IRON FIST #1

You are Iron Fist -- And this night you are breaking the law.

It’s called by many names -- surreptitious entry, breaking and entering, trespassing -- but the meanings are all the same. You are where you should not be.

You do not care.

For this night you hunt Colleen Wing’s kidnappers. And their trail has led you here -- to Stark International’s New York complex -- a trail left by dangerous, desperate men…

…A trail marked with blood.

”A DUEL OF IRON!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Al McWilliams
Letterer: Dave Hunt | Colorist: Janice Cohen | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The Plot: Iron Fist infiltrates Stark International’s New York complex in search of clues to Colleen’s whereabouts. As he sneaks around he bumps into Colleen’s partner, Misty Knight, also investigating the kidnapping. Misty leads Iron Fist to her Stark contact, security chief Don Cauley, but they find him dead. As Misty looks for clues in Stark’s mainframe computer, Iron Fist goes in search of Cauley’s killer.

An alarm alerts Tony Stark to the intruders in his facility, and he changes to Iron Man to go after Iron Fist. The duel of iron begins as elsewhere, Colleen’s kidnappers prepare to load her aboard a plane bound for parts unknown. Colleen nearly escapes her captors but is stopped by a mystery man with a tattoo similar to Iron Fist’s on his chest. The man turns Colleen back over to her kidnappers then goes on his way, making a phone call to Ward Meachum.

Back at the Stark complex, Irons Fist and Man fight it out until Misty breaks up their fight, having discovered that Don Cauley is alive after all. Cauley is part of a renegade faction within Stark working for Halwan, and he had drawn Misty to the facility to kill her. Iron Man apologizes to Iron Fist for the misunderstanding and the heroes part ways.

MARVEL PREMIERE #25

”MORNING OF THE MINDSTORM!”
Writer: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Al McWilliams
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorist: Michele Wolfman | Editor: Len Wein

You are Iron Fist and this man is trying to kill you.

His name is Khumbala Bey and, until three days ago, he served as bodyguard to the princess Azir of Halwan, serving her as his family had served the Lion Throne of Halwan for over a thousand years.

And then, a stolen robotic nightmare called a Monstroid soared out of the Central Park sky and tried to take Azir’s life… and Khumbala Bey was nowhere to be found.

Azir would have died that afternoon, Iron First--had you not saved her. And, by saving her, shamed Khumbala Bey beyond redemption.

He would kill you for that now.

The Plot: At the Halwan embassy, Iron Fist is attacked by Princess Azir’s disgraced ex-bodyguard, Khumbala Bey. Their fight stops when Azir orders Bey to leave Iron Fist alone. She expresses her hope to see the Living Weapon again, then he departs the embassy with Lt. Rafael Scarfe. The duo drives to the Wing residence, where they find Professor Wing roughed up and hallucinating, babbling that Colleen is in danger.

Iron Fist and Scarfe travel to the office shared by Colleen and Misty, where they find two men posing as police abducting her. Fist and Scarfe pursue the kidnappers into a blind alley, where they run into Angar the Screamer, whose screams create vivid illusions. Iron Fist battles several illusory foes and unmasks the last one as Khumbala Bey. This allows him to break from Angar’s altered reality, but by the time he and Scarfe recover their senses, the kidnappers and Collen are gone.

Iron Fist prepares to kill Angar, but Scarfe stops him and reveals a clue: Angar’s ID card from Stark International.

RETURN TO COMIC-CON

Just a quick note to mention that today I'm bound for sunny San Diego with plans to attend Comic-Con this Wednesday through Saturday (we will be driving home on Sunday). And this year, I'm thinking I might tweet a bit from the convention, just for fun. So if you haven't noticed the little "Follow" button off to the left, now might be the time to jump on it. In fact, here's a bigger one for you:

Follow @MC_RE

That said, I make no promises as to the quality or quantity of my tweets! I'm still new to actively tweeting, and I often forget to do it until the moment has long passed.

As always, the regularly scheduled IRON FIST and STREET FIGHTER posts will go up while I'm away, and I will once again try to compose a summary post a week or two after my return.

CAPTAIN AMERICA REPLICA SHIELD PROP BY EFX COLLECTIBLES

What's this? A rare Saturday post? Yes, this could have easily gone up tomorrow, but given that today is the Fourth of July -- America's Independence Day -- I couldn't pass up the chance to post some pictures of my newest collectible acquisition.

But, as always, I'm going to spend some time to set the stage first. A few years back, EFX Collectibles announced they would be producing a line of prop replicas based on items from Marvel Films' productions. Among these items was Captain America's star-spangled shield.

