title: Siachen Glacier

text: The idea of declaring the Siachen region a "Peace Park" was presented by environmentalists and peace activists in part to preserve the ecosystem of the region badly affected by the military presence. In September 2003, the governments of India and Pakistan were urged by the participants of 5th World Parks Congress held at Durban, to establish a peace park in the Siachen region to restore the natural biological system and protect species whose lives are at risk. Italian ecologist terming the ecological life at serious risk, proposed setting up of "Siachen Peace Park" at the conference. After a proposal of a transboundary Peace Park was floated, the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) organised a conference at Geneva and invited Indian and Pakistani mountaineers (Mandip Singh Soin, Harish Kapadia, Nazir Sabir and Sher Khan). The region was nominated for inclusion in the United Nations' World Heritage List as a part of the Karakoram range, but was deferred by the World Heritage Committee. The area to the east and west of the Siachen region have already been declared national parks: the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary in India and the Central Karakoram National Park in Pakistan.


title: Siachen Glacier

text: Sandia National Laboratories organised conferences where military experts and environmentalists from both India and Pakistan and also from other countries were invited to present joint papers. Kent L. Biringer, a researcher at Cooperative Monitoring Center of Sandia Labs suggested setting up "Siachen Science Center", a high-altitude research centre where scientists and researchers from both the countries can carry out research activities related to glaciology, geology, atmospheric sciences and other related fields.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist (Daniel Thomas "Danny" Rand) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Iron Fist first appeared in "Marvel Premiere" #15 (May 1974). The character is a practitioner of martial arts and the wielder of a mystical force known as the Iron Fist, which allows him to summon and focus his "chi". This ability is obtained from the city of K'un-Lun which appears on earth every 10 years.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: He starred in his own solo series in the 1970s, and shared the title "Power Man and Iron Fist" for several years with Luke Cage, partnering with Cage to form the superhero team Heroes for Hire. Rand frequently appeared with the Daughters of the Dragon duo Misty Knight and Colleen Wing – with Rand often seen in a relationship with the former, marking the first interracial romance in Marvel Comics history. The character has starred in numerous solo titles since, including "The Immortal Iron Fist", which expanded on his origin story and the history of the Iron Fist.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist has been adapted to appear in several animated television series and video games. Finn Jones portrayed the character in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Netflix television series "Iron Fist" (2016–2018), "The Defenders" (2017), and the second season of "Luke Cage".


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist, along with the previously created Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, came from Marvel Comics during an American pop culture trend in the early to mid-1970s of martial arts heroes. Writer/co-creator Roy Thomas wrote in a text piece in "Marvel Premiere" #15 that Iron Fist's origin and creation owe much to the Bill Everett character, John Aman, the Amazing-Man, created in 1939. Thomas later wrote that he and artist/co-creator Gil Kane had


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: The film mentioned by Thomas is "King Boxer", aka "Five Fingers of Death" (1972), which presents the "Iron Fist" technique. Thomas further discussed the character's creation stating, "When Stan Lee gave me a verbal approval to star him in a series, I contacted Gil Kane and we worked out the costume and story. I had Gil give him a dragon brand on his chest, inspired by the one branded into Bullseye, a great western character created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. At Gil's urging, we took some story elements from Bill Everett's 1939 hero Amazing-Man, which itself had borrowed heavily from James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon and the first movie made from it, which introduced "Shangri-La" to the world."


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Debuting in a story written by Thomas and pencilled by Kane in the umbrella title "Marvel Premiere" #15–25 (May 1974 – October 1975), he was then written successively by Len Wein, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, and Chris Claremont, with art by successive pencillers Larry Hama, Arvell Jones, Pat Broderick, and, in some of his earliest professional work, John Byrne. As the "Marvel Premiere" issues had successfully established a considerable readership for the character, following this run, Iron Fist was immediately spun off into the solo series "Iron Fist", which ran 15 issues (November 1975 – September 1977). The solo series was written by Claremont and pencilled by Byrne. A subplot involving the Steel Serpent left unresolved by the cancellation of the series was wrapped up in issues #63–64 of "Marvel Team-Up", the latter of which featured Rand kiss Misty Knight, marking the first interracial kiss and first long-term interracial couple in Marvel Comics history, as well as the first couple with an age difference in which the woman was older than her man.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: To rescue the character from cancellation, Marvel paired Iron Fist with another character who was no longer popular enough to sustain his own series, Luke Cage. The two characters were partnered in a three-part story in Cage's series "Power Man" #48–50. The title of the series changed to "Power Man and Iron Fist" with issue #50 (April 1978), although the indicia did not reflect this change until issue #67. Iron Fist co-starred in the series until the final issue (#125, September 1986). Writer Jim Owsley (subsequently known as Christopher Priest) later commented, "Fist's death was senseless and shocking and completely unforeseen. It took the readers' heads clean off. And, to this day, people are mad about it. Forgetting, it seems, that (a) you were supposed to be mad, that death is senseless and Fist's death was supposed to be senseless, or that (b) this is a comic book."


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist was revived half a decade later in "Namor, the Sub-Mariner" #21–25 (December 1991 – April 1992), a story which revealed that the character killed in "Power Man and Iron Fist" #125 was a doppelgänger. The story was both written and drawn by Byrne, who found the manner of Iron Fist's death objectionable and later commented, "In one of those amazing examples of Marvel serendipity, it turned out to be fairly easy not only to resurrect Danny, but to make it seem like that was the plan all along." Iron Fist then became a frequently starring character in the anthology series "Marvel Comics Presents", featuring in three multi-part story arcs and four one-shot stories in 1992 and 1993. Two solo miniseries followed: "Iron Fist" (vol. 2) #1–2 (September–October 1996), by writer James Felder and penciller Robert Brown; and "Iron Fist" (vol. 3) #1–3 (July–September 1998), by writer Dan Jurgens and penciller Jackson Guice. Also around this time, he was among the ensemble of the group series "Heroes for Hire" which ran 19 issues (July 1997 – January 1999).


