With the news that a new Iron Fist has arisen (at least on Earth-6160), the timing seemed perfect to talk about the original. Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Marvel Premiere #15 awaits!

MARVEL PREMIERE #15

Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Gil Kane
Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: Gaspar Saladino
Editor: Roy Thomas
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 25 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $450.00
Release Date: February 19, 1974

Previously in Marvel Premiere: One of a number of anthology titles at Marvel during the 1970s, Marvel Premiere initially gave us the first adventures of Adam Warlock after his transformation. The book then became a solo title for Doctor Strange for twelve issues. By that time, the influx of Hong Kong martial arts movies had become a full-fledged craze, and the time seemed right to add another martial artist to the Marvel U. (Mantis had debuted as an Avenger in June of ’73, Shang-Chi in December of the same year, while Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu hit the stands two weeks before this issue.)

As Marvel Premiere #15 opens, we find a green-garbed fighter facing down FOUR foes at the same time, defeating all of them in a beautifully rendered display of acrobatic ultra-violence by the team of Gil Kane and Dick Giordano. As his foes collapse, Iron Fist turns to face the strange master of the arena in which he finds himself.

Urged to contemplate himself, Iron Fist thinks back to his childhood, a time when his mother and father (and their business partner, the creep-tastic Harold Meachum) took him on a mountain-climbing expedition in the Himalayas. Wendell Rand has come in search of the mysterious lost land of K’un Lun, while Meachum wants to make sure that his investment is protected…

…just not in the way that Rand believed,

The young Daniel Rand watched his father fall, rather graphically bouncing off the rocks as he plummeted to his death, while his mother drove away Meachum, who apparently thought that the way to a woman’s heart was in murdering her spouse in front of her. As the August-Personage-In-Jade reveals his next foe, Shu-Hu, Iron Fist is forced to use his skills against a much stronger foe and takes a beating. As he teeters on the edge of consciousness, Danny Rand once again remembers his mother and their trek across the frozen mountains. As Heather fought to save her son, she was stunned to discover that his tales of K’un Lun were real. As they arrived at the bridge to the hidden city, a pack of wolves who had been trailing them finally converged on them. To save her son, Heather makes… The Ultimate Sacrifice.Ten years later, remembering the loss of his beloved mother, Iron Fist realizes two things: His enemy is no man… and he MUST not let it win!

This issue is filled with visual Gil Kane-isms, like the “up-the-nose” shot in panel six there, but the inks of Giordano bring Gil’s work to a different level. Even the “punched-so-hard-he-flies-backwards-at-the-reader” moment is smoother and more refined than I have seen it since his days at Tower Comics, and I find myself wanting to seek out more of this art team. As for the story, Iron Fist realizes that his foe is some sort of automaton, coming to the understandable conclusion that the remedy for a man of metal is A FIST LIKE UNTO A THING OF IRON!

With a devastating “SHKOW,” Iron Fist defeats the robot, demanding that the August Personage give him his prize: Immortality! Or, y’know, death, but let’s not worry about that right now. The issue ends with a dedication to Bill Everett, the creator of Namor the Sub-Mariner, and (as it slyly references) a writer who created a very similar hero circa 1939: Amazing-Man! This issue doesn’t necessarily steal A-Man’s origin, but Marvel Premiere #15 references enough of it that it’s clear our man Iron Fist is a loving tribute to the Centaur hero long gone, and one with gorgeous enough art to earn 4 out of 5 stars overall. Years later, during the events of Immortal Iron Fist, Matt Fraction and David Aja would actually introduce John “Amazing-Man” Aman as part of Iron Fist’s supporting cast, bringing things full circle. It’s also interesting to note that Roy Thomas’s 1980s habit of adapting favorite books, characters, and stories into Marvel and DC continuity began much earlier than some might think. (If you don’t believe me, ask Iron Munro.)

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