Iron Fist #1 (of 5) Spoilers/Discussion

[sifighter]

It's a brand new day and a brand new Iron Fist...steeped in Marvel Continuity. I mean it's not a bad thing, sometimes when it comes to new characters taking up the mantle you have to explain some things such as how they fit in the marvel universe. However if you were hoping for a clean start the answer to that is nope, especially since this new Iron Fist is a preexisting character within the Marvel universe who you may actually know if you pay attention to certain mini-series and tie-ins. Not to mention it makes references to recent Iron Fist runs concerning Danny's powers and references to certain characters.

Also for all you Danny Rand fans, such as myself, don't worry he's in this issue for a decent amount of time and he can still kick butt even though he's no longer Iron Fist. He doesn't have the Chi but he's got the moves, and he's got questions for the guy wearing his old uniform.

But who is Iron Fist? Spoilers below:

spoilers:

For all those who assumed Lin Lie aka Sword Master, you are correct. The former Agent of Atlas member is our new Iron Fist, and they explain exactly how it happened. For those who are unaware Sword Master's sword got destroyed in a Death of Doctor Strange Tie-in, with some of the shards stuck in his hand, and Lin got knocked down a cliff to his death. Luckily for him he floated back to land near K'un-lun, and the Dragon Chi went inside him to keep him alive. Now in constant pain because of his sword shards stuck within him but powered by the Dragon Chi he's on a journey to collect the shards that scattered to the winds to reform his sword and stop an evil demon lord from rising. Oh yeah and his sword pieces may have drawn in demons to K'un-lun which looks pretty bad for him when the father of his new crush turns into a monster at the end.

end of spoilers

Anyway I'll give the issue these credits.

1. The art works very well for this first issue
2. Even though it has ties to past stories it takes the time to explain them to you in a clear fashion, you will not be confused to how the new iron fist got to his role.
3. Issue doesn't prolong any mystery, we reveal the new Iron Fist and the story is off to the races
4. Danny Rand is not immediately written off, and looks to have a role to play in the story.

Overall good start.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I give it a 6 out of 10. The actual mechanics of how the new Iron Fist came about felt weak to me. But it was a decent first issue that was kinda fun.

I never became a huge Danny fan but at least he has a new partner to play off.

[Frontier]

It all feels kind of temporary knowing who the new Iron Fist is now.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I wonder if Shang-chi gonna pop up. Shang and the new guy had an interesting dynamic before and both have moved into new roles.

[Digifiend]

Or any of the Agents of Atlas for that matter.

[Tien Long]

I give it a 6 out of 10. The actual mechanics of how the new Iron Fist came about felt weak to me. But it was a decent first issue that was kinda fun.

I never became a huge Danny fan but at least he has a new partner to play off.

I agree with these sentiments bro. I'll perhaps add more commentary to this later in the week, but a 6 sounds just about right. Several parts were interesting, like the new Iron Fist's origins, the fight scenes, or the establishment of ties in K'un Lun. (Wong delved into recent Iron Fist continuity for that. She also added some new layers as well. That was good). Wong respected Danny while also expanding on the "new" character. The interaction between the two was the highlight for me.

Still, the issue hovered around that 6/7 rating range. The pieces were there, but the execution could have been done better. The dialogue was functional with some moments here and there, but nothing too stand out. The art was cool. However, I felt that figures looked a little too much like sticks. As I mentioned in the Iron Fist thread, Danny looked a little too skinny in those skinny jeans.

My interest is piqued. I'm always supportive of Iron Fist. I'm sticking with the series.

[nightw1ng]

I like that a pre-existing character is the new Iron Fist. There are already so many characters in the Marvel Universe, so I like when writers draw from that resource instead of creating a new one.

It all feels kind of temporary knowing who the new Iron Fist is now.

I actually feel like this gives Lin Lie's character a way to stick around considering he was probably going to lose his sword sealing away Chiyou anyway. The shards in his arms are a temporary handicap that he's going to eventually overcome and hopefully make him worthy to keep Shou-Lao's chi.

