Karate Kid #1 | A Legionnaire Gets His Own Series!! | Season 3 Episode 3

[@kurumais]

what happened to KK's flight ring?

[@lesliedixonjr7509]

Are you guys trying to do a parody of a NPR interview???

[@macsnafu]

The Karate Kid series was a bit of a mess. Of all the Legionnaires, why Karate Kid? And why the 20th Century? I mean, sure, I understand why he wanted to separate KK from the rest of the Legion and have him work by himself. But even so, what did he really expect KK to do in the 20th century? I think it would have been more interesting to have him by himself in the 30th century, perhaps in some kind of undercover operation to keep him separated from the Legion. This also would have made for a more coherent subplot over several issues. As it is, it's like they didn't know what to do with KK except throw B-list villains at him. Especially since Paul Levitz only wrote the first issue, with Barry Jamerson taking over after him. I can't even think of what else Barry Jamerson even wrote besides this. Also, the art's okay, but not great. I like Joe Staton, but having him ink Rik Estrada instead of doing the pencilling is a bit of a head-scratcher. This must have been early days for Staton at DC, fresh from Charlton and E-Man, and maybe DC didn't initially know what to do with him.

[@keithbrown6887]

Blame Bruce Lee's popularity at the time. Everybody was Kung Fu fighting...

[@macsnafu]

@@keithbrown6887 True, even the comics: Richard Dragon, Iron Fist, and Master of Kung Fu! I just felt like putting KK in the 20th century took away much of what was unique about the character.

[@keithbrown6887]

@ Yeah, that would've been a brilliant idea to have him fight and join the Marvel martial artists of the day. Certainly, too much to ask of the big corps, but there's always fanfic to rely on.