Madame Gao

"History says that the Iron Fist and The Hand are mortal enemies but I wonder, in the spirit of change, perhaps we could be something different. Last night showed me the truth: K'un-Lun did not send you to hunt us down. You left of your own free will because you wanted to be Danny Rand. So why not enjoy the life you travelled so far for. I need your company, but the spoils are for you to enjoy. Buy a yacht, eat at fancy restaurants with your friends - like Claire Temple or Colleen Wing. Stop your war! This city is no place for the Iron Fist! You're a businessman now, and this is the best offer you are ever going to get..."

- Madame Gao tries to make a deal with Danny

Madame Gao is a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the Netflix series' Marvel's Daredevil and re-appears as the main antagonist of the first season of Marvel's Iron Fist.

Despite her small stature and her old age, Gao is a shrewd crime lord and the leader of The Hand. She runs most of the heroin trade in New York City and eventually teams up with Wilson Fisk's criminal empire. However, after major setbacks by the interference of Daredevil in addition to Fisk losing his nerve due to his love for Vanessa Marianna, Gao and Leland Owlsley, another partner of Fisk's decide to assassinate Vanessa to get Fisk back on track. After this fails, Gao leaves the country to evade retaliation but returns to her operation after Fisk has been imprisoned. However, this time she is opposed by Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, who wants to clear his company Rand Enterprises from any influence The Hand has. This puts him at odds with Gao, as the company has strategic value to her.

She is portrayed by Wai Ching Ho.

Past
Gao hails from K'un-Lun. She claims to have been alive during the seventeenth century, which would make her over four-hundred years old. During the seventeenth century, she allegedly spent most of the time being interrogated which built up a natural immunity to most toxins inside her.

Gao became an associate of The Hand and is one of its oldest members. Eventually, she decided to expand The Hand's drug business and created a criminal empire by selling heroin. To expand her business even further, she intended to use the company Rand Enterprises to her own benefits and planned to propose a deal to the company owner Wendell Rand. By making contact with Wendell's wife, whom she found easy to manipulate, Gao eventually got into contact with Wendell as well. After the contacts were made, Gao approached Wendell and his business partner Harold Meachum. She proposed a partnership but Wendell refused to have anything to do with her drug business. Harold, however, was more than willing to work with Gao. Through Harold, Gao was able to manufacture heroin in a Rand Enterprises facility in China.

When Harold was about to die of cancer, Gao offered him a way out in return for service. Harold agreed to conditions and after he succumbed to his illness, The Hand resurrected him. Harold, now endebted to The Hand, was confined to a spacious penthouse apartment - under constant observance of The Hand. Through his son Ward, Harold maintained influence over Rand Enterprises and Gao used this influence to have Rand Enterprises buy lands or assets of strategic importance to her organization.

Marvel's Daredevil
Madame Gao is part of Wilson Fisk's criminal empire but later betrays him together with Leland Owlsley, as she thinks that Fisk has lost his nerve.

Visiting Harold
After Harold Meachum has found out that Danny Rand is still alive, he leaves his penthouse to find out whether the person that has come to New York is truly Danny. When Harold comes back to the penthouse, he finds a message by The Hand written on his window, revealing that The Hand knows that Harold left the penthouse.

The next night, Madame Gao and other members of The Hand infiltrate Harold's penthouse. They cut the lights and Gao speaks to Harold from the shadows, causing him to drop his glass in fear. Gao tells him that The Hand is disappointed and that his loyalty has been questioned. Harold is shocked and afraid but tries to make clear that he is still loyal to Gao and The Hand. Gao confronts him with the fact that he left the penthouse and he tells her about Danny Rand, claiming that he is an impostor and that he had to deal with the subject himself. Gao reminds him of their agreement and tells him that he has to follow it to the letter, elsewhise there will be consequences. After asserting her dominance by forcing him to kneel in the glass shards, Gao leaves the horrified Harold alone. The Hand later orders Harold to make sure Rand Enterprises acquires a certain pier and Harold tells his son Ward. Ward makes sure that the company buys the pier. The same evening, Gao and a few of her associates enter Harold's penthouse and throw a hood in front of his feet. Ordering him to put it over his head, Gao then tells him that they will go for a ride. They take Harold. Once they have arrived at their destination, Gao has the hood removed from Harold's head. She tells him that he has been a faithful servant and that for his part in securing the pier, he will be rewarded. Henchmen then remove the curtains from a nearby window and Harold realizes that the apartment next to the building they are in is that of Joy, Harold's daughter. For the first time in twelve years, Harold can see his daughter.

