Tag: Barry Jameson

  • Karate Kid #2




    Story: David Michelinie (as Barry Jameson)
    Art: Ric Estrada & Joe Staton
    Editor: Joe Orlando
    Cover: Mike Grell
    Release Date: February 12th, 1976

    Welcome to the second installment of our high kicking, fierce punching, and mad flipping spin-off series, Karate Kid! What are we in for? Super-Heroes! Deadly Villains! Martial Arts action like you’ve never seen before!

    But wait? What are you waiting for? Tighten up that black belt fellow Legionnaires and let’s get to some high-octane karate action!

    The International Dooms of Major Disaster

    Val Armorr, the real name of Karate Kid, attempts to enter the school building where Iris Jacob works but is confronted by a police officer who will not allow him in without the proper identification. Luckily for Val, Iris rescues him and she asks what brings him back. He answers that he needs a place to stay as well as some advice, because as much as he tries there are still a lot of things he does not understand about this world.

    In fact he points at her school and tells her in the 30th century this would be considered a prison. She rounds on him and tries to call him out on his lie. For how could he possibly be from the 30th century? But he assures her that what he speaks is truth. He even tells her that he’s a member of the greatest band of crime-fighters ever called the Legion of Super-Heroes.

    Seeing that Iris is still not convinced, he shows her his official Uni-Charge card. Number 87561 with a credit rating of Y-6 and an expiry date of June 30, 2948. However she is still not convinced and proceeds to tell him so when suddenly a huge tidal wave suddenly floods 43rd street. Thinking quickly, Val grabs Iris and manages to leap out of danger just missing a violent rush of water.

    Peering safely from a building Val immediately suspects that a phenomenon such as a sudden tidal wave suddenly appearing in the middle of New York City cannot be a coincidence. It must be the product of some super-villain. And sure enough, Major Disaster announces himself and gives the city an ultimatum. The United Nations must vacate its headquarters within the next three hours otherwise be totally destroyed.

    Val doesn’t waste any time and, much to the protest of Iris, leaps right onto Major Disaster’s hovercraft and confronts him and his two henchmen. However, Major Disaster realizes that this is exactly what he needs and he welcomes this worthy challenger. With a sardonic laugh, he lifts his electronic hand control, points it to the sky, and summons a meteorite from the sky that barrels down on Karate Kid.

    Karate Kid squares up in front of the monstrous rock. And with deep concentration and self-control, he leaps and delivers a solid, mighty kick that shatters the meteor into pieces! However, Karate Kid is hurled back as a result of the impact. Luckily he lands in a water spout unharmed, albeit a bit humiliated. A few henchmen quickly rush to his position and hesitate just a moment as a result of Karate Kid appearing to be a super-hero. Val takes advantage of the hesitation and delivers a mighty two footed kick to one of the henchmen. The other taunts Val as he raises his gun to deliver his own crippling blow, when Val blocks it, and then uses the henchman’s momentum to disarm him of his weapon and punches him out.

    Not able to celebrate his victory, he is put in a stranglehold by the third one. But this poor henchman doesn’t know that Val is the most powerful and knowledgeable martial artist in the 30th century. And sure enough, Val flips him over and throws him into the waterspout, putting him out of commission as well. New York’s finest then arrive on the scene and take Karate Kid to the local precinct house where he has a lot of explaining to do.

    And explain he does because shortly thereafter he is released. And the media puts out a statement that the authorities are able to confirm that Karate Kid is in fact a super-hero and does come from the 30th century. And in other news, the United Nations still hasn’t made a decision whether to accede to the demands made by…when suddenly the broadcast is interrupted by a furious Major Disaster, sulking in his hideout.

    Major Disaster lets all who bear witness that he stands behind his threats. However, a creepy figure in the background tells him it would be a pity, for NURIKE only wanted to drive the U.N. out of the United States to force their America for Americans philosophy. And they hoped to have avoided violence. Major Disaster confirms the sentiment, for why else would they have paid him one million dollars to destroy the U.N.? And when Major Disaster takes on a contract, he carries it out to its completion!

