They are getting the “team” back together! Well, sort of. Not really? It is totally going to happen though! It is, after-all, a book called Power Man and Iron Fist. It has to happen! That is, if they can get their feet off the ground after their rather disappointing All-New, All-Different return.
Luke Cage, AKA Power Man, and Daniel Rand, also known as the Iron Fist are back together. Not for a mission, but for the sake of a friend. And not just any friend. For Family. After nearly five years in jail, Jennie Royce, the previous Office Manager for Heroes for Hire and convicted murderer, is free. The Heroes wish to welcome her personally and offer as much support as needed for her return to the real world. But that offer does not stay on the table long. With one simple request, Luke and Danny find themselves going from a simple lunch to twisted-up in a bed of lies and deceit.
Luke Cage is on television (both animated and live action). And Iron Fist is quickly following suit. Yet, either together or apart, the pair of superheroes have been through some of the best and worst storytelling in the industry. Their stories have been tweaked, adjusted, rebooted and everything in between. But even with the reboot, all the excitement and dedicated fan base, Marvel’s All-New, All-Different story falls disappointingly flat.
BadAzz MoFo editor, David Walker (Shaft), took the helm on Power Man and Iron Fist #1. His story line was easy to understand and introduced a twist that could take this new story down an engaging path. He creates emotion by recalling on one of the darkest moments in the Heroes for Hire timeline. Walker’s work may be nothing that would be “worth writing home about” b
ut definitely interesting enough to keep your attention. A little jumpy and, other than a few odd questions, it was a decently written book.
Sanford Greene’s art on the other hand, was so difficult to take in that the just-above-mediocre book became almost unreadable. Greene’s work with Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) on the Secret Wars tie-in/continuation, Runaways, had a decent following, but it came on like two online-personalities got together and wrote a tolerable book. With Power Man and Iron Fist, however, it is more like a professional writer was just paired off with a professional Tumblr artist.
Lee Loughridge’s (Cry Havoc) monochromatic color scheme helped somewhat but Greene seemed to have a hard keeping up with the script. His facial features continued to change throughout the book, most commonly around Danny, almost as if he could not figure how to properly define each separate emotion. Then the changing proportions of the hands and eyes at random panels became so distracting that I had to flip back and forth between a few pages just to make sure I was still following the story.
With the art and writing added together, Power Man and Iron
Fist #1 was substandard. There were several call-backs, events that will lead to some fun storytelling but not enough cohesion to make it a good book. If the art can catch up, the book could potentially pick up some steam.
This book may not have been for me but every title deserves a chance. Make sure to stop by your local comics retailer and grab Power Man and Iron Fist #1 today.
