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Iron Fist (1975) #1-15
Essential Iron Fist, Vol. 1
Collects Marvel Premiere #15-25, Iron Fist #1-15, Marvel Team-Up #63-64, and Power Man & Iron Fist #48-50.
584 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
10 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Chris Claremont
3,282 books890 followersChris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.
Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.
Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.
Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 18, 2014
Fun 70's Kung-fu Marvel comics, most of which is illustrated by John Byrne and written by Chris Claremont. Claremont does over do it sometimes with the words, and the first couple of writers write the stories in a second-person narrative like style, which is pretty good for when it's going into his origin, and not drawn out too long so it becomes annoying.
One bit that did seem a little forced was Misty Knight being a room-mate with Jean Grey, which was done purely because Claremont was also writing X-men at this point. And then the X-men turned up and it's like "...why are you guys in a kung-fu comic? Actually, Wolverine can stay, but the rest of you have to leave."
One bit that did seem a little forced was Misty Knight being a room-mate with Jean Grey, which was done purely because Claremont was also writing X-men at this point. And then the X-men turned up and it's like "...why are you guys in a kung-fu comic? Actually, Wolverine can stay, but the rest of you have to leave."
October 14, 2011
I like fringe superhero characters--the odd ones who exist on the outskirts of the Marvel & DC comics playgrounds. With the exception of Spider-man & Batman, I relate to the second tiered superheroes more than I do with the major characters on the main stage of their worlds. I find myself gravitating towards Moon Knight more than Capt. America or Vigilante over Superman (note: Superman sucks ass!).
Why? Because I find their worlds far more interesting--sometimes they are darker or full of quirks or both--& that appeals to me. It also lends itself to more interesting stories--allowing writers to take more chances with characters where editors will allow some wiggle room; something they wouldn't do with, say, an iconic ass like Superman.
So here we have a MAJOR fringe character in the Marvel Universe: Iron Fist. He's a product of two factors: the 1970s & the Kung Fu fad of that era. Like the Spy fad of the 1960s, kung fu became one of the biggest fads of the '70s, along with mood rings, disco & sharks. Everyone was jumping on the band wagon thanks to Bruce Lee & we find kung fu in everything: movies, television, books, magazines & comics. Danny Rand (aka., Iron Fist) was born out of the want to cash in on the craze. Shang Chi was a hit in Marvel's MASTER OF KUNG FU series so why not another kung fu character?
So how did Marvel do? Okay. Nothing spectacular but Iron Fist improved with each passing issue--barely. It wasn't until Chris Claremont & John Byrne took over the character that Iron Fist's world started to gel (hence the 3 stars). In their pre-X-MEN days, the duo took on the character to prove themselves to the powers that be at Marvel & through better artwork (Byrne) & writing (Claremont), Iron Fist stood a chance at survival. The stories improved--not by much--& by issue #15, they knew Iron Fist needed something more. I mean, how many times can you start an issue with the line: "You are Iron Fist"? Is that suppose to be some sort of narrative catch phrase?
It wasn't until they teamed him up with another character who was also growing weak with each passing issue, Power Man. Even his substitution stint with the Fantastic Four couldn't save the Hero For Hire & the way they dug him out of his hole was by pairing him with Iron Fist. The two needed each other. Plus they were melding two fads of that era of the '70s--blaxplotation & kung fu. Brilliant.
This book not only shows how IRON FIST morphed into POWER MAN & IRON FIST with their first team-up issue (#50), but is mainly focused on the beginnings of Iron Fist--his origin & his struggle to find his place within the Marvel Universe. Thankfully, Claremont & Byrne only kick-started themselves with this character & soon were given the reigns to the X-Men where they would take that group to legendary heights. You can see their beginnings with the X-Men within this collection as well, having Iron Fist take on Byrne's early interpretations of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Jean Grey & Scott Summers.
Is this collection worth it? If you are a Iron Fist fan, I say go for it. If you're just curious, I say wait till you find it at a comic convention in the 50% bins.
