{"id":30588,"date":"2024-09-23T09:29:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T09:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30588"},"modified":"2024-09-23T09:29:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T09:29:45","slug":"iron-fist-epic-collection-the-fury-of-iron-fist-volume-1-1974-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/09\/23\/iron-fist-epic-collection-the-fury-of-iron-fist-volume-1-1974-1977\/","title":{"rendered":"Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury of Iron Fist volume 1 1974-1977"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Roy Thomas<\/strong>, Len Wein<\/strong>, Doug Moench<\/strong>, Tony Isabella<\/strong>, Chris Claremont<\/strong>, Doug Moench<\/strong>, Tony Isabella<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Larry Hama<\/strong>, John Byrne<\/strong>, Arvell Jones<\/strong>, Keith Pollard<\/strong>, Pat Broderick<\/strong>, Dick Giordano<\/strong>, Dan Green<\/strong>, Vince Colletta<\/strong>, Aubrey Bradford<\/strong>, Bob McLeod<\/strong>, Al McWilliams<\/strong>, Frank Chiaramonte<\/strong>, Dan Adkins<\/strong>, Dave Hunt<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-0-7851-9164-3 (TPB\/Digital edition<\/p>\n

Comic books 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\/health-&-fitness discipline of Kung Fu made its unstoppable mark on domestic entertainment in the West, it wasn\u2019t long before the \u201cChop Sockey\u201d kicks and punches found their way en masse onto the four-colour pages of America\u2019s periodicals.<\/p>\n

As part of the first Martial Arts bonanza, Marvel converted a forthcoming license to use venerable pulp fictional villain Fu Manchu<\/strong> into a series about his son. The series launched in Special Marvel Edition<\/strong> #15, December 1973 as The Hands of Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu<\/strong> and by April 1974 (#17) it became his exclusively. A month later the House of Ideas launched a second orient-informed hero in Iron Fist<\/strong>; a character combining Eastern combat philosophy with high fantasy, magic powers and a proper superhero mask and costume. Happy 50th<\/sup> Anniversary!<\/em><\/p>\n

The character owed a hefty debt to Bill Everett\u2019s pioneering golden Age super-hero Amazing Man <\/strong>who graced various Centaur Comics publications between 1939 and 1942. The tribute was paid by Roy Thomas & Gil Kane who adopted and translated the fictive John Aman<\/em>\u2019s Tibetan origins into something that gibed better with twin 1970\u2019s zeitgeists of Supernatural Fantasy and Martial Arts Mayhem…
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\nThis collection gathers the far-ranging first years of publishing True Survivor and \u201cLiving Weapon\u201d, as delivered in Marvel Premier<\/strong> #15-25, Iron Fist<\/strong> #1-15 and Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> #63-64 (spanning May 1974 to December 1977). These saw the high-kicking wonder uncover his past and rediscover his heritage and humanity before inevitably settling into an apparently inescapable role of costumed crusader as half of superhero and detective bromance Power Man and Iron Fist<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The saga began on a spectacular high in Marvel Premier<\/strong> #15 with \u2018<\/em>The Fury of Iron Fist!\u2019 <\/em>by Thomas, Kane and inker Dick Giordano, as a teenaged masked warrior defeats the cream of a legendary combat elite in a fabled other-dimensional city before returning to Earth.<\/p>\n

Ten years previously little Daniel Rand<\/em> had watched his father and mother die at the hands of Harold Meachum<\/em> whilst the party of millionaire adventurers risked Himalayan snows to find the legendary city of K\u2019un Lun<\/em>. Little Danny had travelled with his parents and business partner Meachum in search of the fabled city – which only appeared on Earth for one day every decade. Wendell Rand<\/em> had some unsuspected connection to the fabled Shangri La but was killed before they found it, whilst Danny\u2019s mother sacrificed herself to save the child from wolves and her murderous pursuer.<\/p>\n

As he wandered alone in the wilderness, the city found Danny. The boy spent ten years training: mastering all forms of martial arts in a militaristic, oriental, feudal paradise while enduring countless arcane ordeals, living only for the day he would return to Earth and avenge his parents. After conquering all comers and rejecting immortality, the Iron Fist<\/strong> returned to Earth, a Living Weapon able to channel his force of will into a devastating super-punch…<\/p>\n

