THE REAL KARATE KID by Dave Goode

Back in 1984 when I 1st heard there was going to be a Karate Kid movie I wondered how the other
members of the Legion of Super-Heroes of the 30th Century were going to fit in it. Of course I was to
find out the movie had nothing to do with the Silver Age hero.

Karate Kid would appear in Adventure Comics No.346 (July 1966) in a story that also introduced Ferro
Lad , Nemesis Kid and Princess Projectra. Created by teenage writer Jim Shooter Karate Kid was an
expert at all forms of hand- to -hand combat known in the 30th century. Now add into the equation that
as a member of the LoSH he was a teenager.

So he mastered all these forms of combat before he was
20. Batman having mastered 127 martial arts doesn't seem so implausible compared to this.
He was also the master of "super karate". Which was more or less super tameshiwari. So like Magnus,
Robot Fighter at Gold Key ,Karate Kid was able to smash steel with shuto blows. Only he never called
it smashing or breaking.

He almost always said he was going to "karate" something. This really wasn't
that strange. Karate was still relatively new to Americans in the 60s. And in other comics of the period
when someone was drawn using a "karate chop" it was usually accompanied by a thought balloon in
which they were saying they were using karate. Otherwise it looked like they were simply slapping
someone.

By the end of the Silver Age Karate Kid's techniques looked more realistic and diverse.

As if someone
on the creative staff started buying Black Belt magazine. During the Bronze Age Karate Kid got a name
(Val Armorr) ,a new costume (I'm sure I wasn't the only one who hated the original) and an origin. He
would also get his own series in 1976 that ran for 15 issues. Not DC's greatest marketing move.Giving
their ready-made martial arts hero his own series at the tail-end of the martial arts movie fad. Duh.
Oh yeah.That 1984 Karate Kid movie that had nothing to do with the comic book hero? Well in the end
credits there's a shout out to DC Comics for their letting them use the name Karate Kid.

Speaking of karate, Goode Guy Comics, publisher of JUDO COMICS, presents our latest creation....
EL TIGRE