IRON FIST #4

”HOLOCAUST!”
A tale of triumph and tragedy presented by:
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Janice Cohen | Editor: Marv Wolfman

The place: An upper maintenance level of London’s General Post Office Tower…

The people: On one hand, Iron Fist, the Living Weapon -- a man who has done his best this night, only to discover that a man’s best is sometimes not enough… and facing him, Radion, the Atomic Man, once called the Ravager. A man gone mad.

The time: One minute into one man’s private armageddon!

The Plot: Radion fights Iron Fist while Ward and Joy Meachum, along with a mystery guest, watch the BBC broadcast. In London, Iron Fist awakens after an explosion to find Radion gone. He recharges himself with his power then sees a video recorded by Radion prior to his transformation.

At the hospital, Misty attempts to depart and aid Iron Fist, but suffers a seizure. Meanwhile, Radion is atop the Post Office Tower, firing on the city below, when Iron Fist confronts him. They fight again, and Iron Fist lures the villain to a chamber he learned about in the video. Activating the chamber, Iron Fist transforms Radion back into his benevolent mortal self, Dr. Henri Sorel. Penitent over his crimes, Sorel dies in Iron Fist’s arms.

Continuity Notes: On page 2, Radion recaps the previous issue’s climax and also describes himself as a walking hydrogen bomb, which the Ravager armor kept in check.

COMIC-CON 2015 RECAP

Some may recall that last year, I was a little underwhelmed by my Comic-Con experience. The trip was fun, but it was more in spite of the convention rather than because of it. This year, thankfully, things returned to form. Here's a recap of the trip by way of some of the tweets I sent out from the convention.

And now I wait for admittance into Comic-Con #SDCC #SDCC2015 #PreviewNight

— Matt Re (@MC_RE) July 8, 2015

Preview Night: every year I'm unsure whether I want to do it. It costs extra and it's become practically as crowded as any other day of the show. But, given the amount of time spent standing in lines and attending panels throughout the con, Preview Night really is, as it always was, the best opportunity to tour the exhibit hall. And this year it was actually productive for me, as I came across a Japanese Transformer I wanted at a very reasonable price ("Combiner Wars" Superion, for those curious), which might have been scooped up by someone else if I hadn't been there. Nonetheless, I still wonder if it's worth it. Technically, for the price I paid for the Preview Night badge, I could've just had the toy shipped to me from overseas for the same ultimate price.

STREET FIGHTER II TURBO #8 - #12

Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork & Color: Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz
Guest Artists: Arnold Tsang, Skottie Young, Chris Stevens, Kevin Yan, Mark Lee, Sven
Lettering: Marshall Dillon | Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich
Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

The time has finally come for the Street Fighter Tournament, the event to which Ken Siu-Chong has been building since the first issue of the first STREET FIGHTER series. This tournament is based upon the original, beloved STREET FIGHTER II video game, and features all the same contestants (plus the additions from SUPER STREET FIGHTER II): Thunder Hawk, Cammy, Guile, Blanka, Dhalsim, Dee Jay, Ken, Zangief, Chun-Li, Fei Long, Ryu, and E. Honda, as well as the "bosses", Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison.

Siu Chong groups the fighters into brackets and, after an opening speech from Bison, the action begins. T. Hawk is the first to go, defeated by Cammy. In short order, Blanka loses to Guile and Dhalsim defeats Dee Jay, freeing him from Bison's control (Dee Jay was captured by Shadaloo way back in the first series, rescued by Delta Red near its end, recaptured in the second series, and brainwashed in the third). Ken then defeats Zangief as the tournament's first day comes to an end.

But there's more happening on Shadaloo Island besides the Street Fighter Tournament. Cammy reveals to Guile and Chun-Li that she's only pretending to serve Bison, and helps the two concoct a plan to free Delta Red from captivity and take out Bison's protective force field. Meanwhile, Bison is troubled by Dhalsim's abilities and attempts to assassinate him between rounds, but Dhalsim defeats Bison's Dolls and withdraws from the tournament.

