, who is ImmuneToBullets and can NoSell explosions.
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: He was reported missing and presumed dead for 15 years after he and his parents took a plane to Anzou, China and never returned. In truth, he survived and was taken in by a group of monks to K'un-Lun where he spent 15 years before returning home. Nobody believed who he was due to having insufficient info to prove his identity but after seeking help from Jeri Hogarth, he was able to prove himself the real deal and get his company back.
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: He spent his boyhood trapped in K'un-Lun, leading a largely ascetic lifestyle that allowed for little else besides martial arts training. In New York, he's only ever in his element when he's either fighting or in settings that relate to combat.
* SaltAndPepper: With Luke Cage. This is more pronounced in his guest appearance in the second season of Luke's show, where Luke is impatient and troubled while Danny is relaxed and wise.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: One of the first things he does after getting his position at Rand back is buy an expensive sports car, and it's implied he didn't even take a driver's test and get a driver's license. Though considering how he has the money to forge fake driver's test results and a fake license, this might not be a problem.
* SkilledButNaive: Danny [[NoSocialSkills starts off]] as this thanks to his cloistered upbringing and is especially so in comparison to the [[StreetSmart other Defenders.]] A {{Reconstruction}} as Claire brings up that compared to [[BloodKnight Matt]], [[BrokenBird Jessica]], and [[DarkAndTroubledPast Luke,]] his childlike sweetness is one of his better character traits and advises Danny to [[HeWhoFightsMonsters not lose that quality while fighting his enemies.]]
* SmallNameBigEgo: He understands that K'un-Lun is a mystical city that barely anyone's ever heard of, but he's quite proud of it and his accomplishments so he has a tendency to boast about his teachers from there and his being one of its best warriors.
* StepfordSmiler: K'un-Lun residents are trained to keep their emotions contained at all times. Unfortunately, this means whenever his anger does come out it's all the more violent, almost seeming like a split personality.
* StrongAndSkilled: Unlike the other Defenders who are either UnskilledButStrong (Jessica and Luke) or WeakButSkilled (Matt), Danny has both extensive martial arts training and the raw power to back it up. His [[GlassCannon Iron Fist technique]] actually makes him the second strongest Defender after Luke, while his fighting skill is only just behind Matt.
* SuperHeroOrigin: Has the longest one out of all the Defenders. He's spent years in K'un-Lun being trained in SupernaturalMartialArts, before returning decades later to try reclaim his corrupt company.
* SuperReflexes:
** He's extremely agile and has great skill in parkour and free-running, which are combined with his chi to give him the ability to perform stunts that should be impossible for a human. As such, Rand demonstrated being able to climb and leap onto the second floor of a building and enter the room through the window. He also managed to effortlessly leap over a taxi cab that was seconds away from running him over, to cling to the rafters of Chikara Dojo to hide from Ward Meachum's thugs and to climb and leap over a wall it in a matter of seconds to elude pursuers. His extraordinary athletic prowess is incorporated into fighting style, making full use of his incredible agility to disarm enemies off their firearms and subdue them with lighting quick reflexes giving them no time at all to retaliate.
** Channeling his chi allows him to enhance his focus and perception. This allows him to react to danger in mid-combat at a superhuman rate. He was able to react to and easily dodge a bullet, as well as effortlessly, one-handedly block the attacks from one of the Hand's best warriors, without looking.
* SuperSenses: By focusing on the living body of another, he can feel that person's inherent life force, as well as sense impurities infecting the body. By using this practice, he was able to hold his hand and use his chi to sense the poison that was affecting Colleen Wing.
* SuperStrength: Through the use of the Iron Fist, he can send people flying and destroy highly durable objects like metal doors with ease.
* SuperToughness:
** Channeling his chi enhances his resilience and stamina, which allows him to not only not tire from fighting multiple opponents, but also withstand being hit in the back of the head by brass knuckles, which merely left him stunned for a few moments, only being knocked unconscious by falling onto a ledge from two stories and defeating multiple opponents with Davos despite being stabbed in the side by Bakuto. In fact, being struck multiple times with wooden batons allowed him to overcome the effects of drugs used to keep him weak at Birch Psychiatric Hospital and subsequently summon the powers of the Iron Fist that was previously blocked from him by the drugs.
** The frequent beatings during sparring and endurance exercises helped, but the Iron Fist can make his hands nigh-invulnerable for a few seconds at a time.
* SupernaturalMartialArts: His titular "Iron Fist" allows him to channel his [[KiManipulation ki]] into his hand, making it "Like unto a thing of iron."
* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: Danny speaks fluent Mandarin as a result of his time in K'un-Lun. While he isn't perfect, Finn's pronunciation is fairly good for a Westerner.
* SurvivorGuilt: Madame Gao identifies this as his main motivation. He's weakly denied this but it's obvious how bad it gets to him.
* TagalongKid: PlayedForLaughs but also kinda purposely invoked. He's the youngest of the Defenders being only in his mid-twenties, while Matt, Jessica, and Luke are in their thirties. Due to that and his naivete, Matt, Luke, and Jessica often view and treat Danny as an overly enthusiastic and often ridiculous child.
** Stick even calls him "the ''kid'' with the glowing fist" while going through the members of the Defenders.
** After the three of them rescue Danny from Midland Circle:
--->'''Matt Murdock:''' I promise you, you cannot fight these people. Not even with whatever it is your hand can do.\\
'''Danny Rand:''' It's chi.\\
'''Jessica Jones:''' It's not.
** When Matt flings out his his cord-attached billy club so the cord wraps around [[spoiler:Sowande]]'s throat from about 20 feet away:
--->'''Danny Rand:''' ''[chuckles]'' So cool.\\
'''Luke Cage:''' [[NotSoAboveItAll I mean, it's... it's kind of cool.]]
* TakeUpMySword: At the end of the first season of ''The Defenders'', he [[spoiler: has taken up Daredevil's place as the defender of New York at Matt's request, even standing in the same pose as Daredevil on a rooftop overlooking Hell's Kitchen]].
* ATasteOfPower: Gets a glimpse of how powerful he could be when Bakuto shows him footage of [[spoiler:the 1948 Iron Fist]].
* TechnicalPacifist: He loves martial arts, but tries to avoid violence unless sufficiently threatened or wronged.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Despite the Iron Fist being expected to kill any member of the Hand he comes across, he only incapacitated most warriors he thought, willingly surrendered from the Da Jue Zhan in order to save Sabina Bernivig's life even though it would have caused the Hand to fled New York and refused to kill Madame Gao in China even after it was revealed she murdered his parents, though he threatened her life when Colleen was close to death by the Hand's poisoned weapons. In his anger towards the Hand's manipulations, he was motivated to work on killing Bakuto and the Hand. The closest he ever came to truly wanting to murder someone was Harold Meachum over his betrayal and murder of his parents but was eventually saved from this by Ward Meachum killing Harold.
* TokenWhite: Of K'un-Lun during his stay there. Most of the people there are of Asian descent or at least AmbiguouslyBrown, but Danny is the only white one. He was labelled an outsider by the inhabitants there for this.
* TokenWizard: Out of all of the Defenders, Danny is the only one who's powers and origins are in any way supernatural; Matt getting SuperSenses from a chemical accident and Luke and Jessica getting their SuperStrength from scientific experiments.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** In his guest staring episode in season 2 of ''Luke Cage'', Danny is way more experienced the last time we saw him and is able to summon his Iron Fist at will, with greater control over it than he had previously.
** At the end of season 2 of his own show, [[spoiler:Danny has not only regained the Iron Fist without Colleen losing hers, but he's now able to do it two-handed. And he can channel the energy through a gun.]]
* TotallyRadical: His [=iPod=] playlist.
* TrainingFromHell: Subjected to this, but the Thunderer wasn't nearly as much of a jerk as Stick, so he looks back on his lessons with more fondness. Ironically, this training from Hell occurred in one of the seven capital cities of Heaven.
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** Had this with Davos, until they lost the "best buds" part by the end of season 1.
** Is beginning to form this kind of relationship with Luke, with them repeatedly poking fun at each other but clearly pretty good pals.
** Has this with Ward by season 2.
* WalkingTheEarth: [[spoiler:At the end of season 2 of his show, Danny and Ward go travelling across Asia to find out more about the legacy of the Iron Fist.]]
* WasItAllALie: When Danny learns that Colleen is [[spoiler:part of the Hand, he's convinced that Bakuto sent her to seduce him to the Hand. Colleen tries to convince Danny that their relationship didn't have anything to do with the Hand, though it isn't until he sees her escaping from the Hand that he realizes that she was telling the truth and forgives her.]]
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Danny and Davos have a falling out by the end of season 1, and in season 2, he is Danny's main enemy.
* WeakButSkilled: When he's unable to use the Iron Fist [[spoiler:or it's forcibly taken from him]], he becomes this as he is still a highly-trained combatant who has been training in martial arts since he was 10 years old.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Airplane turbulence. He starts panicking when his private plane starts having one and Claire teaches him to conquer that fear.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: K'un-Lun vanishes from the earthly plane for 15 whole years at a time and New York is a very different place since he left it.
[[/folder]]

