IRON FIST #7
Writer: Ed Brisson
Penciller: Mike Perkins
Colorist: Andy Troy
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Rating: T
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 2/7/18
The Choshin story has been one of intrigue, great combat, and full of angles to the main story. Writer Ed Brisson got right down to business and gave fans what they wanted. The story takes readers back to the mystical land of K’un-Lun, introduces dragons, and has a lot of ass-kicking. Iron Fist is one of the better series in the new Marvel, paying homage to the past, but not afraid to take chances on the future by staying rooted in the past.
Plot: Our story opens with Choshin and Sparrow duking it out in front of onlookers. Choshin is no match for Yu-ti and his cronies knock her down. She responds by pointing out Choshin’s hypocrisy and he orders them to stay out of it. At the same time, Sabretooth and Rat of Twelve Plagues are throwing down with Creed easily winning at first, but Rat of Twelve Plagues unleashes his plague and Sabretooth is taken over by the swarm.
As that is happening, Choshin’s men are ordering citizens to surrender their weapons and stop resisting, that they are there to save K’un-Lun. This process is abruptly interrupted by Shou-Lao nuking them with dragonfire while Iron Fist rides on his back. This inspires the citizens and they take up arms against their attackers, gaining the advantage by guerilla warfare.
In the meanwhile, Sabretooth pukes up whatever plague or virus Rat of Twelve Plagues hit him with, much to the astonishment of the Rat. Creed quickly explains his immunity and proceeds to the aforementioned ass-kicking portion of the story. Creed then drags his body over to where Choshin and Rand are about to square off. Rand apologizes to Sparrow, who tells him to end Choshin as she and Sabretooth go to aid the people of K’un-Lun in the battle against Choshin’s army.
Iron Fist and Choshin then have a lengthy and very one-sided battle. Rand figured out what he was fighting for and this mindset aided him greatly during the battle and allowing him to easily discard of Choshin and his blades. Choshin tells Rand that he may have won the battle, but he would be back to win the war. As soon as he’s done saying this, he exits the fighting area and accidentally walks right into Shou-Lao’s mouth and the dragon wastes no time ending him.
With the help of Sparrow, Sabretooth, and Shou-Lao, the people of K’un-Lun are easily able to defeat Choshin’s army and save K’un-Lun itself. Danny apologizes to Sparrow, who wasn’t trying to hear it. She explains to Rand that people like Choshin will always come for K’un-Lun. She then thanks Sabretooth and Rand as they leave K’un-Lun in a portal back to Earth.
Story: Ed Brisson did a great job weaving subject matter from the Immortal Iron Fist into a new narrative that fans can enjoy. This book brought about the end of Choshin and I was a little sad to see that happen. He was a driven and notable villain. His story was unique and is sure to be a favorite among Iron Fist fans.
Seeing Shou-Lao eviscerate Choshin’s army with dragonfire was nothing less than awesome. It wasn’t necessarily needed, but was a welcome addition to the story. Speaking of welcome additions, Sabretooth versus Rat of Twelve Plagues was one of the coolest parts of this series. Brisson really delivered the goods in this final book, but this was all set up by his tremendous writing throughout the Iron Fist series.
Art: Mike Perkins and Andy Troy hit a homerun with this book. The battles were drawn to perfection and the addition of Smart Panel made them stand out even more. Shou-Lao was gorgeous and the destruction he rained down on K’un-Lun was a work of out. While it feels like this series is wrapping up, hopefully this art team are just getting off the ground.
Verdict: What else can I say about this book? It was outstanding. I didn’t expect Choshin to go out like he did, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t enjoy it. Sabretooth bringing his deadly fighting skills and wit to the battle only made it that much more enjoyable. If you haven’t read this series, do yourself a favor and grab Iron Fist #1 and binge read at the first opportunity! — JW
Rating: 5/5 Stars