IRON FIST #3

”THE CITY’S NOT FOR BURNING!”
Author: Chris Claremont | Artist: John Byrne | Inker: Frank Chiaramonte
Letterer: Dave Hunt | Colorist: Don Warfield | Editor: Marv Wolfman

You are Iron Fist -- and you have come to London to save the life of a friend.

You may also have come here to die!

The Plot: An airliner carrying Danny Rand and Misty Knight is shot down as it descends over Heathrow Airport. Dany changes to Iron Fist and challenges the plane’s attacker, an armored man named the Ravager. But Ravager proves too powerful for Iron Fist and escapes.

Later, as Misty recovers at the hospital, Danny is spurred to put his quest for Colleen Wing on the back burner and search for the Ravager instead. He tracks the villain to London’s General Post Office Tower, where their rematch begins. But this time Iron Fist unleashes his full power, which destroys the Ravager’s armor and blows up the tower, apparently killing both of them.

Continuity Notes: Misty demonstrates super-strength twice during the airport crisis, and soon after it’s revealed that she has a bionic arm. The limb is damaged beyond repair, sidelining Misty for the rest of Iron Fist’s adventure.

Iron Fist uses tracking skills taught him by Lei Kung the Thunderer to find the Ravager. Later, as he scales the Post Office Tower, narration notes that he chooses the stairs over the elevator due to his experience in Harold Meachum’s office tower in MARVEL PREMIERE #17.

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.

CAPTAIN AMERICA’S THEME

A well deserved, albeit long and meandering, tribute to the most ubiquitous musical motif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

From my perspective, Marvel Studios doesn't have many failings so far. Not all their movies have been great (IRON MAN sequels, I’m looking at you), and yes, there are some things I think they could've implemented better -- but overall, even on the rare occasions they have a misfire, their output is generally still a lot of fun.

But there is one area where Marvel’s movies have mostly fallen very short in my estimation. I love strong recurring musical themes in my movies, especially across multiple films. Think of the STAR WARS or INDIANA JONES movies, the LORD OF THE RINGS and HOBBIT sagas, or the HARRY POTTER series. All these franchises feature numerous recognizable themes and motifs developed across all their installments.

Not so with the Marvel movies. IRON MAN 1, 2, and 3 all have completely different themes by three different composers for the main character. Likewise, THOR and THOR: THE DARK WORLD feature separate themes for the God of Thunder, as composed by two different men. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON uses some of the main theme from the first AVENGERS film, but that’s a special case which we’ll get to shortly.

But somehow, through all of these, one character’s theme has stayed with him, popping up at least once in every one of the films featuring him: Captain America.

STREET FIGHTER II TURBO #0 - #7

Story: Ken Siu-Chong | Artwork & Color: Jeffrey "Chamba" Cruz | Lettering: Marshall Dillon
Guest Artists: Arnold Tsang, Skottie Young, Chris Stevens, Kevin Yan, Mark Lee, Sven
Project Manager: Jim Zubkavich | Managing Editor: Marshall Dillon | UDON Chief: Erik Ko

At last it's time for the Street Fighter Tournament. STREET FIGHTER II TURBO presents UDON's take on the storyline of the classic STREET FIGHTER II video game. In that game, a mysterious organization called Shadaloo organized a tournament of "World Warriors" and set them against each other in single elimination format. At this point in UDON's storyline we already know plenty about Shadaloo, so there's no real mystery this time: Bison is holding the tournament so he can gauge the world's greatest fighters and eventually brainwash the best of them to serve him.

The volume's initial issues provide quick check-ins with the cast, and let us know just how long it's been since this whole thing started. According to Chun-Li, six months have passed since the start of UDON's first STREET FIGHTER volume. I'm not sure if I think that's too short or not. I generally like ultra-compressed timelines, but in this case a whole lot has happened, including Ryu traveling the world, and six months feels a bit short. But it doesn't not work, so I'm okay with it.