EXCLUSIVE! Iron Fist Creator Roy Thomas Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Living Weapon

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Iron Fist! Exactly half a century ago on Feb. 19, 1974, Danny Rand made his debut in the pages of Marvel Premiere #15. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I am proud to present a special interview with Roy Thomas, the man responsible for the creation of Marvel Comics’ pre-eminent martial artist.

Thanks to John Cimino, Rascally Roy’s best buddy and manager, I was graciously given the privilege to ask questions regarding Iron Fist’s history, present, and future. The legendary creator was Stan Lee’s successor at Marvel as Editor-In-Chief, and when he approached Stan about creating a superhero martial artist, the stage was set for the creation of the Living Weapon.

As announced by current Editor-In-Chief C.B. Cebulski more than a month ago, 2024 will be a “big Iron Fist celebration” at Marvel Comics. Thomas is among an esteemed list of former Iron Fist writers and artists who will be invited to headline a one-shot special issue to honor the character and his mythology.

I had a wonderful time picking Thomas’ brain this past year about his thoughts, reflections, and aspirations on Iron Fist’s legacy.

I AM IRON FIST: Hi, Roy! First of all, thank you for agreeing to this interview! It’s always a pleasure to hear from you and your wealth of knowledge on comics history.

As you know, this interview is focused solely on Iron Fist, particularly your insights on the character as creator and your thoughts on his 50 years of existence. 

What is the significance of Iron Fist’s 50th anniversary to you personally and professionally, considering how he has now gained a worldwide fan base?

ROY THOMAS: I’m proud and happy I was able to co-create for Marvel its second kung-fu character, and I’ve always looked back fondly on the initial story and artistic concepts that Gil Kane and I came up with. I may or may not agree with everything that’s been done with the character since… but hey, Iron Fist’s history is far from over, so any mistakes made in the past 50 years may be fixed in the next 50!

IAIF: That is so true! Practically all superheroes have had their stories told in not-so-inspiring ways, but it’s great to know that the future can be better and brighter. Fifty years is a long time, and I am ecstatic for you that you are being celebrated for his creation.

You and the late, great Gil Kane created a truly unique character who has endured the test of time.

Speaking of Gil, why was it important to you to collaborate with him in building Iron Fist’s backstory as opposed to envisioning it from scratch on your own? Usually, as far as I know, artists create the look and feel of the character, but not their origin story. Do you often do this when writing a book with new characters in it?

THOMAS: I had intended to come up with the origin of Iron Fist on my own, though I hadn’t yet begun to think about what it would be when I approached Gil Kane to be the artist and design the costume with my advice and consent. When I mentioned that I hadn’t yet come up with the backstory, Gil mentioned that he had always wanted to adapt the origin of Bill Everett’s 1939 Amazing-Man character into a new story and that he thought it might fit ideally with Iron Fist.

Since it seemed that that would work about as well as anything I was likely to come up with, I went along with it and we plotted out the first story together. It wasn’t that it was “important” for me to work with Gil on the origin… it’s just that it wasn’t “important” to “create everything from scratch on my own,” either. 

After all, either way, when we were finished, it would be a Thomas/Kane creation in any event. And I felt Gil would be more enthusiastic about the character if we pool ideas. That’s kind of ironic, since we both left after the first issue, merely passing along a few continuation ideas to the next issue’s team. I tended to co-plot and confer with collaborators like Gil and Neal Adams, who wanted to… and to work out things more on my own with others, who preferred simply to draw. I felt that the flexibility of Stan in working with Jack, Steve, and others had been at least partly responsible for Marvel’s success, so why not continue along that very successful road?

IAIF: I’m sure Gil became truly invested in the character once he became part of the process. What I love about Iron Fist’s origin story that you both crafted is how he earned the right to gain the power as opposed to how other superheroes received their powers by accident.

On your part as the writer, how much research did you do on Chinese culture and history when you created the other characters that were central to Iron Fist’s mythology such as the Dragon Lords and the August Personage in Jade? There’s also Lei-Kung the Thunderer and Shou-Lao the Undying, who appeared in the next issue. Did Gil also contribute to the creation of these two characters when you co-plotted it with Len Wein (the writer of the succeeding issue)?

THOMAS: The Dragon Lords and the August Personage in Jade and the rest, at least the ones I conceived and named working with Gil Kane, were based on a combination of a book titled Chinese Mythology I owned (though I may have checked out one or two other mythology texts as well), and what Gil and I wanted to bring in of Bill Everett’s “Amazing-Man” origin from 1939. I didn’t really “co-plot” with Len in the sense you probably mean; I simply turned over the ideas that I (with Gil) had for the second story and let the next writer run with it. Lei-Kung, I think, came from the CM book; I don’t quite remember about Shou-Lao.