    Meanwhile we return to a helpless Karate Kid who is being accosted by the media. Unable to keep up with their questions, he is suddenly saved by Iris, who quickly puts them both in a taxi. She apologizes and would have been there sooner if it weren’t for the fact that she had to figure out a way off the ledge on 43rd street. This time it’s Karate Kid’s time to apologize but before they can go into more detail, the taxi driver shouts to brace themselves, the whole street is splitting apart.

    Iris cannot believe what she’s seeing and reminds everyone around her that this isn’t L.A, there shouldn’t be any earthquakes. Val notices a building off into the distance and observes that it remains untouched. It must be protected and he surmises that only Major Disaster can do something like that. He orders Iris to stay put and makes his way toward the building. But Iris will not stay put. She figures if she wasn’t much help before she better start making up for it now.

    While on the penthouse balcony several levels above, Major Disaster has his hand dangerously close to a lever and is about ready to pull it, when Karate Kid leaps from below. A standoff ensues but is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Iris who distracts Karate Kid. Taking advantage of the interruption, Major Disaster laughs and tells him they’ve lost. And there is nothing they can do but to stand by and watch as he pulls the lever.

    A tear in the ground quickly jettisons out from the building and toward the United Nations. If it reaches its destination, the U.N. buildings and everyone in them will disappear into the East River.

    Karate Kid quickly grabs Iris and jumps from the penthouse balcony, controls his fall on a canopy below, and flips safely to the ground. He puts Iris down safely, warns her to stay put this time, and places himself between the U.N. buildings and the rapidly growing crevasse. His eyes narrow, he assess the situation, and with deep concentration he lifts his leg and stomps the ground, creating a tear in the ground of his own.

    Like a concrete banner snapping in the wind, a powerful wave of counter-vibrations radiates from the point of Karate Kid’s massive kick. It flows to meet the onslaught of Major Disaster’s artificially induced fissure, and stops. For a timeless moment, there is a silent struggle, and then like a herd of frightened lemmings fleeing an ungracious sea, the cracking aura of disaster energy is forced back, sloppily sealing the fissure as it goes.

    Watching with awe-struck surprise from the balcony above, Major Disaster knows it was actually he who had failed. But to his shock, the fissure that Karate Kid made isn’t stopping, and is hurling itself right toward him. Major Disaster reaches for the lever and desperately attempts to shut off the machine. But the controls do not work. There is only one choice and that is to flee. And sure enough, the entire structure explodes, spewing rubble everywhere.

    Iris runs toward Val and asks him if he’s alright and he answers the affirmative. But there is still one problem. He just saved the city from a madman, almost got himself killed in the process, and he’s right back where he started. He still doesn’t have a place to stay.

    Iris smiles, grabs his arms and leads him away. Yes he does.

    Creative Team

    Karate Kid kicks a meteor. That’s it. That’s the review.

    No, but in all seriousness, there is some crazy stuff in this second issue and I’m not complaining. Despite the quick departure of Paul Levitz, David Michelinie continues the flavor of the book. Karate Kid is a man out of his time and he still manages to flip, punch, and kick his way to a solution.

    With issue two, we also have a major villain from the DC Universe at the time, Major Disaster. Now it’s an interesting choice because when you think of martial arts Major Disaster is probably not the first character that comes to mind. But somehow Michelinie makes it work. Karate Kid uses his talents to take him down and even stops an earthquake with a well placed stomp. Since there is more martial arts action than you can shake the proverbial stick at, this is comic book at its finest.

    In addition, we are also fleshing out Karate Kid’s new world and his friends. Iris seems to be a very capable ally and doesn’t fall into the damsel in distress trap. She holds her own and when she feels like she doesn’t, she takes the extra effort to help. So far it’s a believable relationship and I really do hope we can get more of an insight into Iris and her history as we progress. And this is probably the most important aspect of the book. This simple two person relationship is just enough that it makes us want to see more. The creative team does seem to be taking the time to build out this world, which gives us, the reader, a reason to care for it.

    We’re only in issue two, and Karate Kid is still finding himself, but I wonder what the stakes will be. Will this be a series that takes us from one moment to the next? Situations that are convenient for Karate Kid and allow him to show off his skills in the arts that are martial? Or will we see a large, looming threat that can only be solved with his special skill set? I do hope it’s the latter. Regardless, the second issue was very exciting and if you weren’t already hooked or were able to grasp the exciting possibilities of this book, you definitely can now.