Why? Because I find their worlds far more interesting--sometimes they are darker or full of quirks or both--& that appeals to me. It also lends itself to more interesting stories--allowing writers to take more chances with characters where editors will allow some wiggle room; something they wouldn't do with, say, an iconic ass like Superman.
So here we have a MAJOR fringe character in the Marvel Universe: Iron Fist. He's a product of two factors: the 1970s & the Kung Fu fad of that era. Like the Spy fad of the 1960s, kung fu became one of the biggest fads of the '70s, along with mood rings, disco & sharks. Everyone was jumping on the band wagon thanks to Bruce Lee & we find kung fu in everything: movies, television, books, magazines & comics. Danny Rand (aka., Iron Fist) was born out of the want to cash in on the craze. Shang Chi was a hit in Marvel's MASTER OF KUNG FU series so why not another kung fu character?
So how did Marvel do? Okay. Nothing spectacular but Iron Fist improved with each passing issue--barely. It wasn't until Chris Claremont & John Byrne took over the character that Iron Fist's world started to gel (hence the 3 stars). In their pre-X-MEN days, the duo took on the character to prove themselves to the powers that be at Marvel & through better artwork (Byrne) & writing (Claremont), Iron Fist stood a chance at survival. The stories improved--not by much--& by issue #15, they knew Iron Fist needed something more. I mean, how many times can you start an issue with the line: "You are Iron Fist"? Is that suppose to be some sort of narrative catch phrase?
It wasn't until they teamed him up with another character who was also growing weak with each passing issue, Power Man. Even his substitution stint with the Fantastic Four couldn't save the Hero For Hire & the way they dug him out of his hole was by pairing him with Iron Fist. The two needed each other. Plus they were melding two fads of that era of the '70s--blaxplotation & kung fu. Brilliant.
This book not only shows how IRON FIST morphed into POWER MAN & IRON FIST with their first team-up issue (#50), but is mainly focused on the beginnings of Iron Fist--his origin & his struggle to find his place within the Marvel Universe. Thankfully, Claremont & Byrne only kick-started themselves with this character & soon were given the reigns to the X-Men where they would take that group to legendary heights. You can see their beginnings with the X-Men within this collection as well, having Iron Fist take on Byrne's early interpretations of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Jean Grey & Scott Summers.
Is this collection worth it? If you are a Iron Fist fan, I say go for it. If you're just curious, I say wait till you find it at a comic convention in the 50% bins.
October 13, 2013
Oh my gosh, this book. I'm really not sure what to say about this book.
I wanted to like it. And I kind of did, especially once Claremont took over the writing duties. But it has a couple glaring flaws which fall into that valley between books which are genuinely good and books which lack in straight-up quality but are nonetheless deeply amusing, sometimes even because of their lack of quality.
The first bit of this book, where a variety of writers had the reins of the character (Marvel Premiere No. 15-22) is just unsure of itself. I'm sorry, but you start out with a pretty stereotypical kung-fu-crazy warrior, put the whole thing in second person ("You are Iron Fist." No I'm not book, piss off.) and add some really awkward art in places. That's really problematic when you have a character whose movements are the basis of what they do. Add a dash of white savior and we've got Iron Fist.
Once we get to Claremont's issues, things polish up a bit. The art is clearer, Iron Fist gets more of a solid personality, and even the second-person narration stops being quite as bothersome. Claremont is able to build on the character from issue to issue, and that pushes the book into fairly decent territory. You can see where later incarnations of the guy come from here. And the addition of two kick-butt lady investigators gives it an interesting dimension (And can I say that I love it when the two of them call out Iron Fist for doing some pretty questionable stuff? Because I do. I love Colleen and Misty for it.)
The best thing this book does is set up the Power Man and Iron Fist team-up book that followed it in Luke Cage's series. Both characters seemed to work far better together. So for that, I'm super thankful to this series. But on its own, unless you really like Iron Fist or are really curious about the origins, just start with Power Man and Iron Fist. Everything you need about his backstory gets re-explained in brief in that series.