IAIF: Do you recall how you came up with the name of Iron Fist’s alter ego, Daniel Thomas Rand, along with the names of his parents, Wendell and Heather? I’m just wondering if Danny’s name, in particular, was derived from someone close to you or someone you admire, and if this was how you would often come up with the names of your characters’ alter egos.

THOMAS: Don’t recall much about the names, except that probably (subconsciously) the real Rand Corporation was the source for the last name. Only Heather I knew was Phil Seuling’s young daughter… and Wendell may have been from a combination of actor Wendell Corey and Wendell Crowley, who was the 1944-53 editor of CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES and the first comics pro I ever met in person. Didn’t know any Dannys then that I can recall, although of course a few years later I met a Danette (my second wife) who changed her name legally to Dann… but no connection there.

Notes: Phil Seuling was responsible for inventing the direct market and also revolutionized comic conventions.

“The RAND Corporation is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm.” From their Wikipedia site.

IAIF: Iron Fist used second-person narration in his first appearance. You started it and the succeeding writers after you followed suit, all the way to Chris Claremont during his time as Iron Fist’s writer.

I think it worked perfectly for the character, but I don’t recall any other Marvel comic that used the same style.

What made you decide to use second-person narration with Iron Fist, and did you think that the next writers would use the same storytelling style? Or was that a directive from you being the editor?

THOMAS: Of course, second person is an accepted literary style, even if not a common one. I’ve no particular memory of why I decided to use it (in fact, until you mentioned it, I’d forgotten than I had), but it just seemed right at the time, a bit more immediate than third person. I seem to recall that Gerry Conway had written some comics stories in second person previously, though I don’t necessarily think they were in DAREDEVIL. They may have been “mystery” stories.

IAIF: What was the overall impression of Iron Fist after his debut, both from the readers and your Marvel staff, if you can recall? Being the first new character introduced in Marvel Premiere following established characters like Adam Warlock and Dr. Strange were featured in the title, it must have meant that readers were curious about the new guy.

THOMAS: I don’t recall a lot of details about the reception of Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere, except of course that the initial issues sold well enough that he was quickly given his own title. That says it all, I think.

Note: I found out the answer to my question after reading the letters page from Marvel Premiere #17. Iron Fist was a big hit as I posted on X (formerly Twitter).

IAIF: Power Man and Iron Fist (or Luke Cage and Danny Rand) has become one of the most famous duos in comics, and you co-created both characters. What do you think has made their partnership so successful, given that they are polar opposites in almost everything?

THOMAS: You basically answered your own question. The fact that the two are so different makes them an interesting mix… just as, going back to the 1950s, the team of Superman and  Batman interested readers because, despite costumes, those two characters were in many ways the opposite ends of the super-hero spectrum. In fact, in the 1960s, we active fans often differentiated between “super-heroes” (like Superman) and “costumed heroes” (like Batman).

IAIF: That’s an interesting factoid about “super-heroes” and “costumed heroes,” Roy. I had no idea such a distinction existed.

Let me just bring up the live-action adaptation of Iron Fist on Netflix for a moment. Unfortunately, it was one of the most divisive shows Marvel TV had produced. If Marvel were to do another live-action adaptation of Iron Fist, as his creator, what would you tell them to do to get the core of the character right?

THOMAS: I felt the casting of Iron Fist was fine.  They just needed a better storyline to secure a whole season. “The Hand” wasn’t it.

IAIF: True. I felt that the Hand being introduced as Iron Fist’s nemesis could have worked if it had been executed properly. But it felt like a forced insertion into the Iron Fist story that it just didn’t work.

Finn Jones (Danny Rand/Iron Fist) and Jessica Henwick (Colleen Wing) were hired late as production was about to begin and had to rush their preparation for the show.

Finally, what would you like to see for the future of Iron Fist, particularly Danny Rand, as he heads into the next 50 years of his existence? I personally hope you get to write a new Iron Fist mini-series!

THOMAS: I’m afraid I don’t have any particular hopes or plans for Iron Fist—except that I hope he remains the hero of his own series, and is not replaced by someone else. I’m pleased that, exactly 50 years after I went to Gil Kane so that he and I could develop my concept together, the character is still remembered and vital.

IAIF: Yes, Iron Fist is still both remembered and vital, Roy. The fact that he continues to be the topic of discussion and rumors in both live-action and comic books suggests that he is still relevant in the eyes of the superhero community. Like you, I hope Marvel gives Iron Fist another opportunity to star in his own series, and hopefully, it’s this year.

Again, thank you for giving me the chance to talk to you about Iron Fist. It’s a privilege and honor to have had this conversation with one of the pillars of the comic book industry.

John Cimino is Thomas’ manager and best friend. He is also a writer who has contributed articles to ALTER EGO, RETROFAN, BACK ISSUE and THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR from TwoMorrows Publishing, while also managing “Hero Envy” The Blog Adventures and THE ROY THOMAS APPRECIATION BOARD group page on Facebook.