From the outset the feature was plagued by its inability to sustain a stable creative team, although, to be fair, story quality never suffered, only plot and direction. Reaching New York City in #16, \u2018Heart of the Dragon!\u2019<\/em> (Len Wein, Larry Hama & Giordano) found Iron Fist reliving the years of toil which had culminated in a trial by combat with mystic dragon Shou-Lao the Undying<\/em>, which won him the power to concentrate his fist \u201clike unto a thing of Iron\u201d as well as other unspecified abilities. The epic clash permanently branded his chest with the seared silhouette of the fearsome wyrm.<\/p>\n

His recollections are shattered when martial arts bounty hunter Scythe<\/em> attacks, revealing that prospering murderer Meachum knew the boy was back and had put a price on his head…<\/p>\n

Danny had not only sacrificed immortality for vengeance but also prestige and privilege. As he left K\u2019un Lun, supreme ruler of the city the August Personage in Jade <\/em>Yu-<\/em>Ti<\/em> had revealed that murdered Wendell Rand was his brother…<\/p>\n

Marvel Premier<\/strong> #17 saw Doug Moench take over scripting as Iron Fist stormed Meachum\u2019s skyscraper headquarters – a \u2018Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance\u2019<\/em> converted into a colossal 30-storey death trap. The assault led to a duel with cybernetically-augmented giant Triple-Iron<\/em> and a climactic confrontation with his parents\u2019 killer in #18\u2019s \u2018Lair of Shattered Vengeance!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

The years had not been kind to Meachum. He\u2019d lost his legs to frostbite returning from the high peaks, and, upon hearing from Sherpas that a boy had been taken into K\u2019un Lun, had spent the intervening decade awaiting in dread his victims\u2019 avenger…<\/p>\n

Filled with loathing, frustration and pity, Iron Fist turns away from his intended retribution, but Meachum dies anyway, slain by a mysterious Ninja as the deranged multi-millionaire attempts to shoot Danny in the back…<\/p>\n

In #19, Joy Meachum<\/em>\u00a0and her ruthless uncle Ward<\/em> – convinced Iron Fist had killed the crippled Harold – step up the hunt for the returnee via legal and illegal means, whilst the shell-shocked Living Weapon aimlessly wanders the strange streets of Manhattan. Adopted by enigmatic Colleen Wing<\/em>, Danny meets her father, an aging professor of Oriental Studies who has fallen foul of a \u2018<\/em>Death Cult!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

In his travels the aged savant had acquired ancient text The Book of Many Things<\/em>, which, amongst other items, held the secret of K\u2019un Lun\u2019s destruction. The deadly disciples of Kara-Kai<\/em> are determined to possess it, and after thwarting their next murder attempt Danny tries to make peace with Joy, but instead walks into an ambush with the bloodthirsty Ninja again intervening and butchering the bushwhackers…<\/p>\n

A period of often painful inconsistency began as Tony Isabella, Arvell Jones & Dan Green took over with #20. The Kara-Kai cultists renew their attacks on the Wings whilst Ward Meachum hires an army of killers to destroy the Living Weapon in \u2018<\/em>Batroc and other Assassins\u2019<\/em> – with the identity of the ninja apparently revealed here as the elderly scholar…<\/p>\n

Marvel Premier<\/strong> #21 introduced the \u2018Daughters of the Death Goddess\u2019<\/em> (Vince Colletta inks) as the Wings are abducted by cultists and bionic ex-cop Misty Knight<\/em> debuts, first as foe but soon as an ally. When Danny tracks down the cult he discovers some shocking truths – as does the Ninja, who had been imprisoned within the ancient book by the August Personage in Jade in ages past and recently possessed Professor Wing in search of escape and vengeance.<\/p>\n

All was revealed and the hero exonerated in #22\u2019s \u2018Death is a Ninja\u2019<\/em> (\u201cA. Bradford\u201d inks) with the Ninja disclosing how, as disciple to sublime wizard Master Khan<\/em>, he had attempted to conquer K\u2019un Lun and been imprisoned within the crumbling tome for his pains. Over years he had discovered a temporary escape and subsequently manipulated the Wings and Iron Fist to secure permanent release and the doom of his jailers. Now exposed, he faces the Living Weapon in a final cataclysmic clash…<\/p>\n

A measure of stability began with #23 as Chris Claremont, Pat Broderick & Bob McLeod took the series in a new direction. With his life\u2019s work over and nearly nine years until he could return \u201chome\u201d, Danny is now a man without purpose – until whilst strolling with Colleen he stumbles into a spree shooting in \u2018The Name is…<\/em> Warhawk!<\/em>\u2019 <\/em>When the cyborg-assassin has a Vietnam flashback and begins heedlessly sniping in Central Park, the Pride of K\u2019un Lun instantly responds to the threat – and thus begins his career as a superhero…<\/p>\n

