The Chronological Marvel Journey - Part Two: Power Man & Iron Fist Issues 74 & 75 (1981)

For the second instalment of 'The Chronological Marvel Journey', we will be delving into Power Man & Iron Fist Volume 1, Issues 74 and 75 from 1981.

Issues 74 and 75 are a two-part story, written by Jo Duffy, with art by Kerry Gammill. The two parts are named 'Doorway to Heaven', and 'This Insubstanial Pageant Faded'respectively.

Before I even start properly talking about Issue #74, I just have to say that nothing really massive happens, and that it is mainly used to set up the events of the next issue.

Issue #74 begins with a largely insignificant plot, which only really there to show what Power Man (Luke Cage) and Iron Fist (Danny Rand) are doing at that moment in time. The daughter of a rich man has been kidnapped by some 'cowboys'. Once Power Man and Iron Fist arrive, a rather short battle ensues, with some funny and weird moments happening during it, such as with the 'buck-o-matic', and Iron Fist having a 'bullfight' with one of his foes.

As the battle rages on, the scene switches to 'another part of town', where a shadowed figure 'in robes', steals the paw of the jade tiger. He does this once again at the Sons of the Tiger's karate school, this time stealing the head of the Jade Tiger statue. The scene switches back to the ranch, where the fight concludes, and the kidnapped girl is rescued.

Colleen Wing and Bob Diamond (formerly of the aforementioned Sons of the Tiger), are walking back to Danny's home, when they are attacked upon entering the house, by the very same person as previously seen stealing pieces of the Jade Tiger. Bob is incapacitated and eventually hospitalised, with the second Jade Tiger paw being stolen.

At the hospital, we get a revelation as to who may be behind the Jade Tiger thefts, from the Sons of the Tiger, who explain about 'Master Khan'. Power Man and Iron Fist investigate a store, as Luke had recognised a symbol. Here they are confronted by the ninja, who is a servant of Master Khan. Now that he has everything that he needs, Khan opens a portal to an, as yet unknown, location. Khan brings the Jade Tiger to life, riding on its back, into the portal. Power Man and Iron Fist follow him through (which is probably a bad idea.) The issue ends.

The cover of Issue #75

Before Issue #75 even begins, we are treated to a lovely cover, drawn by Bob Larkin. It is a cover that depicts the characters in a semi-realistic way. Other things that this cover reveals about the issue is that it is a double-size issue, meaning that the story is quite long. It also boasts the caption "The most requested story of all", which probably wasn't true, and should have been "The most requested IRON FIST story of all", in my opinion.

The issue begins seconds after the three characters have gone through the portal. The initial splash page features three captions that serve as a recap to the events of the previous issue.

It is revealed (not only on the cover) that the portal has led them all to K'un Lun, where Iron Fist had learnt the martial arts, and thus earning the title of Iron Fist. Almost immediately after arriving, our heroes are chased down by a pack of wolves, and they try to climb up the walls of K'un Lun to escape, immediately being shot back down by what Cage thinks are 'reinforcements'. 

Once they have been allowed into K'un Lun, Power Man and Iron Fist are invited to dinner with Yu-Ti, The August Personage of Jade (what a mouth full of a title), who happens to be the uncle of Iron Fist. We then go in to a flashback, which explains that Wendell Rand (Danny's father), is not the biological brother of Yu-Ti, but had been adopted by his family many years ago. Also in this flashback, I found out that Iron Fist had a sister. (I admit that I did not enjoy or read the early Iron Fist stories, if I had I would have known this fact.)

After this flashback, we enter another, this time going over how Danny became the Iron Fist. It features the death of his parents, after the betrayal by Harold Meachum. It also shows his training at the hands of The Thunderer, and his battle with Shou Lao, the Undying (which is an ironic title, because Danny kills him.) It is revealed that, after ten years, his desire for revenge against Meachum had been lost, and Meachum was ultimately killed by another. Danny gets mugged, as nobody accepted that an 'outlander' could become the Iron Fist. He is saved by his best friend Conal, and his sister Miranda. This causes Conal and Miranda to flee K'un Lun, where they were attacked by the Hylthri (weird plant things.) As Miranda is being taken away, Danny discovers that Miranda is his sister.

