REVIEW–In 2018, Marvel pulled the plug on fan-favorite series Iron Fist after only two seasons, even ending on a major cliffhanger. As all of Marvel’s Netflix originals were cancelled and later transferred to DisneyPlus, the story was never continued. Now, nearly seven years later, they’ve finally launched Ironheart, the next series in the “Iron + Body Part” franchise. But fans of the original are finding it confusing, disconnected, and ultimately unsatisfying.

As most will remember, by the end of Iron Fist‘s second season, Danny Rand (Finn Jones) had given up his power as the Iron Fist, and his girlfriend Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) had taken up the mantle instead. But Ironheart brings in a completely new actress to play Wing: Dominique Thorne. Amid complaints about changing the character’s race for diversity purposes (from Asian to African American), viewers seem perplexed that the character has barely used her chi-fueled power so far. Instead, there’s been a lot of filler content about her somehow being a tech genuis and building a flying metal suit, or something like that.

Lest they completely alienate fans, Marvel made at least one clear connection to the mystical elements of Iron Fist. The show’s antagonist wears red, has magical abilities, and calls himself “the Hood”–clearly a derivative of the “Hand” ninjas, featured antagonists in Iron Fist and Daredevil. But again, racial concerns–making a ninja Hispanic instead of Asian–have been a point of contention for some viewers.

Longtime Iron Fist fans expected this sequel to respect the source material in terms of its whitewashing (making a white man a master of kung fu). Furthermore, the protagonist of Ironheart isn’t a clueless white guy droning his way through slow, boring action scenes. And not once yet has the titular heroine used the phrase “the Immortal Ironheart, protector of K’un-Lun!”

Overall, elements like the main character’s general competence, the show’s fast-paced action, and the halfway decent storytelling have made Ironheart seem like quite a departure from its predecessor. It’s almost as if it belongs to another corner of the Marvel Universe; the contrast with Iron Fist couldn’t be more Stark!

With the final three episodes of Ironheart releasing last night, viewers are still struggling to tie together the remaining threads from Iron Fist. But some mysteries may remain unresolved until the arc concludes with Marvel’s Iron Lung, currently slated for a late 2026 release.