#li park

[raps-hellion]

introducing seongli "li" park feat. hana thomas park (daughter) and miguel o'hara (undefined)

little details under the cut:

[bookoftheironfist]

Immortal Iron Fist #24 cover art (featuring Li Park) by Patch Zircher and June Chung

[daresplaining]

Iron Fist Countdown: 7 Days

Danny’s Superpowers

    Danny is the most powerful member of the Netflix Defenders team. Or at least, he has the greatest power potential. In addition to his mad kung fu skills, the uses for the chi of Shou-Lao could (and, in fact, do) fill an entire book, and the vast power it grants its wielders is ever-evolving. Even Danny hasn’t yet learned everything he’s capable of. Here are some of the highlights of what various Iron Fists have achieved over the years, and of what we might possibly see in the show.  

    To start: This post is going to give the impression that Danny is really, really overpowered, so we’re going to stick in a little caveat: the Immortal Iron Fist Power Upgrade Factor (IIFPUF). Speaking generally, 616 Danny has had two major power levels (so far, anyway-- his upcoming solo series is going to explore another, but that is a very special situation and probably not relevant here). Before Immortal Iron Fist (BIIF) Danny was still very powerful, but his power had frequency limits. Using the chi of Shou-Lao left him drained, thus preventing him from summoning it more than once-or-twice per day and prompting him to only use it in dire situations.              

Danny: “Can... hardly... move-- By the silver dragon, what have I done? Heartbeat’s racing almost too fast to count... feel flushed, sweating... system overloaded... Power has a definite limit-- remember that! More I use, more it drains me...”

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #6 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Karen Mantlo] 

    In Immortal Iron Fist he acquires the Book of the Iron Fist, which was stolen by his predecessor in an ill-conceived attempt at ending the Iron Fist legacy. This book contains techniques for, among other things, not getting worn out by using the chi of Shou-Lao. Having gained this knowledge, post-Immortal Iron Fist (PIIF) Danny now uses his powers all the time without suffering any ill effects.

    In the Netflix show, we know that Danny will be operating at a BIIF level-- which makes sense, from a storytelling perspective as much as a worldbuilding one. The less frequently he uses his powers on-screen, the more dramatic they will remain. However, the actual range of abilities he might possess in the show remains to be seen. Here are some of the exciting options...     

The Iron Fist 

[Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #67 by Mary Jo Duffy, Kerry Gammill, and Ben Sean]

    Iron Fists are, of course, named after their big signature move. Summoning the Iron Fist involves focusing the chi of Shou-Lao into a concentrated spot (usually a hand), thus imbuing it with temporary super strength and invulnerability. A few writers have suggested that there’s an actual molecular shift involved, which causes the limb in question to literally become “like unto iron”, but generally the actual iron aspect of this technique is treated as a metaphor. Wielding the dragon chi in this way allows the Iron Fist to strike with immense force without suffering any damage themselves. 

[New Avengers vol. 1 #59 by Brian Michael Bendis, Stuart Immonen, and Dave McCaig]     

    With this move Danny has-- to name just a few feats-- obliterated giant robots, sunk ships, blown up trains, taken down a helicarrier (see above), and he once sucker punched 300-pound Luke Cage through a wall, across a street, and into a building that then collapsed on top of him. (Don’t worry, he was fine.)  

    Obviously, we know Danny’s gonna be chi punching things to awesome effect in the show as well. 

    (Aw yessssss...)

Accelerated Healing

[Immortal Iron Fist #9 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja]

    The chi of Shou-Lao can also be used as a healing force, enabling Iron Fists to perform what is essentially epic-level reiki on themselves and others. Take it away, Danny...  

Danny: “Your doctors did most of the hard work weeks ago... All I’m doing... is focusing your chi a bit.. to speed up your natural healing process.”

[Daredevil vol. 2 #111 by Ed Brubaker, Clay Mann, and Matt Hollingsworth]

    This is a versatile skill that works on more than just cuts and bruises and broken bones. The chi can be used to burn out harmful infections and substances within the body. It is, for example, difficult to poison an Iron Fist. Danny also once used the dragon chi to cure cancer, and has managed to break himself out of mind control with it on occasion. It can be used to grant prolonged life. And it works quite well for combating demons who have possessed your friends. 