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Following a four-issue miniseries by writer Jay Faerber and penciller Jamal Igle, "Iron Fist: Wolverine" (November 2000 – February 2001), co-starring the X-Men character Wolverine and cover-billed as "Iron Fist/Wolverine: The Return of K'un-Lun", came another solo miniseries, "Iron Fist" vol. 4 #1–6 (May–October 2004), by writer Jim Mullaney and penciller Kevin Lau. Subsequently, a new Iron Fist series premiered called "The Immortal Iron Fist". The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues #1–14 (January 2007 – June 2008) with artists Travel Foreman and David Aja. Fraction wrote issues #15 and 16 alone. From issue #17 (September 2008) to the series' cancellation at issue #27 (August 2009), the series was written by Duane Swierczynski and largely drawn by a returning Travel Foreman.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist's appearances outside his own title include three Iron Fist stories in Marvel's black-and-white comics magazine "The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu" #10 (March 1975), an additional story co-starring the Sons of the Tiger in issue #18 (November 1975), and a six-part serial, "The Living Weapon", in #19–24 (December 1975 – May 1976). He made guest appearances in such titles as "Marvel Two-in-One", "Marvel Team-Up", the Submariner series "Namor", "Black Panther", and "Daredevil". Iron Fist appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 "New Avengers" series, from issue #1 (August 2010) through its final issue, #34 (January 2013). In 2014, Iron Fist was given new life and set to star in a new 12-issue comic book series written and drawn by Kaare Andrews titled "Iron Fist: The Living Weapon" as part of the "All-New Marvel NOW!" event.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In January 2021, Iron Fist starred in the series "Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon", written by Larry Hama with art by David Wachter. In October 2021, Marvel announced that Danny Rand will retire as Iron Fist and pass the mantle to a successor. The five-issue limited series, written by Alyssa Wong and art by Michael YG, was released in February 2022, which revealed Lin Lie as the new Iron Fist and Rand appearing in a supporting role.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Danny Rand was born in New York City. His father, Wendell Rand, as a young boy happened upon the mystical city of K'un-L'un. During his time in K'un-L'un, Wendell saved the life of the city's ruler, Lord Tuan, and was adopted as Tuan's son. However, Wendell eventually left K'un-L'un and became a wealthy entrepreneur in the United States. He married socialite Heather Duncan and had a child, Daniel. Wendell later organizes an expedition to again seek out K'un-L'un, taking his wife Heather, his business partner Harold Meachum and nine-year-old Danny. During the journey up the mountain, Danny slips off the path, his tie-rope taking his mother and father with him. Meachum, who also loves Heather, forces Wendell to plunge to his death but offers to rescue Heather and Danny. She rejects his help. Heather and Danny come across a makeshift bridge that appears out of nowhere and are attacked by a pack of wolves. Heather throws herself on the wolves to save Danny and is killed even as archers from K'un-L'un attempt to save her. The archers take the grieving Danny to see Yu-Ti, the hooded ruler of K'un-L'un. When Danny expresses his desire for vengeance, Yü-Ti apprentices him to Lei Kung the Thunderer, who teaches him martial arts. Danny proves to be the most gifted of Lei Kung's students. He toughens his fists by plunging them into buckets of sand, gravel, and rock. At 19, Danny is given the chance to attain the power of the Iron Fist by fighting and defeating the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, who guards the molten heart that had been torn from its body. Guessing that the heart provides life energy to Shou-Lao through the dragon-shaped scar on its chest, Danny covers the scar with his own body and hangs on until Shou-Lao collapses and dies, in the process burning a dragon brand into his own chest. Having killed Shou-Lao, he enters its cave and plunges his fists into a brazier containing the creature's molten heart, emerging with the power of the Iron Fist. It is later revealed that Danny is part of a long lineage of Iron Fists. When K'un-L'un reappears on Earth after 10 years, Danny leaves to find his father's killer. Returning to New York, Danny Rand, dressed in the ceremonial garb of the Iron Fist, seeks out Harold Meachum, now head of Meachum Industries. After overcoming a number of attempts on his life, he confronts Meachum in his office, only to find the man legless—an amputation carried out when, after abandoning Danny and his mother, he was caught in heavy snow and his legs became frostbitten. Meachum accepts his fate and tells Iron Fist to kill him. Overcome with pity, Iron Fist walks away. At that moment Meachum is murdered by a mysterious ninja, and his daughter Joy blames Iron Fist for the death.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Eventually, Iron Fist clears his name and begins a career as a superhero, aided by his friends Colleen Wing and Misty Knight. Notable adversaries in his early career include Sabretooth, the mysterious Master Khan (whom the ninja that killed Meachum once served), and the Steel Serpent, the exiled son of Lei Kung who coveted the Iron Fist power.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: While working undercover, Misty Knight infiltrates the organization of crime lord John Bushmaster. When Bushmaster discovers Knight's treachery, he kidnaps Claire Temple and Noah Burstein, close associates of Luke Cage, better known as Power Man, and holds them hostage to force Cage to eliminate Knight. Iron Fist is on hand to stop him, however, and after a battle, the truth comes out. Rand helps Cage and the Daughters of the Dragon (Knight and Wing) battle Bushmaster, rescue Temple and Burstein, and obtain evidence that proves Cage's innocence of prior drug charges. Afterwards, Iron Fist and Power Man become partners, forming Heroes for Hire, Inc. Iron Fist, in his secret identity of Danny Rand, resumes control of his parents' fortune as half of Rand-Meachum, Inc., making him quite wealthy. This causes tension between Rand and Cage, who was raised poor. Power Man and Iron Fist's partnership ends when Rand is diagnosed with cancer and gets kidnapped as part of a plot masterminded by Master Khan. Just prior to a battle with the Black Dragon Chiantang (the brother of the mythical Dragon King), Danny is replaced by a doppelgänger created by the extra-dimensional H'ylthri. The double (who wears a red variant of the Iron Fist costume) is killed by Captain Hero a short time later. Cage, now the prime suspect in Rand's apparent death, becomes a fugitive.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: While in stasis in K'un-L'un with the H'ylthri, Iron Fist manages to focus his "chi", curing the cancer. He is later freed from stasis by Namor. Rand and Cage reform Heroes for Hire, Inc. with an expanded team, this time working for Namor's Oracle Corporation. Namor ultimately dissolves Oracle as well as Heroes for Hire, Inc. Iron Fist later loses his powers to Junzo Muto, the young leader of the Hand, and subsequently becomes the guardian of a pack of displaced dragons in Tokyo. His powers are eventually restored by Chiantang, who brainwashes Iron Fist and forces him to battle Black Panther. Black Panther is able to free Iron Fist from the creature's control, and the two work together to defeat the Black Dragon in Wakanda. In the "Iron Fist" miniseries, Miranda Rand-K'ai also returns from the dead. The H'ylthri revive her and promise to restore her to full life if she retrieves the extra-dimensional artifact known as the Zodiac Key. To this end, she takes the identity of Death Sting, bringing her into conflict with Iron Fist as well as with S.H.I.E.L.D. When the H'ylthri try to kill Iron Fist, Miranda turns the power of the Zodiac Key against them, seemingly killing herself in the process. However, exposure to chemicals from the H'ylthri pods prevented her death.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Rand disguises himself as Daredevil to convince the media and the public that Matt Murdock is not the masked vigilante. During the "Civil War" storyline, he opposes the Superhuman Registration Act, joining Captain America while still pretending to be Daredevil. Rand is apprehended by Pro-Registration forces. He is later freed from the Negative Zone Prison, joining Captain America's team to battle Iron Man's forces.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: After the arrest of Captain America, Rand joins the New Avengers, an underground group provided with secure accommodation by Doctor Strange and which includes his former teammate Luke Cage. In the public eye, Rand is able to avoid arrest with legal loopholes. Rand leaves the New Avengers, due to a variety of problems, but lets them know, if they ever need him, to give him a call. He later aids the New Avengers in locating and rescuing Cage from Norman Osborn after Cage suffered a heart attack and was summarily taken into custody as a fugitive.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Orson Randall, Danny Rand's immediate predecessor, seeks out Danny Rand in New York and gives him The Book of the Iron Fist, a sacred ledger supposedly containing all the kung fu secrets of previous Iron Fists, which Randall claims will be necessary if Rand is to compete successfully in the coming tournament of the Seven Champions. The Steel Serpent, whose powers have been greatly augmented by the Crane Mother, dispatches Randall. On the brink of death, Randall surrenders his "chi" to Rand, giving him sufficient power to battle the Serpent to a standstill. After the battle, Rand is summoned by his master, Lei Kung (who is also the father of Steel Serpent) to compete in a tournament that will decide the cycle according to which each of the Seven Cities of Heaven appears on Earth. However, the leaders of the Seven Cities had secretly erected gateways between Earth and each city without the knowledge of the populace. The corruption of the leaders of the Seven Cities of Heaven spurs Iron Fist, Lei Kung, Orson Randall's daughter, and John Aman to plan a revolution. Iron Fist discovers that Crane Mother and Xao, a high-ranking HYDRA operative, are planning to destroy K'un-Lun by using a portal. Upon learning of the plot, Steel Serpent helps Rand and the other Immortal Weapons defeat Xao.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Rand destroys the train intended to destroy K'un-L'un by extending his "chi" to find the train's electromagnetic field. Meanwhile, the revolution orchestrated by Lei Kung and Orson's daughter proves successful, with Nu-an, the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun fleeing in terror. When Rand confronts Xao, Xao reveals that there is an eighth city of Heaven before killing himself. Rand suggests Lei Kung as the new Yu-Ti, with Orson's unnamed daughter as the new Thunderer.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: After learning that the Randall fortune that started Rand International was formed from the oppression of the Cities of Heaven, Rand decides to transform the company into a non-profit organization, dedicated to helping the poor. He also sets up the Thunder Dojo in Harlem to help inner-city children, buys back the old Heroes for Hire building as the new Rand International Headquarters and his new home, while offering Luke Cage a position at the company. He also tries to reconnect with Misty Knight. Rand, on his 33rd birthday, learns every single one of the previous Iron Fists died at the age of 33, except Orson Randall, who vanished at that time. Soon afterward, Rand is attacked and defeated by Zhou Cheng, a servant of Ch'l-Lin, who claims to have killed the Iron Fists in order to enter K'un-Lun and devour the egg that births the next incarnation of Shou-Lao the Undying every generation, thus wiping out K'un-Lun's Iron Fist legacy. Luke, Misty, and Colleen arrive and save Rand. Rand has his shoulder dislocated during a second battle with Cheng, but manages to defeat Cheng even in his weakened state. Following the duel, the Immortal Weapons, Luke, Colleen, and Misty arrive, and reveal to Rand that they have discovered a map in Cheng's apartment that leads to the Eighth City of Heaven. Rand and the others realize that this is where Ch'l-Lin originated, and depart for the Eighth City.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In the Eighth City, he meets Quan Yaozu, the first Iron Fist, who became disillusioned with K'un-Lun and rose up to rule the Eighth City as Changming. Rand and Fat Cobra manage to defeat Quan. Rand's actions during their battles impress Quan, who decides that Rand may be living proof that K'un-Lun is not the corrupt city it once was. Rand and Davos agree to guide Quan to K'un-Lun and arrange a meeting between him and Lei-Kung to give Quan a forum for his grievances. However, when Rand returns to New York, he finds a HYDRA cell waiting for him at Rand International, seeking retribution for the death of Xao, and holding Misty hostage. In the ensuing battle, Rand International is destroyed, but Rand and Misty escape unharmed. Now left with only a fraction of his former net worth, Rand and Misty purchase a new condo in Harlem, and Rand decides to focus all of his attention and remaining resources at the Thunder Dojo. While moving into their new home, Rand asks Misty to marry him. Initially skeptical of the offer, Misty accepts and reveals that she is pregnant with Rand's child.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In the aftermath of "Siege", Rand joins the newly reformed New Avengers. After finding out that Misty's pregnancy was false, Misty and Danny decide to move out of their apartment and live separately, but continue their relationship. During the "Shadowland" storyline, Danny later has an encounter with someone who is going by the name of Power Man. He and Luke Cage discover that the Power Man is Victor Alvarez, a survivor of a building that Bullseye blew up. Iron Fist becomes the new Power Man's mentor and the two become a team. During the "Fear Itself" storyline, Iron Fist and the Immortal Weapons are summoned to Beijing to close the gates of the Eighth City that are on the verge of opening. However, Danny is placed under mind control which creates a mystical interference with the ability of the Immortal Weapons to close the gate. He is then forced to battle his allies. Thanks to War Machine knocking him out, the mission is completed successfully. However, Doctor Strange realizes that Iron Fist is now an Immortal Weapon of Agamotto. During the "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline, Iron Fist and Lei Kung bring Hope Summers to K'un-Lun to train as an Iron Fist, in order to defeat the Phoenix-possessed X-Men.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In "Iron Fist: The Living Weapon", Iron Fist is approached by a young monk named Pei, who tells him to return to K'un-Lun. Upon returning, Iron Fist discovers the city in ruins and Lei Kung dead at the hands of the One, a chi-powered robot who believed itself to be Danny's father Wendell Rand. Iron Fist is defeated by the One, but is rescued by his childhood friend Sparrow and the One's creator Fooh, who nurse him back to health and warn him that the One and Davos were working together to turn New York into New K'un-Lun. During Iron Fist's and the One's second confrontation, the One opens an artificial portal between Earth and the Heavens in an attempt to retrieve Wendell's deceased wife Heather Rand from the afterlife, the but Xian fire god Zhu Rong emerges in Manhattan to punish the mortals for upsetting the universal order. By focusing his chi energy into his fist and launching himself into Zhu Rong, Iron Fist defeats the fire god. Meanwhile, Davos attempts to take the power of the Iron Fist from a reborn Shou-Lou, but is stopped by Pei, who gains the power of the Iron Fist to defeat Davos and revive Shou-Lou, naming his adolescent reborn form "Gork". As the youngest person to ever bear the mark of the Iron Fist, Pei is subsequently taken in by Danny as his ward. In the "Marvel NOW!" era, Iron Fist rejoins Luke Cage as the Heroes For Hire, having been employed by Boomerang to arrest his former colleagues in the Sinister Six.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In the "All-New, All-Different Marvel" era, Danny and Luke are forced to return to crime fighting after former Heroes for Hire secretary becomes embroiled in a gang war with Black Mariah against Tombstone. After that is dealt with, Power Man and Iron Fist once again take to the streets as the Heroes for Hire. During the "Secret Empire" storyline, Iron Fist became a member of the Defenders alongside Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. They, alongside Cloak and Dagger, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Woman, fought the Army of Evil during Hydra's takeover of the United States where they were defeated by Nitro. Iron Fist and those with him were trapped in the Darkforce dome by Blackout when his powers were enhanced by Baron Helmut Zemo using the Darkhold. During the "Hunt for Wolverine" storyline, Iron Fist babysat Danielle Cage while Luke and Jessica were away helping Iron Man and Spider-Man look for Wolverine's body after it went missing from its private resting place. After the mission was over, Luke and Jessica thanked Iron Fist for babysitting Danielle.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: The dragons of the Heavenly Cities are being targeted by armies of undead ninjas and several villains, including Taskmaster, Lady Bullseye and Midnight Sun for their hearts, resulting in the deaths of many dragons and Tiger's Beautiful Daughter, prompting Iron Fist to team up with Luke, Pei, Gork, Fooh and the remaining Immortal Weapons to save the other dragons. At the urging of the Xian goddess of Mercy Quan Yin, Iron Fist and the others use Fooh's portal technology to manifest the Heavenly Cities on Earth so that other heroes, including Okoye and Sunspot, can join in the defense against the hordes of zombies and villains. When the zombies prove too much for them, Iron Fist and the group retreat to the Heart of Heaven, where they come across Okoye slaying the dragon of the Heart of Heaven, who takes advantage of their shock to slay the newly rescued dragon of the Kingdom of Spiders as well; Okoye explains that she was told to kill them by Quan Yin and the Heart of Heaven's dragon in order to secure the cosmic balance, thus gaining the power of both dragons. Yama Dragonsbane, Danny's former lover Brenda Swanson, subsequently appears in the Heart of Heaven and reveals herself to be behind the dragon slayings in order to use their hearts to empower her master, the Hierophant, who is also summoned to the Heart of Heaven. While Fooh distracts the Hierophant, Iron Fist and the others travel to the Eighth City to destroy the Hierophant's undead army but are attacked by the city's Ghost Dragon. When the Ghost Dragon proves impossible to harm, Pei and Gork reluctantly allow Okoye to kill Gork for his heart, knowing that he and the other dragons can be revived if she can defeat the Hierophant. With Pei's and Gork's powers, Okoye is able to slay the Ghost Dragon and claim his power. When the Hierophant arrives, Danny transfers the Iron Fist to Okoye, granting her the full power of the Heavenly Cities. Okoye uses her combined dragon chi to defeat the Hierophant and Dragonsbane while Iron Fist and the others finish off the remaining undead. The Hierophant's death releases the hearts of the dragons slain by him and Okoye back to their respective Cities, although the Iron Fist powers of Danny, Pei and Gork remain with Okoye. Okoye attempts to return the Iron Fist back to Danny, who refuses, declaring that Okoye is the new Iron Fist. Due to her obligations to Wakanda, Okoye refuses and instead transfers the Iron Fist to Gork's newly reborn egg, leaving the title and power vacant. Despite being powerless, an undeterred Danny declares to Luke that he will "live [life] to the fullest".


