Review: Immortal Iron Fist #16

Or – “Swan Song, Anyone?”

So. I’m back.  Those of you who listen to the podcast may have heard my oblique references to having a swollen arm and generally whining about something or other.  The clinical diagnosis is “tendonitis,” which means that my left arm swells, and throbs, and basically makes life miserable, and fine motor work (like, say, typing?) has a tendency to cause agony.  I’m mostly over this bout, thanks for asking, just in time to go on a bravado run of reviewing unmatched by any man, woman, or energy being in a tiny scale model spaceship in recent memory.  Provided, of course, that I manage my pain.  In any case, my return to active duty coincides (in a general sense) with the end of Brubaker, Fraction and Aja’s run on Immortal Iron Fist.  Danny Rand has been through the fire over the last year and a half, and now he’s ready to change his life for the better.  The problem is fate, as always, has a surprise or two up her sleeve for our Daniel Rand-Kai…

Previously on Immortal Iron Fist:  With the help of his hetero lifemate Luke Cage, his on-again, off-again girlfriend Misty Knight, HER hetero lifemate Colleen Wing, and a few friends in low places, Iron Fist has not only defended his adopted home of K’un Lun from the machinations of outsiders, but from it’s own ruler, Yu-Ti, the August Personage In Jade.  In so doing, he has also brought the other six legendary immortal weapons to Earth with him, finally come to terms with the life of his predecssor, Orson Randall, united the women of K’un Lun into an army, placed his former sensei, Lei Kung the Thunderer in power, defeated the forces of Hydra, and punched out a bullet train.  Not a bad afternoon’s work, all told.  Now, having overcome the greatest odds of his life, Danny’s focus now is rebuilding his life on Earth, as complicated as it is…

We start with Daniel in the dojo, surrounded by students, preparing to show them some real martial arts.  “What are you waiting for?  Your mommy need to sign a permission slip?” he goads, and nearly a dozen warriors attack as one, overwhelming the Iron Fist with kicks and punches.  He defends himself against their attacks, blocking each strike, impressed with the warriors’ form.  The funny reveal comes when we see that he’s teaching a class full of eight to twelve year old kids.  Danny has converted a Rand warehouse into a dojo/after-school center, providing tutors, and even an afternoon meal for underpriveleged kids.  “Thirty million-some hungry kids in this country.  Although the government doesn’t call it ‘hungry.’  The government calls it being ‘food insecure.'”  Danny overcomes this by making sure that every kid eats, every kid trains, every kid studies. 

Later that afternoon, he visits another Rand site, musing over how hard it is to deal with the changes he’s been making at Rand International…  “Namely, gutting it and shutting it down…  The Randall fortune was rooted in the blood and oppression of the people of not just K’un Lun, but of all of the Capital Cities of Heaven…  So I’m giving it away.”  Danny is surprised when Jeryn Hogarth, his number one money guy rrives, and tells him that it’s over.  “I need to go,” Jeryn explains, and Danny tells him that he was the heart and soul of R.I.  Jeryn smiles, and tells him, “No, I wasn’t Danny.  You were.”  Jeryn then broaches the subject of Danny’s blossoming expense account, and Danny whistles innocently.  Jeryn flat out asks if he’s bankrolling Luke’s Avengers, and Rand prevaricates.  “Noooooooo… yeah.”  Heh. 

Danny then heads to the secret hidden 13th floor of the Rand tower, where he finds the Prince of Orphans and the other immortal weapons (including Fat Cobra in a tie?) searching through mystic tomes for any clue about the rumored EighthCity of Heaven.  He tries to talk to the Bride of Nine Spiders, but she simply hisses “I knoooow what day it iss, Dannielll Rannnd,” in a very creepy fashion.  Danny then takes his leave in order to make another meeting, across town, which we don’t see…  except for the aftermath.  Danny and Misty Knight lay in a wrecked bed, both obviously exhausted, Misty drinking an entire bottle of water in one swallow.  “I would actually KILL a guy for fig newtons and some orange juice,” Danny gasps.  Heh.  Danny and Misty discuss their relationship, whether they’re a couple or what, and Misty gravely judges, “We’re complicated.”  Danny tells her he’s tired of complicated, and suggests they be something more, and Misty agrees to think about it. 

Later that evening, we find Mr. Rand in a cab with Luke Cage, taking his longtime pal to a secret destination… Times Square.  “Why is your logo on top of our old Heroes for Hire office?” asks Luke, and Danny explains the whole thing.  “I have billions of dollars… BILLIONS, Luke… that I’m gonna spend the rest of my life giving away…  Let’s see what happens to the world’s problems when we throw craploads of money at them.”  Luke is concerned for Danny’s health, noting that his pal is keyed up beyond belief, and hasn’t slept in days, and asks him if he even knows what day it is.  Something is up there..   Danny blows it off, explaining that they’re finally going to do some real good.  “I love, y’know, fighting Kang and stuff with you guys…  but ask a family that lives under a bridge about Kang, and they just want their kid to eat tonight, y’know?”  Luke agrees to help, and Danny then sets off on another mission , delivering coffe and blankets to homeless vets in New York shantytowns, before returning to his home to meditate.  As Iron Fist, he is finally grounded, tied to the past by his legacy, the history of the Iron Fists, and delves into the book, realizing to his horror that all the previous Iron Fists died at the age of 33…  moments before Luke, Misty and Colleen enter carrying a birthday cake.

Care to guess what the number of candles is?  This is a very well done issue, a perfect capstone to this team’s run on Iron Fist, taking everything that’s happened in the first 15 issues and REALLY using it to change Iron Fist’s life in ways both large and small…  They’ve managed, also, to make certain that the next writer has a playing field mostly clear of the rubble of their run (a nice touch) while setting up a couple of big ongoing mysteries to carry the continuity over.  Several Gatekeeper regulars have told me that they’re using this changeover as an excuse to drop Iron Fist from their pull list, without seeing what the new writer might have in store, and while I love Bru and Fraction’s issues, I’m not to that level yet.  This book has really, FINALLY, established Daniel Rand as a force in the Marvel Universe, a mover and a shaker, almost Batman level in resources and skillz, and that I appreciate greatly.  David Aja’s art is as awesome as ever, especially the moment of horror as Danny realizes that he may not have much longer to live…  It’s the total package, an excellent issue which proves why I’m going to miss this creative squad.  It’s 4.5 out of 5 stars, only missing perfect by the slimmest of margins (due mostly to my disappointment with Misty’s response to his proposal.)  Here’s hoping that this book stays awesome in the coming months…