Comic Book Review: Iron Fist #13

The Revolution has enjoyed the Immortal Iron Fist. This has been a fairly consistent title that usually offers up a solid read. I’ve actually been surprised at how good this title has been. Immortal Iron Fist has certainly exceeded my initial expectations for this title. I’m sure that Immortal Iron Fist #13 will be another quality issue. Let’s go ahead and hit this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction
Artists: David Aja, Tonic Zonjic, Kano

Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with a flashback scene to Wendell Rand deciding to leave K’un-Lun. The Thunderer stops Wendell and asks him why he is leaving K’un-Lun. Wendell says he doesn’t know why. Wendell is lying since it is obvious how Orson Randall has haunted Wendell. The Thunderer then bids Wendell farewell.

We cut back to present day. We see Luke, Colleen and Misty bound and standing next to Jeryn. Xao then walks up with Jeryn’s mother. Xao tells Jeryn that if he doesn’t get the train working by midnight then Xao will kill Jeryn’s mother and then kill Jeryn. Luke tells Jeryn to relax because Danny has a plan.

We shift to the Heart of Heaven where Iron Fist approaches Yu-Ti. Iron Fist reveals that he knows about the Randall Gate and that Yu-Ti has been visiting the world of men and that he has paid handsomely for the privilege. Iron Fist says that Yu-Ti is a tyrant, a liar and a brat. That Yu-Ti is nothing like his father who ruled before him.

Iron Fist tells Yu-Ti to step down and confess his sings or Iron Fist will tell the people about Yu-Ti’s crimes against them. Yu-Ti answers that he will take his chances with the court of public opinion. Iron Fist then walks out of the room. Yu-Ti then summons his terror priests and tells them that they must go forth and destroy the Randall Gate.

We cut to Iron Fist and the Thunderer watching the terror priests leave to go destroy the Randall Gate. Iron Fist says that Xao has the gate guarded from the outside. That Iron Fist and the Thunderer need to go guard the Randall Gate from the inside.

We hop over to the immortal weapons all dining together and swapping stories of their battles. The Prince of Orphans appears and sits down at their table. He then tells them that a madman on Earth is conspiring to destroy K’un-Lun and that if K’un-Lun is destroyed while part of the Heart of Heaven then all of their cities will go with it.

Davos screams that this is nothing but lies and stomps off. We zip to Davos confronting his father, the Thunderer. The two begin sparring. Davos says that he does not believe this ridiculous conspiracy that Xao wishes to destroy K’un-Lun that the entire Heart of Heaven is at risk. Davos states that the Crane Mother only mentioned wanting to destroy Iron Fist and not all of K’un-Lun.

The Thunderer answers that Crane Mother and Xao are maniacs intent on destroying all of them. The Thunderer says that Crane Mother and Xao have betrayed Davos. The Thunderer says that for once Davos needs to ask himself how many more people he can blame. He has blamed everyone around him for everything that has gone on in his life. The Thunderer tells Davos that he knows where to find him if he decides to finally help them save K’un-Lun.

We then flashback to Wendell Rand busting into a tavern and demanding to know where Orson Randall is hiding. Wendell beats the hell out of everyone until he finally gets a location for Orson. Wendell then arrives at a small cabin in the mountains and busts down the door. Wendell is consumed by anger. That Wendell was prepared for any thousand possibilities beyond the front door except for the site of an all-too-human sickness.

We see Orson having smoked plenty of opium and is so high that he is practically catatonic. Wendell thinks how he was ready to face whatever he found inside this room except one thing: his compassion. Wendell finds the warmth in his heart that still beats for the man that raised him.

We cut back to Jeryn telling Xao that his train is ready. Jeryn fires up the machine and a portal between Earth and K’un-Lun opens up. Xao yells that K’un-Lun is all his. We then see Iron Fist flanked by all of the Immortal Weapons standing at the just inside the portal. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Iron Fist #13 was another solid read. We get treated to another well paced issue that has a good mix of action and drama. Iron Fist #13 is a nicely plotted issue as Brubaker continues to methodically move this story toward the conclusion of this story arc. All the different plotlines are sliding into place in a pleasant fashion.

Fraction serves up some solid dialogue. It isn’t anything spectacular, but it has a nice natural flow to it. Fraction has a good grip on Danny Rand’s character. Fraction has managed to breathe a fresh personality into a character that has always come across as a bit vanilla and generic.

I loved the flashback scene with Wendell and Orson. I have enjoyed getting more insight into Danny’s father, Wendell. And the climactic showdown between Wendell and Orson involved a totally unexpected twist. I didn’t see this coming at all and it was so much more powerful and intriguing than a standard and predictable violent confrontation.

I continue to enjoy Orson’s character. Orson is such a fascinating character. I dig that his amazing physical powers and fighting ability are juxtaposed with such a glaring mental weakness in his addiction to drugs. I’m interested to see if Wendell and Orson are able to fix their damaged relationship. The fact is that they are pretty much all that each other has at this point in their lives.

I liked the confrontation between Iron Fist and Yu-Ti. It was nice to see Danny asserting himself. Fraction and Brubaker have done a nice job giving Danny a much tougher side to his character. This was a pretty ballsy move by Danny to call out the ruler of K’un-Lun in such fashion.

We get a great hook ending with Iron Fist and the other immortal weapons waiting for Xao on the other side of the portal. That was an awesome ending and certainly a great bad-assed moment for Danny. I cannot wait for the next issue. I want to see Xao get the beating that he so richly deserves.

Aja serves up plenty of nice artwork. Unfortunately, Aha didn’t get to do much of the artwork for this issue.

The Bad: I was summarily unimpressed with the artwork by the other artists on this issue.

Overall: Iron Fist #13 was another solid issue. Brubaker and Fraction have done a good job setting the table for what should be an action packed issue with Iron Fist #14. I think that Iron Fist has enough quality character work and dialogue to appeal to fans that don’t normally enjoy action themed comic books. Iron Fist is certainly a quality product that is worth checking out.