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: During the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Mayor Wilson Fisk outlaws superhero vigilantism in New York City. Despite his retirement as Iron Fist, Danny is apprehended at his office by NYPD officers led by Thunderbolts member Crossbones. Danny attempts to fight them off but is overpowered and incarcerated in the Myrmidon along with others targeted by the new law. Danny, Moon Knight and Tony Stark are able to escape with the help of Sue Storm and Reed Richards. After Fisk is defeated and Luke is elected mayor of New York City, Danny accompanies Luke on several of his first outings as mayor.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: While a powerless Danny fights several demons attacking a Chinese antique shop in Flushing for a mysterious green shard, he is helped by Lin Lie - formerly the superhero Sword Master - who is now garbed in the mantle of the Iron Fist and possesses the chi of Shou-Lao. After they defeat the demons and recover the shard, Danny attempts to question Lie about his background and offers to help him, but Lie rebuffs him and flees through a portal in a nearby subway back to K'un-Lun. Danny contacts Fat Cobra and the Bride of Nine Spiders with tracking down the new Iron Fist, eventually finding him in Gansu. Danny travels with the two and Luke to China but he and Luke get separated from the two Immortal Weapons, who encounter Lie before him. When an army the same demons from Flushing appear, Danny, Luke and the Immortal Weapons join forces with Lie and his friends to fight them. When the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun, Sparrow, and her best warriors are summoned by Danny for backup, the demons' leader and Lie's brother, Lin Feng, reveals that moment to be his true goal and steals Sparrow's portal to K'un-Lun to find the final tomb of his master Chiyou, leaving the K'un-Lun citizens trapped on Earth. Danny offers housing to the displaced citizens and formally introduces himself to Lie. Danny compliments Lie's acquired skills and offers to complete his training; Lie readily accepts.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Plunging his fists into the molten heart of the dragon Shou-Lao the Undying infused the dragon's superhuman energy into Rand. This, along with being trained by Lei Kung the Thunderer, gave Rand the power of the Iron Fist, allowing him to summon and focus his "chi" energy (also called natural energy or life force energy) to enhance his natural abilities to extraordinary levels. His strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes and senses can all be greatly intensified, almost comparable to superhuman levels.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: He is able to concentrate his own "chi" and the superhuman energy from Shou-Lao's heart into his hand, with it manifesting as a supernatural glow around his hand and fist. So concentrated, this "iron fist" can strike with superhuman hardness and impact, while his hand becomes impervious to pain and injury. Some of Rand's feats with the "iron fist" is knocking out Luke Cage, knocking out a drunken Hercules, taking down Black Panther (wearing his vibranium suit), and taking down the S.H.I.E L.D Helicarrier with a single punch. However, summoning the power required by this feat leaves Rand physically and mentally drained, unable to repeat the act for a time, as long as an entire day in certain instances, though after years of using the ability, it has become less draining. He can focus his "chi" inward to heal himself or outward to heal others of injury, as well as to give himself psychic senses and to telepathically fuse his consciousness with another person when looking directly into the pupil of his eye.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Rand is also a skilled acrobat, gymnast, and a master of all of K'un-Lun's martial arts, as well as various fighting styles from Earth, including Shaolin Kung Fu, Aikido, Fujian White Crane, Judo, Karate, Muay Thai, Ninjutsu, Wushu, and Wing Chun.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In 1,000,000 BC, a K'un-Lun native named Fan Fei was born to the Green Lotus House and had taken a fascination with the cavemen that lived outside K'un-Lun; going so far as to train a few of them in secret. After she was exposed, Fan Fei was chained up and forced to watch as her students were fed to Shou-Lou by Lei Kung. When she broke out, in the hopes that she will die fighting Shou-Lou, Fan Fei punched the dragon in his chest tattoo and gained his powers. Lei Kung had Fan Fei exiled from K'un-Lun, believing Shou-Lou was dead, and she traveled the world; fighting Deviants and the Gorgilla Clan of Man-Apes along the way. Fan Fei was approached by Mephisto, who wanted her to use her powers to conquer Earth, but she declined. In response, Mephisto granted his gifts to the Gorgilla Clan. After a fight with Fan Fei, Mephisto led the Gorgilla Clan's Ape King to the Power Infinity Gem, which he used to fight Fan Fei again. After recuperating, Fan Fei found herself at the entrance of K'un-Lun. Lei Kung states that her sentencing was wrong, as they learned Shou-Lou was immortal, and wanted to bring her home. However, she declined, stating that Earth was her home and her fights here are just the beginning. Fan Fei later banded together with Agamotto, Lady Phoenix, Odin, and Stone Age versions of Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and Star Brand to fought off a Celestial named the Fallen. They would go on to defeat it and seal it underground in what would later become South Africa.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: One of the first Iron Fists, Quan Yaozu was sent to the Eighth City to imprison the demonic creatures sent from there that had been plaguing K'un-Lun and the other Heavenly Cities, voluntarily staying behind to prevent them from escaping. When the Yu-Ti of K'un-Lun began using the Eight City to imprison citizens who threatened his rule, including innocents, Quan became disillusioned with K'un-Lun and eventually took control of the Eighth City, ruling it as "Changming". Centuries later, when Danny and the Immortal weapons arrive in the Eighth City at the behest of Lei Kung to free the wrongfully convicted prisoners, Quan has them captured and forces them to fight to the death in numerous matches. When Danny finds out about Quan's history, he is able to prove his altruistic intentions, which convinces Quan that K'un-Lun is no longer the corrupt city as it once was and agrees to meet Lei Kung.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In 730 A.D., a pacifist named Li Park became the new Iron Fist, who sought to resolve conflict by avoiding direct conflict. As a local village battled with a Chinese general intent on conquering K'un-Lun, which had been struck by a plague, Li utilized his newly discovered hypnotic fist technique to dissuade the soldiers. When his technique failed to save the villagers, Li put aside his pacifism and used more aggressive actions. Ultimately, Li was able to rescue the remaining villagers and led them to K’un-Lun, where they helped repopulate the city.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: During the 11th Century, the outlaw Atlantean princess Gale wielded the powers of the Iron Fist. She was part of Thor's incarnation of the Avengers.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Bei Ming-Tian was the Iron Fist circa 1227 AD. He protected his village from the invading Mongol Army and even slew Genghis Khan himself in battle.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Centuries ago, the Yu-Ti Nu-An had a recurring dream associating a red-haired girl with the Phoenix and a dragon. He later finds a matching red-haired girl named Fongji Wu in the streets of K'un-L'un and has her trained as the Iron Fist. Nu-An asks for Leonardo da Vinci to come to K'un-L'un in order to help protect the world against the Phoenix's arrival; meanwhile, Fongji is submitted to a hard training, eventually manifesting the Phoenix powers. Nu-An orders her to battle the dragon Shao-Lao as established by the ritual of the Iron Fist. Fongji is successful in her test and becomes the Iron Fist, shortly before Da Vinci sees the Phoenix coming towards Earth. Fongji is able to bond with the Phoenix and remain in control of herself, but she feels that Earth is still not ready for its evolution and departs.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In 1545 A.D., a young protégé of Lei Kung named Wu Ao-Shi defeated Shou-Lou the Undying and claimed the power of the Iron Fist for herself. During her training, she fell in love and became betrothed to a fisherman, who became distraught at the violence destined for the Iron Fist and left her and K'un-Lun once the city merged with Earth; Wu followed shortly after to search for her love. During her travels Wu made a living as a mercenary and took on a job to liberate Pinghai Bay from the Wokou pirates, but was defeated and imprisoned. Wu was rescued by her beloved, and killed the pirates by infusing her chi into an arrow, turning it into an explosive projective. Wu and the fisherman spent their remaining years together in the liberated territory, with Wu later becoming known as the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay. Centuries later, Wu Ai-Shi's exploits were made into a movie called "Pinghai Bay".


