Iron_Fist is a character that I like; however, I have never been really a huge fan of him. I used to read the old Power Man and Iron Fist comic book. It was all right, but nothing special. So, when I heard Iron Fist was getting his own comic book once again, I decided that I’d probably pass on it since I already collect so many titles. Then I head that Ed Brubaker would be the writer. I was immediately sold on this title. If Ed Brubaker writes it then I will buy it. Brubaker has never let me down and I repay him by always giving any new title of his a try. David Aja is a quality artist who should bring a cool noir feel to this title. I expect that Iron Fist #1 is going to be a pretty good read. Let’s do this review.
Creative Team
Writers: Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction
Artist: David Aja
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The issue begins in 1227 A.D. where we see Bei Ming-Tian, that era’s Iron Fist, protecting K’un-Lun from Khan’s Mongol horde. We then shift to present time, where the current Iron Fist, Daniel Rand, is battling the Hydra horde. Daniel thinks back to when his father, Wendell Rand, his mother and himself were all trekking through the K’un-Lun Mountains looking for the mystical city of K’un-Lun. Wendell Rand falls to his death during the trek. Daniel’s mother and Daniel are attacked by wolves. Daniel’s mother throws herself to the wolves in order to save her son. Daniel was then rescued by archers from the mystical city of K’un-Lun.
Iron Fist continues kicking tons of Hydra butt. Meanwhile, Daniel thinks about how he trained and grew up in K’un-Lun. Daniel became the champion of K’un-Lun and entered the caves of Shou-Lao the Undying. There Daniel plunged his hands into the heart of a dragon and gained the power of the Iron Fist. We cut back to the present and see Iron Fist unleashing his power and blasting to bits several Hydra soldiers. Iron Fist is then attacked from behind by more Hydra soldiers. Iron Fist curses himself for being so careless and impatient. Daniel said that Jeryn Hogarth, who runs Rand Corp.’s day to day business, is probably thinking that Daniel is careless and impatient after what happened earlier today.
We cut to earlier that day. Daniel and Jeryn are meeting with representatives from Wai-Go Industries. Jeryn has worked hard putting together a deal where Rand Corp. will build high speed trains and tracks and then turn the technology over to Wai-Go in exchange for $10.6 billion. Daniel refuses to turn over technology to the Chinese. Daniel lists various human rights violations by China including Tibet, Falun Gong and the events at Tiananmen Square. The reps from Wai-Go claim that they have no voice in matters of national policy. Daniel doesn’t believe it. Daniel says there is going to be no deal. The representatives of Wai-Go angrily leave the meeting.
Jeryn is mad with Daniel that he would be so reckless with Rand Corp.’s future and throw away three and a half years of work by Jeryn. Jeryn asks Daniel if his behavior is some sort of mid-life crisis. That Daniel realizes that he is closer to Bill Gates than Bono. Jeryn tells Daniel that Daniel may have cost them everything on a mere hunch. Jeryn says he is going to go see if he can fix things with Wai-Go.
We shift to Iron Fist breaking into Wai-Go’s office building. Iron Fist is hoping to find some evidence to prove his hunch about Wai-Go being bad guys. That way Iron Fist can give it to Jeryn to prove that they should be dealing with Wai-Go. The offices are all totally empty with no signs of any people working here. Iron Fist realizes that the offices are just a front. That no one has used them in a long time. Suddenly, a horde of Hydra soldiers appear on the scene.
We are now back to the present with Iron Fist fighting the Hydra soldiers on the rooftop next to Wai-Go’s building. The Hydra soldiers call in the Mechagorgon for support. Mechagorgon is a big metal spider-like machine with blades. Iron Fist begins brawling with the Mechagorgon. During the fight, Iron Fist thinks how the burden of being Iron Fist should have been his father’s burden. That Daniel has chosen the path that his father turned down. Daniel thinks how no matter how hard you try, or how dutiful you are to your sacrifice, no matter how high you climb, you can still fall. With that, Iron Fist falls in defeat to the Mechagorgon.
We then zip back to Bangkok, Thailand. We see a white man with blonde hair leaving an Opium Den. The woman running the Opium Den tells a mysterious man that the blonde man is the person he is looking for. The mysterious man asks the woman if she saw “it.” She says no. The mysterious man tells her to confirm it herself. The mysterious man is then contact by a voice in his head. The mysterious man’s name is Davos. The voice in his head is his boss. We see that his boss is talking to him telepathically by using a mystical bowl full of liquid. Davos informs his boss that he thinks they have found him.
We cut to the woman running the Opium Den and her sister knocking on the blonde man’s door. The blonde man opens the door and the two women attack him with swords. The blonde man summons the power of the Iron Fist and shatters the swords. The women then turn into cranes and fly away to tell their master that they found the Iron Fist. We then learn that the blonde man is Orson Randall, Iron Fist circa 1915. That he was last seen in 1933. Orson says that this wasn’t supposed to be his life anymore. That it was supposed to be over.
Comments
The Good: Ed Brubaker does it again. Brubaker is pure money. Tacos in the bank. Iron Fist #1 is an excellent read. Brubaker blew me away with an incredibly well written debut issue. Iron Fist #1 is proof that comic book writing is a legitimate form of literature. Brubaker delivers an artistically written story that has a wonderful internal flow. Brubaker deftly weaves the various scenes together into a seamless story. It is obvious that Brubaker is a technically sound writer who doesn’t write comic books. Brubaker writes graphic novels. There is a difference and Iron Fist #1 is proof of that.
Many comic book writers produce entertainment like a summer blockbuster movie. Other comic book writers produce stories heavy with violence and action. Others go for humor. However, the goal is the same with all these approaches: entertainment. The majority of comic book writers view a comic book as pure entertainment and nothing more. Brubaker goes against that trend. For Brubaker, a comic book is literary work and he produces a very artistic story that is rarely scene on the majority of comic books on the market.
Iron Fist #1 is a template for a very successful debut issue. Brubaker begins the issue in the middle of a fight. He then cuts back to show the reader what happened to lead up to the big fight. He gives background information of Iron Fist during the fight. And he also has successfully set up the first story arc involving Wai-Go and Hydra. And to end it all, Brubaker delivers a very mysterious ending that hooks the reader into wanting to buy the next issue.
Brubaker employs internal narration to frame this issue. This is an excellent move. It enables Brubaker to give the reader background information during a fight scene. This keeps the debut issue from being to dull and boring while still giving a new reader all the background information they need in order to be familiar with Iron Fist. This also enables Brubaker to seriously limit the amount of flashback origin scenes that typically plague debut issues and make then rather dull reads.
And on top of all the impressive writing, Brubaker also delivers some quality kung-fu action which is pretty much why we all picked up Iron Fist #1 in the first place, right? What I thought was very interesting is that Brubaker has seemed to have seriously boosted Iron Fist’s power. I always remember Iron Fist only able to summon his chi into his fist making it strong enough to break through anything. However, Brubaker has Iron Fist use his fist power as an energy cannon blasting to bits a bunch of Hydra soldiers.
David Aja provides plenty of impressive and dramatic artwork that truly compliments Brubaker’s story. Aja’s style is unique and a cool change of pace from the majority of comic book art on the market. I wouldn’t dig Aja’s style on most titles, but I absolutely love it on a title like Iron Fist.
The Bad: No complaints at all. Overall: Iron Fist #1 was an impressive read. Brubaker and Aja make an excellent team and compliment each other’s styles. This was a strong debut issue that definitely hooked me into putting this title on my permanent pull list. I definitely recommend giving Iron Fist a try. It is an impressive combination of writing and artwork. Go on, go out and get this issue!