SONS OF THE TIGER PART 8

As presented in DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU Nos. 19 & 20.

"AN ENDING!" | "THE BEGINNING"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: George Pérez & Jack Abel
Additional Dialogue: Yvette O. Pérez

The Plot: (DEADLY HANDS #19) The Sons of the Tiger meet at their dojo, where Bob Diamond attacks Lin Sun over Lin's love for Lotus. Abe attempts to intervene and is knocked aside by Bob, leading Abe to remove his amulet and storm off. Lotus tells Bob that she and Lin are in love, then she, too, departs. Bob and Lin fight, with Lin ultimately gaining the upper hand and savagely beating his friend. Lin stops himself from hurting Bob further, and the men finally come to a sort of peace, leaving the dojo together. Lin discards all three tiger amulets in a trash can as they go. Soon after, the amulets are found by a young man named Hector Ayala, who dons them and transforms into the White Tiger.

(DEADLY HANDS #20) At a train yard in the South Bronx, White Tiger attempts to stop a street gang from murdering a night watchman, but in the ensuing chaos, the watchman winds up killing a young child running with the gang. White Tiger then departs and returns to the Ayala family apartment, where he reverts to Hector, with no memory of his nocturnal exploits. The next morning, Bob and Lotus say their goodbyes and Lotus leaves the Sons' brownstone with Lin Sun -- while elsewhere, Abe is leaving for a vacation when he bumps into a beautiful woman at the airport who distracts him and switches his suitcase for her own. The next morning at the Ayala apartment, a police detective arrives to arrest Hector in connection with the previous night's killing.

SONS OF THE TIGER PART 7

As presented in MARVEL TEAM-UP nos. 39 & 40 and DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU no. 18.

"ANY NUMBER CAN SLAY!" | "MURDER'S BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND!"
Writer: Bill Mantlo | Artists: Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorists: Don Warfield (issue 39) & Janice Cohen (issue 40)
Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: (MTU #39) On a New York City rooftop, Spider-Man evades an assassination attempt, while elsewhere in Manhattan, the Human Torch is captured by the Enforcers and their leader, the Big Man. That night, Spidey runs across the villains attempting to auction off the Torch at an abandoned warehouse, and intervenes to free him. The Torch and the Web-Slinger defeat the bad guys, but are surprised when Sandman and the Crime Master enter the fray.

(MTU #40) The villains decide to team up and capture the Human Torch, forcing Spider-Man to surrender. But next door to the warehouse, the Sons of the Tiger are practicing in their dojo. They leave to investigate the sounds of battle from the warehouse, and free Spider-Man and the Torch. The villains escape, and the Torch departs for a date, leaving Spider-Man to search for the bad guys -- and he finds them, but only after they've captured the Sons of the Tiger. Spidey breaks in to save his new friends, and Crime Master shoots the Big Man during a scuffle. Eventually the heroes win the day and Spidey unmasks both crime lords, revealing Crime Master to be the son of the original, deceased Crime Master, and the now-dead Big "Man" to be the daugther of the original, deceased Big Man.

"FISTS OF DARKNESS, FISTS OF DEATH!"
Story: Bill Mantlo | Art: Pat Broderick & Terry Austin

The Plot: At a subway station, the Sons of the Tiger and Blackbyrd team up with Danny "Iron Fist" Rand to save a woman's life and stop a hitman from escaping New York. The group goes to a bar afterward, where Blackbyrd follows a hunch and is attacked by a gangster named Snake Eyes and his men, the Black Hand, in an alleyway outside. The Sons and Iron Fist come to Blackbyrd's rescue, and during the fight, Snake Eyes reveals he is a cyborg. Iron Fist kills him in battle, and the group heads back into the bar.

IRON FIST #2

”VALLEY OF THE DAMNED!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Frank Chiarmonte
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Michele Wolfman | Editor: Marv Wolfman

You are Iron Fist -- and you have failed.

Not a pleasant word, is it? But then, the truth is rarely pleasant.

And the truth here is that because of you, this man -- Lee Wing -- lies broken in body and spirit, his mind blasted by the full force of Angar’s minstorm! He is a shadow man now, a man who has no soul!

Because of you, his daughter, Colleen, is the prisoner -- the slave -- of some unknown foe who wants you dead.

Two friends, Iron Fist -- people who cared for you, believed in you, trusted you… and, in the end, needed you.

Two people you have failed.

The Plot: Iron Fist keeps vigil over Professor Wing, hospitalized since his encounter with Angar the Screamer. As he sits, Iron Fist flashes back to K’un L’un, when he learned that his friend, Conal, had taught a girl named Miranda the martial arts despite K’un L’un’s rules to the contrary. Conal and Miranda were arrested for this crime.

In the present, Colleen’s kidnappers deliver her to Master Khan in Halwan, who prepares plans to bait a trap for Iron Fist, using one of his own minions.

Iron Fist’s flashback continues as Conal and Miranda, sentenced to permanent mindwipes for their crime, flee K’un L’un. Iron Fist pursues. The group eventually finds themselves prisoners of a race of plant people called the H’ylthri. Iron Fist fights back against these creatures, but is unable to keep them from putting Conal and Miranda to sleep forever in their pods. The H’ylthri let Iron Fist live, however, and returns to K’un L’un.

Once more in the present, Iron Fist reveals that he's used his power to cure the psychological damage Angar inflicted on Professor Wing. Misty tells him that a lead on Colleen’s whereabouts has directed her to London, and Iron Fist agrees to come along.