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Sometime in the mid-19th century, an Iron Fist known as Bei Bang-Wen developed an Iron Fist technique known as the Perfect Strategy Mind, which let him use the chi of Shou-Lou in more intellectual ways but also left him overconfident. In 1860, Bei assisted the Chinese against the British and French forces during the Second Opium War. Despite forming a scenario taking down tens of thousands of enemy soldiers at the Taku Forts, Bei and his Chinese allies were defeated at the Taku Forts and Bei was taken prisoner. After befriending fellow captive and mythical warrior Vivatma Visvajit, the two escaped from prison and journeyed to Vivatma's homeland of Burma, where they were ambushed by the energy-draining assassin Tiger Jani. Bei and Vivatma defeated Jani with their reawakened their Iron Fist and Brahman powers, respectively. A physically and mentally worn Bei returned home to K'un-Lun, relinquishing his powers so that the cycle of the Iron Fist could begin again and took a wife who bore him thirteen sons.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Bei Bang-Wen's successor to the Iron Fist, Kwai Jun-Fan ventured the Wild West of Texas circa 1878 AD, where he was killed by Zhou Cheng under the influence of Ch'i-Lin.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Born and raised in K'un-Lun after his parents' airship crashed in the city in the late 19th century, Orson Randall became the Iron Fist after besting Shou-Lao when he was seventeen years old, becoming the first Westerner to do so. During World War I, Randall joined the Freedom's Five along with Union Jack, Phantom Eagle, Crimson Cavalier and Sir Steel. The bloodshed Randall witnessed in the war deeply traumatized him, causing him to turn to drugs to escape. In 1933, Randall was summoned back to K'un-Lun to participate in the Tournament of Heaven, but refused to participate, having been changed by his experiences in the war. When confronted by the Immortal Weapons, Randall killed the Crane Champion of K'un-Zi in self defense and fled, taking the Book of the Iron Fist with him.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: While in hiding, Randall met young orphan Wendell Rand and adopted him as his ward, training him in martial arts while filling his head with stories of K'un-Lun and the Iron Fist, causing Wendell to seek the city out himself once he came of age. Sometime after the 1960s Randall was believed to have died, leaving behind a vast fortune to Wendell, making him incredibly wealthy. In truth, Randall was living in drug-soaked seclusion in Thailand for decades. While the next Tournament of Heaven neared, the Steel Serpent and his allies arrived to kill him, causing Randall to flee to New York to seek out his successor and Wendell's son Danny, giving him the Book of the Iron Fist and informing him of the upcoming Tournament and their histories. During another encounter with the Steel Serpent, Randall is mortally wounded and transfers his chi to Danny before dying.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: A young monk of K'un-Lun, Pei fled from the city when Davos and the One staged a coup, taking the unhatched egg of the latest incarnation of Shou-Lao with her. Pei was able to find Danny in New York and told him to go back to save K'un-Lun. While under her care, the egg prematurely hatches into an adolescent dragon, whom Pei names "Gork". When Davos catches up to them and kills Gork, Pei inadvertently ends up with the power of the Iron Fist, becoming one of the youngest to do so, and uses its power to defeat Davos and revive Gork and all previous incarnations of Shou-Lou. Danny subsequently takes her under his wing as his ward and the two being training together to master their Iron Fist powers. During the Hierophant's attacks on the dragons of the Heavenly Cities, Pei reluctantly allows Okoye to sacrifice Gork and transfers her Iron Fist power to augment Okoye's acquired dragon chi to defeat the Hierophant and save the dragons.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In an alternate timeline set in the 31st century, Wah Sing-Rand, a K'un-Lun native and Danny's possible descendant, defeats Shou-Lou, becoming one of the youngest Iron Fists in history. While traveling to the planet Yaochi to free it from the tyrannical President Xing, his shuttle is frozen in a temporal pocket, leaving him trapped for 24 years. In circa 3099 AD., he was able to defeat Xing and liberate Yaochi but at the cost of his own life.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist appeared in the pages of "Spider-Girl" #24, in which he is retired after the death of Misty Knight (his wife in this universe). However, he temporarily steps back into costume to aid Spider-Girl against the might of Dragon Fist.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist is shown twice in battle during the "Marvel Zombies" miniseries. He can be seen in several splash panels, as well as being bitten by a zombie version of Luke Cage, punching a hole through a zombified Black Cat and once again being bitten, apparently avoiding infection through his healing abilities. A different Iron Fist appears in "Marvel Zombies Return" in an alternate universe where he is unaffected by the zombie outbreak until Wolverine from the Marvel Zombies universe kills him with his claws.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Daniel Rand has appeared in "Ultimate Spider-Man". His first appearance in the Ultimate universe was in "Ultimate Spider-Man" #1/2. Later, he appeared in the "Warriors" story arc (issues #79–85) along with Shang-Chi, Moon Knight, and others. He reappears in the "Ultimate Knights" arc, as a member of a Daredevil-led team trying to take down the Kingpin. In "Ultimate Spider-Man" #107, however, he has apparently betrayed the group to the Kingpin. Daredevil has uncovered the deception and ends issue #109 demanding answers from Rand. In issue #110 Iron Fist reveals that he has a daughter and the Kingpin threatened her life, so he chose his daughter's life over Daredevil's, and the rest of the heroes that teamed up to take down the Kingpin. He did distract Kingpin while Daredevil grabbed Kingpin's wife. Rand is last seen with his daughter and his daughter's mother Colleen Wing.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In the "House of M" reality, Daniel Rand emerges from K'un-Lun, unaware of the mutant-dominated planet. He is attacked by mutant police, and eventually joins Luke Cage's Human Resistance Movement.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist is one of the few heroes still alive in 2099, he is known as the "Defender of the Streets" and now leads a large group of martial artists to continue his vigilante activities. Deadpool requests his aid to help deal with Wade's daughter, Warda, and Rand agrees to help his oldest living friend.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: During the "Secret Wars" storyline, Iron Fist is Rand-K'ai, member of the Iron Fist school and the sheriff and protector of the "wuxia"-inspired K'un-L'un region of Battleworld. In this reality, he unwillingly serves the long-reigning Emperor Zheng Zu, the master of the ruthless Ten Rings school, the enemies of the more benevolent Iron Fist school. Rand-K'ai hunts after Shang-Chi, the exiled son of Zu, for the murder of his master Lord Tuan although he suspects the emperor to be involved. Representing the Iron Fist, Rand-K'ai enters the tournament to decide the new ruler of K'un-L'un and eventually confronts Shang-Chi along with Red Sai, master of the Red Hand and the emperor's assassin, in the penultimate round of the Thirteen Chambers. During the fight, Shang-Chi is poisoned by Red Sai, who confesses that Zu had sent her to assassinate Tuan but ultimately failed. To spare his lover and her students from the emperor's wrath, Shang-Chi killed Tuan; Zu implicated and exiled his son for the murder to cover his own involvement. After the truth is revealed, Rand-K'ai uses his Chi to burn the poison in Shang-Chi's body and lets him pass so that he could defeat his father. After Shang-Chi emerges victorious, Rand-K'ai pledges himself to the new emperor.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Iron Fist is ranked as the 195th-greatest comic book character of all time by "Wizard" magazine. IGN also ranked Iron Fist as the 68th-greatest comic book hero of all time stating that in the Marvel Universe, mastery of martial arts is enough to qualify as a superpower, and none are more "super" at the art of fighting than Iron Fist, and as #46 on their list of the "Top 50 Avengers".


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: The story of Iron Fist has been criticized for cultural appropriation, orientalism and reinforcing a white savior narrative, with Rob Bricken of "io9" summarizing Danny Rand as a clichéd "white guy [who] discovers a foreign culture, learns its ways, and becomes better at it than the people born into it". Upon the announcement of the television series, an online movement was started to change Iron Fist as an Asian American character to subvert offensive tropes while providing some depth to the character. Supporters of the movement included comic writer Gail Simone, who acknowledged she was a fan of Iron Fist but agreed that the character should be changed to Asian American. The role ultimately went to English actor Finn Jones, whose performance was panned by critics along with the show's depiction of Asian culture during its first season.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: Roy Thomas, co-creator of Iron Fist, defended the character in response to criticism, arguing that Iron Fist was created for a less "PC" time. While Thomas added that he would not be bothered if Iron Fist had been changed to Asian-American, he was not "ashamed" for making Rand white. Comic book creator Rob Liefeld also defended the character, denying that Rand's story was racist and argued that changing his race to Asian was "reverse whitewashing". Other commentators have echoed similar sentiments; while acknowledging that Rand's origins were problematic, some felt that changing him to Asian would reinforce the stereotype of Asians being proficient in martial arts.


title: Iron Fist (character)

text: In an apparent response to the racial backlash against the character and the negative reception of the television series, Marvel announced in 2021 that Danny Rand will leave the mantle and a new younger Iron Fist of Asian descent will be introduced in a new comic series helmed by an Asian creative team. Alyssa Wong, writer of the new series, explained that it was "impossible to be unaware of the controversy", which she took into consideration when writing the series. While noting that there had been Iron Fists of Asian descent before, Wong pointed out that all of them were supporting characters in Rand's story or long dead, arguing that the new Iron Fist was an important step forward for the title and the ongoing push for diversity. Wong also acknowledged Rand's sizeable fanbase despite criticisms, reassuring that he would play an important role for the new Iron Fist and that the new series would not "erase" Rand's history and legacy but instead build upon it. The new series, which revealed the Chinese superhero Sword Master as the new Iron Fist, has since received critical acclaim.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, CU has topped among India's best universities several times. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate colleges and 16 institutes in Kolkata and nearby areas. It was established on 24 January 1857 and is the oldest multidisciplinary and European-style institution in Asia. Today, the university's jurisdiction is limited to a few districts of West Bengal, but at the time of establishment it had a catchment area, ranging from Lahore to Myanmar. Within India, it is recognized as a "Five-Star University" and accredited an "A+" grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The University of Calcutta was awarded the status of "Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area" and "University with potential for excellence" by the University Grants Commission (UGC).


