The MCU"s Replacement For A Netflix Hero Is Here, But The Franchise"s Biggest Question About Him Lives On

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The MCU just provided a replacement for one major Marvel hero in a way that manages to make a major question about the character more pressing than ever. Marvel"s recent history has done right by a selection of beloved characters, with the main X-Men "97 characters all getting their moments in the sun throughout the show"s first season, and with a range of familiar faces having returned for another chance at on-screen glory by Deadpool & Wolverine"s ending.
In the final days of 2024, yet another hero who viewers likely weren"t expecting to see anytime soon graced screens via Marvel"s newest release, continuing this trend for the MCU. However, where Deadpool & Wolverine answered a lot of questions about the fates of characters like Dafne Keen"s Laura and Jennifer Garner"s Electra, this story only serves to raise as many questions as it answers. That said, it does make the prospect of one key Marvel hero returning to the main MCU timeline seem all the more likely.
What If? Season 3 Introduces A New MCU Iron Fist

What If...? season 3, episode 6 spends a not insignificant amount of its story teasing the hero alias of the young boy who accompanies Shang-Chi and Hawkeye on their adventure. While the first main tease - that of the child saying his name is Jun-Fan - may have only raised question marks for the most hardened of comic book readers, Jun-Fan breaking out some serious martial arts moves certainly makes it clear to broad audiences early on that he"s no ordinary kid.
The ending of the episode - wherein the two heroes watch Jun-Fan, and Hawkeye remarks that he"s "got some iron fists" - appears to confirm that this character is none other than Kwai Jun-Fan, who in the comics is the version of Iron Fist who operated in the Wild West. This is also reinforced by the Watcher"s narration saying that "one person"s tragic fall is often just the origin story of a new hero"s rise" right before showing the child, suggesting his encounter with Xu Xialing and Sonny Burch is what will lead him to become the hero going forward.
Who The Main MCU Iron Fist Is Still Remains A Big Question For The Franchise's Future Close While the MCU very much sets up Jun-Fan to become Iron Fist in What If...? season 3, episode 6, the nature of the show being set in a series of alternate universes that differ in many ways to the conventional MCU timeline leaves the question of who the main MCU Iron Fist is still up in the air. Since Jun-Fan"s comic history places him as the Wild West"s Iron Fist, it doesn"t seem that likely that he"ll also be appearing in the main universe, even if the episode demonstrates the positives of potentially doing so.
Similarly, while Netflix era of Marvel"s shows has become MCU canon - with Daredevil: Born Again directly following on from 2018"s Daredevil season 3 - it"s not quite clear if this would definitely extend to the Defenders universe"s Iron Fist too. Even if it does, enough in-universe time has passed that the MCU could still wish to make its own iteration. Given how many people have held the Iron Fist mantle in the comics, it doesn"t seem anything will appear set in stone until the MCU makes things concrete - though hopefully the What If...? tease means this will be soon.
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Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
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Thunderbolts*
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Avengers: Secret Wars
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