WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Marvel's Iron Fist Season 2, streaming now on Netflix.
The elaborate scheme by Davos to steal the power of the Iron Fist in the second season of the Netflix drama spans the globe, and centuries, requiring a priceless antique bowl, the mummified corpse of a previous protector of K'un-Lun, and the assistance of private investigator Mary Walker, and a trio of tattoo artists referred to only as the Crane Sisters. But who are the Crane Sisters?
Mentioned early in Episode 4, "Target: Iron Fist," they're soon glimpsed in action after Mary (Alice Eve) drugs and abducts Danny Rand (Finn Jones) for the arcane rite that will transfer the "Heart of the Dragon" to Davos (Sacha Dhawan). It involves burning the branded skin cut from the long-deceased Iron Fist to ash, and mixing it with Danny's blood in a Tibetan singing bowl to create a sort of ink for tebori, the Japanese practice of tattooing by hand. They painstakingly apply the "Steel Serpent" emblem to Davos' back, and he emerges from the ceremony with the power, and mantle, that he believes Danny stole from him years earlier.
Although it's certainly understandable if viewers initially think the Crane Sisters are, like Davos and Danny, transplants from K'un-Lun, we learn in Episode 6, "The Dragon Dies At Dawn," that they're not natives of the mystical city but instead talented locals simply hired to perform a job. Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) and Misty Knight (Simone Missick) pay a visit on their tattoo parlor in Queens, located in a former funeral home (ironic, considering the crane is a symbol of long life in some cultures). Their investigation swiftly goes south, however, resulting is possibly the most thrilling fight of the series to date, as the Crane Sisters demonstrate they're more than tattoo artists; they're brutal combatants.
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However, there's a little more to the Crane Sisters than that. While there's no indication there's anything supernatural about them, they're clearly inspired by the Crane Daughters of Marvel Comics. But much as with Bride of the Nine Spiders in Season 1, Iron Fist has grounded them in this world.
Introduced in 2007 in The Immortal Iron Fist #1, the Crane Daughters are the many children of the Crane Mother, the rule of K'un-Zi, which, like K'un-Lun is one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. In the comics, they are formidable fighters who possess the ability to transform into the crane. Devoted to Davos, the Crane Daughters willingly sacrifice themselves to enhance his powers whenever necessary. Lucky, then, that the Crane Mother can create more of them as needed.
The Crane Sisters are nowhere near as loyal on Iron Fist. Beaten by Misty and Colleen, they sing like canaries, revealing what they know of the ritual used to steal the Iron Fist, and dismissing their role in the scheme as little more than a job. And, in order to avoid prison, they even agree to perform the ritual again, to strip Davos of his power.
Available now on Netflix, Marvel’s Iron Fist Season 2 stars Finn Jones as Danny Rand, Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing, Sacha Dhawan as Davos, Tom Pelphrey as Ward Meachum, Jessica Stroup as Joy Meachum, Simone Missick as Misty Knight and Alice Eve as Mary Walker.