!!!'''Species:''' Human

* WeakButSkilled: When he's unable to use the Iron Fist [[spoiler:or it's forcibly taken from him]], he becomes this as he is still a highly-trained combatant who has been training in martial arts since he was 10.

* AMFMCharacterization: He's a fan of hip hop music, including Music/DrDre, Music/{{Outkast}}, Music/CampLo, Music/KillahPriest, Music/TheCoolKids and Music/AndersonPaak.

* BashBrothers: To Davos back in K'un Lun.

* BigEater: He eats a lot to replenish his chi.

* ColorMotif: All defenders have their own colors frequently used as ColorWash or in uniforms. Matt uses red, Luke yellow, and Danny green. Jessica starts her series with Kilgrave's purple, but ditches it for blue (with an occasional flash of purple) by the time of The Defenders.

* SuperReflexes: He's extremely agile and has great skill in parkour and free-running, which are combined with his chi to give him the ability to perform stunts that should be impossible for a human. As such, Rand demonstrated being able to climb and leap onto the second floor of a building and enter the room through the window. He also managed to effortlessly leap over a taxi cab that was seconds away from running him over, to cling to the rafters of Chikara Dojo to hide from Ward Meachum's thugs and to climb and leap over a wall it in a matter of seconds to elude pursuers. His extraordinary athletic prowess is incorporated into fighting style, making full use of his incredible agility to disarm enemies off their firearms and subdue them with lighting quick reflexes giving them no time at all to retaliate.
* SuperStrength: Through the use of the Iron Fist, he can send people flying and destroy highly durable objects like metal doors with ease.
* SuperToughness: Channeling his chi enhances his resilience and stamina, which allows him to not only not tire from fighting multiple opponents, but also withstand being hit in the back of the head by brass knuckles, which merely left him stunned for a few moments, only being knocked unconscious by falling onto a ledge from two stories and defeating multiple opponents with Davos despite being stabbed in the side by Bakuto. In fact, being struck multiple times with wooden batons allowed him to overcome the effects of drugs used to keep him weak at Birch Psychiatric Hospital and subsequently summon the powers of the Iron Fist that was previously blocked from him by the drugs.
* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: Danny speaks fluent Mandarin as a result of his time in K'un-Lun. While he isn't perfect, Finn's pronunciation is fairly good for a Westerner.

* SuperToughness: The frequent beatings during sparring and endurance exercises helped, but the Iron Fist can make his hands nigh-invulnerable for a few seconds at a time.

* SuperReflexes: Channeling his chi allows him to enhance his focus and perception. This allows him to react to danger in mid-combat at a superhuman rate. He was able to react to and easily dodge a bullet, as well as effortlessly, one-handedly block the attacks from one of the Hand's best warriors, without looking.

* MasterSwordsman: Hixs mastery of ancient Chinese martial arts also extend to swordsmanship, as shown by him wielding a wooden practice sword in a manner similar to a Jian and was able to effortlessly bring down Colleen's student by striking him in the leg. He managed to fight equally against the skilled weapon expert, Mary Walker, using Colleen Wing's Katana.

* SuperSenses: By focusing on the living body of another, he can feel that person's inherent life force, as well as sense impurities infecting the body. By using this practice, he was able to hold his hand and use his chi to sense the poison that was affecting Colleen Wing.
* SuperToughness: The frequent beatings during sparring and endurance exercises helped, but the Iron Fist can make his hands nigh-invulnerable for a few seconds at a time.

* BigEater: He eats a lot to replendish his chi.

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/FinnJones, Jeremy Lanuti (young), Toby Nichols (really young)

!!!'''Portrayed By:''' Creator/FinnJones

!!!'''Citizenship:''' American/K'un-Lunan