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has a total of fourteen campuses spread over the city of Kolkata and its suburbs. As of 2020, 151 colleges and 21 institutes and centres are affiliated with it. The university was fourth in the Indian University Ranking 2021 list, released by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Its alumni and faculty include several heads of state and government, social reformers, prominent artists, the only Indian Academy award winner and Dirac medal winner, many Fellows of the Royal Society and three Nobel laureates as of 2019. The Nobel laureates associated with this university are: C. V. Raman, Amartya Sen and Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has the highest number of students who have cleared the National Eligibility Test. The University of Calcutta is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Fredrick John, the education secretary to the British Government in India, first tendered a proposal to them in London for the establishment of a university in Calcutta, along the lines of London University. In July 1854, the Court of Directors of the East India Company sent a dispatch, known as Wood's despatch, to the Governor General of India in Council, to establish universities in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The Calcutta University Act came into force on 24 January 1857, and a 41-member Senate was formed as the policy-making body of the university. The land for the establishment of the university was given by Maharaja Maheshwar Singh Bahadur, who was a Maharaja of Darbhanga. When the university was first established it had a jurisdiction from Lahore to Rangoon and Ceylon, the largest of any Indian university. Calcutta University was the first university east of Suez to teach European classics, English literature, European and Indian philosophy and Occidental and Oriental history. The first medical school in British India, the Calcutta Medical College, was affiliated with the university in 1857. The first college for women in India, Bethune College, is affiliated with the university.


title: University of Calcutta

text: From 1836 to 1890, Government Science College, Jabalpur, the first Indian science college, was affiliated with the University of Calcutta. The first university library began functioning in the 1870s. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Joddu Nath Bose became the first graduates of the university in 1858, and Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu were the first Indian female graduates in 1882. The first chancellor and vice-chancellor of the Calcutta University were Governor General Lord Canning and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir William Colvile, respectively. Ashutosh Mukherjee was the vice-chancellor for four consecutive two-year terms (1906–1914) and a fifth two-year term in 1921–23.Initially, the university was only an affiliating and examining body. All the academic and teaching work was done in constituent colleges, which were the Presidency College (now called Presidency University), the Scottish Church College, the Sanskrit College and the Bengal Engineering College (now called Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology). During that period, the Council Room of the Calcutta Medical College and private residence of the vice-chancellor used to house the Senate meetings. The faculty councils generally met at the residences of the presidents of the faculties concerned, in the Civil Engineering College or in the Writers' Building. Because of the lack of space, university examinations were conducted in the Kolkata Town Hall and in tents in the Maidan urban park.


title: University of Calcutta

text: In 1866, a grant of for the site and was sanctioned to construct the new building on College Street. It opened in 1873 and was called Senate House. It had meeting halls for the Senate, a chamber for the vice-chancellor, the office of the registrar, examination rooms and lecture halls. In 1904, postgraduate teaching and research began at the university, which led to an increase in the number of students and candidates. After almost sixty years, a second building, known as the Darbhanga Building, was erected in 1912 with a donation of from Maharaja Maheshwar Singh Bahadur.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The Darbhanga Building housed the University Law College, its library and some university offices and afforded space to hold university examinations on its top floor. In the same year, the Government of British India granted a sum of for the acquisition of a market, Madhab Babu's Bazar, situated adjacent to the Senate House, and construction of a new building for the teaching departments began. It opened in 1926, and was later named the Asutosh Building, after Asutosh Mukherjee, vice-chancellor of the university in 1906–14. Between 1912 and 1914, Taraknath Palit and Rash Behari Ghosh, two eminent lawyers, donated assets totalling , and founded the University College of Science at Upper Circular Road (now known as Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road).


title: University of Calcutta

text: Before the partition of India, twenty-seven colleges from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) were affiliated with the university. The Government of West Bengal passed the Calcutta University Act of 1951, which substituted the earlier act of 1904 and ensured a democratic structure for the university. The West Bengal Secondary Education Act was passed in the same year linking the university with the school leaving examination. Gradually the requirements of the university grew, and the Senate House was becoming incapable of handling them. After the centenary of Calcutta University, the building was demolished to make space for a more utilitarian building. In 1957, the university's centenary year, it received a grant of from the University Grants Commission, which aided with the construction of the Centenary Building on the College Street campus and the Law College Building on Hazra Road campus. The Economics Department got its own building in 1958 near Barrackpore Trunk Road. In 1965, the Goenka Hospital Diagnostic Research Centre for the University College of Medicine was opened as the university health service. Until 1960, Senate House was one of the city's most prominent landmarks.


title: University of Calcutta

text: In 1968, the Centenary Building opened on the former location of the Senate House. Currently, it houses the Central Library, the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, the centenary auditorium and a number of university offices. By the mid-1970s, it had become one of the largest universities in the world. It had 13 colleges under its direct control and more than 150 affiliated colleges, along with 16 postgraduate faculties. In the year 2001, the University of Calcutta was awarded the 'Five-Star' status in the first cycle of the university's accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). In 2009 and 2017, the NAAC awarded its highest grade of 'A' to the University of Calcutta in the second and third cycle of the university's accreditation. In 2019, the university's central library and 40 departmental libraries were opened to the public. They have over one million books and more than 200,000 journals, proceedings and manuscripts.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The seal has changed multiple times over the years. The first seal dates back to 1857. Although it was changed, when the Government of India Act 1858 was passed by the British parliament that brought the government and territories of the East India Company under British Crown. Seal three, four and five were introduced in 1930s, The fourth seal faced criticism locally. The current university seal is the modified version of the sixth seal. The motto "Advancement of Learning" has remained the same through the seal's transitions.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has a total of 14 campuses spread over the city of Kolkata and its suburbs. They are referred to as "Sikhsa Prangan", which means education premises. Major campuses include the Central Campus (Ashutosh Shiksha Prangan) on College Street, University College of Science, Technology and Agriculture (Rashbehari Shiksha Prangan or Rajabazar Science College or Science College) in Rajabazar, Taraknath Palit Shiksha Prangan in Ballygunge and Sahid Khudiram Siksha Prangan in Alipore. Other campuses include the Hazra Road Campus, the University Press and Book Depot, the B. T. Road Campus, the Viharilal College of Home Science Campus, the University Health Service, the Haringhata Campus, the Dhakuria Lakes (University Rowing Club) and the University Ground and Tent at Maidan.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Asutosh Siksha Prangan (commonly called the College Street Campus) is the university's main campus where the administrative work is done. Located on College Street, it is spread over an area of . It houses the Arts and Language department, administrative offices, museum, the central library, an auditorium etc. Exhibits like folk art of Bengal are present in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art. Senate House was the first university building situated on this campus; it opened in 1872. In 1960, it was demolished to make way for a larger building, the Centenary Building, which opened in 1968. The Darbhanga Building and the Asutosh Building are the two other buildings opened in 1921 and 1926, respectively.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Rashbehari Siksha Prangan (also known as University College of Science, Technology and Agriculture, or more commonly Rajabazar Science College), is located on Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road in Rajabazar. Established in 1914, houses several scientific and technological departments, including pure and applied chemistry, pure and applied physics, applied optics and photonics, radio physics, applied mathematics, psychology, physiology, biophysics and molecular biology, and others.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Taraknath Palit Siksha Prangan (also known as University College of Science or commonly Ballygunge Science College) on Ballygunge Circular Road in the southern part of the city, houses the departments of agriculture, anthropology, biochemistry, microbiology, botany, geography, genetics, statistics, zoology, neuroscience, marine science, biotechnology, and most notably geology, among others. It also houses S. N. Pradhan Centre For Neurosciences and the Institute of Agricultural Science.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Sahid Khudiram Siksha Prangan, commonly known as Alipore Campus, located at Alipore is the humanities campus of the university. The departments of history, ancient Indian history and culture, Islamic history and culture, South and Southeast Asian studies, archaeology, political science, business management and museology are situated on this campus.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The Technology Campus, also known as the Tech Camps, is the newest on the university. It brings together the three engineering and technical departments: the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the A.K.C. School of Information Technology and the Department of Applied Optics and Photonics, in Sector 3, JD Block, Salt Lake.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university is governed by a board of administrative officers, which include the vice-chancellor, pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs, pro-vice-chancellor for business affairs and finance, the registrar, the university librarian, the inspector of colleges, the system manager and 35 others. They monitor the operation of the university and its affiliated colleges and the university's funding. In 2017, Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee became the 51st vice-chancellor of the university. The university is funded by the University Grants Commission, the Government of West Bengal, other agencies for various research works and by the university's own initiatives like fees, sales proceeds, publications, service charges generated from endowment funds etc.


