Welcome back my fellow martial arts enthusiasts to the sitcom that is Val Armorr’s life, otherwise known as the Karate Kid!

The romance between Val and Iris heats up, while an unexpected Legionnaire shows up. And boy, is she not happy. So gee up! We got an issue to cover.

Pandemonium…Panic…Pulsar!

We continue where we left last issue with Pulsar laying waste to Washington Square Park. Karate Kid and Iris Jacobs manage to avoid the blast from his special staff but it quickly becomes apparent that Pulsar did not go to the park for some leisure activity and relaxation.

Pulsar finds the person he is looking for, a thug named Eddie. He tells Eddie that everything will be over very quickly when Karate Kid flies in, delivering a mighty kick to Pulsar’s jaw. Pulsar tells him to butt out but Karate Kid refuses. He then takes his staff and whacks him hard, putting Val off balance. But he is not the 30th Century’s most skilled martial artist for nothing, because he quickly rebounds and delivers a nifty two footed kick, responding in kind. Pulsar sneers at him and tells him, levels his staff at Karate Kid and shoots a very nasty beam of energy, hitting Kid square in the chest.

Eddie takes advantage of the distraction and manages to squirm away. However Pulsar notices and concentrates his beam on the building above, causing a nearby horse to bolt before its startled master can react. A circumstance that Eddie “the Lip” Vacarro fails to notice until it is slightly too late, and is run over by both horse and carriage. 

And as the wail of police sirens begins to fill the air around Washington Square Park, Val continues his chase of Pulsar and finds him rounding a corner, darting into a nearby alleyway. Pulsar finds himself secluded, albeit for a moment, and clicks the button on his special staff to change back into Benjamin Day. And just in time because Karate Kid catches up, only to believe that Pulsar simply vanished and without a trace. Two officers of New York’s finest also arrived and immediately put Val in handcuffs. They have yet another murder they can add onto the original charge.

But perhaps, officers, you should make sure of that previous charge first. For at this moment, in a basement room at the city morgue, two colleagues are discussing the newest body in their possession, an Emily Geichman, who was supposedly ‘offed’ by the super-hero Karate Kid. They make a comment on the rise of rental prices in the city and that would be enough to want to make their own landlady disappear, when Mrs. Geichman rises and gives them a hefty, ‘Hello Boys!’

The shock in the startled morgue attendants’ eyes is undeniable; their comments unprintable, and thus we move to a short time later to the office of Police Commissioner Banner, as Val Armorr, Karate Kid, is unceremoniously ushered in. 

Commission Banner stands defiantly and gloats. He tells the room that he cannot stand these new costumed heroes putting the law into their own hands and he is going to make an example of Val Armorr and he cannot wait to include this in his speech at the Convention of Police Officials later that night. He continues his gloating when Officer Hennessy enters with a report from the morgue that he needs to urgently read. Banner swipes the report from his hands and cannot believe what he is reading. The landlady is not dead, which means the charges have to be dropped.

But while Commissioner Banner rages in frustration, a time-weary Benjamin Day arrives at his suburban Long Island Home, where he is greeted by his wife who observes that he literally looks like death. Benjamin assures her that it is nothing a nice hot shower cannot not fix. However, his wife informs him that his shower will have to wait because he has a visitor. A Mr. Kade is in the den, wanting to speak with him. 

Suddenly there is no room for weariness in Benjamin Day’s eyes. Indeed, as he stalks the short distance to the mahogany-lined den, his narrowed lids show only anger. He storms in and confronts Mr. Kade whose lifeless eyes stare back at him. He thought they had a deal and that he would leave his family out of it. Mr. Kade agrees but informs him they just had no opportunity to reach him since he was in transit and they have another assignment for him.

Day will have none of it and reminds him that he, himself, is the hit-man and those assignments are contracts or at least they were, because Benjamin Day has killed his last man. Mr. Kade is amused, indeed if his cold, eyes of death could allow him express something like amusement, and as he takes out a mechanical switch device Day knows what his next question will be. Kade asks if he is correct in assuming that Benjamin Day would no longer care if he press this switch? For long seconds, the room crackles with the tension of barely-restrained menace only at last to wash calm with the stillness of defeat. Benjamin Day bows his head and asks who his next target it.

Time passes, as night comes to Manhattan Island, as police officials from every State flock to Madison Square Garden to attend their annual convention and to hear the wit and wisdom of Commission Earl Banner. Commission Banner is at the podium identifying organized crime to be the greatest threat as proven by the recent wave of executions carried out by the villain Pulsar. Luckily he has established an Anti-Crime Committee and will make Pulsar its prime target. But his speech is interrupted by a sudden burst of pulsed energy and Pulsar arrives at the scene to challenge that assertion.