[Digifiend]

Yeah, I can see him repairing his sword at the end of this mini, using it to seal the demon, and just keeping the Iron Fist mantle with Danny's blessing.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Or any of the Agents of Atlas for that matter.

It could be the sequel miniseries. Iron sword versus the Agents of Atlas.

I'm hoping he summons a chi-sword by issue 5 or I want my money back.

[Johnrevenge]

So far I liked it. It was a nice start of the mini, and his identity wasn't that much of a surprise (practically one of the first variant covers spoiled it lmao). Wonder what will happen by the end of the mini.

[Grayson - The Dark Heir]

First off, I really liked this issue. It did a lot of things I wanted to see and did it well. I wasn't interested in a long-term mystery with an obvious answer (reading Jane's time as Thor for the first time knowing she was Thor beforehand made that series a terrible read). I'm not the most well-read Iron Fist fan, although I have read the Immortal and Living Weapon runs, so seeing some of that lore being used here was great to see. I've been pretty invested in Lin Lie's journey before all this purely by chance too, so it's nice to know Chiyou is still relevant.

Besides all that, I'm a big fan of Danny and Lin Lie here. I've always liked Danny, but he really comes out of this first issue looking good. It really feels like him sliding into the mentor role as a natural consequence of previous runs.

One more thing I wanted to mention, and this might be a touchy topic, but on Lin Lie being in agony when he fights due to the shards of the Sword of Fu Xi being stuck in them... this could be representation for people with chronic pain disabilities. I can't speak for them, and I definitely wouldn't wish that onto anyone, but if that's the intention behind it, I really hope it's treated with respect and stays a part of Lie's story in the future. As it stands now, it sets him apart as a Marvel character and especially as an Iron Fist, I think.

Yeah, I can see him repairing his sword at the end of this mini, using it to seal the demon, and just keeping the Iron Fist mantle with Danny's blessing.

Oh! This makes so much sense lol, I hadn't considered it until now. This whole time I was worried this would only be temporary and Lie would just go back to being Swordmaster after this.

[Frontier]

Oh! This makes so much sense lol, I hadn't considered it until now. This whole time I was worried this would only be temporary and Lin would just go back to being Swordmaster after this.

Him being Swordmaster just makes it still feel temporary to me, unless they just really want to have an Asian Iron Fist no matter what.

[Tien Long]

A quick thought, I felt that Danny should have recognized Lin Lie a bit more. Lin Lie trained with Shang-Chi and Danny is familiar with Shang's fighting style. Fighting styles are like fingerprints, you recognize who's who because of them. Just through that small exchange, Danny should have detected some elements of Shang-Chi's training.

[Grayson - The Dark Heir]

Him being Swordmaster just makes it still feel temporary to me, unless they just really want to have an Asian Iron Fist no matter what.

Well "Sword Master" is a temporary title itself, since the Sword of Fu Xi should be used to reseal Chiyou. I was thinking they'd do the "protagonist unlocks greater power that no one has ever been able to" trope so that Lie could use the sword, permanently kill Chiyou, and keep the sword for himself, but that would be going against the basic premise of the character: Chiyou is only free because the sword was removed, which reflects a failing on the part of Lie's family, so Sword Master is a redemption story for the family. It would make for a good story if they kept that theme and let Lie give up the identity of Sword Master to fulfill his duty as the heir of the Fu Xi Clan. Plus, between slowly mastering the power of the Iron Fist and finding his own identity (as the Iron Fist or as simply not the Sword Master), he'll be able to set himself up as a worthy successor to the mantle, I think.

A quick thought, I felt that Danny should have recognized Lin Lie a bit more. Lin Lie trained with Shang-Chi and Danny is familiar with Shang's fighting style. Fighting styles are like fingerprints, you recognize who's who because of them. Just through that small exchange, Danny should have detected some elements of Shang-Chi's training.

I don't recall the exact details of the story, but was Shang actually teaching Lie his fighting style? I only really remember him giving him pointers and such the way an experienced fighter might mentor an amateur one. Either way, I feel like using Shang's style might be a little beyond the young Lie right now lol, especially since he wasn't much of a fighter in his own series. Training in K'un Lun is what's elevated his capabilities, I think.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Lin could be the Iron Sword....