Issue(s): Power Man & Iron Fist #59, Power Man & Iron Fist #60
Cover Date: Oct - Dec 79
Title: "Big Apple bomber" / "The terrorist manifesto!"
Credits:
Mary Jo Duffy - Writer
Trevor Von Eeden / Marie Severin - Penciler
Alan Gordon / Stephen Leialoha - Inker

Review/plot:
Colleen shows up for a dinner date with Misty and Danny. They stop at Danny's place first, where he's attacked by a martial arts master that turns out to be Danny's friend and sparring partner Bob Diamond, of the Sons of the Tiger. He beats Iron Fist but Colleen nearly cuts his leg off before Iron Fist tells her to stop.

At the Ducal Cellar restaurant, which is actually the top floor of a giant skyscraper, Danny's old acquaintance Alan Cavenaugh, the former IRA terrorist, shows up, looking shifty. Danny invites him in to share his table (to the anger of Misty, who especially doesn't like bombers because of what happened to her arm), but he gets nervous and leaves. Soon after, a bomb goes off, with an accompanying fire that prevents the restaurant patrons from leaving.

Luke hears about the bombing on the radio and rushes to help out.

After everyone is safely evacuated, Misty directs police lieutenant Rafael Scarfe to arrest Cavenaugh.

But we learn a valuable lesson in this comic. Irish terrorists are ok. Arab terrorists are the real bad guys.

Actually, that's not really fair either. Duffy actually gives us a more morally complicated plot. Princess Azir of Halwan, sometime friend of Iron Fist, is revealed to be part of a cruel autocracy. The 'terrorists' are really rebels trying to overthrow the dictatorship. But Danny and Luke stop the bombers, leaving Azir and company in place. There's not a lot of real commentary on the problem, which i'll say is due to not wanting to be overt about it rather than neglect. I assume the story will be picked up in a later issue.

The scripting, on the other hand, is pretty clearly kind of... bad. At one point, trapped in the restaurant, Colleen says to Iron Fist... "Danny, you're a super hero. Can't you get us out of here?" In general, the dialogue is just a little too stiff and forced.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Colleen says that Scott (Summers) hasn't called her and that it must be because of something big.

References:

• Getting some bad press over the landlord incident from last issue, Luke Cage speculates that J. Jonah Jameson has had it in for Cage since he rejected the assignment to fight Spider-man in Amazing Spider-man #123.
  
• "For more about the Sons of the Tiger, see almost any issue of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu".
  
• Alan Cavenaugh first appeared in Iron Fist #5.
  
• The backstory of Misty's arm was shown in Iron Fist #6.
  
• The Halwan Ambassador says that in the past year, the Halwan embassy has been invaded by Thor, Havok, the Living Monolith and Luke and Danny. The references are to Marvel Team Up #69-70, and Power Man & Iron Fist #57.
  
• Iron Fist has known Halwan's Princess Azir since Marvel Premiere #24-45.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The title to #60 refers to "The Communist Manifesto".

loved duffy's run on this series.