Later on it is explained that the reason The Thunderer has been so 'stiff' (Cage's words not mine.) since their arrival is because Danny, and Thunderer's son Davos, had been in a battle to the death over Danny being the Iron Fist, (no need to guess who won that fight.)

Luke is awoken to find that Danny has, instead of sleeping, decided to get some extra training in, before the battle with the Hylthri. "Now, if that ain't just like him" - Luke Cage.

Throughout his stay in K'un Lun, Luke is very critical of 'how things are done' in the city, such has when he thinks it will be an early start for the Hylthri battle, but it ends up taking a very long time to begin. "The early bird catches the worm" - Luke Cage  "It is no worm we seek Outlander, but a deadly foe." - The Thunderer.

Luke also seems to underestimate the world which K'un Lun is part of, when he says "So this's the danger zone, huh? Don't seem so bad so far." To which Thunderer replies "Depend on it ... the Hylthri know we are here." This impatience and bravado has nearly always been a part of Cage's character, ever since his appearances in the early 1970s.

The captions that accompany many of the panels in this issue are very helpful in describing what is going on, in a much less hand-holdy way than they did back in the 1960s-late 1970s.

After entering the Hylthri city, Luke realizes how ruthless the K'un Lun warriors are being. "They wade into their enemies, fewer in number and less well armed, without regard for the women, the children, the aged..."

Iron Fist is less concerned with fighting the enemy, and much more focused on finding what has been done with the captives. Once he arrives in the 'nursery', he discovers that the captives are being used as fertilizer for the Hylthri children. Although he manages to rescue the most recent captives, he also discovers the fate that had befallen his best friend and his sister, they have completely had the life drained from their bodies by the Hylthri. The Thunderer claims that "their punishment was just ... your friends embraced this fate when they turned from 'The Way' ". Luke shuts him down, and tells Thunderer to let Danny grieve for his lost family, because he "ain't made a' stone, even if the rest a' you are." I feel that this is the moment that Thunderer stops being so cold towards the two of them, and is the catalyst for his actions later on.

Later on, a 'victory' party is taking place. Suddenly, Luke is knocked out by the wine that he had been drinking, with a similar fate befalling Danny, as he is knocked over the back of the head. When Danny awakens, he is a part of a blood sacrifice, being performed by his uncle, Yu-Ti, in order to 'please' Master Khan, who is revealed to be one of the god of K'un Lun. He threatens to reward the Hylthri's sacrifice by giving them Power Man for 'sustenance'.

Where many of K'un Lun's warriors have turned to serve Khan, The Thunderer has not gone to the 'dark side'. He wakes Luke up, and the two of them go to rescue Danny. Thunderer is the ultimately the one to jump in front of an arrow meant for Luke, taking him out of the battle.

The Ninja, from the previous issue is revealed (to me) to have been the one to have committed the murder of Harold Meachum, when Danny could not. 

Even against impossible odds, Luke is shown to still be powerful enough to overcome at least 100 K'un Lun warriors. When the Ninja is defeated, Khan makes it disappear, before Danny can kill it. He says that this is because "good servants are so hard to come by." These small lines of humorous dialogue were a staple of Duffy's run on Power Man and Iron Fist, and it helped it to become the most successful run for the duo.

Khan admits defeat at Danny's hand, and allows the two of them to go home. Before they leave, Danny destroys the link between K'un Lun and Earth, which means 'no more innocent human beings wandering into your net and dying, in order for you to stay in power'. The duo attempt to get The Thunderer to come with them, but he says that K'un Lun is his home, no matter how bad it is.

The issue ends with another piece of humour, as Danny says "Come on, Luke. It's a long way home." I like to think of this as Danny suddenly realising what he has done, and that they will now have to walk all the way back to New York.

I felt that the ending to this issue was a bit lacklustre, and it could have been a longer battle. bit then again, the issue was long enough already, and probably didn't need any more content.