In this feature we examine comic book stories and ideas that were not only abandoned, but also had the stories/plots specifically "overturned" by a later writer (as if they were a legal precedent). Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of The Abandoned An' Forsaked. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.
Today, we take a look at how John Byrne spent about two years' worth of Namor retconning the last year or so of Power Man and Iron Fist, including the death of Iron Fist!
Christopher Priest (then Jim Owsley) took over Power Man and Iron Fist with #111, where he introduced an interesting new character known as Captain Hero, who was actually a young boy...
Even more surprising is the revelation that the young boy has only a few months to live...
A few issues later, Iron Fist was exposed to some serious levels of radiation and began suffering from a deadly case of radiation poisoning. He and Power Man headed to K'un-Lun to see if they could cure Iron Fist mystically in a storyline in #118-120 that also involves longtime Iron Fist enemy Master Khan.
They manage to do so, but only by unlocking a dark force within Iron Fist...
In the end, they save Danny's soul and he is seemingly cured...
However, the red suit still comes out when Danny gets angry. That is the status quo for the next few issues, which takes us to Power Man and Iron Fist #125, where Bobby takes a turn for the worse...
Eventually Bobby is seemingly healed through the use of the Nega Bands (after Iron Fist used his mystical healing energies to keep Bobby alive until the Nega Bands solution was discovered)...
But later that night, Luke Cage leaves...
And while Luke is absent, Bobby wakes up in tremendous pain and is near death. He is so distraught that he ends up accidentally killing Iron Fist...
So that was the end of the series. Power Man on the run and Iron Fist dead.
Meanwhile, Priest had introduced a new supporting character - a cop named Tyrone King. You saw him above. He was a mysterious guy.
At the end of the issue, he is blown up, but...
Ooooh...mysterious!
So this was the status quo for a surprisingly long time, over FOUR years! I think various writers intended to resolve the story at one point or another, but ultimately it came down to John Byrne in the pages of Namor.
Here, in #8, Iron Fist seemingly returns!
After a bunch of issues, it is revealed that "Danny" is really the Super Skrull!!
Misty believes Danny must still be alive somehow...
And a couple of issues later, Tyrone King shows her she is correct...
Then in Namor #24, we see the whole deal revealed. It is actually pretty damn crazy. The whole THING was a plot by Master Khan!!
Khan was working with the plant people, but he later reveals he betrayed them...
(Eventually Namor re-discovers himself and kills Khan)
So...yeah, the last 10 issues or so of Power Man and Iron Fist starred THREE people who weren't who they said they were! Captain Hero, Tyrone King AND Iron Fist!
Well, at least Iron Fist was back now! By the way, he was still dying of the radiation poisoning (since the fake Iron Fist replaced him before #118) but he cured himself while being held in stasis by the plant people.