Iron Fist co-creator and comic book legend Roy Thomas celebrated his 82nd birthday on Nov. 22, but he had an early celebration in New Jersey Collectorfest on Saturday. As one collector after another dropped by Thomas’ table to greet him and to have their collectibles signed, one fan had an indelible moment with the industry giant.

“Keep Danny Rand as Iron Fist!” Thomas told Paul Varacchi as he walked away in his Iron Fist hoodie with his signed collectibles in hand.

The fact that Thomas, Stan Lee’s successor at Marvel Comics as editor-in-chief, is very much aware of the current state of one of his characters is a testament to his passion and dedication to comicdom. His comment speaks volumes on where he stands after Marvel Comics decided to replace Danny Rand as Iron Fist in the recent five-issue mini-series by Alyssa Wong, Michael YG, Sean Chen, and Jay David Ramos that placed an existing character into some humongous shoes to fill.

After being Iron Fist for nearly 50 years, Danny Rand gave up the mantle in 2021 and passed it on to Lin Lie, the former Sword Master, this year. There are many who had been clamoring for an Asian Iron Fist and Lin Lie was seen as the answer to the wishes of those who believe that Danny Rand, a Caucasian billionaire New Yorker, epitomizes the white savior trope.

But longtime Iron Fist fans, those who have followed his adventures from his inception to the present, don’t think of his race as an issue. Many Asians like myself weren’t bothered at all by Danny’s trek to K’un-Lun which resulted in him becoming its protector and champion, albeit that was not his intention to begin with. His race was never a problem for the Iron Fist faithful and it still isn’t even though we recognize the need for diversity in comics and in live-action superhero movies and TV.

Thomas feels the same way.

“…if they had decided to make Iron Fist an Asian, that would have been fine with me, too,” Thomas said in 2017 during the height of the clamor for an Asian American actor to portray Danny Rand in the Netflix series. “I wouldn’t have cared. I didn’t consider myself the safeguard of some kind of Caucasian literary standard or anything like that. But I would have found it easier to write about a Caucasian, so that’s one reason I probably did it. If somebody had suggested, ‘You want to make it so he’s Asian?’ Well, we could have done that too.”

Nevertheless, Thomas was concerned that some folks were disturbed by his character’s race that he presented a solution to the criticism.

“You know, just make up a new character,” the Marvel and DC Comics creator opined. “Don’t worry about trashing another one. Just make up a new one. There’s always room for one, and it’s always better to be creative than to be a critic. I’ve been both. It’s better to be creative. There’s nothing wrong with being a critic, but after a while, you’re basically talking about other people’s work. That’s perfectly okay. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a perfectly respectable thing, but I think you should try to put yourself in their shoes instead of constantly complaining because they didn’t do exactly what you think they should have done. Rather than having that, you should go out and do it yourself.”

Nothing against, Lin Lie, I think he’s a good and interesting character as Sword Master. But as Iron Fist, he feels forced into the role as the 2022 series didn’t help to endear him to most of the existing fanbase willing to give him a shot.

Going back to the fan to whom Thomas’ comment was directed, Varacchi is not just an ordinary Iron Fist fan and he may be familiar to those who follow my I Am Iron Fist social media accounts.

He was a Security PA in the Netflix Iron Fist series, working as a stuntman on several episodes of the show while also providing PA or stunt work for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and The Defenders.

A huge Iron Fist fan, Varacchi’s work on the show provided him with the opportunity to have some of the best memorabilia available, including selfies and behind-the-scenes photos with the main cast including Finn Jones who played Danny Rand. But on Saturday, Paul was in for a treat like no other as the creator of his favorite Marvel character was now right in front of him, talking to him and signing some of his most treasured possessions, including his Marvel Premiere #15, Iron Fist’s first appearance.

“Keep Danny Rand as Iron Fist!” is a statement that backs the fanbase seeking the return of the martial arts master. If Marvel’s bosses were in attendance and they heard Thomas’ words at the time, perhaps they’ll reconsider Danny Rand’s future as Iron Fist.