title: University of Calcutta

text: At one point of time, the university had a huge catchment area in British India, starting from Lahore in the west to Rangoon in east and Ceylon in the south. Colleges like Thomason Engineering College (now IIT Roorkee), Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University) etc. were affiliated to the university. Schools situated in districts like Rawalpindi, Lahore, Jaypur, Cawnpur, Lucknow, Mussoorie etc. used to prepare and send students for the entrance examination of the university. No provisions to curtail territorial control were made after establishment of University of Punjab and Allahabad in 1882 and 1887 respectively. Although after the Indian Universities Act of 1904 came in, for the first time, the university's control got curtailed to Bengal (which included Orissa and Bihar), Assam and Burma provinces. In the act, provisions were made to limit territorial jurisdiction and it gave the Governor-General-in-Council the power to limit territorial jurisdiction of the five universities; Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, the Punjab and Allahabad.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Following the Government of British India notification on 20 August 1904, Ceylon went under the University of Madras; provinces, states and agencies of Central India, such as the Central India Agency, Rajputana Agency, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh etc. went to the hands of University of Allahabad; Northern and North-Western provinces and states went under the University of Punjab. Jurisdiction of schools and colleges in Eastern India retained to Calcutta University. By 1907, two colleges in Punjab, three in the Central Province, five in the State of Rajputana Agency, six in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh and seven in Ceylon were disaffiliated. Series of disaffiliation continued till 1948. Schools and colleges in Orissa and Bihar province went under University of Patna after its establishment in 1917. University of Rangoon was established in 1920 and the Burma region went under it in 1921. In the same year, University of Dacca was established and some colleges in East Bengal went under it and whole control was cut with the partition of India in 1947. In 1948, All the schools and colleges in Assam left the university after the establishment of Gauhati University.


title: University of Calcutta

text: As of 2020, 151 colleges and 22 institutes and centres, in West Bengal are affiliated with the university. Some of the earliest affiliated colleges include:


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has 60 departments organized into seven faculties: arts, commerce, social welfare and business management, education, journalism and library science, engineering and technology, fine arts, music and home science, law and science; and an agriculture institute with six departments.


title: University of Calcutta

text: To provide agricultural education and research, the Institute of Agricultural Science was established under the University of Calcutta. It was founded by Pabitra Kumar Sen, who was the Khaira Professor of Agriculture (another endowment chair) in the early 1950s. Initial efforts began as early as 1913, but the first institute was set up only in 1939 at Barrackpore (a city near Kolkata) by the university, following the establishment of Imperial Council of Agricultural Research (now known as Indian Council of Agricultural Research) in 1926. Although it was shut down in 1941 due to World War II. Then, in 1954, a postgraduate department in agriculture was started in Ballygunge Science College by the university, with agricultural botany as the only subject and two years later, Veterinary Science Institute of the university was included and the department was upgraded into a faculty called agriculture and veterinary science. In 2002 university decided to reopen undergraduate agriculture course in the agricultural experiment farm campus at Baruipur, a city in the south of Calcutta. In the same year, the department was restructured as a separate Institute of Agricultural Science.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The Faculty of Arts consists of 23 departments; commerce consists of three departments; education, journalism and library science consist of three departments; engineering and technology consist of eight departments; science has 22 departments and home science offers courses on subjects such as food and nutrition, human development, and home science. The Faculty of Law was established in January 1909 as the University College of Law. It was granted status as the university's department of law in February 1996. This campus is popularly known as Hazra Law College. The faculty has many luminaries associated with it, including Rajendra Prasad, Rashbehari Ghose, and Chittaranjan Das.


title: University of Calcutta

text: For undergraduate courses—Arts (BA), Commerce (B.Com.) and Science (BSc) streams (except engineering courses)—one can apply directly for multiple courses based on their Higher Secondary School Certificate examination or any equivalent exam results. Students are shortlisted according to their marks and the number of seats available. For some departments, entrance exams may take place at the sole discretion of the head of the department. Anyone can apply within five years of passing the Higher Secondary Examination. For engineering courses, admission is based on the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) rankings. While, for postgraduate courses and doctoral degree courses, one has to take an entrance exam/written test given by the university or any national level exam related to the subject, held by the UGC. A merit list is prepared on the basis of the results of the exams.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Undergraduates may enroll for a three- or four-year program in engineering. Students choose a major when they enter the university, and cannot change it unless they opt later for the university's professional or self-financed postgraduate programs. Science and business disciplines are in high demand, largely in anticipation of better employment prospects. Most programs are organized on an annual basis, though some programs are semester dependent. Most departments offer master's programs of a year or a few years' duration. Research is conducted in specialized institutes as well as individual departments, many of which have doctoral programs.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The University of Calcutta has the largest research center, which started from the 100th Science Congress of India in January 2013. This is the Center for Research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CRNN) on the Technology Campus of CU at Salt Lake, West Bengal. The university has 18 research centres, 710 teachers, 3000 non-teaching staff and 11,000 postgraduate students.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The central library at the Asutosh Siksha Prangan was started around the 1870s. Apart from 39 departmental libraries, it has a central library, two campus libraries, and two libraries at the advanced centers spread across the seven campuses. Students of affiliated colleges can also access the central library. The university library has over one million books and more than 200,000 bound journals, proceedings, manuscripts, patents and other valuable collections.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has its own publishing house called University Press and Publications along with a book depot, which was established in the 20th century. It publishes textbooks, treatises, journals and confidential papers for all the examinations conducted by the university. It also publishes the journal "The Calcutta Review", which is one of the oldest Asian university journals. "The Calcutta Review" was established by Sir John Kaye in May 1844. It has been issued biannually since 1913.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Internationally, the University of Calcutta was ranked 801–1000 in the QS World University Rankings of 2021. The same rankings ranked it 154 in Asia and 68 among BRICS nations.


title: University of Calcutta

text: In India, the University of Calcutta was ranked 11th overall by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2021 and 4th among universities. In 2019 NIRF rankings, it ranked among the top five universities in India.


title: University of Calcutta

text: In 2001, the University of Calcutta was awarded "Five-Star" status in the first cycle of the university's accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). In 2009 and 2017, NAAC awarded its highest grade of 'A' to the University of Calcutta in the second and third cycle of the university's accreditation. The UGC recognized the University of Calcutta as a "University with Potential for Excellence", on 8 December 2005. It was also awarded the status of "Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area" in Electro-Physiological and Neuro-imaging studies including mathematical modeling.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The Manuscript Library at the university has also been designated as a "Manuscript Conservation Centre" under the National Mission for Manuscripts, which was established in 2003. The university has the highest number of students who have cleared the doctoral entrance eligibility exam, known as National Eligibility Test, in Natural Science and Arts to become eligible to pursue research with a full scholarship awarded by the Government of India. The university is a member of the United Nations Academic Impact initiative.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has a ground and tent in Maidan, where different types of sports are being played. Inter-college tournaments in sports like football, archery, basketball, and hockey are also organised. The university rowing club started in the year 1983 at Rabindra Sarobar. The students' union, known as Calcutta University Students' Union organises social and cultural activities occasionally, which includes blood donation camps, environmental awareness programmes, relief fund collection, teachers day celebration, Saraswati puja, etc.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Most of the affiliated undergraduate colleges located in the city have their own student hostels. The university has 17 hostels, of which eight (two for undergraduates and six for post graduates) are for women. A total of 13 hostels are for paying guest students located across the city.


title: University of Calcutta

text: In 1938, the then Vice-Chancellor Syama Prasad Mookerjee requested Rabindranath Tagore to compose a "university song" for the university. Rabindranath composed two songs instead of one— ""Cholo Jai, Cholo Jai"" and ""Subho Karmapathe Dharo Nirvayo Gaan"" "(in English "Let's go, let's go" and "Take up fearless song on the path of good deeds" respectively)". The first song ""Cholo Jai, Cholo Jai"" was adopted and the was sung by the students in a parade on the occasion of foundation day of the university on 24 January 1937. In the post centenary golden jubilee year of the university, the song ""Subho Karmapathe Dharo Nirvayo Gaan"" was adopted as the new university song.


title: University of Calcutta

text: The university has produced many scientists, engineers, world leaders and Nobel laureates and teachers. As the oldest university of Bengal and India, it attracted students from diverse walks of life. Nobel laureates who either studied or worked there include: Rabindranath Tagore, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, Ronald Ross, Amartya Sen and Abhijit Banerjee. The Academy Award winning director Satyajit Ray was an alumnus of the university as was the composer of the national song of India, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Some of the industrialists who studied at the university include: Sir Rajen Mookerjee, Rama Prasad Goenka, Lakshmi Mittal, and Aditya Birla. Notable scientists, medical doctors and mathematicians associated with the university include: Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Meghnad Saha, Anil Kumar Gain, Satyendra Nath Bose, Subir Kumar Ghosh, Ashoke Sen, Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, C. R. Rao, Asima Chatterjee, Tarak Nath Podder and Ujjwal Maulik.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Fatima Jinnah, one of the leading founding members of Pakistan studied dentistry at the university. A nationalist leader and former president of the Indian National Congress, co-founder of the Indian National Army, and head of state of the Provisional Government of Free India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose also spent some time at the university. Other presidents of the Indian National Congress include: Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Anandamohan Bose, Romesh Chunder Dutt, Bhupendra Nath Bose and Madan Mohan Malaviya. Malaviya was also the founder of the Banaras Hindu University. Among the presidents of India associated with this university are: Rajendra Prasad (who studied there) and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (who taught there), and Pranab Mukherjee, who both studied and taught at affiliated colleges of the university. The former vice president of India, Mohammad Hamid Ansari studied there, as did a former deputy prime minister of India, Jagjivan Ram.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Many governors of Indian states studied at the university including the first Indian governors of Bihar and Odisha, Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, 1st Baron Sinha of Raipur, Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh, governor of the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, and Banwari Lal Joshi, the former governor of Delhi, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and the current governor of Uttarakhand. The former ruler of the Indian princely state of Coochbehar, Maharaja Nripendra Narayan Bhupa Bahadur, as well as Patayet Sahib Maharajkumar Bhoopendra Narayan Singh Deo of Saraikela were also alumni of this university, as were colonial-era prime ministers Albion Rajkumar Banerjee of Kashmir and A.K. Fazlul Huq of undivided Bengal.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Among its former students are eight chief ministers of West Bengal: Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, Bidhan Chandra Ray, Prafulla Chandra Sen, Ajoy Mukherjee, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Jyoti Basu, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, and Mamata Banerjee; three chief ministers each of Assam: Gopinath Bordoloi, Bishnuram Medhi and Golap Borbora; and chief ministers of Bihar: Krishna Sinha, Binodanand Jha and Ram Sundar Das; two chief ministers of Meghalaya: B.B. Lyngdoh and S.C. Marak, and two chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh: Ravishankar Shukla, Kamal Nath. The chief ministers of Manipur, Rishang Keishing, Nagaland, S.C. Jamir and Sikkim B B Gurung were also students. Among the chief justices of the Supreme Court of India are: Bijan Kumar Mukherjea, Sudhi Ranjan Das, Amal Kumar Sarkar, Ajit Nath Ray, Sabyasachi Mukharji and Altamas Kabir. Others have also served as judges in the Supreme Court, and as chief justices and judges in state high courts.


