POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #1
Written By David Walker
Art by Sanford Greene & Lee Loughridge
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: February 17, 2016
What the fiddle-faddle are Luke and Danny getting themselves into?
Luke and Danny take it upon themselves to help their friend Jennie as she is finally able to leave prison. On a journey to retrieve a treasured item, the duo come to one of Marvel’s biggest gang leaders, eventually leading to a scuffle that Luke hoped to avoid. While they get the treasure back in the right hands, a familiar face from Luke’s past shows up only to create a major challenge for the man with the unbreakable skin and the man with the fist of iron.
Luke and Danny back together actually gives me mixed feelings. The issue was great, but the sense of reluctance from Luke, Danny’s hopefulness, and Jessica’s reservations all make for an emotional mixed bag. These elements are going to make for some great dynamic as the series progresses, and what I hope to see is an exploration of WHY they all feel this way. It’s been a long time since Luke and Danny teamed up in a duo capacity, so there’s likely to be some emotions underneath this distance.
David Walker’s interplay between Luke and Danny drove Power Man And Iron Fist #1. Luke is as no-nonsense as he can be, while Danny is rather gleeful. After reading the issue, I realized I wasn’t sure what I had expected. Walker recently mentioned that he had to find the right balance between social narrative and writing a story, and it feels like that’s what he’s examining in this first issue. There are a lot of emotional moments and the undercurrent of this inaugural installment is framed by the sense of family Danny and Luke have for each other and their friends through their Heroes for Hire tenure. I realized that these emotional, familial elements are going to be vital for the series as it moves ahead. Walker is capturing some great dynamics between each of the characters, and with the reveal at the end things are going to get dicey within the next few issues.
The visuals for Power Man And Iron Fist #1 were reminiscent of the exposition of a 70s street-level action film. Sanford Greene recently discussed artistic influences, and they are highly evident within this issue. I got feels from Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, and Black Dynamite throughout the issue, providing an interesting and important tone for the series. There is a lot of movement, but also diversity in the images and their scale which help to convey a wide range of feelings. Lee Loughridge’s colors are an excellent complement to Greene’s art, as they are dirty and rusty, capturing the more grungy and realistic tones of Luke and Danny’s environment. These characters’ world has never been one for lighthearted brightness, and I like that Loughridge’s work captures the grit of Luke and Danny’s New York while also capturing some of the happiness of their everyday lives. The raucous of the fight scene helped Greene and Loughridge showcase their talents, and they were excellent at catching the movement and action.
Luke as a voice of reason was a nice touch. I’m used to him giving real talk to his cast of characters, but it took a different spin with Danny. Luke is trying to remain calm and collected, assessing his environment and the people he’s interacting with. Danny on the other hand is a bit of a wild card. He’s energetic and relatively cheerful, which Luke recognizes could lead to trouble. Danny and Luke interact in some interesting ways.
Power Man And Iron Fist is shaping up to be one more facet of the All-New All-Different Marvel line-up. By the end of this issue there’s a story unfolding that could bring in a lot of different elements and have many different consequences. I’m invested in seeing where the story goes and I hope that Luke and Danny get to work though many adventures in the series. This is a great chance to explore the duo as best friends in a prominent capacity while also highlighting some of the best parts of their world, which I hope involves Misty Knight.
The Verdict: 8.5/10
