‘Iron Fist #1’ Review (Marvel Comics)
Written by Alyssa Wong | Art by Michael Yg | Published by Marvel Comics
So, what’s this then? A new Iron Fist book? Last I saw Danny Rand had lost all his powers. And had blond hair. The guy on the front cover is clearly Iron Fist, but not a blond hair to be seen. Folks, we have a new Iron Fist in town. It’s been established in the past that Iron Fist is a legacy character, in the sense that every generation has an Iron Fist, a brave warrior powered by the supernaturally strong chi of the immortal dragon Shou-Lao the Undying. I guess if Danny has given up the mantle, it’s time for someone new to step up.
Eventually.
We start our story, after a little check-in with the secret city of K’un-Lun, with now powerless Danny Rand. I say powerless, but he is of course still a supremely skilled martial artist, skilled enough to take down a gang of monsters….with a little help from Iron Fist. Yep, from nowhere, up pops someone in a familiar costume with familiar powers. Iron fists, though, rather than an iron fist, so double the fun. It seems Danny is as surprised as us. Who is this guy? Well, he talks a good talk and has some good moves, but he’s clearly something of a novice, which Danny picks up on. Rather than explain himself, he takes off.
Turns out our new Iron Fist is Lin Lie, and his new role and destiny are tied up with recent events. With the death of the Sorcerer Supreme, a powerful Kumiho demon was set free and Lie and his friend White Fox tried to defeat it. It didn’t end well. Lie is not entirely sure what happened at the end, but suspects he may have died. Somehow, he got better, the suspicion being Shou-Lao intervened to help. He awoke in K’un-Lun, and somehow ended up where we are now. His iron fists, it seems, are actually powered by the broken fragments of the Sword of Fu Xi, a powerful relic that exploded during his fight and embedded into his arms. They give him power and pain in equal measure. Time for a brood on a rooftop away from everyone.
Hey, this is a Marvel book, everybody broods on rooftops. You know that, I know that, and Danny Rand knows that. Danny tries to get Lin talking, to find out just what is going on with him. But hey, this is a Marvel book, so cue misunderstanding and a light scuffle/ fight between two heroes, ending in a heads held high draw. For some reason Lin just won’t open up to Danny and ends up escaping back to K’un-Lun through a portal Danny was unaware of. We do learn a little more now, that he was found by Mei Min after he washed up in K’un-Lun, and she helped him get better. She’s also been helping to fend off the growing demon incursions of late, that started after Lin appeared there. Those demons seem very keen on those green sword shards Lin is toting around. You’d think if coming through the front door in an obvious manner doesn’t work, they’d try something a little sneakier… Step up Mei’s dad. He’s looking a little… demonic.
Overall, not a bad start for this book and character. The art was nice enough, quite middle of the road, slightly cartoony, but good for this book and this character. I thought scripter Alyssa Wong kept it bright and breezy, in the spirit of the Shang-Chi movie, and sprinkled enough fodder for future plot points to pique my interest. Keeping Danny Rand involved as a possible future mentor was also a good move. For all that, though, the character felt a little forced. His taking on the Iron Fist look and mantle just didn’t quite ring true. Yet, anyway. It has the feel of those early 1990’s Marvel books, where characters took over roles (Jim Rhodes as Iron Man for example) before giving back the roles and becoming their own new identities (Jim became War Machine of course). I think Lin Lie will stick around, but not ultimately as Iron Fist. I might be wrong of course.
A decent read, but not yet an essential one. A too bland leading man, the book is at its best whenever Danny Rand appears. That says a lot.
