Product Description: Once a generation, the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven align on a plane far beyond the ken of mortal men. It is here that these cities send their Immortal Warriors to compete against one another in a combat tournament to end all tournaments...and it is here that Daniel Rand was spirited to in his darkest hour. Generations of mystical war traditions await their chance to prove they have the greatest kung fu...to The Immortal Iron Fist! Collects Immortal Iron Fist #8-14, Annual #1.
Iron Fist 2.0 Iron Fist has never been an A-list character. Like Shang Chi the Master of Kung Fu, Iron Fist had an uneventful run before hitting his groove as the partner of Luke Cage as a Hero for Hire. Cut in the mould of Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) - ergo, the playboy with a lot of money and superpowers, blonde Daniel Rand has never really matched the former two in personality.
This new chapter of Iron Fist however, tries to retool Iron Fist by tapping into his mystic origins ala Batman Begins...and largely succeeds. Vol 1 was alright and Vol 2 steps up the storytelling. If kung fu heroics and intrigue are your thing, then Iron Fist will keep you happy. An interesting array of artists takes on the reins, making this a vivid showcase. The story would have worked better minus the happy Hollywood ending and really should veer into the noir territory. There seem to be a lot of possibilities for the character - the writers should look at the early Shang Chi comics which painted a very grey world.
We meet new warriors in this novel, giving us more insights into the Iron Fist origins and fascinating backstory. These characters add a hint of the possible manga-like direction of the series - if handled correctly. If not, they will just be hokey sidekicks to Iron Fist. Fraction or whoever is writing this needs to ditch the conventional superhero schtick - a limitation of the writing - and research the cosmic possibilities out there. And please - forget about Hydra which the writer indicates as "Hydra fights like they're fighting for a pay check..." - exactly the problem. Make it deadly. The writers need to study the East a lot more to make this fly.
Note: Orson Randall - the mysterious Iron Fist from the past added an interesting pulp fiction angle to the heroics - ala Doc Savage. I would argue that the old Iron Fist stories provide a richer and more appropriate setting for Iron Fist and should be further explored. In all, this book is a decent return to form for a character that still needs more development. 3 & a 1/2 stars.
excellent excellent run: the quite obscure Iron fist character is given a solid background and new dynamics by the great team of brubacker, Fraction and Aja. A must read for whoever love superheroes and martial arts
More than meets the eye The principle thing that makes me give this book 5 stars is what it isn't. It isn't typical superhero fare, it hasn't typical superhero art and when you see the story is going to end with the typical "death match with the evil baddie getting his comeuppance", it doesn't.
Fraction is the writer on the rise at Marvel Comics and Brubaker is, well, Brubaker. He's the guy that killed off Steve Rogers and is still selling the book to fans (like me) who cannot get enough of it. In this tale, he is channeling elements of the pulps, from Argosy-type adventurers to tales of the "Mysterious East". Together, they are working genres filled with stereotypes and yet making it all feel fresh and new.
David Aja's art is perfectly suited to the story being told. His martial arts choreography is solid and his noir style fitting. If you like the pulps - hard-boiled detectives to tales of exotic places - or even the old movie serials, this is the book you're looking for. The story is rich and complex, but easy to follow, and the art is superb. All in all, a perfect melding of pictures and words. Throw in Luke Cage and the Heroes for Hire and how can you go wrong?
You Just Don't Mess with the Iron Fist Let me start out by saying that Matt Fraction has a hell of a career ahead of him. Boy can this guy write! He's gained so much popularity with Marvel due to his craft that he's even leaving Iron Fist (unfortunately) to go write on X-Men (Yeah!). And this Aja artist is something else too. Boy can he draw the kung-fu type of story that kung-fu fanatics like! His picture renderings of Fraction's words are amazing. This volume of stories, not to give away too much, focuses on the battles being waged by several clans of Mystical Powers in the sacred city of "Heaven". These clans each have their own master, all of them cool and very powerful in their own rights, with Danny Rand, the current Iron Fist, just being one of them. These stories also include former Iron Fists and Luke Cage and the new Heroes for Hire. Just an all around great story. Peace and Love, Jake
Unbelievably good Seriously, who would have thought that a lower-tier character like Iron Fist would ever have gotten his own series that is this good? The writing team of Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Daredevil) and Matt Fraction (Punisher War Journal, The Order) deliver a title that combines nods to the 70's kung-fu era that helped birth the character, and just plain great storytelling. The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, the second collected volume of Brubaker and Fraction's run on Immortal Iron Fist, finds Danny "Iron Fist" Rand possibly in over his head as there are those seeking to end the Iron Fist legacy. Continuing with flashbacks, backstory, and the fleshing out of one of the best supporting casts in all of mainstream comics today, The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven ends up reaching heights that you may not expect. The story may be a bit too convoluted and the mix of mysticism and martial arts mythology may be nothing new, but Brubaker and Fraction manage to weave a storyarc that is ever-twisting and even more enjoyable. David Aja's artwork continues to impress as well, as he stands as the absolute best artist to ever render Iron Fist, and his action sequences are simply spectacular. All in all, if you've been missing out on Immortal Iron Fist, you are doing youself a great disservice, and you deserve to check out one of the most surprising new series' to come out of Marvel in quite some time.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
