Who's This? The future's best martial artist.
The facts: Created by teenage Jim Shooter for Adventure Comics #346 (July 1966), he was well ahead of the curve in terms of cashing in on the 70s Kung Fu craze, even if "super-karate" seemed a rather silly power for a Legionnaire to have. But after the craze hit, it was inevitable that he'd be sent to the present day and head his own series. Karate Kid ran 15 issues from 1976 to 1978, nominally as a way to prove to Projectra's father that he was worthy of her hand in marriage. They were married in Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #2 (1983), which drummed them out of the Legion, but when the Legion of Super-Villains attacks her planet of Orando, Karate Kid is killed in battle against Nemesis Kid early in the Baxter series. During the 5YL era, Karate Kid's temporal clone was briefly freed, but then killed, but the Reboot made use of him again, and he remained a core member of the team for more than 10 years. The Threeboot also had a Karate Kid. The original made (time-tossed) appearances in Countdown to Final Crisis and "The Lightning Saga", and was somehow resurrected in the New52 series.
How you could have heard of him: Though Karate Kid does appear in the LSH animated series, his name will always resonate thanks to the movies that use it, and that, indeed, have to give DC Comics credit each time. Daniel-San has nothing to do with the Legionnaire otherwise, but that's the deal.
Example story: Karate Kid #4 (October 1976) "The Rage of Yesterdays Lost!" by Barry Jameson (a pen name for David Michelinie), Ric Estrada and Joe Staton
Right away, Val Armorr's 20th-century surprises me by harking back (forward?) to the 30th. I didn't think they'd still do Legion stuff in the fourth issue. It's not a flashback, either. The Legion apparently pulled him back from 1976 so he could help them beat a robot, and once he's done with that, he's immediately sent back.
Brainiac 5 makes a crack about Val not actually having super-powers - which he claims is one of the reasons he has to prove himself in the past - but honestly, with the powerhouses the Legion DOES have (including Cosmic Boy, master of magnetism), why would you need to recall an inactive member just to fight a danged robot? I think they're trying to bring him back into the fold, but Brainy went and put his foot in it. Regardless, Val is time-projected back to Manhattan on the next page... right into a terrorist situation. Whoever these guys are, they've taken over the school at which Iris Jacobs - Val's only friend in 20C - works (in fact, only HER class is being held hostage). How is he gonna build a supporting cast if anything happens to her?
Of course the terrorist - Master Hand - has to be Asian/martial themed, because this is a martial arts book. Also see Shang-Chi comics where he fights cosmic martial artists. Speaking of Shang-Chi, he too had an opponent who had swords for hands. At least Master Hand has a way to pick up objects. What he wants: Western trade and influence in the "Orient" to end. Gosh. Obviously, Karate Kid has to take care of this, but first, a warm-up:
Sadly, he doesn't get much farther than the police barricades as Police Commissioner Banner steps in to tell him no vigilantes are allowed on his beat and Val stomps away, stymied. So this is why superheroes prefer fake cities like Metropolis and Gotham. I guess it gives Master Hand time to tell his life story to Iris. He's a hereditary samurai, born without hands, hated the government for fitting him with "hooks" and employed as a lowly functionary, watched American culture infect Japan's (hates baseball), was visited by the spirits of his ancestors, gave himself a sword hand, recruited followers, and you know the rest. But fake out! Karate Kid didn't abandon his mission, he just went and found a helicopter to grab onto.
Look, he's got legs of steel, arright? He's the most highly trained fighter the world has ever seen. He can even handle weapons, as he proves when he finds the roof well guarded by warriors.
He leaves a big pile of bodies and runs downstairs, bursts through the door, kicks Master Hand in the gut, and tells Iris to get the kids out of there. Not so simple, as the other terrorists are holding the kiddies at gunpoint. So maybe Master Hand will get another shot at actually fighting our hero, though I like the idea of Val running in, surprising the bad guy with a kick, and running out - the end. I wasn't gonna say anything about the garish skin tones, but the comic forces my hand when Hand calls out Val's "tint" as being "too white". I mean, the Japanese are generally fair-skinned, so I don't know what he's talking about. Val calls him out on his code of honor instead and challenges him to a fight, winner takes all, including the terrorists' loyalty. Let's go to the gym, where hopefully we can use sports equipment in fun ways (Siskoid's Kung Fu Fridays Recommendation: Born to Fight, starring Dan Chupong and the Tony Jaa stunt team; thank me later).
And Val DOES get cut, so to even out the odds, he grabs a barbell staff (aw, at least throw a weight like a Frisbee) and ultimately wins.
In response, Master Hand tries to commit hara-kiri, but Val breaks his sword with a jumping kick, leaving the terrorist with nothing but his disgrace. And does Karate Kid get any thanks? Banner decides to arrest him for vigilantism, and the Governor's Office swoops in to grant him honorary police powers answerable to Albany. Progress!
A book called Karate Kid needs a lot of action, and I think we get that! Just a random issue, but one that would have made me want to keep reading.
Who's Next? A Japanese Outsider.
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