Could There Have Been Too Many Ideas?

It hasn't been reflected in my posting of late, but I am still going through my collection, rereading some comics, removing others, debating removing others, and so on. One of the things I've been rereading was the issues of Immortal Iron Fist that came out prior to this year, because things do flow more smoothly when I read several issues in a row*. The thing is, as I've been reading the Tournament of the Heavens arc in its entireity, I can't help noticing things went a little off the rails as it went along.

Not that it was a bad arc, more that Fraction and Brubaker kept adding so many additional ideas to the mix that the original primary arc was lost in the shuffle. Originally, Danny arrives in K'un-Lun for the Tournament of the Heavens, and he's going to have to fight these other Immortal Weapons, because his city's standing is on the line, as the losing city** will somehow be barred from connecting with Earth for 50 years, rather than the usual 10. Of course, Davos is there representing another city, and Danny has to worry about his connection to the abduction of Jeryn, and why Davos and HYDRA were taking over his company.

Except then we learn about the bargain that was struck between Orson Randall's father and Yu-Ti, and the Randall Gate that was the result. We also learn that the Thunderer is training a secret army to overthrow the Yu-Ti. We further learn that Xao, who has thus far appeared to be a unwilling toady of Davos', someone who responds to the Steel Phoenix' bullying by threatening Jeryn's mother, has a personal grudge against K'un-Lun all his own, independent of, certainly Davos, but also possibly the Crane Mother***.

Suddenly, the Tournament goes flying out the window. The battle royale mentioned in one of the solicits that was to take place between the losers, never materializes. No winner is ever declared, because as of the last fight we saw (Prince of Orphans laying the Jawsnapper in Twilight on Davos), there were still three contests (Prince of Orphans, Fat Cobra, Bride of Spiders) that hadn't lost yet. Instead, all the Immortal Weapons band together to fight Xao and HYDRA. Even Davos helps out.

Which is all very well and good, except it's not quite where the story seemed to be headed originally. So here's the thing: a couple months back I yammered on about how I noticed that Danny never had a rematch with the Mecha-Gorgon that so badly trounced him in Immortal Iron Fist #1. I mentioned that instead, Davos easily destroys it himself, which establishes him as Danny's opponent. Except they don't get to have their big showdown, because Prince of Orphans humbles Davos first, but then we find out Prince of Orphans is an ally of Danny's. It's a Russian nesting dolls of opponents, with the conclusion being that Danny's ultimate opponent was a train loaded with explosives. Likewise, Davos and the Crane Mother are pushed aside as threats for Xao and Yu-Ti.

So I'm left uncertain about the whole thing. Is it a case where Brubaker and Fraction just really enjoy playing bait-and-switch with us? Or is it a case of them having so many ideas they wanted to put out there before they departed, that they overloaded the story arc? The second one holds a certain appeal, but I think it has to be the first, since their work on the title was largely about Danny learning things about himself that he didn't realize, like his not being the first Iron Fist. He learns his Heavenly City isn't heavenly for everyone. He learns his Heavenly City isn't the only one, that Lei Kung isn't completely loyal to the Yu-Ti, on and on. It's a series of revelations to him, new problems, new questions. And ultimately, Danny's able to triumph where K'un-Lun meets Earth, not just by having the best kung-fu, but by who he is, that he can make friends, that he can inspire trust in people used to staying in the shadows, or in people that should be his rivals or enemies.

* In particular, I had an easier time keeping track of how different characters were related, as well as the chronology of certain events.

** There are 7 cities, how do you determine who the loser is anyway? There can only be one winner, so aren't the other six all losers? Seems like too risky of a proposition for the leaders to agree too. I guess the loser was who got eliminated first from the battle royale of losers.

*** I include the Crane Mother because the Prince of Orphans mentioned that if K'un-Lun gets blown up while all the cities are joined, then it endangers all those other cities as well, which I imagine must include K'un-Zi, the Crane Mother's home.