However, he then sees that someone had previously hit Joy. Gao reveals that Joy had been attacked by some criminals but that Danny protected her. Nonetheless, Harold is outraged and asks whether Gao will fulfill her "faithful servant" one last wish. The wish is granted and Harold, together with other masked members of The Hand, is permitted to storm the restaurant of the Triads that attacked Joy and personally executes the triad member who struck Joy. After justice has been served, Harold announces that he is now ready to go back home; to captivity.

Shipment attacked
The Hand then starts a new operation in New York. They have a completely new kind of synthetic heroin shipped in through the pier and distribute it into the city. These news eventually reach Danny. In addition, Harold has revealed to Danny that he is alive because as Iron Fist, Danny is a sworn enemy of the Hand. Harold has managed to draw Danny to his side and help him defeat the Hand and Danny starts investigating The Hand's business in New York City. Eventually, Danny infiltrates a Hand shipment at the pier, he is accidentally imprisoned in one of their trucks. Inside the truck he finds the chemist The Hand blackmails in order to produce their new heroin. Danny is attacked by King, a henchman of The Hand, but manages to defeat King and escapes with the scientist.

King is later confronted by Madame Gao and is forced to admit his failure. He reveals to her that Danny was a skilled fighter and managed to punch open the truck door with his bare hands. Gao gets suspicious at that, asking King whether it was both hands or merely Danny's fist. King is not sure and Gao orders him to kneel in front of her. Once King is on his knees, Gao steps behind him, draws a hidden blade from her cane and rams it through the back of King's skull, executing him for his failure.

Duel between Danny and The Hand
Danny continues tracking down the Hand, who kidnapped the scientist's daughter in order to blackmail the man into producing the heroin. In a warehouse of the Hand, Danny eventually finds the truck that carried the scientist. Inside is the severed head of King and an invitation for a duel. Danny accepts the Hand's invitation and heads to the place described on the invite. There, he claims to accept the challenge under the condition that Sabina is freed if he wins. Also, the Hand has to leave Rand Enterprises. After Danny has given his conditions, Madame Gao emerges from the shadows. She welcomes him with honor and tells him that her master agrees to Danny's terms. However, should he lose the duel but remain alive, he has to stay away of all business The Hand has in New York. Danny agrees. Both then wash their hands in the small stone pond in the middle of the room, according to tradition, and Gao leads Danny into a back room two warriors of The Hand wait. By slamming her cane to the ground, Gao signals the beginning of the fight and then watches as the battle begins. Danny wins the fight and Gao announces that the first battle is won. She then turns around and walks off, leaving Danny with his two unconscious combatants.

