The next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Netflix collaboration, Iron Fist, was recently released. The series, which follows businessman Danny Rand becoming the chi-powered vigilante after studying martial arts in a mystic land. Basically, it's Arrow but with the magic from Doctor Strange. As with any big series, there was a large amount of hype, until the casting of Finn Jones, best known for laying Loras Tyrell in Game of Thrones, as the title character. The production has been accused of whitewashing a character that should be Asian, despite the character being white in the comics. From the earliest announcement, there was a movement to make the character Asian, but many only knew of the name and noted a lack of major Asian leads in superhero films/television instead of researching the actual comic. I should note that at the time of writing, I have not seen the series, but I do know comics, and this casting is not racist at all – in fact, casting an Asian actor would be even more racist than one may think.

Iron Fist was created as am answer to the popular martial arts film genre, specifically the Bruce Lee films that were increasingly popular in the United States. Cues from Batman and even Iron Man were taken into consideration – esteemed businessman studies mystic arts in a foreign land, eventually receiving the power of “the Iron Fist.” By being the “outsider” due to his race and appearance, the writers were able to use this to create conflicts between Iron Fist and those in “K'un L'un.” Unlike many stories of the powerful white guy learning ancient martial arts, Danny Rand was not portrayed as the “most important Iron Fist to ever live” and the white savior. Instead, he was just the next person to take on the power and title, and will be followed by another when he dies or gives up the power. When his comic failed, he was brought into the pages of Luke Cage and the two became the “Heroes for Hire.” This series, titled Power Man and Iron Fist, ran until the mid 1980s, but had a lasting impact on the Marvel universe. Eventually, both Luke Cage and Iron Fist would reunite to continue the war on crime, though not as closely as the original series did. From here, Iron Fist fell to being a C-list character, not well known enough to get traction on a film project, other than some minor appearances. His powerset includes the ability to harness chi energy into his fist, hence the name, as well as being a master martial artist. He was very much every Asian trope, but put into a white businessman.

Imagine if instead of casting Finn Jones, Marvel cast an Asian actor. Their first major Asian superhero would be a mystic martial artist who believes in zen principles. That in itself would reflect the stereotypical roles Hollywood creates for Asians. While yeah, the comic book film genre does not have too many minority characters, one must also consider that we are still adapting the characters from the 1938-1975 era, where most minority characters were supporting or had limited issues. But casting an Asian actor in a role that would only further push the generic Asian chi magic image, and the story of Danny Rand would be affected by it – making it seem like only Asian people can do martial arts and know all about chi and zen, and at the same time ignoring the source material in order to play it safe. It is not whitewashing, as there is nothing to “make white” due to the character's race and appearance in the comics themselves. It is not a matter of keeping things as they were in the comics either, but would you rather outdated stereotypes be front and center of a major Marvel production, or have comic accuracy and make it clear than Danny Rand is not the white savior, but rather one who just happened to become Iron Fist? It comes down to casting from the comic art vs. from what some want to see, but even still – an Asian lead would only lead to promoting the Fu Manchu stereotype that slowly, Hollywood has tried to get out of.

Marvel Studios casting is usually top notch. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Charlie Cox as Daredevil, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki all have become the definitive interpretation of their respective characters. Even when an actor leaves a production and they recast, the new actor is far better for the part than the original (Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk being replaced with Mark Ruffalo, for example). It should also be noted that Marvel is gearing up to release the first major superhero movie with a primarily black cast, being next year's Black Panther. Comic-wise, top selling characters include Miles Morales' Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan, not counting the legacy characters. So as a company, Marvel themselves are not racist (the less we talk about the CEO the better). However, sometimes, Marvel does make a bad decision that does reflect some of the Hollywood fear of Asian leads. Specifically, Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange. While doing a good job in the role, Swinton does not reflect the comic source material, wherein the Ancient One is an old, Tibetan man. This change was due to Disney wanting to release the film in China, so Tibet could not be mentioned (instead, Stephen Strange goes to Nepal for training). But even still – the role could have gone to a successful Asian actor, thus breaking ground for a major Asian character in an anticipated film.

Contrary to reviews and the controversy, Danny Rand is not a white man stealing Asian culture. He's just the guy who got the power of the Iron Fist. This is not unlike Doctor Strange or Batman – they just happened to be there and learn their powers, regardless of race. Many have criticized the show for having a white star, without bothering to consider the accidental racism of an Asian zen/chi master. I would not be opposed to an Asian Robin or Nightwing, because that wouldn't change much about how the character is presented (yes I know those are DC characters). But changing Iron Fist would just lead into more stereotypes and negative images. Luke Cage used race as a major theme, but that is because of the prevalence of said theme in the comics. Now if it eventually leads to an Asian character taking over for Danny Rand (perhaps adapting the time Rand acted as Daredevil to help Matt Murdock), then it wouldn't be as overly racist – the concept will have been introduced and made clear that anyone can possess this power. Or even another Bruce Lee-inspired show, Shang-Chi, taking off from a possible Iron Fist appearance. Either way, saying this casting is racist only allows for more racism in terms of what the role entails. Let's just see how the show plays out, and if it will open the door for another series, then let's let it happen without complaining about Marvel preventing an outdated view.