Mercedes “Misty” Knight was born and raised in New York City. She graduated the Police Academy with honors and joined the N.Y.P.D. and rose through the ranks, quickly becoming a lieutenant. She was partnered with Lt. Rafael “Rafe” Scarfe. During her tenure as a police officer Misty became good friends with Colleen Wing.[citation needed] While visiting a bank, Misty encountered a bomb. She tried to get rid of it, but when it exploded it took her right arm. Rafe did his best to wrap her wounds and got her to the nearest hospital where he stayed by his partner’s bedside. Unable to continue active duty after losing her arm, she was given a desk job. Tony Stark took notice of her heroism, providing her with a bionic arm.
During this time, the Human Torch and Spider-Man stopped some thieves from stealing Christmas presents from Misty. It would be years before she revealed this to the heroes.
Knightwing Restorations, Ltd
Misty rejected settling for a desk job and instead left the N.Y.P.D. to start a private investigation business with Colleen Wing, Knightwing Restorations, Ltd. The Cult of Kali attacked Colleen’s home and Misty tried to protect her friend. Mistaking Iron Fist for one of the cultists, he was forced to knock her out as he rescued the Wings.
She helped Iron Fist track Colleen, who had been kidnapped by Master Khan. She met with Rafe who helped in locating her friend. Together they fought the Ravager and the Steel Serpent. During the fight with Ravager, he blasted Misty’s arm, revealing to Iron Fist that it was bionic. Working together, they were able to rescue Colleen. She later helped Danny gain his company back and helped him take down Chaka Khan and the Golden Tigers.
Misty and Rafe were called into the office of D.A. Blake Tower, who wanted Misty to infiltrate Bushmaster’s criminal organization. Rafe was against it, as everyone who had gone undercover had wound up dead. She took the name Maya Korday. This led her, Colleen, Iron Fist, and Spider-Man into conflict with Steel Serpent. It was during this fight that the duo of Misty and Colleen received the nickname “Daughters of the Dragon,” a moniker sarcastically bestowed upon them by Steel Serpent.
Luke Cage was sent by Bushmaster to kidnap Misty, or else his friends Claire Temple and Noah Burstein would be hurt. He was forced to fight Iron Fist; however, they decided to work together to take down Bushmaster, save Luke’s friends, and clear his name of all charges. The Daughters of the Dragon frequently teamed up with Iron Fist and Luke Cage once they formed the Heroes for Hire.
When work began to dry up, Misty took work as as a paralegal for Nelson and Murdock. During this time, she helped Daredevil fight Mr Hyde and Insomnia.
Misty would meet the love of her life, Daniel Rand, through Colleen. Danny is a superhero who goes by the name Iron Fist, a member of the Heroes for Hire organization. Nightwing Restorations Ltd has helped Heroes for Hire on multiple occasions. After a long period of ill definition, Danny and Misty finally become a formal couple in the pages of Immortal Iron Fist. At the end of that series, Misty was believed to be pregnant with Iron Fist’s child until she found out it is a false pregnancy and was only traces of his life-force and not an actual conception. As a result of this the two leave in different apartments though their relationship is still intact.
Powers and Abilities
Misty Knight is highly skilled in martial arts and is a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, with police combat training. She also has near-perfect aim with firearms, and possesses superb detective skills. Her bionic arm is 75 times superhumanly stronger than a normal arm, and she can punch a target with incredible force, or crush objects as tough as steel in her vise-like grip. However, since the rest of her body is not cybernetically enhanced, she cannot lift objects heavier than her back, shoulders, and legs can physically support. Her arm’s advantages as a weapon are limited to kinetic crushing and impact forces.
Her original bionic right arm is an alloy of Antarctic vibranium and diamond; at close range it can liquefy all known metals including adamantium. It is also now able to generate a wide anti-gravity repulsor field similar to Iron Man’s armor. It can also apparently release a concentrated beam of cryogenic energy, which can cover a target in a blanket of ice from a distance. This cold also seems to make the target much more fragile, allowing otherwise durable materials to be broken or rended when frozen. Iron Man also revealed the arm also displays technopathic capabilities, teaching Misty how to control a horde of robots. Following her “pregnancy”, Danny Rand spent money on additional features to the arm, including magnetism and a concussive blast.
Physical Attributes
- Height: 5’9”
- Weight: 136 lbs
- Eyes: Brown
- Hair: Black
Netflix Marvel
- Misty Knight made her live-action debut in Luke Cage, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the series, Misty Knight is still an officer of the NYPD, and gets involved in the feud between Cage and Cornell Stokes ‘ gang. Throughout the season, Misty becomes increasingly disillusioned with the system, and has a romance with Luke. During the second season, she continues her investigation into Mariah Dillard and Shades, and eventually teams up with Luke to fight Bushmaster. She is played by Simone Missick.
- Simone Missick reprises her role in The Defenders, where Misty serves as the team’s ally within the NYPD. She comes embroiled in the events of the mini-series after being promoted to a special taskforce that is trying to take down the Hand. She eventually loses her right arm in an attempt to defend Claire Temple from Bakuto, but receives an advanced robotic replacement from the Rand Corporation.