Hey all, it’s Michael T. Johnson,
your Basic Superhero back again after a bit of an absence. Don’t think I’ve
been resting on my haunches, I’ve been prepping my next viewer log series. But, somehow, I think Iron Fist needs a little more love then my next viewer log series.
Before I start on the meat of this show, I will say that I am NOT going
into the controversy around the casting choices of Iron Fist. That’s for people that are better educated, or more
accurately more interested, in the subject of racial inequality. I’m here to
talk about Superheroes. Let’s get to it.
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| Shabby Rand. |
We open to a shabby looking young
man walking around barefoot in Manhattan. This is Danny Rand, he’s back in town
after being believed dead for fifteen years. He heads for the Rand Enterprises
building, somehow expecting a warm welcome. He asks the front desk lady to get
him in contact with Harold Meachum, his father’s former partner. She nods, and
Danny believes the obvious lie that she’ get in contact with him. A moment
later, the security staff of RE forcefully toss Danny from the building. Not
one to be deterred, Danny tries to sneak in. They catch him, but are taken out
by Danny’s superior martial arts skills. He knocks the guys around, and makes
it to the elevator. Unfortunately, he can’t get it to work. Thankfully, a
business woman arrives a moment later and show that you need a special pass to
get the elevator to run. Because she apparently has no peripheral vision, Danny
is able to use her pass and goes for the top floor.
He makes it to the top floor, but
doesn’t meet Harold in the executive office. Instead, he meets Ward and Joy
Meachum, his former childhood friends and current directors of RE. Neither
believe that Danny is who he says he is. Not surprising, really. They do let
him know that Harold died almost fifteen years-ago. For some reason. Why would you tell the person you think is
insane about family history? The security team arrives and force Danny out. On
the elevator ride, he has a flashback to the plane crash. It was rather traumatic,
as his mother was sucked out of the plane before crashing. After being thrown
out on the street, again, Danny starts exploring town. He goes back to his old
house, and tries to get inside. When the old hide-a-key doesn’t work, he uses
his ninja skills to climb the fire escape. Inside, he learns that Joy is the
current occupant. While exploring this strange but familiar home, he flashes
back again. He and the Meachums played monopoly on the roof. Ward is a dick
then, shocking, I know. Joy gets home, and just barely misses Danny.
That night, Danny finds a nice tree
to camp out next to. He meets Big Al, a local homeless man. Al offers to look
stuff up online for Danny, using an Iphone he ‘acquired.’ Al looks up Harold
Meachum and Danny Rand, and confirms to Danny that they’re both believed dead.
Al let’s Danny where he could go to get some free shoes, and spouts some
insanity. Danny is as kind as he can be, and realizes that he has been coming
across as a crazy person.
 |
| Not the best way to wake up. |
The next day, he approaches Joy
again. He tries to get her to listen but she’s still not willing to listen. He
runs off when Joy threatens to call the cops, and is nearly run over by a taxi.
Danny leaps over it, and keeps running. He goes to central park again, and
starts doing some martial arts katas to meditate. A passing woman, Colleen
Wiig, believes he’s some kind of street performer and gives him some money. He
tries to return it, and notes that she’s hanging posters for Martial Arts
lessons. He tries to see if she’ll give him a job, but she obviously thinks he’s
insane and blows him off.
With the Meachums, Joy tells her
brother about her latest encounter with Danny. She wants to talk to Danny, just
to know for sure if maybe, just maybe, he isn’t insane. Ward blows it off,
thinking it’s a setup to screw with RE’s latest business dealings. A few hours
later, Danny hops into Ward’s car and kind of kidnaps Ward. He tries to get him
to listen, and is a little “aggravated” that no one is willing to hear him out.
Danny disarms Ward when he pulls a gun, and demands to know whatever Ward knows
about the plane crash. Ward only tells him what Danny already knows, further
frustrating him. When Danny goes to leave, Ward promises that this isn’t over.
To which Danny replies, “Oh, I know.” In the park, Danny runs into Al again. He
gives Danny some food he scrounged, and lets Danny know a little about his
world view. Al blames all of life’s problems on people abandoning the
hunter-gatherer system. Not crazy at all.
Danny tracks down Colleen again, at
her Dojo. He wants to challenge the Dojo’s master, but Colleen isn’t interested
in fighting. Danny again asks for a job, but she turns him down when he claims
he was trained in K’un-Lun. Not because she knows anything about it, but because
once again, Danny comes across as crazy. When Danny goes to leave, she does
give him some ratty old shoes. What a nice lady. Outside, Danny is attacked by
goons. He beats the snot out of one of them, and sees they’re the security team
from RE. He makes a run for it, with the security goons, and Colleen with her
sword, not far behind. He escapes to Chinatown, where they’re throwing Chinese
New Year. Maybe. Danny takes all the goons out, and forces one of the guards to
let him know the obvious, that Ward sent the guys to take him out.
 |
| Sad we won't see this costume this season. |
Ward, upon learning of the failure
of his men, calls someone. He tells the guy that they have a situation, and is
forced to meet his confidant. It’s revealed that the man on the other end of
the call is Harold Meachum, very much alive and living in a penthouse. Harold isn’t
so dismissive of Danny’s story, and wants to know if Danny’s really who he says
he is, and where the heck he’s been.
At around the same time, Danny runs
into Al again. Sadly, Al seems to have OD on heroin. Danny covers him with his
coat, and says a little prayer over the poor homeless man. The following
morning, Danny sneaks into RE again and goes to Joy’s office. He tells her
about Ward’s attempt on his life, but she’s not completely willing to believe
that. She does let him tell his story over tea. He starts the story, but starts
passing out. Joy drugged the tea, obviously. He walks up in a mental hospital chained
to a bed. Sad way to end this first episode.
I liked this first episode. It’s a bit
of a slower burn then Daredevil, Jessica
Jones, or Luke Cage. It’s a good
ten to fifteen minutes before we see some of Danny’s martial arts skills, and
nothing of his legendary/titular Iron Fist. I will say that it’s pretty insane
that Danny seemed to think that his plan to just walk into Rand Enterprises and
be welcomed back. You’ve been gone fifteen years; Bruce Wayne was missing for
half that time in Batman: Begins and
believed dead. Just saying. It was rather surprising to see the narrator guy
from 300 as Harold Meachum. Didn’t
seen that coming. Also, didn’t see the whole “ending in a mental ward,” thing
come either. It’s been a rough week back home, eh, Danny? Hope he’ll be free
soon, smacking some evil Ninja’s around. See you next time, folks.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Immortalironfist.jpg
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