POWER MAN AND IRON FIST

This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog is my third post about Power Man and my second about Iron Fist. It’s a look at the stories leading to the partnership of the two superheroes in the 1970s.

POWER MAN Vol 1 #48 (December 1977)

Title: Fist of Iron – Heart of Stone

Villains: Bushmaster, Shades and Comanche

Synopsis: Power Man’s old supervillain foes Shades and Comanche return, this time working for a supervillain called Bushmaster, real name John McIver, formerly a Caribbean crime lord. Bushmaster is secretly headquartered in Georgia’s abandoned Seagate Prison, where Power Man first gained his powers when he was a volunteer in unethical government scientific experiments years earlier.

Shades (at right) and Comanche, escaped cons who served time at Seagate Prison with Luke Cage back when he went by his real name Carl Lucas, were sent by Bushmaster to abduct Power Man’s girlfriend Dr. Claire Temple and her colleague Dr. Noah Burstein. They have done so and, per Bushmaster’s orders, they give Luke Cage/ Carl Lucas their boss’s ultimatum.

They make it clear to Power Man that to gain the release of those two doctors he has been close to for years, he must capture and deliver to Bushmaster one of his foes, private investigator Misty Knight. The villain doesn’t just send Shades and Comanche (at left) to abduct her because Misty’s associates, her investigative partner Colleen Wing and the superhero Iron Fist, stand beside her.

The threat to kill Claire Temple (at right) and the wheelchair-bound Noah Burstein is the stick. The carrot offered by Bushmaster is evidence that will clear Carl Lucas (Luke Cage’s real name) of the old drug charges that sent him to prison years ago. If Power Man delivers Misty Knight to Bushmaster, the villain claims he will give that evidence to our hero so that Luke no longer has to fear his past catching up with him and exposing him as an escaped fugitive.

NOTE: Bushmaster had previously clashed with Knight-Wing Investigations (run by Misty Knight and Colleen Wing) over in the pages of Iron Fist’s solo series, which had since been canceled. Bushmaster, originally non-superpowered, wanted Noah Burstein (at left) not just as a hostage but to make him provide him with superpowers like Burstein’s Seagate Experiments had given Power Man long ago.

Back to the story, Power Man, motivated mostly by his desire to save Claire and Noah, goes where Bushmaster’s instructions tell him to – the New York City brownstone where Misty Knight lives with her boyfriend at the time, Iron Fist (Danny Rand).

When our hero bursts into the place he is attacked by Iron Fist and Misty. Colleen Wing is also there and she joins her two friends in attacking Power Man. After the battle rages for some time, Power Man gains the upper hand and has the opportunity to kill Iron Fist and abduct Misty, but his conscience won’t let him do that.

Iron Fist, Misty and Colleen can tell Power Man is conflicted and ask what has made him act contrary to his heroic reputation. For the cliffhanger ending, Luke says that because he could not go through with his task, two of the people closest to him are as good as dead. 

POWER MAN Vol 1 #49 (February 1978)

Title: Seagate is a Lonely Place to Die

Villains: Bushmaster, Shades and Comanche

Synopsis: In the aftermath of their battle, Power Man explains to Iron Fist, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing about Bushmaster’s (John McIver’s) hostages Noah Burstein and Claire Temple. He also tells them about Bushmaster’s possession of evidence clearing our hero of the old criminal charges under his original name.

Because Misty, Colleen and Iron Fist have their own scores to settle with Bushmaster from the old Iron Fist series, they ally themselves with Power Man and the trio covertly travel with him to Seagate Prison in Georgia.

The heroes surreptitiously break into the lower levels of the abandoned facility and split up, engaging Bushmaster’s army of gangsters in a running battle every step of the way. Iron Fist and Misty find the cell holding Claire Temple and free her, but Noah Burstein has already been taken away to the laboratory by Bushmaster and forced to spend the last few days subjecting him to the same type of scientific experiments that gave Luke Cage his powers.

Power Man’s old foes Shades and Comanche attack Iron Fist, who fights them while Misty takes Claire to safety. Needless to say, Iron Fist succeeds in defeating both supervillains.

