By Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, Larry Hama, Chris Claremont, John Byrne & various (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-1-7851-1546-5
Comicbooks have always operated within the larger bounds of popular trends and fashions – just look at what got published whenever westerns or science fiction dominated on TV – so when the ancient philosophy and health-&-fitness discipline of Kung Fu made its unstoppable mark on domestic entertainment it wasn’t long before the Chop Sockey kicks and punches found their way en masse onto the four-colour pages of America’s periodicals.
As part of the first Martial Arts bonanza, Marvel converted a forthcoming license to use venerable fictional villain Fu Manchu into a series about his. The series launched in Special Marvel Edition #15, December 1973 as The Hands of Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu and by April 1974 (#17) it became his exclusively. A month later the House of Ideas launched a second oriental-tinged hero in Iron Fist; a character combining the Eastern combat philosophy with high fantasy, magic powers and a proper superhero mask and costume…
The character also owed a hefty debt to Bill Everett’s pioneering golden Age super-hero Amazing Man who graced various Centaur Comics publications between1939 and 1942. The tribute was paid by Roy Thomas & Gil Kane who adopted and translated the fictive John Aman‘s Tibetan origins into something that gibed better with the 1970’s twin zeitgeists of Supernatural Fantasy and Chinese martial arts mayhem…
This collection gathers the multifarious appearances of the Living Weapon from Marvel Premier #15-25, Iron Fist #1-15, Marvel Team-Up #63-64 and Power Man & Iron Fist #48-50 spanning May 1974 to April 1978 which saw the bombastic human blockbuster uncover his past and rediscover his heritage and humanity before inevitably settling into the inescapable role of costumed superhero.
The saga began on a spectacular high in Marvel Premier #15 with ‘The Fury of Iron Fist!’ by Thomas, Kane and inker Dick Giordano which saw a young masked warrior defeat the cream of a legendary combat elite in a fabled other-dimensional city before returning to Earth. Ten years previously little Daniel Rand had watched as his father and mother died at the hands of Harold Meachum whilst the party risked Himalayan snows to find the legendary city of K’un Lun.
Little Danny Rand had travelled with his wealthy parents and business partner Meachum in search of the lost city which only appeared on Earth for one day every ten years. Wendell Rand had some unsuspected connection to the fabled Shangri La but was killed before they arrived, whilst Danny’s mother had sacrificed herself to save the child from wolves and her murderous pursuer.
As he wandered alone in the wilderness, the city found Danny and the boy spent the next decade training: mastering all forms of martial arts in the militaristic, oriental, feudal paradise and enduring arcane ordeals, living only for the day he would return to Earth and avenge his parents…
After conquering all comers and refusing immortality, Iron Fist returned to Earth a Living Weapon able to turn his force of will into a devastating super-punch…
From the outset the feature was plagued by an inability to keep a stable creative team, although, to be fair, story quality never suffered, only plot and direction. Reaching New York City in #16, ‘Heart of the Dragon!’ by Len Wein, Larry Hama & Giordano found Iron Fist reliving the years of work which had culminated in a trial by combat with mystic dragon Shou-Lao the Undying, winning him the power to concentrate his fist “like unto a thing of Iron†and other unspecified abilities, whilst permanently branding his chest with the seared silhouette of the fearsome wyrm. His recollections were shattered when martial arts bounty hunter Scythe attacked, revealing that Meachum knew the boy was back and had put a price on his head…
Danny had not only sacrificed immortality for vengeance but also prestige and privilege. As he left K’un Lun, supreme ruler of the city Yü Ti, the August Personage in Jade had revealed that murdered Wendell Rand had been his brother…
Marvel Premier #17 saw Doug Moench take over the scripting as Iron Fist stormed Meachum’s skyscraper headquarters, a ‘Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance’ converted into a colossal 30-storey death trap, which led to a duel with a cybernetically-augmented giant dubbed Triple-Iron and a climactic confrontation with his parents’ killer in #18’s ‘Lair of Shattered Vengeance!’
The years had not been kind to Meachum. He’d lost his legs to frostbite as he returned from the Himalayas, and hearing from Sherpas that a boy had been taken into K’un Lun, the murderer had spent the intervening decade awaiting in dread his victims’ avenger…
Filled with loathing, frustration and pity, Iron Fist turned away from his intended retribution, but Meachum died anyway, slain by a mysterious Ninja as the deranged multi-millionaire attempted to shoot Danny in the back…
In #19 Joy Meachum and her ruthless uncle Ward, convinced Iron Fist had killed the crippled Harold, stepped up the hunt for Iron Fist via legal and illegal means whilst the shell-shocked Living Weapon aimlessly wandered the streets. Adopted by the enigmatic Colleen Wing Danny then met her father, an aging professor of Oriental Studies who had fallen foul of a ‘Death Cult!’
