Power Man and Iron Fist

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Power Man and Iron Fist
Power Man and Iron Fist 50th Issue cover.jpg
Power Man and Iron Fist, 50th issue cover
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
Format Ongoing series
Genre
Publication date1972-1986
Main character(s) Power Man and Iron Fist

Power Man and Iron Fist (originally Luke Cage, Hero for Hire then Luke Cage, Power Man) was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist.

Contents

Publication history

Hero for Hire/Power Man

The series debuted as Hero for Hire #1, and became Power Man from #17 onwards. The cover logo included Luke Cage's name, so from #1–16 the cover logo read Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and from #17 onwards Luke Cage, Power Man. The series was initially written by Luke Cage's co-creator Archie Goodwin, pencilled by George Tuska, and inked by Billy Graham.

Power Man and Iron Fist

When Power Man's sales became unsustainable, Marvel added Iron Fist, another once popular superhero who could no longer support his own series, in order to save both characters from full cancellation. [1] Iron Fist joined the cast of Power Man in a three-part story arc in #48–50. The series title changed to Power Man and Iron Fist with #50, though the indicia did not reflect this change until #67.

Iron Fist writer Chris Claremont penned the initial stories pairing the characters, but was soon forced to turn the series over to Jo Duffy due to his unmanageable workload. Duffy's run was noted for its lighthearted, humorous, character-driven tone, and had relatively few fight scenes. [1] A young Kurt Busiek had his first regular assignment with the title, writing it from issue #90 to #100. He emulated the lighthearted humor of Duffy's run, not knowing that Duffy had been taken off Power Man and Iron Fist precisely because the editorial staff disapproved of her lighthearted tongue-in-cheek approach to the series. [1]

Goodwin then returned to the series, but had difficulty keeping up with the work, and his brief second run was littered with issues by fill-in writers, including two by Busiek. [1] Jim Owsley, another Marvel staffer, took over as regular writer. The series concluded with the death of Iron Fist in #125, a controversial story. Owsley later commented, "Fist’s death was senseless and shocking and completely unforeseen. It took the readers’ heads clean off. And, to this day, people are mad about it. Forgetting, it seems, that (a) you were supposed to be mad, that death is senseless and Fist’s death was supposed to be senseless, or that (b) this is a comic book." [1]

Power Man and Iron Fist revivals

Power Man and Iron Fist returned as a five-issue limited series in 2011, spinning-off from the "Shadowland" storyline, which introduced a new Power Man, Victor Alvarez. [2] It was written by one of the character's creators Fred Van Lente, with art by Wellinton Alves. [3] [4] [5] It returned again in 2016, with Luke Cage replacing Alvarez.

Creators

Writers

Artists

Collected editions

TitleMaterial collectedPublished dateISBN
Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 1Power Man and Iron Fist #50-72, 74-75January 2008 978-0785127260
Essential Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 2Power Man and Iron Fist #76-100March 2009 978-0785130727
Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: Heroes for HirePower Man #48-49, Power Man and Iron Fist #50-70August 2015 978-1302929879
Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: Revenge!Power Man and Iron Fist #71-72, 74-89, Daredevil #178October 2016 978-1302900137
Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: DoombringerPower Man and Iron Fist #90-107December 2019 978-1302920715
Power Man & Iron Fist Epic Collection: HardballPower Man and Iron Fist #108-125August 2022 978-1302945923
Power Man & Iron Fist: The Comedy of DeathPower Man and Iron Fist (vol. 2) #1-5November 2011 978-0785152477
Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 1: The Boys are Back in TownPower Man and Iron Fist (vol. 3) #1-5October 2016 978-1302901141
Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 2: Civil War IIPower Man and Iron Fist (vol. 3) #6-9, Sweet Christmas Annual #1March 2017 978-1302901158
Power Man and Iron Fist Vol. 3: Street MagicPower Man and Iron Fist (vol. 3) #10-15October 2017 978-1302905392

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Callahan, Timothy (December 2010). "Power Man and Iron Fist". Back Issue! . TwoMorrows Publishing (45): 3–11.
  2. DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 273. ISBN   978-1-4654-7890-0.
  3. Richards, Dave (July 22, 2010). "CCI EXCLUSIVE: Van Lente's New "Power Man & Iron Fist"". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  4. Ching, Albert (July 23, 2010). "SDCC 2010: POWER MAN & IRON FIST: Reunited For The 1st Time". Newsarama . Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  5. Richards, Dave (December 15, 2010). "Van Lente Buddies Up With "Power Man & Iron Fist"". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved September 25, 2011.