Packing a punch (Picture: Netflix)

We’re not far from the debut of Netflix’s superhero team up extravaganza, The Defenders.

The Defenders catch-up: what happened in Luke Cage?

It’s set to unite Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, bringing each one together from their own shows to fight a new evil that threatens New York.

It looks set to be television’s answer to The Avengers – an eight-part epic on a whole new scale.

There’s just one problem though – what if you can’t remember what happened in the other shows?


It’s been a while, after all, and you probably don’t have the time to binge watch them all ahead of The Defenders’ August 18 broadcast date.



No need to worry – here’s your explanation of everything that happened in Iron Fist…

What happened in Iron Fist?

After years being assumed dead, Danny Rand returns to New York – now the Immortal Iron Fist, a ninja superhero, he wants to reclaim his family company.

The company is now run by Joy and Ward Meachum, friends of Danny’s family; it’s soon revealed that their father, Harold, thought to be dead, was in fact resurrected by the Hand.

The Hand are using their influence to control the Rand company – and were also responsible for the accident that killed Danny’s family, and left him stranded in the Himalayas.

The rest of the series covers Danny’s attempts to fight the growing chapter of the Hand in New York, while wrestling back control of his company as he’s accused of a series of crimes he didn’t commit.

How did it end?

Jessica Henwick plays martial arts teacher Colleen Wing in Iron Fist (Picture: Netflix)

Danny is able to prove his identity, and take an active role in the company – which prompts Harold to try to take over more overtly.

In the ensuing fight, Harold is killed (properly, this time) leaving Danny and Ward in joint ownership of the company.

Danny decides to return to the Himalayas to complete his training as the Iron Fist – but when he gets to K’un Lun, where he trained, the city has disappeared – with only a trail of bodies remaining.

Unresolved plot threads

The disappearance of K’un Lun will be important, given the conflict with the Hand.

It’s also revealed that the Hand and the Iron Fist are sworn enemies – with the Hand set to be the antagonist in The Defenders, this will surely come into play.

Iron Fist also picked up on a thread introduced in Daredevil – that the Hand are digging underneath New York.

No doubt this will be a crucial part of their plan in The Defenders.

It’s also established that the Hand can bring people back to life, leaving them functionally immortal (short of beheadings).

Alex Moreland is a freelance writer and student based in London. You can read more of his work here.

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