Meanwhile, in a west side apartment building, order is being made as Mrs. Geichman, Karate Kid, and Iris Jacobs return to their apartment. Iris still cannot fathom what happened, and Mrs. Geichman can only recall the last thing she remembered; Turning on that weird TV Set of Val Armorr, which is the still mysterious floating metallic globe that has been appearing as of late. Val assures her he will have it checked out tomorrow. Suddenly a radio broadcast informs the trio of the attack on Commission Banner by Pulsar and that his chance for survival is slim. Karate Kid leaps into action and out the window, which seems to be a habit of his. Mrs. Geichman does wish he would use the stairs because if he should slip, she would have a lot of problems with the insurance company.  

And moments later, Karate Kid arrives meeting a group of police officers who are desperately trying to smash their way into the Lighting Control Room. Karate Kid asks them to step aside and delivers a mighty Karate kick, completely unhinging the massive steel door. He finds himself interrupting Pulsar who is currently telling the Commissioner that he wishes he did not have to kill, but there are other lives at stake. He promises Banner he will try to make it as painless as possible. 

Pulsar is startled and Karate Kid tells the rest of the police to stay back and that he can handle it. Pulsar and Val go into hand to hand combat, and Pulsar knows what he will lose if he does not go through with the contract. His overpowering belief that this is a matter of life and death allows Pulsar to deliver a swift kick to Val’s shin, stunning him. Commission Banner arrives and aims a gun at Pulsar and tells him he is under arrest. Pulsar easily blasts the gun away with his staff and finally sets his sights on the Commissioner, his intended target.

Karate Kid has since recovered and also senses that something is driving Pulsar so he better take him out fast. He charges, jumps in the air, and delivers a flying kick, hitting Pulsar, hitting him hard enough that he flies backward and against the control circuit board. Val rushes at him knowing that Pulsar will be electrocuted if he does not provide immediate assistance but the Commissioner pulls him back, telling him he will be electrocuted too. KK shakes him off and manages to deliver yet another kick, effectively pushing Pulsar away from the console just in time before it explodes.

Pulsar is surprised and cannot believe that Karate Kid would danger himself to save his life. But it does not matter because he is not the one to pay and grabs his staff and sprints out of the room only to be pursued by Karate Kid.

Karate Kid chases him outside of the building but once again Pulsar appears to have disappeared. However, he recognizes another person with a walking stick that was also at the scene in Washington Park. But before he can make a move he is interrupted by Commissioner Banner, who thanks him for saving his skin. He puts his hand out and Karate Kid is relieved and returns the gesture and gives him a hearty handshake. 

The night has grown old, leaving only the last races of a crescent moon to light a weary hero’s path home where he finds Iris Jacobs waiting in front of his building. He asks what she is doing there and she replies waiting for him. She tells him she was jealous of Princess Projectra but since she is still in the 30th Century there is one thing she cannot do from there, and she gives Karate Kid a passionate kiss. However, the kiss is interrupted by the lights suddenly turning on revealing none other than Princess Projectra. And boy, is she definitely not amused.

Next issue: As if our hero does not have enough trouble with two girlfriends, the perilous Pulsar returns! And this time his sights are on Karate Kid himself. Be here the first week in April!

Creative Team

I feel like I have been a bit too hard on this book lately, so I have decided to start with some of the positives.

First, David Michelinie is making an effort to instill some characterization in his villains, and we feel that tremendously with Benjamin Day. He does not want to kill but he has no choice and he is effectively at the mercy of the mysterious Mr. Kade. Though nothing new, it does make you wonder if there is not a simple hint of hesitation in Day that allows Karate Kid to escape throughout the story.

Also, it allows us to get a deeper insight into Val Armorr because he does show restraint. His thoughts tell us that he knows something else must be driving Pulsar and he needs to get to the bottom of it, which is harder to do than just kicking butt and taking names.

Secondly, we are finally seeing more of the supporting cast. Commissioner Banner was introduced in issue four and we have not seen much of him since, so it was nice that we were able to so here. Though he has not received much ‘screen time,’ the about face and him thanking Val is a nice resolution to his character arc. The only question that remains is will we see him again?

Thirdly, the relationship between Iris and Val is finally clarified. Were they romantic before this or were they not? We can infer that no one really made a move until now and it was Iris who did so. Plus we have the nice reveal at the end of Princess Projectra popping up and she is very much not amused. Drama indeed.

Finally, we are eight issues in and I think I can confirm that this book very much has a sitcom feel. We have a tight supporting cast who pop in and out, and we follow Val’s life and he goes from day to day interacting with his new world and in effect, every-day situations. I think I do like this approach and it does help the villain of the day trope not become too stale and unbearable. I do hope Michelinie pushes his supporting characters more to the front that will give us a better idea in Karate Kid as a character as he interacts with the supporting cast. But time will tell.

Okay, now for some complaints.