title: University of Calcutta

text: Heads of state from other countries associated with the university include four presidents of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Mohammad Mohammadullah, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem, Abdus Sattar, three prime ministers of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Muhammad Mansur Ali, and Shah Azizur Rahman, three prime ministers of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy, and Nurul Amin, the first premier of Burma under British rule, Ba Maw, the first president of Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav and the first democratically elected prime minister of Nepal, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, and his successor Tulsi Giri.


title: Magical girl

text: The genre emerged in 1962 with "Himitsu no Akko-chan", followed by "Sally the Witch" in 1966 produced by Toei Animation. A wave of similar anime produced by the studio in the 1970s led to being used as a common term for the genre. In the 1980s, the term was largely replaced by "magical girl", reflecting the new popularity of shows produced by other studios, including "Magical Princess Minky Momo" and "Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel".


title: Magical girl

text: In the 1990s, "Sailor Moon" introduced the concept of a "transforming heroine" who fights against forces of evil, a synthesis of elements from hero shows that became a staple for magical girl series that followed. The growth of late-night anime in the early 2000s led to a demographic shift for the genre, where series with more mature themes such as "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" (2011) were created and marketed towards an older male audience.


title: Magical girl

text: Despite no presence of magic, the manga series "Princess Knight" (1953) is seen as a prototype for the magical girl genre, as it set forth the appeal of girls who transform to do things they normally cannot perform. "Sally the Witch", a 1966 anime television series produced by Toei Animation, is regarded as the first magical girl anime. The show's concept was inspired by the American sitcom "Bewitched". "Himitsu no Akko-chan" (1962), serialized earlier in the "shōjo" manga magazine "Ribon", is credited as the earliest magical girl manga series. The manga's 1969 anime adaptation introduced the idea of using a compact to transform, a characteristic that is still present in modern series in the genre.


title: Magical girl

text: Toei Animation produced most of the magical girl series of the 1970s, collectively known as the "". This popularized the term for the genre, especially with "Mahōtsukai Chappy" (1972) and "Majokko Megu-chan" (1974). "Megu-chan" has been noted in particular for its portrayal of multiple magical girls and the friendship between girls. Coinciding with the influence of the women's liberation movement in Japan, magical girls began displaying a "certain coquettishness" in the 1970s.


title: Magical girl

text: In 1980, Toei released "Lalabel, the Magical Girl", the first instance of the term " (magical girl)" being used. In the following years, other studios besides Toei began producing magical girl anime series, such as "Magical Princess Minky Momo" (1982) and "Creamy Mami, the Magic Angel" (1983), the latter of which was the first installment of Studio Pierrot's . A characteristic of "Minky Momo" and "Creamy Mami" showed girls transforming into grown-up images of themselves, which has been linked to the increasing prominence of women at this time including politician Takako Doi, the all-female band Princess Princess, and pop idol Seiko Matsuda, as well as the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act in 1985. Yuji Nunokawa, the producer of both "Minky Momo" and "Creamy Mami", noted that male fans of the magical girl genre increased after "Creamy Mami" due to the shows' use of transformations and they enjoyed watching girls using magic to solve their problems in ways men traditionally could not. Due to the popularity of "Minky Momo" and Studio Pierrot's shows, the term "" had largely fallen out of use in favor of "magical girl."


title: Magical girl

text: "Sailor Moon" (1991), whose anime adaptation was broadcast from 1992 to 1997, revolutionized the magical girl genre by combining "transforming hero" elements from live-action hero shows like "Super Sentai" and "Kamen Rider" with feminine interests, such as romance and child-rearing. Up until then, magical girl series were comedic and the characters' use of magic only exacerbated social conflict. A key attribute of the transformations in "Sailor Moon" is that they focused on exaggerating the characters' beauty through make-up and fashion, negating the link between cuteness and weakness traditionally seen in women. In addition, unlike previous magical girl series, "Sailor Moon" featured a team of magical girls as the main characters, with male characters supporting them in battle. The format of using fighting, transforming heroines became popular and were used in other magical girl series following "Sailor Moon". Series that attempted to capitalize on "Sailor Moon"'s success include "Akazukin Chacha", whose anime adaptation created an original arc featuring "transforming heroine" characteristics; "Cutie Honey Flash" (1997), a remake of the original male-oriented science fiction series "Cutie Honey" (1973) for a young female demographic; and "Wedding Peach".


title: Magical girl

text: In the following years, the magical girl genre became diversified. While "Sailor Moon" also drew in male fans, "Cardcaptor Sakura" (1998) was extremely popular among men in spite of its target demographic for including themes such as cosplay, boys' love, , and . "Cardcaptor Sakura" was also one of the series that influenced the idea of , which was integrated into later magical girl series aimed at an adult male audience. Likewise, "Cutie Honey Flash" also drew in a male audience who were fans of the original "Cutie Honey" series.


title: Magical girl

text: After the end of "Ojamajo Doremi" (1999), Toei Animation's first original magical girl anime series since 1985, "Pretty Cure" was broadcast in 2004, with new installments broadcast yearly. Similar to "Sailor Moon", "Pretty Cure" drew influences from hero shows, but unlike the former, it was heavily focused on action and used the same talents who worked on "Kamen Rider" and "Super Sentai". This helped the series achieve widespread demographic appeal outside of young girls.


title: Magical girl

text: At the same time, the target demographic of magical girl shows expanded. With more late-night anime being produced in the early 2000s, magical girl shows aimed at an older male demographic were produced, a notable one being "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha" (2004), a spin-off originating from the adult game series "Triangle Heart". As the series were targeted towards older audiences, this allowed for dark and mature themes to be explored, including death and the price of magical power. The magical girl genre earned renewed popularity in the 2010s with the advent of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" (2011), whose mature themes and darker approach earned acclaim from viewers and critics outside the conventional audience group. Other examples of late-night magical girl anime include "Day Break Illusion" (2013) and "Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya" (2013). Though transforming heroine shows remain popular, traditional magical girl series featuring witches demonstrating the importance of hopes and dreams, such as "Tweeny Witches" (2004) and "Little Witch Academia" (2013) were still produced.


title: Magical girl

text: In addition to late-night magical girl series, media exploring the idea of male characters as magical girls (colloquially known as "magical boys") were introduced, most of them as comedic parodies. "Kimagure Orange Road" (1985) introduced audiences to the idea of a "magical boy" character. "Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!" (2015) features a cast of male characters parodying the magical girl concepts combined with growing interest in shows aimed at a audience. Other magical boy parodies include "Is This a Zombie?" (2011) and "Magical Girl Ore" (2018).


title: Magical girl

text: Magical girl series use elements associated with female interests, such as accessories associated with femininity, child-rearing, and romance. Magical girl characters are typically 10 to 14 years old, with cute features and an appearance resembling a princess or an idol singer. Older women are usually portrayed as villains. Professor Bill Ellis noted that in traditional Japanese folklore, powerful women were depicted to be monstrous, similar to Oni.


title: Magical girl

text: In magical girl series, the main female characters transform into prettier, more mature-looking versions of themselves who have special powers, an idea originating from "Princess Knight". Unlike hero shows, the items used to initiate transformation are often "cute" accessories associated with femininity and beauty. The first example of an item used to aid the transformation is the anime adaptation of "Himitsu no Akko-chan", in which Akko uses a compact to transform; since the broadcast of the series, compacts are commonly used as a transformation item.


title: Magical girl

text: The is a concept adapted from hero shows (dramas or movies) that was first popularized by "Sailor Moon" in the early 1990s; it has been a staple of magical girl series since. The transforming heroine features an ordinary schoolgirl who changes into an "adorable" costume with "cute" accessories; she then uses a sceptre (or a similar weapon) to channel magical energy in order to fight against the forces of evil. This format has allowed magical girls to be viewed as superheroines, especially in the West during the girl power movement of the 1990s. Comparisons have been drawn to Western superheroines like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Wonder Woman", but unlike the former, "transforming heroine" series use femininity to weaponize and also features young girls instead of women, as older women are typically portrayed as villains in magical girl series.


title: Magical girl

text: A common goal for magical girl characters since the 1960s is romance that eventually results in marriage. While heterosexual romance was present and received focus in magical girl series, post-"Sailor Moon" works saw a diminished presence in male characters in favor of focusing on the friendships between the main female characters. Akiko Sugawa suggests that the future of magical girl shows may include rebellion against sexual norms, using "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" as an example of relationships favored over heterosexual relationships.


title: Magical girl

text: In 1989, Shotaro Ishinomori produced the first live-action magical girl series, ', as part of the "Toei Fushigi Comedy Series". The popularity of the show led to five more installments produced, including "La Belle Fille Masquée Poitrine" and ', with all of them categorized as the . The shows were viewed as a female counterpart to series aimed at young boys, such as "Super Sentai", "Kamen Rider", and "Ultraman"; however, interest in the genre declined in the early 1990s due to competing toy sales with "Sailor Moon" and other magical girl anime. Live-action magical girl series were revived with the "Girls × Heroine" series, beginning with "Idol × Warrior Miracle Tunes!" in 2017.