In \u2018Summerkill\u2019<\/em> (inked by Colletta), the itinerant exile battles alien robot the Monstroid<\/em> and opens a long and complicated association with Princess Azir of Halwan<\/em>, as the mysterious Master Khan resurfaces, apparently intent on killing her and seizing her country…<\/p>\n

Marvel Premier<\/strong> #25 was the last of the run and start of the hero\u2019s short but sweet Golden Age as John Byrne became regular penciller for \u2018Morning of the Mindstorm!\u2019<\/em> (inked by Al McWilliams). Whilst Colleen is driven to unconsciousness and abducted and her father pushed to the edge of insanity by mind-bending terrorist Angar the Screamer<\/em>, Danny – made of far sterner stuff – overcomes the psychic assault and tracks the attackers to Stark Industries and into his own series…
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\nIron Fist<\/strong> #1 (November 1975) featured \u2018A Duel of Iron!\u2019<\/em> as he is manoeuvred into battling Iron Man<\/strong>, even as Colleen escapes and runs into Danny\u2019s future nemesis Steel Serpent<\/em> before being recaptured and renditioned to Halwan. Following a spectacular, inconclusive and ultimately pointless battle, Danny and Misty Knight also head for Halwan in \u2018Valley of the Damned!\u2019<\/em> (#2, inked by Frank Chiaramonte) with K\u2019un Lun\u2019s finest recalling a painful episode from his youth wherein best friends Conal<\/em> and Miranda<\/em> chose certain death beyond the walls of the regimented war-paradise rather than remain in the lost city where they could not love each other…<\/p>\n

As Master Khan begins to break Colleen, Danny & Misty stopover in England where nuclear horror The Ravager<\/em> slaughters innocents by blowing up London Airport and the Post Office Tower (we rebuilt it as the BT Tower, so don\u2019t panic), compelling Iron Fist to punch way above his weight in \u2018The City\u2019s Not For Burning!\u2019 <\/em>Inevitably it ends in \u2018Holocaust!\u2019<\/em> as the unmasked Ravager is revealed to be old villain Radion the Atomic Man<\/em>. He fatally irradiates Danny until the wounded warrior fortuitously discovers the cleansing, curative power of the Iron Fist before storming to his greatest triumph yet…<\/p>\n

With Misty recuperating, Danny befriends guilt-ridden IRA bomber Alan Cavenaugh<\/em> before tackling another of Khan\u2019s assassins in \u2018When Slays the Scimitar!\u2019<\/em>, after which Iron Fist & Misty finally infiltrate Halwan in #6, courtesy of crusading lawyer Jeryn Hogarth<\/em>, who also promises to secure Danny\u2019s inheritance and interests from the Rand-Meachum Corporation.<\/p>\n

The Pride of K\u2019un Lun doesn\u2019t much care, since brainwashed Colleen has been unleashed by Khan, determined to kill her rescuers in \u2018Death Match!\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

None of the earthly participants are aware that, from a hidden dimension, Yu-Ti is observing the proceedings with cold calculation…<\/p>\n

Using his Iron Fist to psychically link with Colleen, Danny breaks Khan\u2019s conditioning and at last the malignant mage personally enters the fray in #7\u2019s \u2018Iron Fist Must Die!\u2019<\/em>: a blistering battle which breaches dimensions and exposes the August Personage in Jade\u2019s involvement in Wendell Rand\u2019s death. Given the choice between abandoning his friends on Earth or returning to K\u2019un Lun for answers and justice, the Living Weapon makes a true hero\u2019s choice…<\/p>\n

With Iron Fist<\/strong> #8 Danny returns to New York and attempts to pick up the pieces of a life interrupted by more than a decade of pointless obsession. Unaware that Steel Serpent now works for Joy Meachum, Danny joins the company until merciless mob boss Chaka<\/em> and his Chinatown gangs attack the business \u2018Like Tigers in the Night!\u2019<\/em> (inked by Dan Adkins). In resisting the invasion Iron Fist is fatally poisoned.<\/p>\n

Sportingly offered an antidote if he survives a gauntlet of Chaka\u2019s warriors, Danny triumphs in his own manner before \u2018The Dragon Dies at Dawn!\u2019<\/em> (Chiaramonte inks) but when a hidden killer bludgeons Chaka, Danny is again a fugitive from the cops and dubbed the \u2018<\/em>Kung Fu Killer!\u2019<\/em> (Adkins) until he, Colleen and Misty expose the entire plot as a fabrication of the gangster.<\/p>\n