Now I'm not a prop replica guy. I owned none until this one. I was never into "role-play" type toys as a kid, and I'm not really into them as an adult either. But there's something about Cap's shield -- it's not just a prop, it's a piece of art. So I was really excited at the prospect of owning it and mounting it on my wall.

STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA

"TARGET: SAKURA" | "SCHOOL DAYS" | "TAG TEAM!"
"THE HOT DOG EATING CHAMPIONSHIP" | "SAKURA VS. DAN"
Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork: Omar Dogan | Lettering: Marshall Dillon
Chief of Operations: Erik Ko | Managing Editor: Matt Moylan

Note that I've made a slight change to my originally advertised order. I was unaware at the time I planned this all out that STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA was published more or less concurrently with STREET FIGHTER II and ties loosely into its events. Now, with that disclaimer out of the way...

STREET FIGHTER LEGENDS: SAKURA is the first in a trio of LEGENDS mini-series, all spotlighting female characters and drawn by Omar Dogan. It's interesting to me that UDON chooses to lead off with a mini spotlighting Sakura rather than the higher profile Chun-Li or Cammy. But Cammy's story is one of the major threads in the ongoing STREET FIGHTER comics, so it's likely there wasn't much that could've been done with her here that wouldn't have stepped on the ongoings' toes. And Chun-Li will spotlight the next mini-series, so her time isn't far off

But the question remains, if you're going to do a Chun-Li story, why not start with it? My best guess is that Sakura is completely sidelined from the main action in STREET FIGHTER II and UDON wanted to keep the character in circulation. Which works out fine, because this is a fun little series that never takes itself too seriously; something nice to see when compared with the STREET FIGHTER ongoings, where, for the most part, melodrama is the order of the day.

MARVEL PREMIERE #24

You are Iron Fist, and in a moment, you will be fighting for your life.

You are calm now as you face your opponent and assume the cat stance. Your breathing is easy, your muscles loose, untense, your mind and body honed to a near-killing edge. Every sense -- every particle of your being -- is alive, aware… waiting…

You are ready -- almost eager -- for battle. And this is right -- for are you not the Living Weapon? And is it not a weapon’s purpose to be used?

Strange thoughts these… Alien questions. The answers had always come so easily enough in K’un-Lun.

Not so on Earth. And the more you question, the more confused you become…

Enough of this foolishness! Today is not the time for questions. Today is for battle!

”SUMMERKILL!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: Pat Broderick | Inker: Vinnie Colletta
Colorist: Phil Rache | Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: Iron Fist spars with Colleen Wing, then leaves to take a walk. Meanwhile, a group of terrorists infiltrates a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility and activates a robot called the Monstroid, sending it to kill Princess Azir of Halwan.

Later, Danny Rand stumbles across a softball game in Central Park between the NYPD and the staff of Marvel Comics. Danny joins Marvel’s team as the game proceeds, with Princess Azir incognito among the crowd of observers. The Monstroid arrives to kill Azir, taking out all the police in the process. Danny changes to Iron Fist and challenges the robot, ultimately defeating it.

Elsewhere, the leader of the terrorists is reprimanded by his employer, Master Khan, who makes plans to either enslave or kill Iron Fist.

Continuity Notes: According to a footnote, the Monstroid first appeared in MARVEL TEAM-UP #5.

MARVEL PREMIERE #23

Your name is Iron Fist, and for the first time in many weeks, the night air is quiet and filled with peace. No vendettas haunt your dreams, no old wrongs cry out for vengeance…

No killer cults -- and no ninjas -- seek your life…

Tonight, there is only you. And the girl, Colleen Wing, one of the few… friends you have in this strange, pulsing vibrant, frantic… alien city -- New York. A city you used to call home.

And now must call “home” again.

If you live that long.

”THE NAME IS… WARHAWK”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: Pat Broderick | Inker: Bob McLeod
Letterer: Karen Mantlo | Colorist: Michele Wolfman | Editor: Len Wein

The Plot: As Danny Rand and Colleen Wing stroll through Riverside Park, a sniper opens fire, killing all the civilians nearby except a small boy. Danny rescues the child then runs across the street after the sniper. Colleen follows and both come face-to-face with a metal-skinned mercenary named Warhawk. Warhawk defeats Danny and kidnaps Colleen.

Danny awakens and, after a brief flashback to K’un L’un, changes to Iron Fist and tracks Warhawk t a waterfront warehouse. Warhawk, suffering from PTSD, believes Colleen is his Vietnamese wife, and fights Iron Fist to defend her. Iron Fist is victorious in the end, knocking Warhawk into the river. But when Iron Fist attempts to rescue the drowning vet, Warhawk chooses death over capture and allows himself to be washed away.

Continuity Notes: We're told via footnote that Iron Fist was unable to kill Harold Meachum in issue 18, and that he turned down immortality in K’un L’un in #16.