Iron Fist: The Living Weapon Appreciation

[Iron Fist]

[The Whovian]

Awesome!!!!!!!

[Tien Long]

Iron Fist, dude, thanks for making those posts. I didn't get a chance to check out the Immortal Weapons issues when they came out, but they (and the insight provided be the authors) look amazing.

I also wanted to say that I took the time to reread the Brubaker and Aja's first story for Immortal Iron Fist, "The Last Iron Fist Story," yesterday. Man, I'd forgotten just how good this first story was because it was satisfying on multiple levels. Having reread my Chinese history over these past several months, I appreciated the flashbacks to the past Iron Fists because they reflected real moments in China's history. The Mongol invasion, the Wukou pirates of the Ming Dynasty, the Opium Wars, Western Imperialism, and Boxer Rebellion of the Qing Dynasty, all of that was apparent in those flashbacks and all of them were appealing to a Chinese historian like me .

That first story really established the new mythos of Iron Fist. The Iron Fist legacy, the Seven Capital Cities, the hinting of the other Immortal Weapons, the tournament, all of those were hinted here. Reading Orson explain to Danny about how he could manipulate his chi to achieve new techniques was pretty cool. Knowing how simple hypnosis and chi-infused bullets would become Danny making an entire building come alive made me somewhat proud. I felt like I was witnessing the beginning of new aspects of the Iron Fist mythos.

Finally, what I came to appreciate was the characterization. I certainly remember Danny's "....wait, what?" personality, but the story also reminded me of Danny's reckless tendency to leap before he looks. This frivolous attitude was juxtaposed with his seeming acceptance of the Iron Fist fate of dying in combat. I also appreciated reading about Orson. His world-weariness and suffering, really brought into fruition due to WWI, made him very sympathetic. I really hope in the live action series we get to see him.

So yeah, hopefully in the next couple of days, I'll get to read the rest of the series. Great stuff!

[Of Atlantis]

Wow, that is an impressive omnibus. Hopefully Marvel starts to put together some collections once the hype for the Netflix series starts turning up.

[Iron Fist]

Wow, that is an impressive omnibus. Hopefully Marvel starts to put together some collections once the hype for the Netflix series starts turning up.

I wish they'd get around to omnibising the original Claremont run, I mean Italy has had it for years, and they have Power Man and Iron Fist in omni format. When is it our turn?

[Pav]

Today's issue of Power Man & Iron Fist was really enjoyable, I thought.

It seems like, as some of us suspected, we're seeing the different aspects of Danny's personality really being brought together in a way that has rarely been shown in past comics.

-Pav, who also likes the roles of the supporting cast...

[chamber-music]

Netflix Iron Fist was recently filming at snug harbor, Staten Island.

My guess is they were probably filming at the Chinese garden. I think the gardens could double for a part of K'un-Lun in a flashback.

[Panic]

Were there any pictures? I'm still waiting to see Danny's regular look (ie. hopefully no beard, and something on his feet).

[Of Atlantis]

Today's issue of Power Man & Iron Fist was really enjoyable, I thought.

It seems like, as some of us suspected, we're seeing the different aspects of Danny's personality really being brought together in a way that has rarely been shown in past comics.

-Pav, who also likes the roles of the supporting cast...

I enjoyed it as well. I thought for someone who isn't reading the Civil War II series, it really provided a solid context for what was going on in the greater MU. Good to see Misty again too, but I thought they had split because her phantom pregnancy put a strain on their relationship, not because Danny had been acting up. Thought that was odd to bring up. Great to see Luke backing his boy up. Can't wait to see Power Man and Iron Fist vs. the Carol Corps.

[Tien Long]

I enjoyed it as well. I thought for someone who isn't reading the Civil War II series, it really provided a solid context for what was going on in the greater MU. Good to see Misty again too, but I thought they had split because her phantom pregnancy put a strain on their relationship, not because Danny had been acting up. Thought that was odd to bring up. Great to see Luke backing his boy up. Can't wait to see Power Man and Iron Fist vs. the Carol Corps.

Ha, glad to see that others read Power Man and Iron Fist last week. In broad terms, what I appreciated was the size of the cast. A lot of different characters got the spotlight this issue, but it didn't feel too crowded. I particularly liked the sense of family in this issue. We saw the Heroes for Hire family, with characters like Misty, Colleen (who's playing with little Dannielle was absolutely adorable), and some Sons of the Tiger.

All of the characters seemed to revolve around the stories that centered on both Danny and Luke. Regarding the former, I agree with Pav, it was nice to see Danny's different sides highlighted here. Over the past several issues, we've seen Danny being goofy and immature, but we also see his willingness to endure hardship by sticking with the other prisoners. Misty hinted at how Danny could be pretty dark. At the same time, we also see Luke trying his best to save his friend and ultimately planning a prison break. The sense of brotherhood was strong and admirable.

In any case, great issue this week. Can't wait to see more!

[Frontier]

Is this the first we've seen of Colleen in a while? I don't remember the last time she was in anything of note other then maybe Shadowland.

[IronCage]

Hopefully we eventually get Danny and Misty together in some form.