I wanted to like it. And I kind of did, especially once Claremont took over the writing duties. But it has a couple glaring flaws which fall into that valley between books which are genuinely good and books which lack in straight-up quality but are nonetheless deeply amusing, sometimes even because of their lack of quality.
The first bit of this book, where a variety of writers had the reins of the character (Marvel Premiere No. 15-22) is just unsure of itself. I'm sorry, but you start out with a pretty stereotypical kung-fu-crazy warrior, put the whole thing in second person ("You are Iron Fist." No I'm not book, piss off.) and add some really awkward art in places. That's really problematic when you have a character whose movements are the basis of what they do. Add a dash of white savior and we've got Iron Fist.
Once we get to Claremont's issues, things polish up a bit. The art is clearer, Iron Fist gets more of a solid personality, and even the second-person narration stops being quite as bothersome. Claremont is able to build on the character from issue to issue, and that pushes the book into fairly decent territory. You can see where later incarnations of the guy come from here. And the addition of two kick-butt lady investigators gives it an interesting dimension (And can I say that I love it when the two of them call out Iron Fist for doing some pretty questionable stuff? Because I do. I love Colleen and Misty for it.)
The best thing this book does is set up the Power Man and Iron Fist team-up book that followed it in Luke Cage's series. Both characters seemed to work far better together. So for that, I'm super thankful to this series. But on its own, unless you really like Iron Fist or are really curious about the origins, just start with Power Man and Iron Fist. Everything you need about his backstory gets re-explained in brief in that series.
June 23, 2019
Some of the early stories of Iron Fist, one of the heroes to come out of the kung fu craze of the early 1970's. Typical 70's Marvel.
I was disappointed they didn't use any of the stories from Marvel's Black and white magazine, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, where the hero really made his debut.
I was disappointed they didn't use any of the stories from Marvel's Black and white magazine, The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, where the hero really made his debut.
August 26, 2020
Truly Essential reading if you are an Iron Fist fan. These stories hold up pretty well after 40 + years. Really enjoyed it.
March 9, 2020
As you may remember from the controversy over the Netflix show, Iron Fist is a white-guy martial artist; this doesn't bother me, but if that presses your buttons, this may not be for you.
As we learn in the fist issue, Daniel Rand became the champion of K'Un Lun, a mystical city in the Himalayas, where he attained the highest possible honor, that of the Iron Fist. When he returns to New York he gets embroiled in his family's left-behind business, conspiracies against K'Un Lun and general superhero antics, including slugging it out with Iron Man, Luke Cage and assorted villains.
The story arc fits nicely into one volume: Iron Fist's own series, two Marvel Team-Up stories that wrap up much of the arc, and then the three issues that wrap up another and launched him and Cage as "Heroes for Hire" which did more successfully than either of them alone.
There's some really nice art in here, and some solid storytelling by Chris Claremont and Tony Isabella. I particularly enjoyed Iron Fist's hectic first meeting with the X-Men.
As we learn in the fist issue, Daniel Rand became the champion of K'Un Lun, a mystical city in the Himalayas, where he attained the highest possible honor, that of the Iron Fist. When he returns to New York he gets embroiled in his family's left-behind business, conspiracies against K'Un Lun and general superhero antics, including slugging it out with Iron Man, Luke Cage and assorted villains.
The story arc fits nicely into one volume: Iron Fist's own series, two Marvel Team-Up stories that wrap up much of the arc, and then the three issues that wrap up another and launched him and Cage as "Heroes for Hire" which did more successfully than either of them alone.
There's some really nice art in here, and some solid storytelling by Chris Claremont and Tony Isabella. I particularly enjoyed Iron Fist's hectic first meeting with the X-Men.
October 20, 2022
This was a return to my teen years and all the kung-fu goodness to be had in comics, TV, and movies. The awesomeness was simply incredible.
Claremont and Byrne were firing on all cylinders, creating a hero from scratch (with a few nods to Marvel's golden age) and a host of villains to go after him. Most of the bad guys were one and gone, but issue 14 gave us the first appearance of Sabretooth (or Sabre-Tooth as it was spelled then). No one really knew then if he was a mutant, an augment, alien, or something else entirely.
