Power Man and Iron Fist
Power Man and Iron Fist was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist.
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 Mans sales became unsustainable, Marvel added Iron Fist, another once popular superhero who could no longer support his own series, to save both characters from full cancellation. 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. 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.
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. 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 you were supposed to be mad, that death is senseless and Fist's death was supposed to be senseless, or that this is a comic book."
''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. It was written by one of the character's creators Fred Van Lente, with art by Wellinton Alves. It returned again in 2016, with Luke Cage replacing Alvarez.Creators
Writers
- Chris Claremont - Power Man/Iron Fist #50-53, #76
- Ed Hannigan - Power Man/Iron Fist #53-55
- Mary Jo Duffy - Power Man/Iron Fist #56–75, 77–84
- Bob Layton - Power Man/Iron Fist #67
- Steven Grant - Power Man/Iron Fist #69, 91, 101
- Mike W. Barr - Power Man/Iron Fist #76
- Dennis O'Neil - Power Man/Iron Fist #85–89
- Kurt Busiek - Power Man/Iron Fist #90, 92–100, 102, 105
- Archie Goodwin - Power Man/Iron Fist #103–104, 108
- Alan Rowlands - Power Man/Iron Fist #106–107, 109
- Jim Owsley - Power Man/Iron Fist #108, 111–125
- Tony Isabella - Power Man/Iron Fist #110
Artists
- Kerry Gammill - Power Man #67-68, 70–72, 74–75, 77–79, 84
- Alan Weiss - Power Man/Iron Fist #69
- Greg LaRocque - Power Man/Iron Fist #73, 91, 102–104, 106, 108–113
- Frank Miller - Power Man/Iron Fist #76
- Rudy Nebres - Power Man/Iron Fist #76
- Denys Cowan - Power Man/Iron Fist #80–83, 86–90, 92–93
- Keith Pollard - Power Man/Iron Fist #85
- Ernie Chan - Power Man/Iron Fist #94–100
- Geof Isherwood - Power Man/Iron Fist #101, 107
- Richard Howell - Power Man/Iron Fist #105
- Steve Geiger - Power Man/Iron Fist #114
- Billy Graham - Power Man/Iron Fist #114
- Mark Bright - Power Man/Iron Fist #115–125