    Ric Estrada and Joe Staton continue to shine with the action. Especially with the craziness that was KK kicking a meteor, stopping an earthquake, and darting from one crazy conflict to the next, these two are working very well together. The style does have a bit of a Marvel-esque look to it. But I do wonder if it’s because of the New York setting and how we’re pretty much on a street-level fighting crime. I am confident in saying that if I handed this off to someone who knew nothing of the character but enough about comics, they would also assume it was something from Marvel.

    The only head scratching aspect is that Karate Kid is still appearing in the main book and is actually playing a role in it. I do wonder if the editors were talking to each other or if they were planning on trying to synchronize the two endeavors. I suppose if Karate Kid was pretty hot as a comic book character and was one of the reasons for the increase in sales, you wouldn’t want to compromise it. But since the whole set up of this book is that he is firmly in the 20th century and is also there to find himself, it does make it difficult to rationalize his continued presence in the 30th century. I’m pretty sure if I was a fan at this point in time and buying both books, I would want this point reconciled.

    Regardless, we have an incredibly strong second issue despite the change in writer and the book is delivering on what it promises; karate action and a place in the lore of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

    Karate Comments

    Since the last issue was the first issue we didn’t have a title for the letters page. But we do this time around, aptly titled Karate Comments. It is a short one since the staff were still gathering the various comments/letters from the first issue, but it’s a good one. It starts off stating that Barry Jameson is filling in between writers Paul Levitz and David Michelinie. Which is odd because Barry Jameson is actually a pen name for David Michelinie. So either the editor didn’t know this or there was some weird reason for not giving Michelinie credit. Also, Joe Orlando does confirm that Michelinie will be the ongoing writer of the series moving forward. So goodbye Paul Levitz! Your time was short and sweet but we know you’ll jump on the main book soon enough and what a jump that will be!

    If you remember from the first issue Paul Levitz made a nice tribute to Jim Shooter. And wouldn’t you know it? Mr. Shooter noticed and he wrote a nice letter in return. I’ve typed out his letter in full below, which also gives some good insight into the mind of the thirteen year old at the time of KK’s creation. Be warned, however, it does contain outdated language that was sadly used quite frequently at the time.

    Dear Joe,

    On my last trip to New York, Jack Harris presented me with a copy of the artwork for your upcoming Karate Kid book. I think it’s only right that your first letter of comment should come from me. It’s a great feeling to see a character I created starring in his own magazine.

    In 1965, Karate Kid was my solution to the Legion’s most glaring problem, lack of action. Too many Legionnaires simply pointed their fingers to use their powers. Karate Kid meant action.

    Most of the Martial Arts heroes who followed Karate Kid in comics were pretty well stereo-typed—that is inscrutable, deep, disciplines, very Oriental and mysterious, or in a word, dull. Their fighting is weighted by heavy narrative and technical talk, and slowed down in endless sequential. Karate Kid is the opposite of all that. He is not totally Oriental, steeped in proverbs and mystery. He is wide-open, impulsive sometimes, even rowdy. Action, good pictures, and fast excitement are his forte. I am grateful to you and Paul Levitz for realizing that and continuing it.

    Karate Kid’s rationale of being in the 20th Century seems weak, but I suspect there’s more to it than we know yet. All in all I enjoyed the story thoroughly. Thanks.

    Jim Shooter

    So there you have it. Despite the outdated language and the little dig at the end it was a nice gesture on his part.

    As for the dig I do see where he’s coming from. The raison d’être of Karate Kid being in the 20th Century is a bit of a stretch. Regardless, he’s here and so far this issue, and the series as a whole, is pretty great and I can’t wait for issue #3.

    Super Karate-Hour

    Come on. This one is a no-brainer. Our Super-Karate-Hour moment is when Karate Kid kicked the living crap out of a meteor and blew it to smithereens, thereby using said meteor as an example and a warning to all the other meteors in the universe to not $@#% with the greatest martial artist from the 30th Century.

    And there’s really not much else left to say. So join me dear reader as we train our mind to reflect on these past events and go into our super-karate meditation state. And before we close our eyes and shut our mouths, we must allow the truest cry to first ring out into the cosmos and the spheres of the internet-verse…

    LONG LIVE THE LEGION!