There are a couple of gaps in continuity, since this compilation does not include Iron Fist's appearances in Marvel 2-in-1 and Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu. They are mostly limited to comments about meeting other heroes or dodging the police. Otherwise, this is a complete chronology of the character from Marvel Presents 15 to Power Man 50.
Well worth your time and money.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
Claremont and Byrne were firing on all cylinders, creating a hero from scratch (with a few nods to Marvel's golden age) and a host of villains to go after him. Most of the bad guys were one and gone, but issue 14 gave us the first appearance of Sabretooth (or Sabre-Tooth as it was spelled then). No one really knew then if he was a mutant, an augment, alien, or something else entirely.
There are a couple of gaps in continuity, since this compilation does not include Iron Fist's appearances in Marvel 2-in-1 and Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu. They are mostly limited to comments about meeting other heroes or dodging the police. Otherwise, this is a complete chronology of the character from Marvel Presents 15 to Power Man 50.
Well worth your time and money.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
September 18, 2016
Born from the karate craze of the 70s, this book is probably cliche today, but I gotta say, I really enjoyed it. The villains were pure 70s cheese but they were throwaways for the most part. Their main purpose was to showcase Iron Fist's fighting skills.
I have two big takeaways from this volume; one storytelling and one sociological. In the Marvel Presents issues, and the first few Iron Fist issues, the narration is done in the second person. Things like "You spring into action" and "You focus your chi" and "You are Iron Fist." It's an interesting decision, one that doesn't quite work for me and gets old. Must have gotten old for other readers, too, because they went away from it.
The second is the role of women in the series. They're no damsels in distress. Misty Knight and Colleen Wing fight alongside Iron Fist and hold their own. It was great to see.
One last observation: Iron Fist mustn't have been too popular because Iron Man, Captain America, and even the X-men all guest star. Then, not even three years old, he was partnered with Luke Cage. That's unfortunate because Iron Fist's character is a good one and I think should have been allowed to carry himself.
I have two big takeaways from this volume; one storytelling and one sociological. In the Marvel Presents issues, and the first few Iron Fist issues, the narration is done in the second person. Things like "You spring into action" and "You focus your chi" and "You are Iron Fist." It's an interesting decision, one that doesn't quite work for me and gets old. Must have gotten old for other readers, too, because they went away from it.
The second is the role of women in the series. They're no damsels in distress. Misty Knight and Colleen Wing fight alongside Iron Fist and hold their own. It was great to see.
One last observation: Iron Fist mustn't have been too popular because Iron Man, Captain America, and even the X-men all guest star. Then, not even three years old, he was partnered with Luke Cage. That's unfortunate because Iron Fist's character is a good one and I think should have been allowed to carry himself.
September 17, 2008
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Howdy folks,
Just got back from a long business trip and decided to stop by the comics store for some mental popcorn. Lo and behold, I see a new Marvel "Essential" title. For those of you not familiar with this line, they are big THICK (Like an inch plus) books that reprint several key issues of a given character/group from the Marvel Universe. They are in black and white, no color. It usually is rouhgly 25 or so issues in one book and the price seems to be about 17 bucks these days. Now I'll admit to being a primarily DC guy these days, but Marvel got me into comics and I like the simplicity of their late 70's/early 80's stuff.
So imagine my joy at finding "The Essential Iron Fist" on the racks. Yup, it's a fun read so far too. In addition to having perhaps my favorite tagline ever (the forementioned thing of iron) the stories are illustrated by Pat Broderick (Who I adore) John Byrne (Ditto) and Gil Kane (Goin' Old school). The writing is Claremont primarily, and seems a lot "lighter" than the doom and gloom that is in his future with the X-Men.
584 pages of "Like unto a thing of IRON!" martial arts mayhem by the only guy I've ever seen make Capri pants a cool uniform.
