The Undead Iron Fist four-issue miniseries by Jason Loo, Fran Galán, and Jim Campbell finally came to a close with the release of issue #4 on New Year’s Eve. If not for Marvel Comics spoiling Danny Rand’s fate when they released the cover image for 2026’s Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun #1, the finale might have kept fans in the dark about the future of the original Living Weapon.
A few days after The Undead Iron Fist #4 went on sale, and nearly four months after issue #1 was released, it feels like the right time to look back at both the final issue and the series as a whole.
Issue #4 Review
The Cover
The cover by main cover artist Whilce Portacio and color artist Alex Sinclair immediately stands out. Stitching together multiple Iron Fist costumes into a single image works beautifully, both as fan service and as a visual reminder of Danny Rand’s journey as Iron Fist. Of all the covers Portacio drew for this series, this is probably my favorite. While it has nothing to do with the actual plot, the image implies that this is Danny fighting for the Iron Fist legacy.
Unfortunately, the variant cover by Ivan Shavrin is misleading. I love how it looks, but what exactly was that Iron Fist vs. Ghost Fist image meant to represent when nothing like that happens in the story? Maybe he just wanted to draw two versions of Danny fighting. Maybe editorial gave him the wrong direction. Who knows? It’s still a good-looking cover, but it doesn’t reflect the content of the issue at all.
Story and Character Focus
The emotional core of issue #4 is Danny’s impending fight with his best friend. It’s a confrontation he desperately wishes he didn’t have to face, but one he knows is unavoidable if he’s going to complete his mission. His struggle to exorcise the demon inside Luke Cage is handled well and clearly shows how powerful Danny has become in his Ghost Fist form. He understands that pushing too far could kill Luke, and that fear forces him to pull back. That hesitation feels completely in character and adds real tension to the moment.
Quan Yaozu is eventually confronted, and the issue devotes a good amount of time to explaining his motivations. His reasoning for creating the Ch’i-Lin and siphoning power from the various Iron Fists is laid out clearly. From a storytelling perspective, this exposition works and helps bring his plan into focus before the final confrontation.
But that doesn’t mean it makes sense in light of what has been written before, particularly during Duane Swierczynski’s run.
Loopholes and Head-Scratchers
As my friend Justin Raymer from The Deadly Podcast of Kung Fu pointed out in his review of the series, there’s a major loophole in Quan’s reasoning for wanting revenge on K’un-Lun, especially since he seemed to turn away from his evil ways at the end of The Immortal Iron Fist run by Duane Swierczynski and artist Travel Foreman. While Undead Iron Fist establishes that his redemption was a ruse, that explanation still leaves several unanswered questions:
- During the “Escape from the Eighth City” storyline, why was Quan still trapped there if he was supposedly growing stronger with every Iron Fist’s death?
- Weren’t the powers of the many Iron Fists before Danny enough for him to escape?
- When Quan returned to K’un-Lun with what appeared to be a change of heart, he already had enough power to overthrow Lei-Kung the Thunderer and the city’s leadership. Why didn’t he do that then?
- Once back in K’un-Lun, he could have worked with Lei-Kung to deal with the corruption tied to Nu-An, the former Yu-Ti. Even if Quan disliked Lei-Kung, the Thunderer died shortly afterward in Iron Fist: The Living Weapon, removing any real reason for Quan to maintain his grudge against the city.
- Why target Danny in Iron Fist 50th Anniversary Special #1 instead of Lin Lie, who was the active Iron Fist at the time? Killing Lin would have given the Ch’i-Lin access to Shou-Lao’s egg and potentially made it far more powerful.
- Why take over Rand Corporation at all? There was no reason for Quan to station himself there. It’s almost as if he were waiting for Danny to come back from the dead and look for him there.
- If Quan truly wanted revenge on K’un-Lun, why did he and the Ch’i-Lin suddenly shift toward world domination? Nothing in the creature’s history suggests that was ever its purpose.
- Why fragment the Ch’i-Lin into multiple beings and rename them the Wraithlins?