Danny follows Gao who brings him into another dark room, one that is covered in frost and mist and has rags hanging from the ceiling. This time, Danny's combatant also drugs him - making the battle even more uneven. Nonetheless, Danny wins the fight and Gao announces Danny's second victory. As Danny is still affected by the poison, Gao gives him the chance to withdraw but Danny claims that he will not leave without the girl. Without pressing the matter any further, Gao leads Danny to the next challenge. Gao leads him to yet another room. After Danny has entered it, Gao closes the door behind him and locks it. She enters through another door a short time later, just in time to witness Danny using his Iron Fist powers against his opponent. She watches with amusement. Danny defeats this fighter as well and is even ready to kill him. However, he then sees Gao holding a blade to the throat of the chemist's daughter. Gao orders him to stop, claiming that she will cut the girl's throat if Danny strikes down her warrior. She tells Danny that Sabina will be spared if Danny withdraws from the challenge. Danny is shocked, calling it dishonorable but Gao laughs at that and asks why she should care for honor. With no option, Danny agrees to withdraw from the duel. Gao then lets Sabina go and adds that she did not believe that she would ever meet another Iron Fist during her lifetime. From her words, Danny realizes that there is more to Gao then he thought. He asks her who she is and she reveals that she originates from K'un-Lun. As she remembers K'un-Lun as a paradise, she is surprised that Danny left it to come to New York, adding that he did not initially come to destroy The Hand. As Danny and Sabina turn to leave, Gao claims that she is entertained by how Danny's mind works. Remarking that Danny is different from the K'un-Lun monks she remembers, Gao asks whether the place has changed. Danny claims that they still teach honor and Gao adds that she thought that Danny's father Wendell could have needed more of that. This causes Danny to sprint back at her, angrily demanding that she tells him what she was implying. However, Gao casually touches his chest which hurls Danny backwards several meters. Danny crashes into a wall and Gao walks off.

At Rand Enterprises
The next day, Danny is at Rand Enterprises talking with Joy Meachum when suddenly, Madame Gao steps out of the elevator. She enters Danny's office and he follows her immediately. Inside the office, Gao comments on the functionality of the room. Danny asks her how she got into the building but Gao comments that she has been in Rand Enterprises far longer than Danny himself. When Danny moves towards her, she shrewdly asks whether Danny would really attack an old woman in front of all his employees - given that he is in enough trouble as it is. She mentions that Danny is not the first Iron Fist she met and Danny asks whether this is the reason why she is using the Iron Fist symbol minus the dragon on her heroin packages. She ignores Danny's question and continues her monologue, claiming that the other Iron Fists she knew were fierce and would have never backed down from a grand duel just because an innocent life was at stake. Danny then asks how Gao knew his father and Gao claims that, while has walked on this earth for a long time, the recent changes; including the arrival of Daredevil and Luke Cage and now an Iron Fist's departure from K'un-Lun; are very unusual. Because of these changes, Gao reveals that she wonders whether the feud between the Iron Fist and The Hand can be changed into something more productive as well. She adds that last night showed her the truth - K'un-Lun did not send Danny to hunt and destroy The Hand, he left of his own free will because he wanted to be Danny Rand and not the Iron Fist. She claims that he should do what he travelled so far for. She says that while she needs Danny's company, the spoils will be for Danny to enjoy. She mentions that Danny could use the luxury that would come his way to eat at fancy restaurants with his friends Claire Temple and Colleen Wing, indirectly threatening and revealing that she is aware how she can hurt Danny. However, despite her offer Danny repeats his question about his father and also asks whether she made him an offer too. Gao ignores the question and leaves the room, casually adding that Danny should not forget to water his plants. Gao then enters the elevator and uses a Rand Enterprises security card access to leave the floor.

Danny pursues her by jumping onto her elevator. Although Gao and her bodyguards hear the noise they brush it off. Gao steps off on the second floor, where she enters a conference room. In the room, a woman explains to her how they will be using Rand Enterprises trucks to smuggle their heroin into the entire eastern seaboard. The woman also tells Gao that the demand is higher than they initially expected and that they will be able to reach their sale goals within three months as long as the supply keeps up. Gao claims that quantity is not an issue, as the chemist is almost ready to give up his formula and that they then can start mass production. Gao asks whether there is anything else to discuss and when the woman denies it, Gao and her bodyguards leave. They are unaware that their entire conversation has been eavesdropped on by Danny, who interrogates the businesswoman after Gao is gone.

