posted
I am not buying Countdown , but intend to pick up Final Crisis . I try to keep up with spoilers on the message boards, so I won't be totally confused when it comes out. There is some speculation on the DC boards that the virus Karate Kid is carrying is something called the OMAC virus, which he picked up when he visited Kamandi's future. That inspired me to dive into the comic book boxes in my closet and re-read that adventure over the weekend. Here is a synopsis and my thoughts.
"Bring Back My Future" printed in Karate Kid #15, July/August, 1978
Written by Bob Rozakis with plot assist from Jack C. Harris
Art by Juan Ortiz
"Enter: The Legionnaire" printed in Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth #58, August/September, 1978
Written by Jack C. Harris with thanks to Rozakis
Art by Dick Ayers and Danny Bulanadi
Both series were edited by Allen Milgrom
The first part of this story takes place in the final issue of Karate Kid's magazine. The previous few issues were devoted to a battle with the Lord of Time and Major Disaster. Supporting character, Iris Jacobs was transformed into a mindless rampaging creature of solid diamond known as Diamondeth. In issue #14, Robin (Dick Grayson) helped Val subdue Diamondeth. Karate Kid decides to take Iris to the future to seek a cure, in spite of the potential consequences of defying Princess Projectra's father, who has ordered that he stay in the 20th century until he has proven himself worthy of marrying the princess. He summons the Legion to send him a time bubble, which he irritatingly refers to as a "time sphere". Karate Kid sets the controls for 2978, Robin wishes them well, and he and Diamondeth are off to the future.
The Lord of Time interferes and the time bubble appears in the alternate future after "the Great Disaster". Karate Kid meets a band of Kamandi's companions that include three talking dogs, Dr. Canus, Maylock Bloodstalker, and Doyle; a red skinned alien girl named Pyra; and a silent human girl named Spirit. They explain that they are seeking Kamandi, who has been abducted by some lobster beings who have mistaken Kamandi for a god.
Okay, the lobster beings are also surfers and use terms like "Daddy-O", "bummer" and "heavy" a lot. They eventually ride in on the ultimate wave, a battle ensues, and they abduct Karate Kid, who they mistake for a god, tie him to a surf board and carry him away. They take him to a funky lobster drive-in movie theater, and place him in an egg shaped container next to a special projector. Kamandi is trapped in a similar container next to Val's. Images of Karate Kid and Kamandi are projected onto the screen, and they become characters in a Bruce Lee movie. As the issue ends, Karate Kid's image is on the verge of attacking Kamandi's image.
The first few pages of the Kamandi issue are devoted to the boys' on screen martial arts battle. They eventually are able to speak with one another and distinquish between what is real and what are just movie images. The scene changes to a romantic setting. Val and Kamandi are able to make a plan while being fawned over by the images of beautiful women. Kamandi warns they have to work fast, because "from what I've heard about these old movies - another fight's due any second"! They decide that if they don't move, the lobster audience will get bored and demand a movie with different "gods" to worship. The plan works with the help of Dr. Canus and Bloodstalker, who barge into the projection room, guns a blazing, and manage to free they boys' physical bodies.
After escaping the lobsters, Karate Kid, Kamandi, and crew hook back up with Pyra on her space ship. She has manged to tap into something called the Vortex. She can use the energy of the Vortex to cure Iris or return the time bubble to the correct timestream, but not both. Val decides that if they can get to correct timestream, he can probably find a cure for Iris in his own future. The Lord of Time observes that the power of the Vortex is so great that Karate Kid will now be forever beyond his grasp. As they part, Val tells Kamandi "In my future I belong to a group called the Legion of Super-Heroes and though you have no super power, you would have made a fine Legionnaire".
Critics be dammed. As a kid, I read every series that Bob Rozakis wrote. They all ended up having painfully short runs, but I stayed with each one until the bitter end, and was thrilled when he became the writer of Karate Kid's magazine. This stuff was just nutty and fun. Phooey on those who dismissed Ortiz, as well. Things just got whackier and wilder when Harris and Ayers took over. Yeah, it's not Kirby. What is? I will be thrilled if the events of the big bad Final Crisis find their genesis in this crazy gem of a crossover from my misspent youth.
[ March 31, 2010, 09:00 PM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Thanks for the summary, Jerry. I never read the second part of the story (I wasn't interested in Kamandi at all).
As it is, I barely remember the first part of the story, and only that the conclusion to Iris' story was handled matter-of-factly. As Diamondeth, she's seen in the time bubble when Val returns to the Legion in S/LSH # 244, I believe. Then, at some point afterwards, she's cured and sent home.
As I recall, Iris next appears in Brave & Bold, wherein Val returns to the 20th century to invite her to his wedding. Clueless that she was in love with him, Val is stunned when she walks off (does she slap him? I can't remember), never to be seen again (to me, at least).
That's what I remember most about KK's series. I felt sorry for Iris, but, at the same time, Val was already in love with and promised to another woman. What's a poor Legionnaire to do?
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Yes, poor Iris gets cured after the Earthwar at a medical center on the planet Mercury. The Legion quickly becomes involved in a mystery surrounding the deaths of some of the staff of the medical center, and the Iris story fades to the background. She isn't seen again until the Brave and Bold adventure you mention.
[ October 08, 2007, 12:46 AM: Message edited by: Jerry ]
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
you would think they would have shown in a sort of twist that she's val's ancestor and that would have been a better ending than Val looking like a Clueless heel and Iris fading to Obilvion after that BB issue.
-------------------- Bring back the super-cousins
From: nyc | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I'm sure Rozakis would have found someplace to use Iris if all of his other series weren't cancelled at about the same time! He loved crossovers and guest appearances. Poor Bob.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Is there a thread that deals with Karate Kid and Una? I still don't know exactly who they were or which continuity or time they were supposed to come from.
posted
It's still a mystery to me. The best I can figure out is they were the Johnsboot versions of Val and Lu. Val was somehow revived by the founders and sent back in time as part of Brainy's scheme - only to die again in Countdown. Lu was killed in Countdown but managed to come back as Multiple Maid in Legion of Three Worlds, with no real explanation given.
-------------------- No regrets, Coyote.
From: Missouri | Registered: Oct 2003
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Eryk Davis Ester
Created from the Cosmic Legends of the Universe!
posted
No doubt Una and Karate Kid will show up again in twenty years during the the next major Crisis!
From: Liberty City | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Unfortunately they will be revealed to be the villains of whatever repetitive and referential plot that story has...
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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