IF<\/strong> #11\u2019s \u2018A Fine Day\u2019s Dawn!\u2019<\/em> sees the Living Weapon square off against Asgardian-empowered thugs the Wrecking Crew<\/em> and, with Misty a hostage, compelled to fight Captain America<\/strong> in #12\u2019s \u2018Assault on Avengers\u2019 Mansion!\u2019<\/em> – until the Pride of K\u2019un Lun and the Sentinel of Liberty unite to turn the tables on the grotesque god-powered gangsters…<\/p>\n

In the intervening time Cavenaugh arrives in New York, but cannot escape the reach of his former Irish Republican comrades. They hire hitman Boomerang<\/em> to kill the defector and \u2018Target: Iron Fist!\u2019 <\/em>with little success, whereas the villain introduced in issue #14 comes a lot closer: even eventually eclipsing Iron Fist in popularity…<\/p>\n

\u2018Snowfire\u2019<\/em> – inked by Dan Green – finds Danny and Colleen running for their lives in arctic conditions when a retreat at Hogarth\u2019s palatial Canadian Rockies estate is invaded by deadly mercenary Sabre-tooth<\/strong>. It just wasn\u2019t their week as, only days before, a mystery assailant had ambushed Iron Fist and somehow drained off a significant portion of his Shou-Lao-fuelled life-force. Despite being rendered temporarily blind, the K\u2019un Lun Kid ultimately defeats Sabre-tooth, but the fiercely feral mutant would return again and again…<\/p>\n

With Claremont & Byrne increasingly absorbed by their stellar collaboration on revived and resurgent mutant horde The X-Men<\/strong>, something had to go and Iron Fist<\/strong>#15 (September 1977) was their last Martial Arts mash-up for a while. The series ended in spectacular fashion as – through a comedy of errors – Danny stumbles into battling Wolverine<\/strong>, Storm<\/strong>, Colossus<\/strong>, Nightcrawler<\/strong>, Banshee<\/strong> and Phoenix<\/strong> in \u2018Enter, the X-Men!<\/em>\u2019<\/em>.
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\nThe cancellation was unplanned, as two major subplots remained unresolved: Misty had disappeared on undercover assignment investigating European gang boss John Bushmaster<\/em> whilst Danny again had his chi siphoned off by Steel Serpent. Fans didn\u2019t have to wait long: Claremont & Byrne had already begun a stint on Marvel Team-Up<\/strong> and turned the Spider-Man <\/strong>vehicle into their own personal clearing house for unresolved plot-lines. MTU<\/strong> #63-64 (November & December 1977 and inked by Dave Hunt) revealed the secret of K\u2019un Lun exile Davos<\/em> in \u2018Night of the Dragon\u2019<\/em>, with Steel Serpent sucking 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…<\/p>\n

With the wallcrawler and Colleen (the girls using team codename Daughters of the Dragon<\/strong>) to bolster him, Iron Fist defeats Davos to reclaims his birthright in \u2018If Death B<\/em>e M<\/em>y Destiny…<\/em>\u2019<\/em> before shuffling off into a quiet retirement and anonymity.<\/p>\n

… But not for long…<\/p>\n

Although suffering a few grim patches, the greater bulk of the Iron Fist saga ranks amongst the most exciting and enjoyable Costumed Dramas of Marvel\u2019s second generation. If you want a good, clean fight comic this is probably one of your better bets, especially if you\u2019re a fan of original artwork as this titanic tome closes with a house ad and fabulous selection, shot from Byrne\u2019s inked pages and original pencil character sketches…<\/p>\n

Now a screen star and solid stanchion of Marvel\u2019s massive continuity, Iron Fist easily outgrew his opportunistic, faddy roots and is waiting to shake hand with you. Are you going to keep the birthday boy waiting any longer?
\n\u00a9 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 2015 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, Chris Claremont, Doug Moench, Tony Isabella, Gil Kane, Larry Hama, John Byrne, Arvell Jones, Keith Pollard, Pat Broderick, Dick Giordano, Dan Green, Vince Colletta, Aubrey Bradford, Bob McLeod, Al McWilliams, Frank Chiaramonte, Dan Adkins, Dave Hunt & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-0-7851-9164-3 (TPB\/Digital edition Comic books have … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Iron Fist Epic Collection: The Fury of Iron Fist volume 1 1974-1977”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,332,120,326,248,79,213,39,106,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-gil-kane","category-iron-man","category-kung-fu","category-martial-arts","category-marvel-superheroes","category-iron-fist","category-spider-man","category-wolverine","category-x-men"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7Xm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30588"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30594,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30588\/revisions\/30594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}