China
From the information gathered from the woman, Danny and Harold Meachum find out where Gao's lab is located. Together with the sole criminal organization in New York that still opposes The Hand, Danny and Colleen Wing attack the lab where they find the chemist, severely wounded. He reveals that he gave the heroin formula to Gao and that she is now able to mass produce the synthetic heroin. In addition, he reveals that Gao has gone to China. Gao is located at the Rand Enterprises in China Danny and his parents were supposed to visit when their plane crashed fifteen years ago. Danny decides to go after Gao. He also starts wondering whether Gao is responsible for his parents death as to prevent them from finding out that she was using their company for her crimes. Having arrived at China, Danny, Colleen and Claire head to the facility where they watch out for any sign of Gao. Eventually, Danny decides that he will not wait any longer and he and Colleen head inside while Claire remains outside to look out for intruders. Eventually, Claire sees Gao arrive at the factory gates with some of her henchmen but she has no way to contact Danny or Colleen. To warn them anyhow, Claire uses her car's horn. Although Danny and Colleen get the message, the sound warns Gao and her guards as well and she sends one henchman to look out for intruders.

Danny and Colleen evade the intruder and while Colleen heads back to help Claire, Danny continues following Gao. He sees her vanishing inside one of the buildings but when Danny attempts to follow her, he is confronted by a guard. As the warrior keeps provoking Danny during their fight, Danny falls into a fit of rage and almost beats the man to death. When Claire and Colleen arrive seconds later, Danny is horrified and claims that the though he had himself under control. The same moment, Gao and her bodyguards reveal themselves and Gao smugly claims that anger is a virtue and that she could teach Danny to control and use it. Danny ignores her remark and claims that he wants to know why his father had to die. He accuses Gao of having him killed because he wanted to shut down her operation. Gao does not answer the question, instead reminding Danny that he would not believe her denying it. She then orders Danny to submit to her without further incident and claims that she will grant Claire and Colleen swift and painless deaths. Danny states that he will die before Gao he lets Gao touch them but Gao claims that she cannot let Danny die just now. She then orders her bodyguards to murder the women. The henchmen attack but are defeated. However, during the fight one henchman accidentally stabs the other and from the man's fatal reaction, Danny realizes that the blades have been poisoned. Furthermore, the poison has the same effecty Danny witnessed in the corpses of the dead pilots after the crash fifteen years ago, causing him to realize that they had been poisoned. Watching Danny coming to that conclusion, Gao suddenly shows signs of fear. A furious Danny jumps up and Gao stumbles backwards but the wall behind her stops her from evading Danny's attack. However, Danny does not strike Gao but the wall next to her, reducing it to splinters. Danny then grabs Gao and forces her to come with them. With Gao as prisoner, Danny, Colleen and Claire leave the facility. They manage to return to New York with Gao, where they imprison her at Colleen's dojo and tie her to a chair. Danny wants to interrogate her for information on his father but Colleen and Claire are worried about the dark path Danny is taking in his pursuit for answers. Danny, however, remains determined to interrogate Gao.

Interrogation
At the dojo, Claire claims that they could simply give Gao up to the police but Danny states that Gao will go nowhere until he has the answers he needs. Danny then orders Gao to talk about his father and the Hand but Gao asks why Danny is asking about events that happened fifteen years ago when he has more pressing concerns in the present. Danny interrupts her and orders her to tell him what he wants to know but Gao merely asks what he will do if she does not obey. Danny throws his fist at her, stopping only moments before he strikes her face. Gao, however, does not even flinch. Fed up with the path Danny is taking, Claire offers to create a truth serum if Danny brings her some chemicals. Danny and Colleen agree to the idea. None of them sees Gao laughing silently. While Danny is gone obtaining the chemicals, Claire offers Gao a glass of water. Gao then shrewdly analyzes Claire, claiming that Claire fraternizes with special people like Daredevil, Luke Cage and Danny because she hopes some of their speciality rubs off on her. Gao adds that Claire failed each of the three in a different way. Gao claims that Claire is searching for her destiny but that it is selfish to involve Danny. Gao states that Danny has a higher calling and if Claire was supposed to be special, it would already have happened. Gao claims that the only thing that could come out of it for Claire is pain and sorrow and that Danny would understand if Claire left. Claire claims that she will not abandon Danny and Gao asks if she wouldn't even do so to save her mother, rhetorically asking how Claire knows that Gao's men are not paying her a visit the very moment. This upsets Claire strongly and she leaves the room. Gao then sees Colleen approaching and starts to torment her emotionally as well. She is far more successful with her, prying on Colleen's feelings for Danny and her warrior training.

