Marvel recently released four preview pages from the upcoming Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1. Various artists supplied the art, including Whilce Portacio, Lan Medina, Elena Casagrande, and Von Randal, and through them, we learned quite a few things that will happen next month.

Interestingly, three of the four artists are Filipino. Mabuhay!

It is, however, unfortunate that we didn’t get to see any of artist Ty Templeton’s pages. You have to wonder if the Heroes for Hire story he and writer Frank Tieri are telling is top secret.

Written by Tieri, Chris Claremont, Alyssa Wong, Justina Ireland, and Jason Loo, Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 is an oversized issue celebrating the Living Weapon’s legacy. It’s also a preview of the future of Danny Rand, the first and original Iron Fist.

Here are five things we learned from the preview pages:

5. The Heroes for Hire lineup is a mystery

Ok, so this is not about the preview pages that were shown but about what was NOT shown. 

In the most recent episode of The Immortal Iron Fist Podcast: Sons of the Dragon, we talked about which lineup we think we’ll see in the Heroes for Hire tale that Tieri and Templeton have crafted. There have been many different versions of the team, some of them led by Misty Knight without either Luke Cage or Danny Rand on the roster.

We believe we’ll be treated to either the original duo of Luke and Danny or the extended version which includes Misty, and Colleen Wing. Who knows, we might even be treated to Kurt Busiek’s dream Heroes for Hire lineup composed of the aforementioned foursome as well as Crime-Buster, El Aguila, “and some new characters?”

However, there’s also the possibility that we’ll see the 1997 team that was led by Iron Fist. Inasmuch as I like the original cast, I’m also excited about the chance to see writer John Ostrander and artist Pascual Ferry’s lineup.

4. Colleen and Misty’s story is set in the Power Man and Iron Fist 70s-80s era

At least that’s how it appears. If you look closely at how Colleen and Misty are dressed, it screams an adventure set in the past. They’re driving a Dodge Charger, a fact pointed out by one of my Facebook followers (Chris Dingsdale), which proves that this isn’t a modern-day tale by Ireland and Casagrande.

I still remember the splash page by Kerry Gammill from Power Man and Iron Fist (1976) #66 that shows the Daughters of the Dragon wearing this same outfit. The case they’re investigating via Nightwing Restorations, the agency they founded, might be a prequel or a sequel to one of the stories during the 70s and 80s.

The art by Casagrande is fantastic, and it reminds me of the Saturday Morning cartoon shows I watched in the 80s as a kid. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her work here and I’m so glad to see that my expectations are about to be exceeded.

3. Iron Fist will team up with Wolverine to fight Sabretooth

We already knew that Claremont and Medina’s story is set during Iron Fist’s earliest years and that Wolverine will be making an appearance. The variant cover by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman showed Iron Fist fighting Sabretooth, but that could’ve just been an homage to Victor Creed’s first appearance. It didn’t guarantee that it would be part of the story.

Now we know it is, and since Medina’s page showed a battle between Sabretooth and Iron Fist, it means that Wolverine will be around to possibly give Danny a helping hand against his most vicious foe. It’s great that the two characters celebrating their 50th anniversaries will also spend some time together in an anniversary issue.

Moreover, it’s always a treat to see Sabretooth in an Iron Fist comic since he started his villainous career in these pages. His clashes with Iron Fist have always been battles pitting finely honed skills against raw, unbridled savagery. It’s a welcome reprieve from his battles with Wolverine which have mostly, if not always, ended up as bloody slugfests.

As for Medina’s art, what can I say? The man who is best known for his work on Fables and The Punisher: MAX, among others, is a genius with the pencil! I was so ecstatic to know a few months ago that he was going to be an artist in the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special, and based on this page, he will blow us all away.

2. Pei’s powers are back

After being set aside by Marvel in favor of Lin Lie, Pei is back in fighting form and it looks like her powers have been restored. 

The former Iron Fist successor showed some kind of power in last year’s Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic miniseries by Jeremy Holt and Guillermo Sanna, but it wasn’t the Iron Fist power she was manifesting then. Since we haven’t seen her (as far as I know) since then, it could be that Wong’s story will explain how she’s tapping into Shou-Lao’s immense power once again. 

Budding artist Von Randal showed on this page why he deserves to be part of this star-studded cast of creators. The art is superb! Watch out for this guy, everyone! He’s going places.

1. Danny Rand is Iron Fist again! Or is he?

This is what we’ve all been waiting for, Iron Fist fans! Danny is back as Iron Fist…I think.

Based on the solicitations from a few months ago, Loo’s story sets up “what the future may hold for Danny Rand.” This could mean something good or something bad for the K’un-Lun kid. Nevertheless, we are sure that Danny as Iron Fist will go head-to-head (or fist-to-fist) with Razor Fist. This is the fistfight we didn’t know we needed! As long as Danny is wearing the yellow-and-green again, I am completely on board with it.

As always, Portacio delivers a kinetically-charged action sequence that has been his staple since his X-Factor/X-Men days. I wish the legendary artist gets a call from one of Marvel’s head honchos to draw an ongoing Iron Fist series.

BONUS: The ending will be tragic for Danny Rand

I am cautiously optimistic about what the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special will do for Danny because the headline of Marvel’s most recent article is this:

‘Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special’ #1 Gives Danny Rand’s Journey a Tragic Turn

We Iron Fist fans have already experienced more than our fair share of heartaches with how Danny has been unfairly treated not only in the comics, but in the Netflix TV series, and the general media as well. Why does he need another “tragic turn?”

With only a month before its release, the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 appears to be revving up to a conclusion that will lead to Danny becoming Khonshu’s puppet, as was shown in the Timeless (2023) #1 conclusion. Anything can happen, and these next few months will tell us where Danny’s story goes beginning with next month’s one shot.

My only hope is that this recent journey that Danny has been on will end up with him becoming Iron Fist for good. Either that or he should at least be one of the Iron Fists in the main Marvel Universe.

We only have to wait a month longer before we get some answers.