Power Man and Iron Fist #60
Writer: Jo Duffy
Art: Marie Severin/ Steve Leialoha
Letters: Diana Albers
Colours: Severin
https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/56367/power_man_and_iron_fist_1978_60
The Terrorist Manifesto
Jo Duffy's run on Power Man and Iron Fist is about as close as you will find to a definitive take on the characters, and here we catch up early on that run.
It is noteworthy that as early as 1979, Marvel were employing multiple women on this title, with Duffy, artist and colourist Maria Severin and letterer Diana Albers teaming to produce an action thriller with some interesting implications.
We join the party in the aftermath of events from the previous issue. Luke Cage has saved the crew from being blown up and Misty Knight has had Danny's friend Alan Cavenaugh arrested for the bombing.
Why? Well, it turns out Alan is a former terrorist, and has form. More on that later.
The opening page has one of those charming sidebars with the heads of our principal characters. I love this device, especially when coming in half way through a story. In this case, the characters are also all named in caption panels more or less every time they appear, so this could be overkill, but it is just an enjoyable feature.
The art style overall has a very "late 70s Marvel" feel to it. Each character is distinct, even "extras" in the back of crowd scenes. There is a real awareness of fashion, too, with plentiful late 70s colourful outfits and hairstyles. It does feel quite "busy", though, especially given how dialogue heavy the entire issue is. There is a lot of story to tell here, and it is to Duffy's credit that it flows as well as it does, with satisfying character arcs for most of the major characters.
I'm not entirely sure Severin and Leialoha are the perfect combination. The quality of the art varies wildly, with some panels looking rushed and some, as above, packed with detail. The better pages of this book would fit in with some of the top work Marvel was turning out at the time.
The plot revolves around representatives of the country of Halwani, described by Danny as "almost too good to be true, like an Arabian Nights Fairyland" and sure enough, the place is revealed to be in the grip of a vicious regime. The bomb of the previous episode was planted by freedom fighters and this time around they are plotting a similar attack on the Halwani Embassy, using an exploding samovar!
The plot is foiled, but it is not really explained at the end if the gang plans to do anything about the situation in Halwani. I suppose it is grounds for a future story, but it feels a little abrupt following the revelations made here. "The whole country, outside of the capital, is being raped by strip mining... Entire towns full of people are dispossessed to give foreign governments and private businesses access to their minerals..."
The depiction of the Halwani Embassy is, as you would expect from this particular title, stereotypical and cliched. The male embassy security staff wear harem pants, vests and fezes. There is even a belly dancer. (Which Luke does not mind a bit.)
Instead of any conclusion to the Halwani plot,
the story ends on the departure of Alan Cavenaugh, off to find himself. As far as I can tell, this is the last time this character appears in a Marvel title, and I can't say I am surprised. Created a few years earlier by Chris Claremont, Cavenaugh is a former IRA bomber, who befriends Iron Fist when Danny saves him from being beaten up or killed by other provos.
But here Alan is, with his corny Oirish accent and ginger afro and muttonchops. He is presented as a changed man, who bitterly regrets the mistakes of his past, which is all well and good, but Misty's, let's be honest, perfectly reasonable, suspicion of him is treated with complete disdain.
While this could just be an example of "the guys think they know better than crazy old Misty" - the fact that Alan turns out not to have been involved here, and that he risks his own life to save the group, it is messy.
On some levels, I like that. The lack of a clear simplistic morality, the idea that people can grow and change, that a villain (and in full fairness, neither Claremont nor Duffy seems to have much truck with his "cause") can become a hero, those are laudable story beats. But the fact that Misty ends up apologising for thinking the guy who was a bomber might have planted the bomb, that does not sit well.
This also shows up the inconsistency of the art work in this issue. As Cavenaugh emerges as a more rounded character, he is drawn in a more cartoonish style. Neither is "bad" exactly, but the difference is jarring.
Power Man and Iron Fist always seems like the archetypal seventies comic. The pair were conceived to ride on the popularity of seventies blaxploitation and kung-fu movies, after all. And here they wrap up that decade with a colourful adventure packed with the kind of lazy stereotypes that plagued the series from its conception.
How would the eighties treat the Heroes For Hire?
