Heroes for Hire

Over the next few months, Iron Fist became a noted crimefighter and clashed with enemies such as Master Khan, Scimitar, Chaka, the Wrecking Crew, Drom, the Backwards Man and Sabretooth. He sometimes worked with other heroic martial artists such as the Sons of the Tiger, the White Tiger, and Shang-Chi, the latter helping him save K’un-Lun from the sorcerer Quan-St’ar. Iron Fist then faced Davos, Lei Kung’s banished son, who sought to steal the Iron Fist power. Also calling himself Steel Serpent, Davos briefly succeeded in usurping the power before losing it back to and being defeated by Iron Fist; his soul was imprisoned within the alien Contemplator’s Anomaly Gem.

Iron Fist became Misty Knight’s lover; he defended her from Luke Cage, a super-strong mercenary blackmailed into serving Knight’s enemy, Bushmaster after Knight had infiltrated the organization. When Bushmaster discovers Knight’s treachery, he kidnaps Claire Temple and Noah Burstein, the close associates of Luke Cage, better known as Power Man, holding them hostage to force Cage to eliminate Knight. Iron Fist is on hand to stop him, however, and after a battle, the truth comes out. Rand helps Cage and the Daughters of the Dragon (Knight and Wing) battle Bushmaster, rescue Temple and Burstein, and obtain evidence that proves Cage’s innocence of prior drug charges. Iron Fist, Knight, and Colleen Wing helped Cage break Bushmaster’s hold, and Iron Fist soon formed a partnership with Cage as Heroes for Hire, Inc., taking assignments as bodyguards and private investigators.

While Iron Fist and the cynically down-to-earth Cage were very different, they shared a dedication to justice and became best friends. Soon, Iron Fist and Cage confronted Master Khan, whom they pursued to K’un-Lun. Reunited with Lei Kung, Iron Fist was appalled to learn that the population had been decimated, and he and Cage led K’un-Lun’s remaining warriors against their foes; however, Iron Fist’s time on Earth had changed him, and he became disillusioned by K’un-Lun’s regimented culture. He was then captured by his adoptive uncle, Yu-Ti, who hoped to use him to appease Master Khan; however, even Khan feared the full power of the Iron Fist and was threatened into releasing his enemies. Iron Fist destroyed the mystic emerald that stabilized K’un-Lun’s link to Earth, making future interfaces unpredictable, then returned to New York with Cage. Khan himself became trapped on Earth and was unable to prevent Chiantang from escaping and almost destroying K’un-Lun.

Iron Fist, in his secret identity of Daniel Rand, resumes control of his parents’ fortune as half of Rand-Meachum, Inc., making him quite wealthy. This causes tension between him and Cage, who was raised poor. Power Man and Iron Fist’s partnership ends with Rand contracting cancer and being kidnapped as part of a plot masterminded by Master Khan. Just prior to a battle with the Black Dragon Chiantang (the brother of the mythical Dragon King), Danny is replaced by a doppelgänger created by the extra-dimensional H’ylthri. The double (who wears a red variant of the Iron Fist costume) is killed by Captain Hero a short time later. Cage becomes a fugitive as the prime suspect in Rand’s apparent death.

While in stasis in K’un-L’un with the H’ylthri, Iron Fist manages to focus his chi, curing his cancer. He is later freed from stasis by Namor. Upon returning to New York, Rand and Cage reform Heroes for Hire, Inc. with an expanded team, this time working for Namor’s Oracle Corporation. Namor ultimately dissolves Oracle as well as Heroes for Hire, Inc.

Iron Fist later loses his powers to Junzo Muto, the young leader of the Hand, and subsequently becomes the guardian of a pack of displaced dragons in Tokyo. His powers are eventually restored by Chiantang, who brainwashes Iron Fist and forces him to battle Black Panther. Black Panther is able to free Iron Fist from the creature’s control, and the two work together to defeat the Black Dragon in Wakanda.