After Claire has created the truth serum, she and Danny approach Gao. She bluntly tells Danny that something is coming his way that he is completely unprepared for. He sarcastically asks whether she has something more horrible than a dragon and a cave, refering to how he obtained his powers. However, when Gao laughingly exclaims that she has, Danny seems concerned for a moment. Nonetheless, he and Claire go through with the plan and inject Gao the serum. When asking Gao about Rand enterprises, Gao reveals that how she approached Wendell and Harold about a deal and how Harold accepted. However, the dosage of the serum makes her fall asleep before she can reveal more.

The same moment, Colleen comes busting into the room and collapses on the floor. When Danny and Claire rush to her side, they find out that she has been pierced by one of the bodyguard's poisoned blades back in China. Claire claims that for producing an antidote, she would have to know what poison Colleen is suffering from first. Claire mentions that Gao will not be a help as they just put her to sleep but suddenly, Gao laughs. She asks Danny if he really believed their drugs would affect her, stating that she spent most of the seventeenth century being interrogated. Danny asks her what poison Gao's men have been using but Gao claims that it is too late and that Colleen's time is up. Colleen tells Danny to call a number in her smartphone because said person would be able to help. Danny does so and leaves a message on the voice mail. While they wait for someone to show up, the light suddenly goes out and Gao exclaims that the time has come for Danny and his friends to die. Suddenly, the dojo is attacked by The Hand, who throw smoke and flashbang grenades before entering. Danny, Colleen and Claire put up a fight and take down the attackers. After the assailants have been defeated, Gao tells Danny to look at Colleen. She claims that Colleen does not have long anymore and proposes a deal. If Danny delivers Gao to her people, she will provide Claire with an antidote to save Colleen. However, Danny instead listens to Colleen's advise and calls a number in Colleen's phone.

Eventually, a man called Bakuto turns up but Danny is reluctant to allow him to enter, claiming that he shouldn't have reached the dojo as there are enemies everywhere. Bakuto claims that he took care of Madame Gao's mercenaries. Interestingly, Bakuto's presence annoys Gao who claims that Bakuto has no business here and should leave. This causes Danny to trust Bakuto and he opens the door. Seeing Colleen on the floor, Bakuto claims that they should have called him sooner. He claims that only Danny can help Colleen because as the Iron Fist, he has the power to heal her. While Gao claims that Danny is falling into a trap he cannot escape, Bakuto beckons him to come closer and to focus his chi in his hand. Danny listens to Bakuto and follows his advise. Through Bakuto's instructions, Danny manages to save Colleen. However, the procedure also knocks out Danny. Suddenly, more of Bakuto's men turn up and they grab Danny and Gao. Together with Colleen, they enter a car and drive off, leaving Claire behind.

Bakuto's prisoner
They are all brought to Bakuto's academy where Gao is imprisoned in a building that is off-limits for students. There, Danny eventually finds her when he is exploring the academy. Gao is amused by Danny and provokes him even from captivity. When Danny claims that the only thing she has left are petty insults, Gao replies that she is treating him with respect by showing what she truly is, hinting that not everyone around him does the same. She claims that "they" are taking Danny's ability to trust and that this is how "they" crush people. When Danny asks how "they" are, Gao replies that she means The Hand. Danny asks what Gao means and Gao tells him to open his eyes, asking him what he believes where he is. The same moment, Bakuto arrives and disrupts the conversation. Bakuto later takes over Gao's business, making him the leader of both factions of The Hand.