Seven Capitals of Heaven and the Great Tournament
Seven cities that exist everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Each of them puts their representative to the tournament. Warriors face each other in a fight for glory, honor and the order of their city in the Heavenly Mechanism. Whoever wins, will ensure a connection with Earth of his own capital. Is only this description strongly associated with the movies from the Mortal Kombat series ?
For Danny, the Immortal Iron Fist, a real challenge. As a representative of K’un-Lun, he must compete with Fat Cobra, Fiancée of the Nine Spiders, First Psubrat, Beautiful Daughter of a Tiger, Prince of Orphans and his nemesis Steel Husband (i.e. ‘un-Zi – another heaven capital). As you can probably guess, each fighter has a different fighting style and has very specific – often supernatural, of course – abilities.
The tournament – although very spectacular – is in fact only a background for the political game. When we add personal issues to it, i.e. the conflict between Danny and Davos, we get a truly explosive mixture. So expect cheating, knives stuck in the back and dirty (or even strictly prohibited by the regulations) plays. Who will be the winner of the Grand Tournament? Unfortunately, you will have to find out for yourself the answer to this question, reaching for the comic book Immortal Iron Fist vol. 2. Seven Capitals of Heaven .
The story of the Iron Fist
Thanks to the Seven Capitals of Heaven, readers can learn more about the history of the Iron Fists. Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction present the legends of the past Iron Fists from scratch in their scripts, making readers aware that no one is perfect – not even the legendary defenders of K’un-Lun. While the stories of all the fighters are interesting, in my opinion Orson Randall had the most interesting of them. His adventures alongside his friends (Group of Dangerous People) can be associated with Indiana Jones, for example, which is undoubtedly an added value. Just close your eyes and imagine an adventurer who has kung fu in one finger. A recipe for having fun when it looks like!
I also like the way Danny Rand learns about his predecessors. Namely, the stories are told to him by the former comrade Orson Randall, a certain Ernst Erskin, who settled in France. It is extremely interesting that each of the adventures was illustrated by a different cartoonist, which gives the story a specific atmosphere. In my opinion, this treatment is very interesting, mainly due to its form and aesthetic value. It is also worth mentioning that the artists had much more room to show off, reaching for a whole range of techniques and graphic styles. In the scenarios of the stories I mentioned, representatives of the Seven Capitals of Heaven appear, which in turn translates into the coherence of the comic.
Old Masters and Modern Iron Fists
The story of the Iron Fist brings us to the legend of Wu Ao-Shi and Bei Bang-Wen. As a result, readers find that the heroes of the past also had flaws, and that their path to enlightenment was often difficult and bumpy. As they say, per aspera ad astra (Latin through hardships, to the stars). We will also read here some stories about Orson Randall. Danny Rand’s fans will also not be disappointed. As in the case of the previous volume, we are dealing here with interesting – a bit adventurous – scenarios and a combination of different graphic styles. Therefore, on the comic boards, readers can admire both a modern line and a blaze of bright colors from the nineties (anyone who has read classic comics about Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four knows what I’m talking about).
Thanks to the presentation of the adventures of Iron Fist operating over the centuries, we can observe how the concept of a warrior has changed over the years. The former kung fu masters were usually enlightened people, although at the beginning of their journey they were far from being Buddha. And you, dear readers, what version do you like best? Ancient warriors or adventurers with weapons?
Summary
The Immortal Iron Fist series in the first three volumes provided me with several hours of unleavened, albeit interesting, entertainment. A definite advantage of comic books is the variety of graphics and stories about the past. Thanks to this, the story of the Iron Fist is multidimensional and addictive. With a clear conscience, I recommend the albums released by Mucha Comics to all those who in the nineties and early 2000s watched films showing the fate of kung-fu masters, karate fighters, ninjas, Thai boxers and other warriors with a flushed face. However, I am sure that the modern reader will also find something interesting here.
