Outrageous stories abound when you’ve been working in the comics industry as long as I have. It was news to me that I would hide under my desk at Marvel Comics to avoid an artist waiting on a plot from me. I mean, really, under my desk was where I kept the sleeping bag I used on too many occasions because of the absurd work load I carried at Marvel.
In a related bit of comics history fake news, there’s a truly outrageous tale of how Misty Knight was created that’s also been going around. It involves a male character pitched to me when I was editing Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, a character who bears absolutely no resemblance to the Misty we know and love. The tall tale involves a trip to Queens and, my darlings, I lived in a not-as-impressive as it sounds penthouse apartment off Times Square. I only left Manhattan to get to an airport. Amusingly, when I did confront the person spreading this phony origin story, he said, “You’ve got Black Lightning. Can’t I have Misty Knight?” That’s not how credits work.
Sidebar. I’m on record as disliking the standard first writer and first artist creation credit. It doesn’t fit all scenarios. It fails to recognize editors who contributed to the process as well as other creators. My pal Bob Layton comes to mine as, while inking Iron Man, he also had a hand in the plots. I’m planning to write a blog on this subject in the near future. But I’ll swing back to it a wee bit later in this bloggy.
Back to Misty Knight. The true story of her creation is simple and one I’ve told before and never strayed from.
I had agreed to write at least three issues of Iron Fist. I had plotted the first of those issues and started scripting it. Which is when I realized how much I loathed the second-person narration of the strip.
“You are Iron Fist and you’ve just been punched in the face.” I would groan when I wrote those captions.
I went to see Black Belt Jones with some young Marvel artists, among them Arvell Jones and Ron Wilson. I went because I’d liked Jim Kelly in Enter the Dragon. This wasn’t a particularly good movie, but one character impressed me. Played by Gloria Hendry, she was this kick-ass martial artist. Inspiration came to me outside the theater. I shared it with Arvell who was drawing my issues of Iron Fist.
I’d give the naive Danny Rand a partner who would be like an older sister to him. She would always have his back but she’d also make fun of him in the way special older sisters do. Best of all, he’d have someone to talk to. I could start phasing out the second-person narration.
Arvell liked the idea and asked what I would call her. I went to my list of names I always had in my head chose Misty Knight. The only question Arvell had was “Misty with a Y or an I?”
“With a Y,” I responded. “I’m not a savage.”
Arvell laughed.
I told him to base Misty on Pam Grier instead of Gloria Hendry on account of everyone loves Pam Grier. I still hope to meet the talented actress one day.
That’s it. The entire story of how I created Misty Knight. If you are told something else, it’s not even remotely connected to the truth.
I only wrote Misty for three pages. When she next appeared in the Iron Fist series, she was written by Chris Claremont. I used to joke that my friend Chris did the heavy lifting on her but I’m still keeping the money. However…
Over the years, I have been thinking about all Chris brought to Misty. Her police background. Her bionic arm. Her romance with Danny Rand. Her friendship and partnership with Colleen Wing. Those are what made her the superstar she became.
Marvel should start listing Chris Claremont as a co-creator of Misty Knight alongside original artist Arvell Jones and myself. He deserves that recognition.
I told you I’d be swinging back to the creator credits issue. I always try to keep my word.
That’s it for this bloggy thing. I’ll be back soon with more of that voodoo that I do so well. Hugs.
© 2026 Tony Isabella
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