Iron Fist just debuted a full trailer, ahead of its March 17th debut, and it looks, well, honestly it looks a lot like Daredevil, bar the explosions. But the series also hints that it’ll finally answer a question that Daredevil has left hanging for the last two seasons: What, exactly, is the deal with Madame Gao?
Gao, played by Wai Ching Ho, was introduced in the first season of Daredevil, and at first was presented as a fairly typical Asian gangster, selling heroin for the triads. But the first season offered two rather large hints there was something more to her; the first was that said heroin was emblazoned with the symbol of Iron Fist villain the Steel Serpent, and the second that she booted Matt Murdock halfway to Queens with one punch.
Gao is a major antagonist in this new trailer. She appears to be behind the corporate machinations of the Rand conglomerate, and she also appears to know just who Danny Rand is and doesn’t want him in New York. It’s especially intriguing when you remember that Daredevil has some ties to mysticism and the martial arts himself, via his harsh mentor Stick and his antagonists the Hand.
Hopefully, Gao is also given some more depth, as well. Marvel’s been called out, repeatedly, over the fact that Asian-Americans are poorly represented both in overall casting and in the roles they get on screen. Iron Fist gives them an opportunity to address this, by offering more Asian characters and giving them more to do than get punched by a white guy or talk about the mystic East. We’ll find out if they took that March 17th.
