The Steel Serpent's Role In The 'Iron Fist' Comics Is SO Different Than In The Show

Danny Rand has his fair share of enemies, but one of his oldest and dearest friends turns out to be his main nemesis in Iron Fist Season 2. Spoilers for Episodes 1-6 follow. Davos becomes the Steel Serpent in Episode 4, "Target: Iron Fist." The Steel Serpent in the Iron Fist comics is an enemy of Danny Rand, who obtains the power of the Iron Fist. With the help of Joy Meachum, Davos steals Danny's power in Season 2 since he believes he deserves it. And while the Steel Serpent's comic book origin story is slightly different from the Netflix show, his rage-filled resentment toward Danny is a defining characteristic of Davos.

Sacha Dhawan's Davos was introduced in Season 1 when he tried to get Danny to return to K'un-Lun since the Iron Fist had abandoned his post. Besides being jealous of Danny, he was outraged with his K'un-Lun brother for associating with Colleen, who was a part of the Hand unbeknownst to her. Davos left Danny to seemingly return to protect K'un Lun, but he met up with Joy in France with the proposition that they destroy Danny.

With the help of Alice Eve's Mary Walker (known as "Typhoid Mary" in the comics) and some magic by the Crane Sisters, their plan to give Davos the Iron Fist comes to fruition in Season 2. But instead of a tattoo of the dragon Shou-Lao on his chest, Davos sports a tattoo of a serpent on his back — which is where his villain name comes from. And the Steel Serpent is able to channel the Iron Fist in both hands as he shows in Episode 6, "The Dragon Dies At Dawn."

Season 2 provides some more backstory on Davos and Danny's childhood in K'un-Lun and Davos' troubled relationship with his mother. While Davos' mother isn't a major character in the comics, Davos is the son of Lei Kung (who trains the fighters of K'un-Lun) in both the comics and the show. Yet, a major difference between these mediums is that Davos doesn't grow up training with Danny in the comics. Instead, he knew Danny's father — Wendell Rand — first.

In the comics, it is Wendell who beats Davos and is set to fight Shou-Lao. However, Wendell never goes through with battling the dragon and returns to earth where he creates Rand Enterprises and has Danny. So Davos' vendetta agains the Rands stems from Danny's father. Another difference is that rather than going through a tattoo ritual in New York City, Davos gets his serpent tattoo when he tries to fight Shou-Lao without earning the right to. (The mark is a dragon without wings.) Davos also doesn't leave the mystical city of his volition. He is kicked out of K'un-Lun by Yu-Ti (the monk that Danny referred to as "the August Personage in Jade" back in Season 1). After that, Davos heads to New York City to exact revenge on Wendell and his family, which is where he comes in contact with the Meachums.

Joy and Ward Meachum (who is Joy's uncle — not her brother — in the comics) blame the Iron Fist for killing Harold. And Joy tasks Davos with going after the Iron Fist. Once he finds Danny, Davos is able to absorb some of the Iron Fist's chi and eventually takes Danny's full power during a fight. However, the Steel Serpent can't control the Iron Fist. And in this battle, which also features Colleen, Misty, and Spider-Man, Danny destroys Davos.

But, of course, that isn't the end of Davos or his Steel Serpent persona. Danny later unwittingly resurrects Davos when he pieces together a relic called the Anomaly Gem. Davos' spirit had been living in a realm with past Iron Fists and when he comes back to Earth, Davos steals the power of the Iron Fist yet again. The Steel Serpent returns to K'un-Lun and takes over as its leader until Danny stops him with the help of Colleen, Misty, and Davos' father. And being the benevolent superhero he is, Danny lets Davos live.

Davos doesn't use the body of an old Iron Fist to gain his power (like he does on the show), but he does fight the Iron Fist before Danny — Orson Randall — later in the comics. In another storyline that deals with the "Tournament of the Heavenly Cities," the Steel Serpent also takes on a different name and calls himself the Steel Phoenix.

The Steel Serpent tries his (non-iron) hand at being good for a bit, but it doesn't stick. However, the Steel Serpent's comic book story arc shows that Davos could continue to be an enemy of Danny's even if he is defeated in Season 2. And just like his comic book character, Dhawan's Steel Serpent will probably never be able to truly master the power of the Iron Fist — but that won't stop him from being a major thorn in Danny's side.