In his travels the aged savant had acquired an ancient text The Book of Many Things, which, amongst other things, held the secret of K’un Lun’s destruction. The deadly disciples of Kara-Kai were determined to possess it. After thwarting another attempt Iron Fist tried to make peace with Joy, but instead walked into an ambush where the bloodthirsty ninja again intervened, slaughtering the ambushers…
A period of pitiful and often painful inconsistency began as Tony Isabella, Arvell Jones & Dan Green took over with #20 wherein the Kara-Kai cultists renewed their attacks on the Wings whilst Ward Meachum hired a veritable army to destroy the Living Weapon in ‘Batroc and other Assassins’ – with the identity of the ninja apparently revealed as the elderly scholar…
Marvel Premier #21 introduced the ‘Daughters of the Death Goddess’ (inked by Vince Colletta) as the Wing’s were abducted by the cultists and bionic ex-cop Misty Knight debuted first as foe but soon as ally. When Danny tracked down the cult he discovered some shocking truths – as did the ninja, who had been imprisoned within the ancient book by the August Personage in Jade in ages past and had possessed the Professor in search of escape and revenge…
All was revealed and the hero exonerated in #22’s ‘Death is a Ninja’ (inked by “A. Bradfordâ€) when the ninja disclosed how, as disciple to sublime wizard Master Khan, he had attempted to conquer K’un Lun and been imprisoned in the crumbling tome. Over years he had discovered a temporary escape and had manipulated the Professor and Iron Fist to secure his release and the doom of his jailers. Now exposed, he faced the Living Weapon in one last cataclysmic clash…
A measure of stability began with #23 as Chris Claremont, Pat Broderick & Bob McLeod took the series in a new direction. With his life’s work over and nearly nine years until he could go “homeâ€, Danny was now a man without purpose until whilst strolling with Colleen he stumbled into a spree shooting in ‘The Name is… Warhawk.’
When the cyborg-assassin had a Vietnam flashback and began sniping in Central Park, the Pride of K’un Lun instantly responded to the threat and thus began his career as a hero…
In ‘Summerkill’ (inked by Colletta) the itinerant exile battled an alien robot dubbed the Monstroid and began a long and complicated association with Princess Azir of Halwan as the mysterious Master Khan resurfaced, apparently intent on killing her and seizing her country…
Marvel Premier #25 saw the end of the hero’s run and the start of his short but sweet Golden Age as John Byrne became regular penciller for ‘Morning of the Mindstorm!’ (inked by Al McWilliams). When Colleen was abducted and her father driven to the edge of insanity by mind-bending terrorist Angar the Screamer, Danny, made of far sterner stuff, quickly overcame the psychic assaults and tracked the attackers to Stark Industries and into his own series…
Iron Fist #1 (November 1975) featured ‘A Duel of Iron!’ as the Living Weapon was tricked into battling Iron Man, whilst Colleen escaped and ran into Danny’s future nemesis Steel Serpent before being recaptured and renditioned to Halwan…
After a spectacular, inconclusive and ultimately pointless battle, Danny and Misty Knight also headed for Halwan in ‘Valley of the Damned!’ (#2, inked by Frank Chiaramonte) with the hero recalling a painful episode from his youth wherein his best friends Conal and Miranda chose certain death beyond the walls of regimented K’un Lun rather than remain in the lost city where they could not love each other…
As Master Khan began to break Colleen, Danny and Misty stopped-over in England where a nuclear horror named The Ravager slaughtered innocents by blowing up London Airport and the Post Office Tower (we rebuilt it as the BT Tower, so don’t panic), compelling Iron Fist to punch far above his weight in ‘The City’s Not For Burning!’
Inevitably it ended in ‘Holocaust!’ as Ravager was unmasked as master-villain Radion the Atomic Man, who fatally irradiated Danny until the hero discovered the cleansing and curative power of the Iron Fist and stormed to his greatest triumph…
Whilst Misty recuperated Danny became involved with a guilt-ridden IRA bomber named Alan Cavenaugh before tackling another of Khan’s assassins in ‘When Slays the Scimitar!’ after which Iron Fist and Misty finally infiltrated Halwan in #6, courtesy of crusading lawyer Jeryn Hogarth who also promised to secure Danny’s inheritance and interests from the Rand-Meachum Corporation. The Pride of K’un Lun didn’t much care since the successfully brainwashed Colleen had been unleashed by Khan, determined to kill her rescuers in ‘Death Match!’…
None of the earthly participants were aware that in a hidden dimension, Yü Ti spied on the proceedings with cold calculation…
By using the Iron Fist to psychically link with Colleen, Danny had broken Khan’s control and at last the malignant mage personally entered the fray in #7’s ‘Iron Fist Must Die!’, a blistering battle which broached the dimensions and exposed the August Personage in Jade’s involvement in Wendell Rand’s death. Given the choice between abandoning his friends on Earth or returning to K’un Lun for answers and justice the Living Weapon made a hero’s choice…
With Iron Fist #8 Danny returned to New York and tried to pick up the pieces of a life postponed for more than a decade. Unaware that Steel Serpent was now working for Joy Meachum, Danny joined the company until merciless mob boss Chaka and his Chinatown gangs attacked the business ‘Like Tigers in the Night!’ (inked by Dan Adkins), and Iron Fist was fatally poisoned. Sportingly offered an antidote if he survived a gauntlet of Chaka’s warriors, Danny triumphed in his own manner when ‘The Dragon Dies at Dawn!’ (Chiaramonte inks) but when a hidden killer bludgeoned Chaka, Danny was once again a fugitive from the cops and dubbed a ‘Kung Fu Killer!’ (Adkins) until he, Colleen and Misty exposed the entire plot as a fabrication of the gangster.
