Marvel announces Iron Fist ongoing series

Danny Rand will once again don the colors of the ancient Iron Fist tradition to give the Marvel Universe’s villains a good clean punch to the face.

When the mystical city of K’un-Lun comes under siege, the prodigal son, Danny Rand must come home – in more ways than one. Is Iron Fist prepared for a threat that hearkens back to that horrible day when his father dropped to his death on a Himalayan mountaintop? Can anything prepare him for the truth that’s waiting for him in the rubble that was once the city of K’un-Lun – the place of Iron Fist’s birth?

Originally appearing way back in 1974’s Marvel Premier #15, the Iron Fist has been around the block more than a few times. He’s easily one of Marvel’s least known characters, but also maybe one of the most interesting- and definitely one of the more mysterious.

Who really knows much about Iron Fist after all? Other than his team-ups with Luke Cage (who’s gone on to much larger levels of stardom in the Marvel U), he’s remained very much in the background and not one of the bigger players in Marvel Comics’ heroic pantheon.

Well, all that’s about to change if the publisher has it’s way as Danny Rand will be appearing in Iron Fist: The Living Weapon from writer Kaare Andrews. And if you’re expecting a man who’s all zen and Kung-Fu-mastery, think again.

This spring, the fiery fist of vengeance strikes once again! Masterfully orchestrated by writer/artist, Kaare Andrews, Danny Rand once again channels the power of the ancient dragon, Shou-Lao, to become Iron Fist in an all-new series. Kaare explains, “I have two intentions with this project. The first is to tell a bare bones story that does not impede itself with the layers and layers of continuity that Iron Fist has become enriched with. The second, and more important, is to reach into the core of the character and re-explore who Danny Rand is. Reinvention through core exploration.”

In the character’s early history, starting with his first appearance in 1974, Danny was on a path for revenge as he hunted down the man who murdered his father, and Andrews promises to return to how it all began, “The defining aspect of Danny Rand is the loss of a father and a quest for honor and vengeance. Yet, these are themes that haven’t been explored again since his origin story back in the 70s. We need to bring Danny back to this state of blind rage and self-destruction. Remember – this is a man who traded immortality for vengeance. And the consequences of that are what I’m most interested in.”

I honestly don’t know a whole lot about Iron Fist, but I have to tell you that that description got me pretty much instantly interested in finding out as much as possible and checking out the upcoming book. Martial arts action isn’t too hard of a sell and just tends to have an attraction for comic books fans in general, add to it all the mystical elements and the Marvel history that the character has (and probably will have now that he has his own book again) and you’ve got something that might be a pretty big winner.

Check out Iron Fist: The Living Weapon when it hits the stands this coming April from writer/artist Kaare Andrews.