Written by Fred Van Lente
Illustrated by Wellinton AlvesCharging from the pages of SHADOWLAND comes the collector’s item first ever POWER MAN & IRON FIST #1! When Danny Rand transformed his multinational corporation into a non-profit foundation, he thought he had left fighting behind — but with so many innocents wrongly convicted, the battle never ends! Their first case is Luke Cage and Danny Rand’s former secretary Jennie Royce, imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit…or did she? And Iron Fist isn’t fighting alone — he’s got a new partner with him: Victor Alvarez, the all-new Power Man, he of the exploding punches — and exploding temper! Can Danny train his new charge well enough to face returning foil El Aguila as well as new threats Don Pagliacci, the Commedia Dell’Morte, and the beautiful, deadly Noir? That’s right, Marvel’s original mismatched action duo begins a new era of greatness right here!
Even though I didn’t read the first appearance of the new Power Man, I saw that this book had Iron Fist, that it was written by Fred Van Lente, and I flipped through it at the shop and saw that the Don of the Dead appeared in this issue. This book became a must buy right that instance.
Find out what I thought of this book after the jump, or I kill jour face!
(Okay maybe not – just read the the review)
Fred Van Lente is a gifted man. There really isn’t anything I can think of in his work that I respond negatively to – it’s all positive on the Van Lente train. But one thing I’m particularly impressed by with his writing is his ability to take characters that are a little less developed and turn them into well-crafted and memorable icons of whatever universe they belong to (see: Taskmaster, Amadeus Cho, Sandman in the “Keemia’s Castle” arc of Spidey).
In Power Man and Iron Fist, you have an old book and idea (this is essentially a pro-bono Heroes for Hire that features a newfangled Power Man and the classic Iron Fist) but paired with a new sense of energy and vitality that makes the whole thing feel fresh again.
Even though I wasn’t familiar with the new Power Man outside of a recent Spider-Man back-up Van Lente had done, I quickly became invested in the character thanks to the relationship between him and Danny Rand (Iron Fist). I’m a huge fan of Iron Fist, and I love the way Van Lente portrays him…alternately as a mentor, as focused, as controlled by his emotions, and a man who definitely has complicated relationships. That blends well with the sheer impulse that is the new Power Man, and I really enjoy seeing the two of them interact and how their methodry differs situation to situation.
That Van Lente throws them into situations like battling the Don of the Dead (YES!) and the new villains from Commedia Dell Morte – who are all alternately very effective at being dealers of death but also completely ridiculous and entertaining – makes their shortcomings as a partnership both more prominent and entertaining.
Van Lente throws in all kinds of other tidbits that bring down the house (I’m convinced there was a pretty overt Arrested Development reference in there), and it all combines to make this a very fun book to read as well as a book that transcends humor and becomes something more impressive altogether.
Wellinton Alves is a guy whose work in Nova I wasn’t crazy about, but does well here. While some of his larger screen images are a bit more on the underdeveloped side (the bigger the shot, the less the detail it seems), he does tell the story very well and give a lot of scenes a dynamic feel. Also, cheers to him on the character work. I’m not sure if he designed the new characters in here (my bad if Commedia Dell Morte is not new) but that circus based outfit, as a concept, is hard to take seriously but actually kind of frightening in execution by Alves. His character design work is top notch.
Continued belowThis book, unsurprisingly, is a hit with me. I’ve always been a big FVL fan, and I’ve found that he seems to excel with mini-series that feature characters he can really run wild with. This is a perfect follow-up to Taskmaster, in that regard.
Or maybe I just love this book because it features the Don of the Dead, who entertains me to no end. How did no one come up with that before?!
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Buy
