Welcome back fellow Legionnaires to the spin-off series the Karate Kid! We weave and out between this title and Superboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes in an effort to capture absolutely everything related to the Legion at the time. The is a bi-monthly book and if you read the last post you know that our beloved main title has moved monthly. So you can basically expect two issues of Superboy before hitting the latest issue of Karate Kid.

And boy, is this issue action packed, which is right in line with what we have been dealing with. But we do have a first this issue, in fact, because The Tomorrow Thief is part one of a two part story, which the main book has not done yet. If that is not enough to bust out your Legion ring, we also have a hint of what is to come with Superboy Starring the Legion of Super-Heroes, right in the Karate Comments. Curious? Read on!

The Tomorrow Thief

Veterans’ Day 1976. As New York City comes alive to the hurry-scurry sounds of the summer celebration—sounds that drown out the slightly annoyed words of one of the city’s newest citizens, Karate Kid!

An annoyed Val Armorr sulks in his guest of honor pavilion, complaining to Iris why Veterans’ Day should exist since it is basically a product of war. If Iris was from the 30th Century she would tell him to ‘cool up!’ He should just relax and enjoy himself. Besides, it is not every day that these veterans of World War I are able to get out of the house.

And as the veterans pass Iris and Karate Kid, they suddenly stop. They turn and face the couple with a look of menace on their faces. Silently, they raise their rifles, and fire!

Val just manages to dodge the bullets and quickly subdues two soldiers, but then is hit with the butt of another’s rifle. However, their target is not the super-hero from the 30th Century. But Iris.

The soldiers grab her and Karate Kid immediately continues the assault. However a metal coil embedded in his wrist ban beeps and he freezes. He is torn between the beep on his wrist and Iris who is obviously in trouble. He makes his decision and runs away, leaving Iris to the mob of soldiers. 

Val arrives at his apartment building and answers the call to a floating sphere who transmits its instructions back. Angry that he had to leave Iris behind, the sphere reminds him that he knew the rules when he agreed to this test. And one of those rules is to report to the monitor globe whenever the signal coil commands. Just how well he will overcome his personal obstacles to follow those rules will weight heavily in the final judgement and in the final verdict. 

Then the globe cuts its transmission and just in time, because Mrs Gleichman arrives in Val’s room carrying some chicken soup. She comments that her son also has four color television sets. Not wanting her to see the globe he quickly tells her that he has some business to attend to and has to go. Though he does manage to thank her for the chicken soup on the way out.

Back on the street he realizes he has another problem, he does not know where to start looking for Iris. An old lady passes by and asks him if he would be so kind as to pick up the hanky she dropped. Not one to leave a lady in distress wanting, he picks up the hanky when suddenly the ‘old lady’ whollops him in the head with her purse and runs off. It was one of the soldiers. He looks at the hanky in his hands and sees ‘Empire State Building, Reserve elevator C’ written on it. Knowing it must be trap, Val has no choice but to follow the lead because he has to find Iris. 

And so, moments later at the Empire State Building, Karate Kid finds himself in front of an elevator and types in the code sequence as instructed. The elevator doors open and he slowly enters. He braces himself for whatever might happen when suddenly the elevator drops.

Swift seconds pass until at last a full mile beneath the teaming island of Manhattan, the plummeting chamber comes to a soft pneumatic stop. The metal doors hiss open to reveal a museum of sorts filled with military weapons and equipment. 

Slowly, Karate Kid makes his way past the silent monuments unaware that some of the lifeless statues are in fact alive. And to make a demonstration one swings its mace, ‘spwaking’ Val’s head. An intercom bellows outs orders to stop the intruder any way they can. Karate Kid is attacked by all the ‘lifeless’ statues at once and he makes quick work of them, employing all the martial arts moves at his disposal and demonstrating once again why he is the greatest martial artist of all time. 

An ‘at ease’ command rings out, stopping Val in his tracks. A large figure looms over Karate Kid telling him that he has proven himself. He introduces himself as Frederik Sanguine, but many know him as Commander Blud.

He proceeds to tell him that these abandoned cold war bunkers are actually his operational headquarters and Karate Kid is his prisoner. Karate Kid has none of it and demands to know where Iris is. Blud coldly replies that Iris was simply a means to an end, a way to lure Val to his territory, because he wants something from him. Knowledge! Knowledge of the next World War.

With this knowledge Commander Blud intends to ally himself and his mercenaries to the losing side, so he can help tip the balance of power and prolong the conflict to give more men the fortune of tasting the splendor of battle. 

Karate Kid tells him he’s sick and Blud responds unsurprised, because he didn’t expect him to understand. He walks over to one of his display cases holding a metal glove. He slips It on and uses it to backslap Karate Kid hard. Val stumbles back and he hits him again. As he continues his pummeling of Karate Kid, he tells him he has been reading his exploits in the newspapers and was wondering how much pain a super-hero type like him can take.

Karate Kid counters with a quick side kick and the two are locked in battle. One dedicated to the propagation of violence, filled with the strength of cold purpose and deadly determination. While the other counters violence with violence, taking his strength from discipline and courage, from skills learned on distance worlds in distance times.

