Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #5 Review

Killing it? Taking care of business? Kicking ass and taking names? Doing the Lord’s work? Kaare Andrews is doing so well with Iron Fist, I’m starting to run out of ways to describe it. Thus far, this fresh take on the Immortal Weapon of K’un Lun has been like taking a Willy Wonka boat ride through a kung fu movie marathon. This issue finds Danny Rand in just about the worst situation an Iron Fist could possibly find himself in: right smack in the middle of a kung fu fight without his Iron Fists. A good deal of the issue goes into a couple more flashbacks of Rand’s beginnings. However, the pace picks up significantly from the last installment which was primarily character development. The noteworthy moment that brought a smile to my face was watching Danny’s love interest standing up to Davos and his legion of evil ninjas.

I do dig Marvel moving towards more involved female characters. Andrews could have very easily made her a damzel in distress that just flees the villains (and it looked like that’s where the story was headed), but Andrews throws us a very unexpected curveball. Meanwhile, the artwork here is still top notch. Every single panel moves at a frenetic pace, appropriate for a a book about a kung fu superhero. Even at Iron Fist’s lowest point, Andrews makes sure you can see every bit of the rage that drives him. The Japanese manga influences are more than apparent during the action beats that depict an imminent attack. Every block, every move looks brutal and vicer…