I have praised Ric Estrada and Joe Staton’s art for a while now, but this issue is where it has become very cartoony. I do think the cartoony feel distracted me too much from the plot and overall action. However, on the other hand, it is quite effective because you do get some really nice character depictions that might have been lost from a more traditional penciler and inker. The character design of Mr. Kade for instance is very well done and they convey his ice and coldness of being a ruthless mobster. But I do think the style does distract a little too often and I can see why a lot of people might not like it, as we will see in the letter’s page below. But I will admit that so far, the cartoony style does fit the vibe of the series and it does contribute a unique feel that separates it from the main book.

Finally, we are still no further into the mysterious globe, or the B-Plot. I am not sure where they are going with this, but if you were following this on a bi-monthly basis, the slow pacing of the B-Plot would probably be quite infuriating for you. And I think the slow burn of the book is what is killing it at the moment. Are we a sitcom? Fine, but let us commit to certain themes and make effective use of the seventeen pages allocated us to create something special and wrap things up in a timely manner. 

Is this as bad as the previous issue? I do not think so. The villain is interesting enough and the supporting characters were there to help support the drama. But after eight issues I still feel like we are not going anywhere and that needs to change soon.

Karate Comments

We have three letters this issue, which gives an interesting ‘State of the Union’ of sorts on the book.

The first up is from future comic book writer Mike W. Barr who praises the book and does a pretty nice job of doing so. In particular the two-parter Commander Blud storyline, which I do agree with. Interestingly enough he calls out Barry Jameson and flat out asks who he is. We already cleared this up in previous issues, but for those that are just joining us here, Barry Jameson was a pen-name for David Michelinie, the actual writer of this book. Michelinie developed the pen-name because the intention was for him to write the book with Paul Levitz who departed after the first issue.

Now that you are caught up, DC continues to stoke the flames of silliness so here is the response:

“Who is Barry Jameson? Hmmm…the controversy has been raging for months in Batman lettercols over who David V. Reed is. Dare I start another guessing game here in Karate Kid? Why not? If Bob Rozakis can get away with it, so can I! All right, send in your guesses readers. Is Barry Jameson really a) Jeanette Kahn b) Tom Snyder, c) Mick Jagger, d) S. Lee or e) all of the above? By the way, Bob, who IS David V. Reed? WH-A-A-A-T!?! He’s Barry Jameson?!?”

Okay, so who is David V. Reed? He was David Levine who ghosted under Bob Kane and created characters like Deadshot, and was writing the Batman books at the time. Here’s the Wikipedia entry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Vern_Reed. This must have been an inside joke probably referring that instead of Barry Jameson ghosting for another author, he is actually ghosting for himself. Meta.

The second letter is from Rod McLaughlin who tears into the book. He states that the book more or less has not gone anywhere and that the supporting cast has not been developed too much. He also crticizes the lack of sub-plots, or as I have referred to them as B-plots, and the only one we have had so far is the metallic globe, which has not gone anywhere as of yet. Oh, and he criticizes the cartoonish style of Estrata and Staton and deems it too simple. 

The editors kind of brush it off and then move to the final letter from Josh Fenland who spotted the incorrect indication of Sun Boy’s name as Thom and not Dirk. Thom is of course Star Boy and they admit to the mistake. 

So it is odd but then that the last part of the column is:

“We’re expecting a lot of mail next issue, so don’t let us down! Do you agree with Rod McLaughlin? Is Karate Kid as bad as he says? Or do you side with Mike Barr in thinking that Karate Kid is the stuff that makes DC Great? We’d like to know either way.”

I do wonder what is going on at this point. Is the book sagging in sales or is Denny O’Neil already fighting against the powers that be on taking the book into a new direciton? It is interesting they would include these opposite opinions and not really address McLaughlin’s negative comments.

Either way I think we can see that the creative team is struggling to find a purpose for this book and people are noticing it. Karate Kid as a series is still not moving in a particular direction and is still bi-monthly. Admittedly it is only O’Neil’s second issue as the new editor so hopefully we will get some good things next issue and they can give us a better indication of what they have planned for this book’s future.

Super-Karate Hour

The Super-Karate Hour is the final section where we find a moment within the issue that really shows off and proves why Karate Kid is the greatest martial artist of all time. The book has become quite formulaic as of late and it is obvious (at least to me) that David Michelinie is implementing the Marvel style where we get action in the beginning, character exposition in the middle, and more action at the end. So there are not too many moments to choose from and they seem to be more or less the same.

But still, I think it definitely has to go to the moment when Commission Banner holds back Karate Kid while Pulsar is on the verge of getting electrocuted. Val shrugs him off and basically kicks both Pulsar and the machine to save him. It was an incredible moment that reminded us why he is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and will always go above and beyond to protect and save anyone he can, whether villain or innocent bystander, and at the possible detriment of his own life.  

And that is all for this issue fellow Karate Kid fans! Joins us next week as we return to the main book and see if Brainiac 5’s quest to kill Brainiac 1 will come to fruition. See you there and always remember what Bob Rodi from Columbia, Missouri once said…

Keep kickin’!