title: Magical girl

text: Magical girl series aimed at young girls were often marketed with a merchandise line, with Kumiko Saito discussing that magical girl anime is best understood as "twenty-five-minute advertisements for toy merchandise", highlighting the high production costs and the involvement of Bandai in "Sailor Moon" and "Pretty Cure". Reiko Yamashita also mentioned "Ojamajo Doremi" as an example of a series with mass toy production. "Pretty Cure" has become Japan's fifth highest grossing franchise as of 2010 in part due to its high merchandise sales. For the "Girls × Heroine" series, Shogakukan project manager Reiko Sasaki stated that she had to create scenarios on how to integrate the toys into the show. "Himitsu no Akko-chan" was the earliest example of having a merchandise line and was a "huge hit." Toys from the 1980s were commonly in bright colors and were mostly compact cases or sticks, with the character's face sometimes printed on it. From 1990 to 1994, toy sets began including pendants as part of transformation items, along with feminine motifs, such as hearts and stars; most of the toys were pink at the time. From 1995 to 1999, the toys became more colorful.


title: Magical girl

text: For "Sailor Moon"'s 20th anniversary, in 2013, Bandai, the producer of their toy line, released a cosmetics line based on transformation items seen in the series, aimed at adult women who grew up with the show. This was followed by a life-sized replica of Sailor Moon's Moon Stick, which Bandai produced as part of their merchandise line aimed at adult collectors, as well as a jewelry line. In the years that followed, other magical girl franchises released merchandise lines aimed towards adult women, through collaborations with fashion brands such as 's Japan Label, , , SuperGroupies, and Favorite.


title: Magical girl

text: In China, "Balala the Fairies" is an ongoing franchise originating as a live-action series before transferring to animation, though it was accused of plagiarizing "Pretty Cure".


title: Magical girl

text: Similar to Japan, the transforming heroine concept coined by "Sailor Moon" saw popularity when the show was broadcast overseas in the 1990s due to the girl power movement taking place in Europe and the United States at the time. The influence of "Sailor Moon" has led magical girls to be associated with superheroines in the West. Notable examples include "W.I.T.C.H." (2001) and "Winx Club" (2004) in Italy; and "Totally Spies!" (2001), "LoliRock" (2014), and "" (2015) in France. Animated series from the United States, including "The Powerpuff Girls" (1998), "Bee and PuppyCat" (2013), "Steven Universe" (2013), "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" (2015), "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" (2018), and "Magical Girl Friendship Squad" (2020), have been influenced by magical girl themes and reference them. Characters in "" are described as "full-time students and part-time magical pony girls".


title: Magical girl

text: Magical girl series have been linked to female empowerment since the 1970s, from exploring female sexuality to weaponizing femininity. Aside from female gender norms from the genre's defiance against female gender roles, the magical girl genre has also influenced a shift in male gender norms as the stigma between traditional femininity and weakness were removed.


title: Magical girl

text: Akiko Shimada's 2011 study "Representations of Girls in Japanese Magical Girl TV Animation Programmes from 1966 to 2003 and Japanese Female Audiences' Understanding of Them" references Yokokawa (1991) and Murase (2000) who state that in Japanese language, the word “shojo” is always used in third person. Young girls do not refer to themselves as "shojo". This reflects on how narratives about shojo are crafted from a third-party, often male lens.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: , also known by his alias , is a character in Masashi Kishimoto's manga "Naruto". He is first introduced in a "Kakashi Chronicle" side story as a young ninja who sacrifices himself to save his friends (Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara, led by Minato Namikaze) from an adversary group of ninjas. Although he was believed to have died in the 3rd Great Ninja War, Obito is later revealed as the real leader of the terrorist organization known as the Akatsuki, mainly acting behind the scenes for a majority of the group's tenure. He uses the alias of his benefactor, Madara Uchiha, and conceals his true identity with masks as one of the main antagonists of the series' second half. Obito and his varied personas have appeared in "Naruto" video games and animated adaptations.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: Kishimoto created Obito early in the series to explore his relationship with Kakashi and explain how his friend possessed the eye technique of , unique to the Uchiha clan. Since Obito kept his identity secret, Kishimoto teased fans to anticipate the true identity of Tobi (most notably when the actual Madara Uchiha was revealed, which shocked fans and his voice actor). Critical reception of Obito's character has been positive for his portrayal as a child soldier in Kakashi's backstory as well as his fight scenes as an adult. However, his role as an antagonist garnered a polarizing response from fans, particularly due to his perceived lack of motivation for his actions, which he is criticized for.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: Although Obito does not appear for the first time until the series' special chapters focused on his life as a child soldier, he makes a cameo appearance on the cover of the manga's 16th chapter in a picture with Kakashi Hatake. According to Masashi Kishimoto, one of the biggest mysteries in the series' first half was why Kakashi only possessed one Sharingan eye technique (unlike Sasuke Uchiha and other members of the clan, who possessed the technique in both eyes). Kishimoto wrote Kakashi's backstory to show him as a young ninja whom Obito gave his Sharingan when he was nearly killed in a fight. Kishimoto said that by chapter 16 he had conceived a storyline about Obito being an Uchiha and how it would affect Kakashi.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: During the series' first half Kishimoto introduced the Akatsuki terrorist organization, who seemed far stronger than the (younger) main characters. This led Kishimoto to change the series, giving the story a timeskip to when Naruto and his comrades would be able to face them. Kishimoto said that he based Akatsuki on similar real-life organizations. Obito in his Tobi persona was Kishimoto's favorite Akatsuki character to draw, because of his simple mask. His nickname (Tobi) comes from Obito calling him , an onomatopoeia for turning round and round or going around in circles. It can also mean "wrapped around", referring to Tobi's function as armor for Obito. With the manga reaching its climax, Kishimoto wanted to be careful with developing Obito's character, finding him as important as Naruto's and Sasuke's growth in the narrative.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: According to Kishimoto, Konan's death at the hands of her former superior Obito's statement about the loss of the dream for peace that he, Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan shared, and an indication of Naruto Uzumaki's rise as a bringer of light and hope. When the real Madara Uchiha appeared in the manga, Kishimoto refrained from stating Tobi's true identity but said that both characters were related and he would be revealed in the next few chapters.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: In the Japanese version, Obito is voiced by Wataru Takagi; his childhood self was voiced by Sōsuke Komori before Megumi Han took over in chapter 343. In the English version, Obito is voiced by Michael Yurchak and his younger self is voiced by Vic Mignogna. Nolan North does Obito's Madara impersonation in "", and Todd Haberkorn voices him in "". Neil Kaplan first voiced Obito's Madara impersonation in the video game "", because the CyberConnect2 fighting game's storyline was ahead of the television series. In the game, it is revealed that Obito is not the real Madara. Kaplan had difficulty handling of both characters: his Obito persona and the real Madara.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: When Obito's true identity was revealed in the anime "Naruto Shippuden", the Pierrot staff made an ending scene about his childhood and noted that the series' protagonist (Naruto) was not seen. Pierrot felt that the scene was a success. Character designer Tetsuya Nishio was surprised with the multiple designs Obito had across the series, and noted parallels between him and Naruto Uzumaki in their childhood and innocence.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: Obito first appears in "Kakashi Chronicle", a "Naruto" side story. A child living through the Third Great Ninja War, Obito (Kakashi's teammate on Team Minato) wanted to become the Hokage of Konohagakure, and had an unrequited love for his teammate Rin. When he and Kakashi rescue the kidnapped Rin during a mission, Obito's right side is crushed in a landslide. Thinking he was going to die, Obito had Rin transplant his left Sharingan into Kakashi to replace Kakashi's lost left eye. Late in Part II of the manga, it is revealed that Obito was saved by an elderly Madara Uchiha and outfitted with prosthetics. He becomes Madara's apprentice, who has Obito witness Rin's death at the hands of a reluctant Kakashi to break his spirit. Concluding that he can use the Tailed Beasts to destroy the current reality and create a utopia, Obito adopts Madara's name and disguises his voice after the ninja's death; he then arranges similar events for Nagato with Yahiko's death to create the current incarnation of the Akatsuki. While Kushina Uzumaki (then jinchuriki of Kurama, the Nine-Tails Kyuubi), is giving birth to Naruto Uzumaki, Obito mounts an attack on the Leaf Village, Konoha. He releases the seal over the Kyuubi from Kushina while she is weak during birth, and places the Nine-Tails under his control, releasing it on Konoha to tear the village apart and wreak havoc. During his infiltration, he encounters Minato Namikaze (the fourth Hokage) and they fight. Minato defeats Obito, and releases Kurama from Obito's control. Obito then flees, leaving Konoha to deal with the Nine-Tails, resulting in Minato and Kushina's deaths. The character has a behind-the-scenes role in the first half of Part II.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: Adopting the identity of the spiral-patterned Zetsu which served as his bodysuit during his recuperation, Tobi, Obito poses as the carefree flunky and becomes Sasori's replacement and Deidara's partner early in Part II. After Itachi's death, Obito takes a special interest in Sasuke Uchiha and takes him under his wing by revealing the truth about their clan's massacre. He presents himself as Madara after Nagato's death, revealing the "Eye of the Moon" Plan to the Kage and explaining his intention to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki to bring all life within an Infinite Tsukuyomi. After the Kage refuse to surrender to him, Obito declares the Fourth Great Ninja War and forms a reluctant alliance with Kabuto Yakushi, who blackmails him with the real Madara's body. Obito goes to retrieve Nagato Uzumaki's from his body. In the process, he is opposed by Konan. Their argument, in which Konan affirms her faith in Naruto, and Obito (still impersonating Madara) claims his original ownership of the Rinnegan, quickly evolves into a fight. Konan attempts to catch him in various large-scale paper bomb detonations, but he manages to trick her with the Izanagi technique, and stabs her in the back; he obtains the location of Nagato's body through genjutsu, and proceeds to choke her to death. He retrieves Nagato's body and Rinnegan successfully.


title: Obito Uchiha

text: Obito converts the reanimated bodies of the captured Jinchuriki into his own to use the captured Tailed Beasts' power. He fights Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B, who stop the Six Paths of Pain and leave Obito to recover the Tailed Beasts and revive the Ten-Tails. Kabuto then reanimates Madara Uchiha's body; Obito's identity is revealed.