Run out and get your copy today, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Howdy folks,
Just got back from a long business trip and decided to stop by the comics store for some mental popcorn. Lo and behold, I see a new Marvel "Essential" title. For those of you not familiar with this line, they are big THICK (Like an inch plus) books that reprint several key issues of a given character/group from the Marvel Universe. They are in black and white, no color. It usually is rouhgly 25 or so issues in one book and the price seems to be about 17 bucks these days. Now I'll admit to being a primarily DC guy these days, but Marvel got me into comics and I like the simplicity of their late 70's/early 80's stuff.
So imagine my joy at finding "The Essential Iron Fist" on the racks. Yup, it's a fun read so far too. In addition to having perhaps my favorite tagline ever (the forementioned thing of iron) the stories are illustrated by Pat Broderick (Who I adore) John Byrne (Ditto) and Gil Kane (Goin' Old school). The writing is Claremont primarily, and seems a lot "lighter" than the doom and gloom that is in his future with the X-Men.
584 pages of "Like unto a thing of IRON!" martial arts mayhem by the only guy I've ever seen make Capri pants a cool uniform.
Run out and get your copy today, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
May 11, 2015
I have a cheese filled love for this character from my years reading the 80's Power Man & Iron Fist title so I was happy to get the "Essential" compilation with his whole origin story. It's an interesting read on a lot of levels, and is a great example of Scott McCloud's discussion on how the US Comics market would warp anything into being a super-hero book.
The first story arc is straight up Kung Fu movie pastiche. It's followed by a second kung-fu magic fight. That ends up being popular enough to get the character his own comic rather than being in Marvel Premier, and from there Danny Rand slowly becomes more and more a super hero because it is what's required in a super-hero comic. Plus since he's the titular character his powers start getting broader, with better defenses, psi powers, energy absorption, and a whole bunch of other things. All of these extra powers go away as soon as he starts working with Power Man and they change the super-hero tenor of the book.
It's a fun read overall, but as an artifact of very early Byrne and Clairmont and of the 1970's a whole
The first story arc is straight up Kung Fu movie pastiche. It's followed by a second kung-fu magic fight. That ends up being popular enough to get the character his own comic rather than being in Marvel Premier, and from there Danny Rand slowly becomes more and more a super hero because it is what's required in a super-hero comic. Plus since he's the titular character his powers start getting broader, with better defenses, psi powers, energy absorption, and a whole bunch of other things. All of these extra powers go away as soon as he starts working with Power Man and they change the super-hero tenor of the book.
It's a fun read overall, but as an artifact of very early Byrne and Clairmont and of the 1970's a whole
February 27, 2016
Iron Fist was spawned as a result of the popularity of the Kung Fu TV series according to Roy Thomas. First there was Shang Chi, then a Caucasian hero idea followed. After some ho-hum beginning efforts by various writers, Claremont seized the storyline and the book quickly became one of the better ones of the late 70's. Early John Byrne art gets better as each issue progresses both foreshadowing and continuing the memorable work over on Uncanny X-Man as well as Marvel Team-Up by the same creative duo. In my opinion, Claremont/Byrne was one of the better creative teams of all time in comics, not just back then.
July 5, 2013
In questo volume abbiamo i primi lavori di John Byrne per la Marvel, spesso su testi di un Claremont non ancora assurto a demiurgo delle testate mutanti, che in effetti non esistevano. Le storie hanno la tendenza ad essere ripetitive e spesso quasi inconcludenti, ma sono comunque una buona lettura passatempo.
June 20, 2007
It seems impossible to me that mid-seventies Chris Claremont / John Byrne work could be so mediocre. But here's the proof. The Marvel Premier stories in the beginning are great, but as soon as the 2nd most successful team in comics' history takes over the book takes a nosedive. Bummer.
May 10, 2016
It's a fun read, it has a lot of 70's charms. I definitely recommend it for people who want to laugh and have good time. The story still has some serious and touching moments which makes it even the more enjoyable.
September 28, 2018
Onvan : Essential Iron Fist, Vol. 1 - Nevisande : Chris Claremont - ISBN : 0785115463 - ISBN13 : 9780785115465 - Dar 584 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2004
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