For readers unfamiliar with The Immortal Iron Fist and the runs that followed, Quan’s motivations may come across as standard villain behavior. But for longtime readers, his grudge feels hollow. We needed a new reason for his anger, something tied to Danny’s recent actions or perhaps to Sparrow, the current Yu-Ti/Thunderer.
The Final Confrontation
The issue also stumbles in its execution of the final battle. The fight between Danny and Quan feels too short and too restrained for a conflict that’s been building since issue #1. Even with the dragon’s surprise appearance, the clash lacks the scale and intensity it needed. Quan supposedly wielded the combined power of multiple fallen Iron Fists, and we should have seen that.
This fight deserved to be epic, something closer to Danny’s battle with Zhu Rong in The Living Weapon. Instead, it lacked suspense, and it never truly felt like Danny was in danger. The ideas were solid, but the payoff came too easily and resolved too quickly in Danny’s favor.
That said, the battle wasn’t without its highlights. The return of T’an-Long, the white dragon Danny encountered in the Underworld, was a welcome surprise. What initially seemed like a one-off obstacle is revealed to have been the heavenly guardian of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven and tasked with preventing evil from escaping the Eighth City. Its desire for revenge after being killed by Quan and the Ch’i-Lin mirrors Danny’s own motivations nicely.
This is an Iron Fist comic, after all, and dragons are always welcome, especially vengeful ones like T’an-Long. Credit where it’s due, Mr. Loo.
Art and Coloring
Visually, issue #4 is strong. Fran Galán continues to deliver excellent action and choreography, especially during combat scenes. His storytelling is clear and easy to follow from page to page. You never have to stop and figure out what’s happening. Galán knows how to tell a story, and the material plays to his strengths. His style won’t work for everyone, and that’s fine. It works for this story, which is what matters.
Jim Campbell’s colors elevate Galán’s work even further. His coloring has been consistently strong throughout the series, and the final issue is no exception. He was absolutely the right choice for this book, and I’d love to see him continue working on Iron Fist titles in the future.
Epilogue
Danny ending up back in the Underworld was not what I expected, and it appears he’ll continue serving as Osiris’ avatar for now. We already know he’ll be involved in February’s Deadly Hands of K’un-Lun, and it’ll be interesting to see how the events of Undead Iron Fist ripple into that series.
I fully expected Danny to return to the land of the living by the end of this series, so credit to the creative team for throwing in a curveball and leaving his ultimate fate uncertain.
Thoughts on the Series as a Whole
Writing and Structure
As a four-issue series, The Undead Iron Fist was always going to be limited by page count. Jason Loo does a solid job telling the story he set out to tell within that framework. Before the series launched, Loo described it as a Raid-style story: Danny Rand as Ghost Fist fighting his way through demon-possessed enemies on the path to Rand Corporation (or Rand Enterprises, as the series uses both names interchangeably), where Quan had established himself.
From issues #1 through #4, action-hungry fans were treated to a sustained slugfest that stands alongside some of the best Iron Fist action in years. This is Danny Rand at his most skilled and, quite possibly, his most powerful. Loo delivered a series you looked forward to each month, knowing you’d get high-quality fight scenes every time.
The plot itself is straightforward and succeeds at what it set out to do: bring Danny Rand back in his own title and let him cut loose against dangerous opponents. Loo also aimed to connect the story to what many consider the definitive Iron Fist run, and while he accomplishes that conceptually, the execution doesn’t always land.
It’s hard not to feel that the series needed more space. With a longer run or a different approach, the story could have explored its ideas and character moments more deeply, especially in the finale.
It’s a good run, no question, but it stops short of being great. The themes are clear, the execution is mostly solid, and the story holds together, yet it never fully reaches the heights it seems to be aiming for.
Danny Rand’s Portrayal
One of the strongest elements of the series is its portrayal of Danny Rand. His compassion, restraint, and sense of responsibility are at the forefront. His determination to stop Quan at all costs is compelling, and it highlights what makes Danny one of Marvel’s most endearing heroes.
Too often, writers lean into portraying Danny as a goofball, missing the discipline, focus, and mental toughness that come from being a true martial arts master. Danny isn’t Spider-Man or Deadpool. He doesn’t do quips and banter in the middle of a fight.
