Marvel Fans Are Dunking On Iron Fist After The Shang-Chi Trailer

Now that the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings trailer has arrived, some Marvel fans are making fun of Iron Fist on social media. Marvel's first movie to have an Asian lead, Shang-Chi, stars Simu Liu as the titular hero. The film was first announced in 2019 and given an early 2021 release date. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Shang-Chi has been shuffled around multiple times. Currently it stands slated for September 3; on Monday, Marvel's promotional campaign for Shang-Chi began with the debut of its trailer and first look images.

Shang-Chi is known as the Master of Kung Fu within the Marvel universe, and some fans have drawn connections between him and fellow martial arts specialist Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist. Finn Jones played Iron Fist for the MCU, starring in two of Netflix's Marvel shows. Even before Iron Fist premiered in 2017, it was mired in controversy over its apparent continuation of the white savior trope, as Danny is a white hero using traditionally Asian styles of fighting. Reception to the series didn't improve upon its premiere, with Iron Fist being criticized for its slow pace and poor action. It was cancelled after two seasons.

With the MCU shifting its focus to another hero who specializes in martial arts, several fans are taking the opportunity to dunk on Iron Fist. The aftermath of the Shang-Chi trailer has left a lot of excited reactions, and it's also provided a lot of jokes at the expense of Mr. Rand. Iron Fist was trending at various points on Monday as people shared their thoughts, some of which you can see down below.

As others have noted on social media, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist are two very different characters, so aside from their chosen fighting styles, there shouldn't be much comparison. In fact, several fans have expressed hope that Marvel could bring back Jones as Danny and pair him with Liu's Shang-Chi. It remains to be seen if Marvel will utilize any of its Netflix characters, though there have been rumors of Charlie Cox's Daredevil appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home. If that happens, perhaps there will be room for a Danny Rand reappearance.

Though the jokes comparing the two are admittedly amusing, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist are two very different projects. Shang-Chi has the advantage of being properly tied to the greater MCU, and its release in theaters will likely ensure it has a bigger audience than Iron Fist received. For those who were disappointed by how Iron Fist turned out, Shang-Chi could provide the action they've been waiting for. Granted, it'll be a completely different story with a completely different hero, but evidently there are plenty who don't mind equating the two nonetheless.

Rachel LaBonte is a news and features writer for Screen Rant with a deep passion for movies and television. A recent graduate of Emerson College, she majored in Media Arts Production while specializing in screenwriting. She's been a writer ever since high school when she realized she was rather good at it and joined as many entertainment news clubs as she could while in school.