We'll be back to have a look soon enough.
Text ©2019 Andrew Ness
All art, characters, etc © Marvel Characters Inc.
Writer: Jo Duffy
Art: Marie Severin/ Steve Leialoha
Letters: Diana Albers
Colours: Severin
https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/56367/power_man_and_iron_fist_1978_60
The Terrorist Manifesto
Jo Duffy's run on Power Man and Iron Fist is about as close as you will find to a definitive take on the characters, and here we catch up early on that run.
It is noteworthy that as early as 1979, Marvel were employing multiple women on this title, with Duffy, artist and colourist Maria Severin and letterer Diana Albers teaming to produce an action thriller with some interesting implications.
We join the party in the aftermath of events from the previous issue. Luke Cage has saved the crew from being blown up and Misty Knight has had Danny's friend Alan Cavenaugh arrested for the bombing.
Why? Well, it turns out Alan is a former terrorist, and has form. More on that later.
The art style overall has a very "late 70s Marvel" feel to it. Each character is distinct, even "extras" in the back of crowd scenes. There is a real awareness of fashion, too, with plentiful late 70s colourful outfits and hairstyles. It does feel quite "busy", though, especially given how dialogue heavy the entire issue is. There is a lot of story to tell here, and it is to Duffy's credit that it flows as well as it does, with satisfying character arcs for most of the major characters.
I'm not entirely sure Severin and Leialoha are the perfect combination. The quality of the art varies wildly, with some panels looking rushed and some, as above, packed with detail. The better pages of this book would fit in with some of the top work Marvel was turning out at the time.
The plot revolves around representatives of the country of Halwani, described by Danny as "almost too good to be true, like an Arabian Nights Fairyland" and sure enough, the place is revealed to be in the grip of a vicious regime. The bomb of the previous episode was planted by freedom fighters and this time around they are plotting a similar attack on the Halwani Embassy, using an exploding samovar!
The plot is foiled, but it is not really explained at the end if the gang plans to do anything about the situation in Halwani. I suppose it is grounds for a future story, but it feels a little abrupt following the revelations made here. "The whole country, outside of the capital, is being raped by strip mining... Entire towns full of people are dispossessed to give foreign governments and private businesses access to their minerals..."
The depiction of the Halwani Embassy is, as you would expect from this particular title, stereotypical and cliched. The male embassy security staff wear harem pants, vests and fezes. There is even a belly dancer. (Which Luke does not mind a bit.)Instead of any conclusion to the Halwani plot,
the story ends on the departure of Alan Cavenaugh, off to find himself. As far as I can tell, this is the last time this character appears in a Marvel title, and I can't say I am surprised. Created a few years earlier by Chris Claremont, Cavenaugh is a former IRA bomber, who befriends Iron Fist when Danny saves him from being beaten up or killed by other provos.
Cavenaugh's debut back in Iron Fist #5, 1976.
It never fails to startle when you realise how much popular support the IRA had in the USA back in the day. For a quick comparison, can you imagine the response if a former ISIS bomber was introduced as a sympathetic character now?
While this could just be an example of "the guys think they know better than crazy old Misty" - the fact that Alan turns out not to have been involved here, and that he risks his own life to save the group, it is messy.
On some levels, I like that. The lack of a clear simplistic morality, the idea that people can grow and change, that a villain (and in full fairness, neither Claremont nor Duffy seems to have much truck with his "cause") can become a hero, those are laudable story beats. But the fact that Misty ends up apologising for thinking the guy who was a bomber might have planted the bomb, that does not sit well.This also shows up the inconsistency of the art work in this issue. As Cavenaugh emerges as a more rounded character, he is drawn in a more cartoonish style. Neither is "bad" exactly, but the difference is jarring.
Power Man and Iron Fist always seems like the archetypal seventies comic. The pair were conceived to ride on the popularity of seventies blaxploitation and kung-fu movies, after all. And here they wrap up that decade with a colourful adventure packed with the kind of lazy stereotypes that plagued the series from its conception.
How would the eighties treat the Heroes For Hire?
We'll be back to have a look soon enough.
Text ©2019 Andrew Ness
All art, characters, etc © Marvel Characters Inc.
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