Loo clearly understands this. He never forces Danny out of character. Instead, our hero consistently behaves like someone who understands the weight of the Iron Fist legacy, especially when it comes to protecting others at personal cost. It’s a welcome callback to earlier portrayals of Danny as someone who refuses to back down, no matter how impossible the odds seem.
This version of Danny feels authentic, and it’s refreshing to see a writer treat him with the respect he deserves as the original Iron Fist and now the first and only Ghost Fist.
Being Osiris’ Avatar and the Egyptian Afterlife
Seeing Danny become the avatar of Osiris, an Egyptian deity, felt awkward when it was first revealed. Prior to this series, there had never been a legitimate connection between Egyptian mythology and Iron Fist lore, aside from the alternate-universe story in Timeless (2023) #1, where Danny became Khonshu’s avatar.
According to @randsiron on X (formerly Twitter), Jason Loo explained that the idea behind using Egyptian mythology was to take Danny far outside his comfort zone while still keeping things familiar for Marvel readers. Loo was reportedly given a list of gods he was allowed to use and “was fascinated by Osiris.”
What makes this even stranger is Danny’s placement in the Underworld, the Egyptian afterlife, where we also find Orson Randall, a former Iron Fist, and T’an-Long. All three should have ended up in Feng-Tu, the realm where the souls of K’un-Lunians go after death. How they instead found themselves in the Underworld is never explained, and readers are simply expected to accept it at face value, whether it makes sense or not.
After four issues, I’m still not sure I’ve fully accepted Danny Rand’s connection to Egyptian mythology. It feels random rather than organic.
That said, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Danny is back by whatever means necessary and that he was given the chance to bring his killers to justice (sort of). I just wish there had been a less jarring way to bridge Iron Fist lore with a completely different and unfamiliar corner of Marvel mythology.
The Book of the Iron Fist
One of the most reassuring aspects of the series is how it ultimately handles the Book of the Iron Fist. I was genuinely concerned when Orson Randall suggested that everything connected to the book was a lie. But as we learned in issue #4, while its purpose may have been deceptive, its contents were not. The techniques, knowledge, and experiences recorded by past Iron Fists still matter, and everything Danny learned from it remains valid.
That choice preserves an essential piece of Iron Fist lore instead of discarding it.
The Absence of Major Iron Fist Characters
Luke Cage, the Immortal Weapons, Miles Morales, and Daredevil were solid supporting players in this series. Their appearance made sense (Miles included). Most of all, anytime we can get the Immortal Weapons back together—despite having to face off against Danny in issue #3—always brings me joy.
However, the absence of Lin Lie, Pei, Colleen Wing, and Misty Knight left a noticeable gap. Any of them could have appeared, even briefly, in an epilogue scene. Seeing how Danny’s death and return affected them would have added much-needed emotional weight.
Ignoring these characters during Danny’s death, resurrection, and sudden disappearance was a missed opportunity by both Loo and the editorial team, especially given how central they are to Danny’s life.
Final Verdict
Overall, Undead Iron Fist is a solid and enjoyable series that both longtime fans and newer readers can appreciate. The fight scenes alone make it worth checking out. While it falls short of its full potential, strong art, good ideas, and a faithful portrayal of Danny Rand carry it a long way.
The rushed finale and limited issue count ultimately hold it back, which is unfortunate, because this series could have gone deeper and tied up more loose ends with just a bit more room.
As a complete series, I’d rate The Undead Iron Fist a 7 out of 10. It’s worth reading, especially for Iron Fist fans, but it leaves you feeling that, with more time and space, it could have been something truly special.
Letters Page
As I end the blog, I want to extend my gratitude to Marvel Comics and editor Danny Khazem for selecting my letter as one of the few to get published in the Letters Page! Woohoo! I wrote in via email to share my thoughts on issue #1 as soon as I read it. Not only did my letter make it to print, but three people I know from the Iron Fist community also had their letters published. What a treat this was! Many thanks, Marvel!
