Marvel Doesn't Know How To Prioritize Its Legacy Heroes
As familiar Marvel Comics heroes like Iron Fist Danny Rand and Daredevil Matt Murdock have reached the tail end of their masked careers and Marvel finds new characters to step in, their successors are struggling to connect with readers.
Several of Marvel's most iconic mantles have passed onto new characters in recent years, and while wholly new characters, like Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales as the main-universe Spider-Man, are thriving fresh faces, some previously established characters are struggling to find their own under an established mask. In Iron Fist (2022) by Alyssa Wong, Michael Yg, and Sean Chen, martial arts master Lin Lie has taken the mantle of Iron Fist, marking him as Marvel's first new Asian character to don the mantel of Iron Fist in the present day. While this change has garnered wide praise for embracing the cultural influence of the Iron Fist's backstory, Lie's own established backstory as the Sword Master means fans have catching up to do if they want to know the new 'Fist's full story.
Inherently, this is a good thing: More backstory means more reading for fans, more comics sold for Marvel. The issue, however, is getting fans connected with those stories. Lie's origin as the Sword Master, beautifully captured in the eponymous, 12-issue series by Shuizhu and Gunji, with translations done by Greg Pak, wasn't highly marketed by Marvel at the time, and while Lie also made appearances in some smaller titles, the former Sword Master wasn't given a big platform until his debut as Iron Fist, where his name wasn't revealed until the end of the first issue. The surprise reveal lacked punch, not only because Danny Rand was more prominent in Iron Fist #1, but because relatively few fans were familiar with Lie. It's difficult for a legacy hero to take center stage when their famous predecessor is still in the picture.
Another hero facing a similar issue is Elektra Natchios, the current Daredevil. While she has grown into a great hero during her time in the red mask, her issues largely focus on her love story with Matt Murdock, who has abruptly taken the mantle of Daredevil back in the Devil's Reign crossover event by Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto. While some characters, like Hawkeye Kate Bishop, have flourished alongside their predecessors, Elektra is struggling to shine as Matt Murdock continues the same crusade despite passing the mantle to her. While neither Devil's Reign or Daredevil: Woman Without Fear has wrapped as of publication, the former Hand assassin needs to make big strides to find her own as Daredevil with Murdock still hanging around.
Marvel's recent approach to introducing new legacy heroes might be frustrating for some, but it's yet to be seen how Lie as Iron Fist and Elektra as Daredevil will fare long-term. The comic book juggernaut is never quick to turn away from its classic characters, but if they want to keep bringing new faces in to fill roles like Daredevil and Iron Fist, Marvel Comics may need to do more long-term planning to keep readers invested.