Power Man and Iron Fist #85 (1982)
"The Fury Below"
Writer: Denny O'Neil
Artists: Keith Pollard
Another from the "Big Store With Shitloads of One Dollar Comics".
It's not intentional, but I seem to be picking up alot of old 1982 comics. I started to really
get into comic collecting in 1984, which is why I'm not missing much from 1984 to 2005.
The early 80's junk is a cheap way to fill in my collection, without getting gouged. I probably
wouldn't buy this stuff and pay 5 bucks for shipping if it was on eBay, but
for a buck I can't pass.
Power Man and Iron Fist were an unusual bunch. Luke Cage, the original
Hero for Hire, was joined in his series by Danny Rand the Iron Fist, a hero
spawned by Marvel's mid-70's kung fu craze. Usually a trivia question, they're
often written off as relics of the 70's. For instance, both run around in open shirts...
what else can you say?
This episode opens in midtown Manhattan, as Luke and Danny are strolling
along the streets in their costumes. Iron Fist with his little ballerina shoes,
and Power Man with his chain belt and metal headband. But hey, it's New York.
You could wear that ensemble in NYC today and you wouldn't look too out-of-place.
A hysteric trucker suddenly loses control
of his rig and crashes into a building. The guys save him, but he's spooked out of
his brain. In one of those Amazing Comicbook Coincedences, Luke and Danny just
happened to be on the way to talk their new client-- the owner of this
particular trucking company. Turns out, there's
been a rash of sinking trucks out west. Trucks have disappearing into the ground.
It's hurting morale and business. After some fisticuffs with
striking truckers, Luke and Danny agree to become temporary truckers themselves
and discover the Enigma of the Disappearing Trucks!
Danny mentions that he doesn't know how to drive, so Luke gives him a crash course.
They head out west and even stop at a roadside restaurant.
I suppose there's no harm in thinking that it's a Stuckey's.
Luke asks for "coffee. Black..how else would I want it?". Oh, then I guess
Iron Fist should ask for a VANILLA MILKSHAKE, huh? A couple of local rednecks
give the guys grief, which leads to a quick pummeling from Power Man.
|
| Heroes for Haulin' (and lots of black ink)
|
They continue hauling their loads, when Danny notices that Luke's truck
has disappeared into the road, swallowed by a giant sinkhole! Underground
shenanigans ensue. The guys are separated in the underground catacombs, with
Danny facing some familiar pasty-yellow flunkies and Luke facing a
lava deathtrap. That's the thing I like about underground stories..molten
lava's always about 10 feet under the surface.
|
| Iron Fist pushes, and clicks down to activate "Close Combat Expert", while Mole Man plays his "Taunt" card
|
Luke finds the missing truckers--all behaving themselves in a giant cage. Meanwhile,
Danny's found the mastermind behind the engenious truck sinking plan, the Mole
Man. Iron Fist gets the best of Moley and his flunkies with about five pages
of Moloid whuppin'. We see that Mole Man's been busy
as he's thought to finish the entire subterranean area with tile, metal support beams
and overhead lights. Danny even finds
the well-marked hidden switch to save Luke and the truckers from
the lava deathtrap. Mole Man escapes, but his operations have been thwarted and
the truckers have been saved. As the story ends, Luke decides to head back to the restaurant for some more heart-to-heart discussions with the locals.
Of course, the actual
stolen trucks were never recovered...but you can fill in the blanks for your
own explanation. If Mole Man was simply stealing the trucks for raw materials,
why didn't he just break into a hardware store?
 |
| "It must be them!"
|
Seems to be alot of hassle
to wait for a truck to come along and collapse the road, when
you could just burrow into the Home Depot and get a motherload of crap. Okay,
so Home Depot wasn't around in 1982...then maybe ACE Hardware, TrueValue, 84 Lumber, Handy Dan's
or Hugh M. Woods. That would seem like a more reasonable use of
Mole Man tactics and subterranean flunkies. But hey, I'm not
going to argue with a squatty big-nosed fucker with blue glasses, a stick and a green
bathrobe. Also, wouldn't the truckers have seen the previous sinkholoes created
by the Mole Man?
Fun, self-contained story. The Heroes for Hire pose as truckers and
fight the villain. He's a fairly recognizable villain, too. It's a strange
matchup, since Mole Man usually fought the Fantastic Four. Power Man and Iron Fist
were typically matched up with more "street level" villains-- like Chemistro, Nightshade,
the Eel or leftover Spider-Man rogues. It's an unusual matchup and an unusual plot.
Trucking was still fairly popular in the early 80's. The trend started in the 70's, with
the big CB radio craze and movies like "Convoy". It straddled into the 80's, with more
junk like "BJ, the Bear and the 7 Lady Truckers" (would female truckers
be considered "ladies"??) and US1 Electric Trucking. Don't laugh..
my big Christmas present in 1982 was a US1 set. It was similar to
TYCO's popular slotcar racing sets...but it featured BIG TRUCKS and nifty
loading/unloading gadgets. It was even adapted into a Marvel mini-series.
It's fun to look back now and think "what the HELL were we thinking"?
But I still have my US1 set and it's.... kinda' engaging (c'mon, big trucks, a spinning
airport, a log loading bulldozer and a flashing tow truck are ALWAYS fun!!)
Power Man and Iron Fist are still around today. Both have been part of
failed revisions, but still have a cult following. The duo were
included in this year's HeroClix Fantastic Forces release! Power Man, of course, is currently shacking up
with Marvel Flavor Du Jour Jessica Jones and has landed a spot in
highly succesful New Avengers. Iron Fist seems to have a mini-series or
guestspot every other year. I'm sure there are numerous Internet comic message board
petitions for "bring back Iron Fist".
I also noticed that these two characters have never been animated (literally).
They're probably two of the more recognizable Marvel superheroes to never appear on TV.
Unusual, when you consider guys like the Rocket Racer, Prowler, Quicksilver and
the Falcon have all appeared on TV at one time.
 |
| Heroes for Huggin'
|
The series itself was different from Marvel's usual superhero antics.
The guys had public indentities and referred to each other as "Danny" and
"Luke". They come off as friends, rather than teammates. Compare it to longtime teammates, such
as Cyclops and Iceman, or Hawkeye and Captain America, who don't come off as "friends". "Two Buddies
with Wacky Costumes Who Punch People" would have been an acceptable alternate billing
for Power Man and Iron Fist. This is a fun comic that, unfortunately, wouldn't work today.
Summary: Super Truckers fight the Mole Man.
Cover price: .60
Rating: 1.25
Comment about this article. Hit the Message Board, or
Contact Me!
Back to Tales of the Bargain Bin index
Back to Comics index
