Power Man and Iron Fist

Power Man and Iron Fist 1-11

I’m not sure what got me to buy this in the first place.  It might have been the unconventionally ugly art by Sanford Greene, which is somehow the ideal fit for this title.  I mean, this is not a pretty cover.

Yet at the same time, it’s perfect for the ‘street level’ heroics that are always attributed to Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil, etc.  The messiness of the drawing mirrors the chaos of the city.

The humor convinced me to stay.  David Walker writes a great partnership between the titular characters.  Luke Cage is basically Sergeant Jeffords from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a family man with a rock hard body and a squishy heart of love.  

I'm sure Terry loves Luke Cage.

Walker also introduces us to the joy of fiddle-faddle.  For no other reason, he earned his place in the comic book firmament.

Knick-knack-paddy-whack isn't new, but I'll give that to Walker as well.

Danny plays the wisecracker of the duo, the Woody to Luke’s Quantum.  (Though Luke has enough of a sense of humor that he isn’t always the straight man.)  

Sidebar: I’ve read Danny Rand under the stewardship of a number of writers at this point, and I could not tell you what constitutes his basic personality traits.  He’s all over the place. Walker depicts him as a Johnny Storm-type little brother, always teasing Luke and giving him grief. Matt Fraction focused on his serious, disciplined side, making Danny another link in the long chain of Iron Fists.  The Netflix Iron Fist is a straight up idiot. Kaare Andrews...dumped Danny in a pile of madness and let the events dictate things from there. There’s very little that I would judge as out of character for this Iron Fist, and while that’s convenient for the writer, it speaks to an ill-defined personality, which is unfortunate.  

The closest comparison I can come up with is Daredevil, who has often bounced between dark and broody (Miller, Smith, Bendis) and light and quippy (Waid, Kelly).  But even through all those changes, the core of Matt Murdock always stayed the same - A man who believes in justice (except for the times where he dresses up as a vigilante) and is largely defined by the deaths of the women in his life.  (Yes, there’s way more to it than that, but it’s good enough for tonight.) Danny is vaguely driven by the deaths of his parents, but it’s not as central to who he is as a person. Not that I could tell you what is. End sidebar.

Walker also writes a nice relationship between Luke and Jessica Jones.  Even though Jessica isn’t as prominent in the title (Her name is (unfortunately) not on the cover), her presence is never diminished.  Luke is always talking with her, either in person or on the phone. She is clearly his rock, centering him when he’s in danger of lashing out, providing guidance when he needs it.  

Such a good supporter.

(I also like that in comics where Jessica is the protagonist (Jessica Jones, The Pulse), Luke Cage is the relationship anchor.  Which makes sense. It usually makes for a less interesting story when the main character is the one in control.)

I stopped buying this with issue 11, and after reading it again, I’m cutting everything after issue 5.  Walker started building an intricate story involving framed ex-cons, the Fang Gang, and Alex Wilder. I found none of these components interesting at all, and their presence came at the expense of Luke and Danny page time.  Once he swapped the best part of the book out for the most boring, Walker lost my interest.

On top of that, the Civil War II crossover thoroughly ticked me off.  Unreasonableness (it’s a word!) irks me more than evil in comics, and Carol Danvers displays it in spades.  There’s a case to be made for her point of view, but not the way its portrayed here. Here, she’s just an idiot who causes the crime she accuses Luke of future-committing.  Hate.

So I’m keeping the first five issues, which were fun and fresh.  If only the title stayed with what worked.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes (No for 6-11)

Rating: Nice (Fine for 6-11. Cutting them.)