Full disclosure, I’ve never been much of an Iron Fist guy. While I’ve read Matt Fraction’s run, much of Danny Rand’s adventures, whether solo or with Luke Cage, have never really appealed to me despite my love of cool martial arts action. So when I took on reviewing Undead Iron Fist, I’m really coming at it as someone who has the base level knowledge of Danny Rand’s origins and the Iron Fist lore and not much else. Thankfully though, there’s enough in Undead Iron Fist from Jason Loo and artist Fran Galan for a novice like myself to latch onto, even though I wish the end result was longer.
Following his death at the hands of a demon possessed Razorfist, Danny Rand finds himself revived and re-powered by a mysterious force for revenge. As he cuts a path through the New York underworld, former allies like Daredevil and Luke Cage all try to piece together who this new Iron Fist is that’s taking on demon-possessed citizens, all while the newly reborn Danny Rand works against the clock before his powers give out. With the clock ticking, Danny has to make his way to Yaozu, the man who not only orchestrated Danny Rand’s death, but the deaths of every Iron Fist before him to gain their powers for himself. If he fails, the entire legacy of the Iron Fist will cease to exist.
Marvel
I have to give it to Jason Loo’s script, as Undead Iron Fist really doesn’t waste any narrative momentum with the four issues collected here. Where other writers may get bogged down in subplots with Danny’s friends and allies learning he’s alive, Loo instead puts those aspects of the story second to the action, of which this book is teeming with. Pretty much from the word “go” Undead Iron Fist puts the pedal to the medal and has Danny taking on demon-infested civilians as he fights his way to Yaozu, and the additions to the Iron Fist lore, while a bit of convenient retcon, make the end result of the story and what could come next for Iron Fist really promising.
That being said, the fact that the book is really focused on just delivering fight scene after fight scene does make the entire story feel pretty rushed. Undead Iron Fist was only four issues, a change of pace from the standard five issue Marvel minis, and that one fewer issue really shows in this collection. Just when things get really interesting, Loo has to wrap up the story because he only has few pages to work with. If we had one additional issue we’d get an even stronger story and more room for another cool fight scene. Instead, certain narrative corners have to be cut, or villains have to be dispatched quicker than they seemingly should be to keep things moving.
However, the fight scenes here are pretty damn great. Fran Galan wasn’t a name I was familiar with when I first saw the credits page in this book, but it’s one I’ll definitely be looking out for in the future. Galan’s exaggerated style works really well for the stylish fight scenes Undead requires, and their expressive facial work and designs for Danny Rand’s new “Ghost Fist” look are really cool. Really the only knock I can give to Galan is the flashback sequences to Danny’s journey through the Underworld could have used a bit more details, as they just look like a generic cave for many of the scenes there.
Marvel
Since Undead Iron Fist was only four issues, this collection also includes the Iron Fist 50th Anniversary special, which was used to set up this miniseries. The collection puts the Danny Rand focused story at the beginning of the first issue here, which makes for a jarring start, but getting the additional stories from that special makes for a fun, if inconsequential, dessert with your martial arts meal. None of the additional stories aside from Loo’s prologue are essential, but if they weren’t here then the trade would feel really slight for the cost.
Undead Iron Fist really surprised me in giving a new spin on Danny Rand’s character that makes it easier to keep him around now that we’ve got a new Iron Fist in the Marvel Universe. Reworking the Iron Fist mythos into something not unlike Ghost Rider or Moon Knight is an interesting idea, and even with the flaws of this miniseries, there’s enough places to go with Danny Rand now that I’d be up for trying out a new adventure with him. Maybe he can travel to hell and fight Mephisto next? Or get into a UFC style hell brawl with Ghost Rider? He probably won’t do either of those, but Undead Iron Fist does something new and different with a longtime Marvel character that reinvigorated him for someone who doesn’t usually read his stuff. Here’s hoping they decide to do more with him.
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