Iron Fist #3 Review

Written by: Alyssa Wong
Art by: Michael Yg, Sean Chen, Victor Olazaba, Keith Champagne, Don Ho
Colors by: Jay David Ramos
Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover art by: Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 18, 2022

Iron Fist #3 hits the family where it hurts when we learn Lin Lei’s brother has a nefarious plan while Yang Yi and Mei Min have parental problems of their own.

Was It Good?

Iron Fist #3 is a generally serviceable entry in the character’s reboot arc with plenty of action, unsurprising revelations (unsurprising because they were spoiled in previous issues), and generally good art. It’s neither terrible nor great, but simply serviceable.

Picking up from the last issue, we already know Lin Lei’s brother, Lin Feng, is working to set the Destroyer free. Through a flashback to a time when the brothers were still kids, we get the hint that Lin Feng’s betrayal may have been caused by the Destroyer’s evil influence (possession?) years ago. The backstory surrounding the brothers’ relationship and what led to Lin Feng’s betrayal works well enough, albeit without any shocking moments or true surprises since the brother’s turn to evil was already spoiled in the previous issue.

Now, Lin Leit feels a strong pull on the shards in his hands back to the puzzle box that contains the sword shards. the group races back to the house to find Yang Yi’s and Mei min’s father transformed into a massive demon. We already knew he was some kind of monster in the first issue, but now we see him in his full demonic glory. His demon form is a bit confusing since the monster we see now looks very different than the monster we saw in the first issue, but that consistency error could be due to the small army of artists brought in to keep this title going.

We’ve previously noted that a large group of artists is a red flag for potential art inconsistency. There’s some inconsistency here when comparing the visuals in the last act to the rest of the book, but it’s not so bad as to be offputting.

Lin Lei and friends confront the fake father demon and take him out with martial arts heroics, courtesy of Lin Lei forcing a powerful but painful power upgrade.

Besides the lack of surprises, you get an increasing lack of anything related to K’un-Lun, Shou-Lao the Undying, or the legend/purpose/mission of the Iron Fist. The further this arc moves along, the less it looks like an Iron Fist story and the more it looks like a reboot of the Sword Master series with a new title.

Bits and Pieces

The art in Iron Fist #3 is generally good (ignoring the style inconsistencies). The story gets the job done with adequate emotional beats and no surprises. And the end result is a passable martial arts story with mystical elements, none of which have any connection to K’un-Lun or the legend of the Iron Fist.