Iron Fist continues looking for Noah while Misty and Claire run into Power Man fighting another squadron of Bushmaster’s heavily armed gangsters. Misty and Power Man finish them off, then he tells Misty to get Claire to their waiting boat outside.

Power Man himself finds Bushmaster just as his other hostage Noah Burstein has reluctantly used the lab’s equipment to give Bushmaster super-strength and a degree of invulnerability (see right). Power Man battles Bushmaster, who made Noah give him even greater strength than our hero.

NOTE: Since Shades and Comanche did time at Seagate Prison with Luke Cage before any of them had superpowers and because they were even featured in Luke’s very 1st issue, their presence adds even more nostalgia to this entire adventure.

Power Man, while continuing his battle with the stronger Bushmaster (at left), has the just-arrived Iron Fist get Noah to safety outside while he stays there to settle things with our main villain.

The fight between Cage and the villain is epic. Outmuscled, Power Man eventually smashes a hole in a wall and uses the subsequent rush of ocean water and the lab equipment to cause a huge explosion. Our hero gets out alive, but Bushmaster is apparently dead.

Before the explosion, Misty Knight managed to retrieve the evidence to clear Luke of all criminal charges. After locking up Shades, Comanche and the defeated army of gangsters, Power Man, Iron Fist and the group call the feds to pick up the bad guys.

Taking their motorboat back to shore, our heroes prepare to return to New York and clear Luke’s name. 

NOTE: Needless to say, Bushmaster wasn’t really dead and returned to plague our heroes down the road.

POWER MAN AND IRON FIST Vol 1 #50 (April 1978)

Title: Freedom

Villains: Stiletto and Discus

NOTE: The series title officially changes to Power Man and Iron Fist. Similar Marvel titles in the past had been Captain America and the Falcon as well as Daredevil and the Black Widow.

Synopsis: Mega-rich lawyer Jeryn Hogarth (from the defunct Iron Fist series) is throwing a big party at his New York City penthouse for his new client Luke Cage to celebrate him finally being cleared of all charges from his past. Luke’s Hero for Hire business will now be called HeroES for Hire with Iron Fist becoming Power Man’s official partner. Heroes for Hire will become part of Hogarth’s vast empire, forever eliminating the hero business’s financial issues.

Power Man’s old recurring foes Discus (at right) and Stiletto (brothers Tim and Tom Stuart), still obsessed with their vendetta against Luke, refuse to accept the fact that Luke was innocent all along and the two villains crash the party intending to kill our hero along with anyone who stands in their way.

NOTE: Stiletto and Discus are the sons of the Seagate Prison Warden who got fired long ago after the Seagate Experiments became a public debacle during which prisoner Carl Lucas (Luke’s original name if you recall) escaped. The two villains had been after Power Man ever since.

Our heroes fight the pair of supervillains at a disadvantage, since they must also protect all the innocent bystanders while taking on the brothers.

Iron Fist and Colleen Wing defeat Discus, while Power Man defeats Stiletto (at left).

During the battle, one of the party guests that Power Man saves from being injured or killed is supermodel Harmony Young, who will soon become Luke Cage’s new girlfriend.

Luke and his longtime love interest Claire Temple break up this issue because she is exhausted with the risks and danger of being close to a man with Luke’s deadly enemies. Harmony Young (at right), on the other hand, is much more adventurous and will find it all thrilling and romantic.

NOTE: Cameo appearances are made by Amanda Sefton and Betsy Wilford, then the girlfriends of Nightcrawler and Colossus over at the X-Men. Chris Claremont was writing both X-Men and Power Man at the time. Amanda and Betsy briefly interact with Iron Fist during the battle scenes.

FOR IRON FIST’S EARLIEST 1970s STORIES CLICK HERE.

FOR POWER MAN’S EARLIEST 1970s STORIES CLICK HERE.

FOR MORE OF POWER MAN’S 1970s STORIES CLICK HERE.

FOR IRON FIST’S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE X-MEN CLICK HERE.