[Shadowland #5 by Andy Diggle, Billy Tan, and Victor Olazaba]

    This is one power that was drastically impacted by the IIFPUF (see above). When Danny first learned to use the chi in this way, it was a difficult procedure that actually caused him immense physical pain. PIIF, however, he is able to heal rapidly, almost without thinking about it.   

Resurrection

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #12 by Kaare Andrews]

    Chi is life energy, and so it makes sense that there are high-level Iron Fist techniques that can be used to bring dead things back to life. This isn’t a skill that Danny has mastered in the comics (it requires a level of spiritual awareness that he hasn’t achieved yet), but given the link to the Hand mythos in the MCU, and their tendency of bringing people back from the dead, we wonder if it might come up in the show...

Lightning From God (chi projection)

[Immortal Iron Fist #7 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Khari Evans]

    This is a move trademarked by former Iron Fist and all-around badass Wu Ao-Shi, the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay. She developed a technique that allowed her to project her chi out of her body and into her arrows, thus making them extra lethal on impact. Orson Randall, Danny’s direct Iron Fist predecessor, was able to do the same thing with bullets, and it’s a skill that Danny has mastered as well.

[Thunderbolts (2006) #137 by Andy Diggle, Carlos Rodriguez, et al.]

Hypnosis

[Immortal Iron Fist #2 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and David Aja]

   This is one of those Iron Fist powers that rarely comes up, but there is a technique that allows the chi of Shou-Lao to be used to plant mental suggestions, and to control people against their will. It’s not entirely clear how (this is one of those That’s Not Really How Chi Works things) but it’s very cool, so we’ll buy it.

[Mighty Avengers (2013) #6 by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti, and Frank D’Armata]

    It’s probably related to this next ability....

Illusions

[Immortal Iron Fist #24 by Duane Swierczynski, Jose Angel Cano Lopez, and Edward Bola]

    One neat aspect of the chi of Shou-Lao is that, because it is such a versatile power source, it can be shaped to suit the talents and tendencies of the individuals who acquire it. Li Park, an artistic Iron Fist with a powerful imagination, used the chi in a way that enabled him to draw others into his fantasies. All evidence suggests that this is the Hypnotic Fist technique (above), enhanced to its most potent level.  

Energy Absorption/Manipulation

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #7 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Bonnie W.]

    Chi is energy, as we said, and the physical fact of having absorbed a giant dose of highly-volatile dragon chi seems to enable Iron Fists to do the same with other such energy sources. Danny has shown immense tolerance for radiation bombardment and magic, seemingly by absorbing the energy without being harmed by it. Along these same lines, he has found ways of connecting to and manipulating magnetic fields, and he once plugged himself into the chi of every single person in K’un-Lun for a final ditch-effort power boost. He didn’t enjoy it, but he did survive the experience, which is saying something...          

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #9 by Kaare Andrews]

Perfect Strategy Mind (mental enhancement)

[Immortal Iron Fist #15 by Matt Fraction, Khari Evans, and Paul Mounts]

    Developed by master tactician and former Iron Fist Bei Bang-Wen, this technique seems to enhance mental performance and focus. We’ve never seen Danny use this-- but he’s made enough poor judgment calls in his life that he probably should. (Just kidding, Danny. Love ya.)    

Vulcan Mind-Melding

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #6 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Karen Mantlo]

    We doubt this one will be used in the show, but anything is possible! At a certain point, Colleen is kidnapped and mind controlled into trying to kill Danny. After failing to snap her out of the mind control by conventional means, and desperate to avoid either being killed or having to kill her, Danny takes a wild shot and attempts to merge his chi with hers. This allows him to break through the brainwashing, but it’s an extremely unpleasant, violating experience for both of them, and he never does it again. This literal meeting of minds results in a transfer of memories, emotions, and knowledge between the two. Afterward, Colleen is able to pull off some advanced K’un-Lun kung fu techniques that she didn’t know before.    

[Iron Fist vol. 1 #14 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Janice Cohen]

Levitating (Ack!)

[Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #12 by Kaare Andrews] 

    It’s not clear how, or why, or wherefore, but Iron Fists can levitate! (Kaare Andrews, if you’re reading this, please explain.) 

