Shadowland: Power Man

Shadowland

by Fred Van Lente, Mahmud Asrar

Exploding out of the blood-strewn streets of Shadowland: the all-new, all-different Power Man! Who is he? Why is he one of the few heroes to oppose Daredevil's rule over Hell's Kitchen? And what is his connection to Daniel Rand's School of Thunder dojo and the killer called Bullseye? That's what Luke Cage and Iron Fist must discover-before the vengeful swords of The Hand find this young mystery man first!

Collecting:

Shadowland: Power Man #1-4

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fantasy, Science Fiction

166 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2011

About the author

Fred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.

Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).

He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad. It was firmly set in the Shadowland story and didn't feel as tacked on as some crossover issues. We got an origin of a character firmly set in the Power Man and Iron Fist mythology, and one that I think Marvel had some plans for, but I don't think the character ever really caught on.

[Katherine (Kat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 Stars
Read this limited series because of reading Shadowland.

Individual issues rated below -

Shadowland: Power Man #1: 2.5/5
Shadowland: Power Man #2: 3.5/5
Shadowland: Power Man #3: 4/5
Shadowland: Power Man #4: 4/5

[Micah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked it. Outside of the brief hint of sexism at the end of the first quarter of it I thought this was a very well done super hero origin book. Van Lente writes a good story here that takes place during an awful storyline. Fortunately you need to know nothing of Shadowland to enjoy this.
It was just made aware to me that on top of the bit of sexism thing at the front right in the middle there's homophobia as well. Great. Just awesome.

[Alex Sarll]

Because I enjoyed new Power Man Victor in Mighty Avengers, and wanted to find out a bit more about him. Competent and sometimes witty superheroics, enlivened by the return of some of the more ludicrous Heroes for Hire villains.
"Nobody laughs at Mr Fish!"
"I find that difficult to believe."

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Built from the bones of the past

The new Power Man is the son of an old foe who combines elements of the magic with a technological origin point. Based on into the Shadowland series from Marvel, a Daredevil focused event, but is fairly self contained. Good to see the legacy of Power Man continue.

[Tommy Grooms · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have characters that have been around for decades, it's hard for the introduction of a new character not to feel forced, particularly when he's taking on an existing mantle. Shadowland: Power Man does a good job threading the needle with willful newcomer Victor Alvarez, who shares some connections with Power Man and Iron Fist history. There are plenty of nods to what came before while promising a new dynamic going forward between Iron Fist and the new Power Man. The art is impressive with some great splash pages, the dialogue is natural, and the story is both humorous and earnest. This is one of the better Shadowland tie-ins.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young man is infused with the power of chi from a hundred or more dead people. He then decides to make himself a hero for hire. Overall, I felt it was okay. Not great. Not terrible. Personally, I'm not really sold on the character but he was fun enough to read. I think it says something the most memorable part of the story was him almost getting torn to shreds by Luke Cage for insulting him marrying a white woman.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Power Man (1-4). Definitely the best of the Shadowland crossovers. The new character, Power Man, is quite interesting, though his powers seem somewhat different from his later appearances. However, the real joy of this comic is getting a Luke Cage and Iron Fist reunion, something that had been teased throughout the other Shadowland series [4+/5].

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you go wrong having a story of a new Powerman, Iron Fist and Luke Cage? So, his powers came with Deadly Nightshade's tech and Bullseye blowing up a city block in Hell's Kitchen. The child of Luke Cage's old partner from his gang days.

Written well, drawn beautifully, this is a wonderful story again just skirting the Shadowland story.

Wonderfully done.

[Kevin O'Keefe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't realize this was a "new" Power Man when I picked it up so I was a bit disappointed. The end had a great synopsis of the whole Power Man/Iron Fist backstory which kind of saved it for me.

It was a good story with a nice tie-in to Luke Cage and Danny Rand but the focus was more ok the new Power Man, Vic. Which would be great... if that's what you were looking for.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda okay, kinda silly. Only peripherally ties in to Shadowland, which is a good thing.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spinning out of the Shadowland event we are introduced to Victor Alvarez, the new Power Man. I hadn't read Shadowland, but this worked just fine for me. I liked Victor and enjoyed the street level story. I'm looking forward to the new Iron Fist/Power Man series that follows.

I interviewed the characters co-creator, Fred van Lente, over on the All the Books Show. https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/of...

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The origin of the new Power Man turned out to be a wonderful surprise, I admit getting this deep into the Shadowland tie-ins, my expectations were low, but this wide eyed teenage super-hero yarn brought me back to my childhood, a time when Marvel was introducing character like Darkhawk and Speedball. On the surface this is by the numbers. There's the standard death of a parent and an adult mentor who puts our ambitious novice on the path of "great responsibility." There's even an "Aunt May" for good measure, but it excels in its execution, and the word that defines this comic is "FUN!" Power Man and his Enemies are gloriously brash and flamboyant. I sense that Van Lente may be a fan of the Barrie Gordy film The Last Dragon and that there may be a little bit of Bruce Leroy in Victor Alvarez (or at least his power set) and there's a very unsubtle reference to the film The Warriors. I love how it plays with Shadowland as its backdrop, with characters crossing paths with that story Pulp Fiction style, and Alvarez's history is very tactfully intertwined with Luke Cage's.

Bottom line, this isn't one of those life-changing Alan Moore type comics, but this is extremely fun! I'd forgotten about when comics were this much fun. Highly recommended.

[Matthew Ledrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This book is engrossing and well written, as well as emotionally charged. It's everything that Shadowland should have been, but sadly wasn't. In a way this book suffers by its association to the main Shadowland arc. The points of it that are weak are the points where it has to arc back instead of branching out, as it is trying desperately to do."

Read the full review on TheBookCloset

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting launch of a new hero in Marvel - Van Lente adds enough mystery to the backstory, and writes some fresh dialogue that doesn't feel overly stilted. The writing is solid - lightly funny in parts, believable family interactions and dynamics. I think I'd appreciate reading more about this dude, see how he tries to find his way in the greater universe.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first of the two (so far) Power Man miniseries is great. Victor's an interesting character, one who bucks a lot of the common stereotypes of young black heroes, something that makes him interesting and fleshed out. Great stuff.

[TJ Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one I really liked and it's going to run into a new series, "Power Man and Iron Fist." Picture the witty sarcastic remarks of Spider-man mixed with the tenacity and rage of Wolverine. I look forward to the new series! This kind of covers his origin story.

[La Revistería Comics · Rating 3 out of 5]

El nuevo Hombre Poder se trompea de lo lindo en la Tierra de Sombras del perturbado Diablo Osado.