8 'Iron Fist' Easter eggs that cleverly tie the series into Marvel's Cinematic Universe

Despite its many flaws, Marvel's latest Netflix series, Iron Fist, is still a member of The Defenders and a cog in the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. Naturally, this means a lot of easter eggs are sprinkled into the series, with nods to The Avengers, as well as other Marvel TV heroes like Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. There's a great deal of fan service in these references for sure, but they also do make some narrative sense. When so many super-powered characters live in New York, you're bound to hear about them, right? 

Below, you can check out eight Iron Fist Easter eggs that tie into the MCU. 

(Editor's note: Spoilers for Iron Fist season one ahead). 

Episode 2, "the incident"

In the series' second episode, Danny Rand is dealing with his own gaslight scenario: What if the mystical monastery in the middle of the Himalayan Mountains that granted him powers from a dragon was actually all in his head? In fairness, yeah, that all sounds a bit absurd. 

He spends the entire episode in the psych ward, which offers a quick reference to The Avengers from Danny's doctor. The doctor mentions that ever since "the incident," — said incident meaning when The Avengers took on Loki and his minions in The Avengers' third act, a moment that's referenced in other Marvel-Netflix series — he's noticed more people claiming to have superpowers. 

However, in Danny's case the superpowers are the truth, as evidenced by the fact that he punches through the hospital's wall at the end of the episode with his... iron fist? 

Episode 3, Daughter of the Dragon

Colleen Wing doesn't want the apprentices in her dojo street fighting, but the rules apparently don't apply to Colleen when she has New York City rent to pay! Colleen's street fighting makes for some of the show's best action sequences, and she has her own fighting name to boot: Daughter of the Dragon. 

Does the name sound familiar? It should to comic book fans. Daughters of the Dragon (note the S) is the name of the detective agency set up by Wing and Misty Knight, the latter of which made her onscreen debut in Luke Cage's first season. Honestly, we'd be down for a Daughters of the Dragon TV series. 

Episode 4, Danny and Daredevil

Danny is pushed off a building at the end of the third episode, which, depending on how you read the situation, was a dick move by Ward Meachum that could've killed his childhood pal, or an understandable reaction to someone trying to break into your dad's apartment. 

Regardless, when Danny survives and makes his way upstairs, Ward explains that he reacted to someone scaling the walls like "goddamned Daredevil." Again, not wrong. 

Episode 5, Claire Temple and superheroes

Claire Temple, aka Marvel television's Nick Fury, makes her long-awaited appearance training at Colleen's dojo. She soon meets Danny and quickly finds out that he's another superhero in New York. 

"My mother says I can't escape meeting people like you," she laments. Claire's mom has a point: She's now met every member of The Defenders. 

Several episodes, Claire coining Luke's favorite catchphrase

Claire and Luke made for a pretty cute couple, and apparently all that time spent with Luke has really influenced Claire. There's a few times throughout Iron Fist that she dishes out Luke's favorite catchphrase: "Sweet Christmas." 

It is, admittedly, a fun thing to say. 

Episode 8, Luke's letter to Claire and Jessica Jones' investigation

Claire presumably receives a letter from Luke, which Danny presses her about while they're en route to China. When Danny asks if Claire has a boyfriend, however, she says she doesn't because he is "presently unavailable." Thankfully, Luke should be back in New York for The Defenders. Maybe they can grab some coffee then. 

Meanwhile, Joy Meachum reveals to her brother Ward that she's got some blackmail for other members of the Rand Enterprises board. How did she do it? Apparently she hired a private investigator who's very good at her job — when she isn't drunk. Yep, that's definitely Jessica Jones. 

Episode 10, the original Iron Fist costume? 

Episode 10 takes Danny into the heart of The Hand's New York City base (though at first unbeknown to him) where he meets Colleen's sensei, Bakuto. Bakuto explains his own interest in the Iron Fist before showing Danny some old footage of a previous Iron Fist protecting the entrance to K'un-Lun from a slew of soldiers. 

The footage itself is pretty grainy, but it appears that he was wearing Danny's costume from the comics — which, in fairness, would've looked absurd on screen. 

Episode 13, Davos' evil turn 

Danny's childhood friend Davos spent most of Iron Fist pissed at Danny for abandoning K'un-Lun after its entrance was open (he has a point!) and ends the season by scheming with Joy and Madame Gao, who would presumably be the main villains if the show gets a second season. 

This means Davos should assume the Steel Serpent mantle he has in the comics as one of Danny's biggest adversaries. However, considering Danny doesn't wear his comic book costume, we imagine Davos won't, either. 

Also, yes: Davos is the name of a character on Game of Thrones — the show that put Iron Fist actor Finn Jones on the map. 

Iron Fist is currently streaming on Netflix. 

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