Increased Energy

[Immortal Iron Fist #16 by Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth]

    Danny is able to successfully go without sleep for long periods of time (or, at the very least, to replace sleep with periodic meditation). Of course, most superheroes don’t get much sleep, but Danny has an advantage in that dragon chi is a slightly more powerful stimulant than coffee. 

And finally, uh, whatever this is...

[Immortal Iron Fist #17 by Duane Swierczynski, Travel Foreman, and Matt Milla]

    We’re not sure what this move does, since Danny never actually completes it... but holy moley, it should be on the show.    

    One more week!

[raps-hellion]

seongli park 2024 / 2021 vs seongli park 2026 or: yeah i reckon the twink is pretty dead

[bookoftheironfist]

Immortal Iron Fist #24 by Duane Swierczynski, Kano, and Nate Piekos

Iron Fist Week, Day 2: A Favorite Character

In Iron Fist volume 1 #4, Danny Rand is dying from his injuries in the ruins of a collapsed building when he receives a vision of his uncle, the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun, who shares an extremely important lesson about what the chi of Shou-Lao actually is: "The Iron Fist is not a weapon—it is a force of will...and used properly, it can accomplish...miracles." This vision and revelation allows Danny to make use of his powers in a way he never has before—to heal—and to save his life, while simultaneously broadening the very concept of what the Iron Fist is and what, exactly, an Immortal Weapon is capable of.

With this in mind, let's talk about freakin' Li Park.

Li Park is a dreamer, with a creative mind and a brilliant, vivid imagination. He has no interest in fighting and finds combat training boring. He is, in fact, a pacifist. Unfortunately for him, he's also a boy in K'un-Lun, so these traits are...not exactly encouraged.

Despite the pressure from those around him to commit to a training that does not interest him, Park is able to make his own diversions and keep his spirits up. And he could have just carried on this way, peacefully daydreaming his way through life while sucking at kung fu, were it not for fate's intervention. A terrible plague sweeps through K'un-Lun. While it is a celestial city of immortals, its citizens can still be killed in this way, and the sickness takes the lives of thousands. K'un-Lun is also, at this time, without an Iron Fist, making the situation even more precarious...but when the time comes for someone to face Shou-Lao the Undying, the options are limited.

And so Li Park, who never in his life imagined he would be anywhere near actual combat, is forced to fight to the death against a huge and ancient dragon who has killed most who have dared to face her. To Park's credit, he handles the news well, and remains quite calm and upbeat about the fact that he's definitely going to die.

Except he doesn't.

Using nothing but his wits and imagination, Park manages to defeat Shou-Lao and endure the terrible pain of absorbing the dragon's chi. He has to be dragged, unconscious, out of the cave afterward (we're told that he is the only Iron Fist to have ever passed out from the experience, and I love that), but he powers through and emerges as K'un-Lun's newest, and least likely, Immortal Weapon.

But what use is an Iron Fist who doesn't fight? An Immortal Weapon without martial arts mastery sounds like an oxymoron, and it's what draws me so intensely to Li Park as both a fun character in his own right and also a status quo-shifting piece of worldbuilding. He is a full-on embodiment of that lesson Danny, and Iron Fist readers, learned way back in Iron Fist volume 1 #4: that the Iron Fist is not inherently a weapon, even though that is the form we most often see it take. The dragon's chi has applications far beyond just punching people really hard. Li Park's might is not in his body but in his mind, in his rich imagination, and so that is where he channels the power of the chi of Shou-Lao, and where he ultimately finds mastery as an Iron Fist. He might not be able to flying kick you in the face (or maybe he can...I highly suspect that K'un-Lun's definition of "sucks at fighting" is different than ours), but he will cheerfully hypnotize you and seduce you and make you see whatever he wants you to see, and man, that is power.

I love all of the historical Iron Fists and would gladly read further stories about any of them, but I would do anything to hear more about the life and adventures of Li Park.

[bookoftheironfist]

Jianjun: “Brother, I’ve studied the ancient texts.”

Park: “Hmmm...”

Jianjun: “The dragon’s scar is the source of its immortal power, so move in as quickly as you can and--”

Park: “Maybe I can trip it with my walking stick...”

Immortal Iron Fist #24 by Duane Swierczynski and Jose Angel Cano Lopez

[marvel-dc-art]

Amazing X-Men v2 #15 - "The Once and Future Juggernaut" (2015) pencil & ink by Jorge Fornes / color by Rachelle Rosenberg