In #11 ‘A Fine Day’s Dawn!’ the Living Weapon squared off against the Asgardian empowered Wrecking Crew and, with Misty a hostage, was compelled to fight Captain America in #12’s ‘Assault on Avengers’ Mansion!’ until the Pride of K’un Lun and the Sentinel of Liberty were able to unite and turn the tables on the grotesque godlings…
In the intervening time Cavenaugh had arrived in New York, but not escaped the reach of his former Republican comrades who hired hitman Boomerang to kill the traitor and ‘Target: Iron Fist!’ with little success, but the villain introduced in issue #14 came a lot closer and eventually eclipsed Iron Fist in popularity…
‘Snowfire’, inked by Dan Green, found Danny and Colleen running for their lives in arctic conditions when a retreat at Hogarth’s Canadian Rockies estate was invaded by deadly mercenary Sabre-tooth. It just wasn’t their week as, only days before, a mystery assailant had ambushed Iron Fist and impossibly drained off a significant portion of the lad’s Shou-Lao fuelled life-force… Despite being rendered temporarily blind, the K’un Lun Kid ultimately defeated Sabre-tooth, but the fiercely feral mutant would return again and again…
With Claremont and Byrne increasingly absorbed by their stellar collaboration on the revived and resurgent adventures of Marvel’s mutant horde, Iron Fist #15 (September 1977) was their last Martial Arts mash-up for awhile. The series ended in spectacular fashion as through a comedy of errors Danny found himself battling Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Storm and Phoenix in ‘Enter, the X-Men’.
The cancellation was clearly not planned however as two major subplots went unresolved: Misty had disappeared on an undercover assignment to investigate European gang-boss John Bushmaster and Danny again had his chi siphoned off by the mysterious Steel Serpent…
Fans didn’t have to wait long: Claremont & Byrne had already begun a stint on Marvel Team-Up and turned the Spider-Man vehicle into their own personal clearing house for unresolved plot-lines. MTU #63-64 (November & December 1977 and inked by Dave Hunt) exposed the secret of K’un Lun exile Davos in ‘Night of the Dragon’ as the Steel Serpent sucked the power of the Iron Fist from Danny, leaving him near death. Risking all she had gained, Misty broke cover and rushed to his aid.
With the Wall-crawler and Colleen (the girls using the team name “Daughters of the Dragonâ€) to bolster him, Iron Fist defeated Davos and reclaimed his heritage in ‘If Death be my Destiny…’ before shuffling off into a quiet retirement and anonymity.
…But not for long.
The creative team supreme, augmented by inker Dan Green took over Power Man with the December 1977 issue to finally close their extended saga beginning with#48’s ‘Fist of Iron… Heart of Stone!’
Spurned and furious, Bushmaster had tracked down Misty and, by kidnapping his girlfriend Claire Temple and mentor Noah Burstein, coerced Luke Cage into attacking Danny and the Daughters. A man of infinite subtlety, Bushmaster had dangled a carrot too: proof that would clear the fugitive of outstanding drugs charges and enable him to live as a free man under his real name once again…
When Cage couldn’t kill his targets he believed he had doomed his friends, but #49’s ‘Seagate is a Lonely Place to Die!’ (February 1978) revealed that the criminal mastermind’s real purpose was to force Burstein to repeat the chemical experiment which had given Cage super-strength and impenetrable skin. Now united with Iron Fist, Cage had to defeat a stronger, smarter, utterly ruthless version of himself before finally winning his ‘Freedom!’ in Power Man & Iron Fist #50 (April 1978) and beginning a new and extremely impressive partnership with the Living Weapon who had at last found his place in the world..
Although sadly suffering through some grim patches, the greater bulk of the Iron Fist saga ranks amongst the most exciting and enjoyable Costumed Dramas of Marvel’s second generation. If you want a good, clean fight comic this is probably one of your better bets…
© 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 2004 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.