Blud remarks that Karate Kid is obviously pulling his punches and chides him in saying that he has no stomach for a real fight. Karate Kid replies that he doesn’t see glory in all this violence and continues his assault. But Blud cooly states that why else would Karate Kid become what he is. Because he does not like bad guys? Or because he has more in common with Command Blud than he would care to admit?

An icy chill suddenly courses through Karate Kid’s veins—perhaps resulting from the tension of conflict or perhaps, because the grinning soldier’s words have struck too much of a truthful note. But whatever the reason, that chill soon turns to heated anger, a feral rage that quickly swells, roils, and finally explodes. An explosion being a mighty kick, hitting Command Blud squarely in the face. 

Karate Kid stands over him and asks him if he will yield. Blud says no, he knows when to toss in the gauntlet, because it allows him to do something like this. And out from his ring a blast of gas hits Karate Kid, and he passes out. 

Moments pass in empty darkness and when light returns once more to the haggard hero’s mind, Karate Kid finds himself strapped to a very nasty looking machine. Commander Blud nonchalantly informs that he was just telling Iris the difference between the conqueror and the conquered and asks Val for his own thoughts. Val of course tells him to stick it where the sun does not shine and Blud decides to describe the predicament he is in, or the machine he is currently attached to.  It’s a machine of his own design and works on principles of pain tolerance developed from years of research into brainwashing techniques. And he will happily give Karate Kid a demonstration unless he tells him what he wants to know.

Val reminds Blud that if he does, it will not only change history but wipe out his own future. Accepting his answer, Blud turns his machine on. To disastrous results. Because Karate Kid is a warrior and his instinct kicks into overdrive until he shatters the machine and destroys everything around him as if he were driven mad. Commander Blud realizes his mistake and concludes that not only is Karate Kid enraged, but even more dangerous because his strength is bolstered. And if someone does not stop Karate Kid, he will kill them all.

Next issue: The Legion, Time-War, and a Final Fearsome Showdown With Commander Blud!

Creative Team

This issue was a bit of a weird one. And by weird, I mean there are a few moments that are some head scratchers. I do enjoy that we have a bit of a mystery with the floating globe, which is essentially the introduction of a solid B-plot. Though it does feel like a last minute addition and I must assume we needed something to tie in with the Legion busting in on the scene next issue. I do not read ahead but I assume this is what that was. But we will see.

The other weird moment was when one of the soldiers pretended to be an old woman and dropped her hanky. This was a bit on the slapstick/camp side and I understand we need to figure out ways to move the plot along but this one was a head scratcher. 

Michelinie has been giving us the villain of the week trope. And with this issue he does attempt to tie it in to the whole time traveling thread, which is important because we are dealing with a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes after all. Commander Blud wants Karate Kid because his knowledge will allow him to wage war, potentially forever. But it does feel a little forced and far fetched. However I will say that Commander Blud has proven to be an adversary of Val’s and this was the first time that he was defeated in the book so far. It is also our first two-parter in the series…ever. Not even in the main book have we had a ‘to be continued,’ and it is very much welcomed.

Ric Estrada and Joe Staton continue to be enjoyable and I think if it were not for their sequential panels, the ability to handle action so well, and a pretty decent character design of Commander Blud, this issue would have been very weak. I think the art team saved the day on this one. 

Either way, we may be treading water and our head might be sinking a little bit, but we are trying to tie in a solid theme, we have a B-plot, and I am looking forward to seeing how the Legion will play a role in the next issue since it was teased. Not the best issue in the series so far and probably not the weakest, making it still better than average. 

Karate Comments

We only have two letters in this issue and they are not really worth commenting on, though I do have to mention the first from Alan Dei Rossi from Goleta California. Ole Alan praises the book and offers a few criticisms but makes the comment that he wants to see a bit more of Iris and also anticipates the inevitable clash with Princess Projectra. 

A good comment and one that was addressed in a previous issue. But if you read the answer, you realize that a bombshell has been dropped. 

“The Princess Projectra question will be resolved shortly—possibly in both this magazine and the Legion. Since we’ll be assuming the editorial reigns over the Superboy/Legion title later this year, we’ve been toying with the idea of a cross-over tale beginning in LSH and winding up here. What say you, readers?”

Wait WHAT!?! Murray Boltinoff is leaving the main book and Joe Orlando will be hopping on? And it is just casually mentioned here? Holy moly it is good that we read these things. I for one would not mind a little crossover or tie-in because it makes a whole lot of sense. Also if you put the editorial chores on one solid line, the possibilities are quite endless. However, I am curious for the decision. Is the sales of Karate Kid lacking and they realized they need more of the Legion to keep the series going? Or perhaps it is the other way around?

Either way it looks like we are heading toward another turning point in the series. And we learned it first right here in the spin-off series. How about that!

Super-Karate Hour

Compared to the previous issues there really is not a lot of action in this one, at least anything on the crazy side. Val does his standard roughing up some thugs and henchmen. And the battle with Commander Blud is quite fun although it is over quite quickly. So after much pondering I will have to give our Super-Karate Hour to the very end, when an enraged Karate Kid goes into full instinct mode and just annihilates the machine and everything around him. Because if anything, it proves that Val can kick your butt in his sleep, literally. 

And that’s it for this week’s installment and I hope you enjoyed our coverage of Karate Kid #5! We are back on the main book next week and whatever you do, keep kickin’!