Danny Rand is shrouded in mystery from the moment he arrives on Iron Fist, looking like he'd rather make you banana pancakes and pretend like its the weekend than take over his parents' corporate affairs. There are spoilers for Iron Fist ahead, so make like a hawk in Manhattan and fly away if you don't want to know. Are Danny's parents really dead on Iron Fist? He may not be the only survivor of the plane crash.
Based on Danny's memories, it seems likely that they are dead. However, if Harold Meachum could fake his own death — who's to say that more parents won't come back to haunt their kids? Things aren't always as they seem, especially in comic book universes. Towards the middle of the series, Madame Gao reveals that she knows Danny's father. Dead or not, that's worth exploring.
In the comics, Wendell Rand wields the Iron Fist for a while and has quite the history in K'un-Lun, while Danny's mother Heather Rand becomes the Silver Dragon in another realm after she dies. Danny sees his mother once as the Silver Dragon, but never sees his father again. While both of them do ultimately die in the comics, it's not immediately in the plane crash that lands Danny in the care of K'un-Lun, like the Netflix series. They died soon after. Harold Meachum was with them and betrayed Wendell, letting him fall to his death a la Mufasa and Scar in The Lion King. However, Danny and his mother had been separated — so there are still a few things about the Meachum and Rand relationship that he doesn't know.
In the event that Wendell and Heather really are gone, I hope that Iron Fist at least shows their comic backstory in flashbacks. There's clearly more story to tell, and an interesting one at that!