Is this the first we've seen of Colleen in a while? I don't remember the last time she was in anything of note other then maybe Shadowland.

Yeah, it's crazy how Colleen just straight up disappears for years. Why isn't she utilized as much as Luke, Danny and Misty? Hopefully her appearing on the Netflix shows will give her more of a presence.

EDIT: Is this also the first time we've seen either Misty or Colleen interact with Jessica Jones?

[Pav]

Good to see Misty again too, but I thought they had split because her phantom pregnancy put a strain on their relationship, not because Danny had been acting up. Thought that was odd to bring up.

A little of both, perhaps?

Honestly, I don't mind these slight "smudges" to continuity if it helps tie things together effectively. And I'm really liking Walker's portrayal of Danny now that we're seeing more than just his goofiness.

In broad terms, what I appreciated was the size of the cast. A lot of different characters got the spotlight this issue, but it didn't feel too crowded.

Agreed. There was ONE point where I was like, "More name/descriptor panels?!" but, seriously, I really like what Walker seems to be doing in regards to the supporting cast (i.e. actually building one up). I think a lot of times a comic will fail not because of some deficiency in the protagonist, but because either a) the villains are lame, or b) there's no compelling supporting cast to make the world feel real. But Walker's reintroduction and revitalization of all these past PM&IF characters seems like a totally deft stroke on his part.

I especially am loving Cockroach Hamilton. I really hope he gets continual use beyond this arc.

All of the characters seemed to revolve around the stories that centered on both Danny and Luke. Regarding the former, I agree with Pav, it was nice to see Danny's different sides highlighted here. Over the past several issues, we've seen Danny being goofy and immature, but we also see his willingness to endure hardship by sticking with the other prisoners. Misty hinted at how Danny could be pretty dark. At the same time, we also see Luke trying his best to save his friend and ultimately planning a prison break. The sense of brotherhood was strong and admirable.

I'm not sure I "believe" that Luke would so quickly decide on "prison break" as the plan. But I look forward to seeing how it all goes down next issue. I'm sure Walker's explanation / Luke's rationale will be just fine.

But yeah - I love seeing the multiple facets of Danny's personality beginning to get fused together in a way that I haven't really seen before. The idea that "goofy Danny" is, in some respects, a cover for the pain of his childhood and the distance he sometimes feels with people of Earth (rather than K'un Lun) makes 100% sense to me. And so does the idea that being with Luke and Misty and Colleen (and few others) actually does make "goofy Danny" just as real as "silent and deadly Danny" - they bring out the best in him like no others can. Seeing this play out is wonderful.

And I'm so excited for the arrival of Iron Fists!!!!!!

I hope Walker and Andrews will tell both their own stories but still coordinate a little bit on Danny.

Hopefully we eventually get Danny and Misty together in some form.

Yeah, it's crazy how Colleen just straight up disappears for years. Why isn't she utilized as much as Luke, Danny and Misty? Hopefully her appearing on the Netflix shows will give her more of a presence.

I love Misty Knight: she's one of the coolest characters ever, hands down. But I'm okay with seeing some other potential love interests in Danny's life. (I wonder if Iron Fists will see the return of Whatsherface.) As for Colleen - she is unfortunately the least interesting of the group (to me). *shrugs* That's just the way it goes. If I were the writer and wanted to build up Colleen, I'd start by giving her a relationship to a certain Immortal City.

In Other News:

I read a bunch of Iron Fists comics from the '90s and early 2000s this week: there were some short miniseries here and there - plus Heroes for Hire, of course. (I only read the first issue of that.)

Man, those '90s issues are really, really (really) of their time.

But I did find myself seeing (in some of these issues) the Danny that Kaare Andrews showed us in The Living Weapon. (I, like many, started loving the character when I read IIF; so I started with goofy Danny.)

Also, I kinda liked the idea that K'un Lun was mystically tied to Danny's heartbeat. I wouldn't mind something like that being brought back, especially if Iron Fists features the rebuilding of K'un Lun. I hope it does; it'd be great to get our street-level stuff in PM&IF and our bigger mystical stuff in Iron Fists.

Oh! And what's up with Danny's sister?

That was new to me!

Her costume wasn't too bad.

-Pav, who wouldn't mind seeing her come back (with or sans Zodiac Key)...

[Of Atlantis]

A little of both, perhaps?

Honestly, I don't mind these slight "smudges" to continuity if it helps tie things together effectively. And I'm really liking Walker's portrayal of Danny now that we're seeing more than just his goofiness.

I dunno, I didn't feel like it tied together anything. My issue was that it was kind of unnecessary at Danny's expense, but it's not that big a deal really.

[Pav]

I dunno, I didn't feel like it tied together anything. My issue was that it was kind of unnecessary at Danny's expense, but it's not that big a deal really.

Well, the "phantom pregnancy" thing is a one-time reason/event for Misty and Danny not being together.

Danny being distant is a long-term personality-based reason that explains them not being together and also helps to link the "happy go lucky" Danny from IIF with the "brutal and dark" Danny that we see in TLW.

*shrugs*

That's how I see it anyway.

-Pav, who wants Of Atlantis and those others "in the know" to talk about Danny's sister...