Iron Fist #14 (1977)
by Chris Claremont & John Byrne
cover by Dave Cockrum & Al Milgrom
I’m fairly sure that 99% of Wolverine fans are not aware that Sabretooth started out as an Iron Fist villain. And that at least 95% of X-Men fans are not aware this series exists.
We begin in Canada, where Iron Fist and his katana-wielding friend Colleen Wing are being sniped.
Their would-be assassins decide to let the harsh environment kill them. And considering Iron Fist’s costume is definitely not suitable for snow-covered mountains, I can’t blame them.
Colleen is a certified badass, but even if the shot wasn’t fatal she’s still out of commission.
Got to love Iron Fist being disappointed that the snipers left because he was looking forward to beating them up!
After a flashback that is not relevant to this story, Iron Fist brings Colleen to a shack and shows her a way to avoid death by teaching her some Bulls##t Kung-Fu.
This is the framing device for ANOTHER flashback, which is relevant. But which also showcases why Claremont was famous for his well-written women, as demonstrated by Colleen’s conversation with Iron Fist about his love interest Misty Knight.
Once they get to Canada, they’re soon captured by Sabretooth himself! Who is apparently already famous enough for Colleen to recognize him.
The reason why Iron Fist and Colleen are here are, again, not important to this story. But it is interesting to see Sabretooth working exclusively for money here… it’s not something you normally associate with the character.
Iron Fist and Colleen almost immediately break free! Told you she’s a badass.
Iron Fist is no slouch, though, managing to hold off Sabretooth long enough to allow their escape.
That concludes the flashback, and the duo finds some much-needed thermal clothes. Luckily they also find what seems to be the only woman working for the henchmen.
Now they can infiltrate the enemy base to rescue their friend.
I’m usually extremely skeptical of all the “Claremont always planned everything from the very beginning” stuff, but… he can’t possibly have created an animal-themed Canadian supervillain with enhanced senses who says “bub” and NOT have planned a Wolverine connection.
Meanwhile Colleen has managed to free some of her allies…
This leads to a fight between Iron Fist and Sabretooth.
Wolverine fans might think Iron Fist would be no match for Sabretooth, and normally they’d be wrong. But in a surprising bit of realism, turns out that going several days without true rest and then barely surviving a blizzard is not great for your body.
But after the fight gets interrupted by an explosion that takes out Sabretooth’s helicopter, he makes an unexpected move: he leaves!
Iron Fist really should’ve paid attention to the cover, because Sabretooth tricked him into being snow-blinded by the rising sun.
I’m so used to villains playing this kind of trick against Daredevil that it’s refreshing to see it actually work!
Iron Fist COULD end the fight with one… uhm, Iron Fist… but this is so early in his career that he can’t do it whenever he wants.
Naturally Iron Fist ends up being able to fight anyway by concentrating on the sound Sabretooth makes.
Iron Fist thinking that his behavior follows the psychology of a real sabretooth tiger got a chuckle out of me. How the heck would HE know!?
And so we end with Sabretooth being defeated and Iron Fist somehow avoiding pneumonia.
Historical significance: 3/10
Easily skippable in Sabretooth’s history.
Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Not really.
Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
This series (which ends in the following issue) deserves more recognition. It’s Claremont and Byrne at their very best in a classic adventure series with A LOT of character and charm.
How close is this to the modern character? 4/10
While I’m not too familiar with Sabretooth’s evolution, his behavior is more human than most of his incarnations. He also doesn’t have his healing factor and his animal senses don’t seem to be that important. And of course he’s just working for money.
Still, the costume remains his default look for a long time, and we’re definitely sold on him being a ruthless killing machine.
Sabretooth is firmly established as an Iron Fist villain for more time than people realize.
His second appearance is three years later, in 1980’s Power Man & Iron Fist #66. Teaming up with Constrictor, of all villains!!!
He is DEFINITELY less human now.
He shows up again in the series in 1982. That’s when he attacks Luke Cage’s girlfriend Harmony, thinking that she’s Iron Fist’s girlfriend Misty Knight.
The problem is that Misty is a cyborg adventurer, but Harmony is not a fighter at all.
Surprisingly brutal for the times!
Now this feels more like Sabretooth.
After this you WOULD expect Sabretooth to become Luke Cage’s nemesis, but instead he next appears in 1986 on Spectacular Spider-Man #116.
That’s where Peter David reveals he used to be a student of The Foreigner.
This reunion happens when the Black Cat has just robbed The Foreigner, so Sabretooth decides to hunt her down.
Incidentally, Black Cat stole the golden notebook that Spider-Man took from his Secret Wars II tie-in. Told you that thing stays relevant for a while!
Going after Black Cat means a fight with Spider-Man, and this issue proves without a doubt that Sabretooth was not originally supposed to have a healing factor.
Especially since in his next appearance, three issues later, he’s STILL in the hospital for the wounds which have not healed yet.
But it’s Black Cat, in her most ridiculous costume ever, that defeats him in what is probably one of the most brutal and satisfying beatdowns of the 80s.
Also: this has nothing to do with anything, but this issue has one of my absolute favorite Peter David jokes and I just HAD to show it.
It’s not until 1987 that Claremont brings the character to the mutant titles, on Uncanny X-Men #213. That’s the first time Claremont writes him since the first story.
Which means that for TEN YEARS following his creation Sabretooth only fought Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Spider-Man and Black Cat!!!
Sabretooth is, of course, a perfect match for a Wolverine villain. And I get why he doesn’t get to fight Spider-Man or Iron Fist again… the former already has way too many animalistic villains, and the latter is more problematic after Sabretooth’s power creep.
But it IS kind of weird that Sabretooth is never brought up as a Luke Cage villain, right? Especially after Luke’s revival? Sabretooth mutilated his girlfriend!!! Yeah she got better, because comics, but still…
I imagine Sabretooth never became a regular Cage villain because it’s a laughably bad match. Cage is stronger and his skin too tough for Sabretooth’s claws . Unless Sabretooth goes for the eyes and Cage is foolish enough to let him, Sabretooth’s not much more than a punching bag for Cage.
And… I have to say I never really enjoyed the Iron Fist solo series. Simply because of the second-person narration. I find it a somewhat annoying gimmick.
Doesn’t Sabretooth get Adamantium claws at some point? That would probably be dangerous for Luke.
Peter David’s humor never gets old. My personal favorite is a joke he told (using the characters as the tellers) in the last issue (or one of the last issues) of the New Universe’s Justice series. I’d repeat it, but it’s very visual, and I can’t seem to find an image of the panels on line at the moment. All of his books had those moments to some degree, but I loved how over-the-top his humor was in Young Justice, all the while keeping it a book with serious super-hero action, great characterization, and the occasional emotional gut-punch.
Interesting coincidence how you mention Sabretooth trying a trick that works on Iron Fist that others have unsuccessfully tried on Daredevil, considering that Iron Fist stood in for Daredevil for a while.
Is it the cat joke you are referring to? Loved it and still use it.
Yes!! So glad I’m not the only one!
A quick look at Sabretooth’s early record: 2 losses to Iron Fist (the first of which IF was blind and Sabretooth went down screaming like a little girl), a loss to Luke Cage (who nearly killed him), a loss to Misty Knight (who crippled him with a punch), a loss to Spider-man, a draw with Daredevil, and a brutal loss to the Black cat.
Sabretooth has always been the most overrated lamo-villain. I think he switched to Wolverine because Wolvie was the only hero he could beat.