KARATE KID #11 (1977)
written by David Michelinie & Jack C. Harris
pencils by Ric Estrada
cover by Al Milgrom
After spending his time in the future in the middle ages (???), Karate Kid returns to the 20th century with cavemen.
Karate Kid is going back to the present (which is his past), but something is “going zonkers”.
Ah yes, karate’s greatest challenge: cavemen!
The art of this series has always been… well, you know… but now it’s deteriorating panel by panel.
Guys… just because DC Comics is owned by Warner Brothers, it doesn’t mean that everything has to turn into a Road Runner cartoon!!!
And then SUDDEN EARTHQUAKE!!!
Karate Kid saves and befriends a caveman that he calls Ugly (subtle!), and they discover some sort of machinery is responsible for the earthquake.
Karate Kid “““reasons””” that he didn’t actually land in New York but that this is a fake city built by someone with incredible intelligence.
Sounds legit.
Get this: we’re actually in the distant past! Specifically, the time when both dinosaurs and cavemen co-existed: the You Have To Be Stoned Age.
You might expect Karate Kid to try solving the situation by punching a lot, but that’s not it.
He kicks a lot.
When that doesn’t work, they go back in the city to investigate and SUDDEN TAXI!
Because apparently taxis are a natural disaster, this can only mean one thing.
Yes this is indeed the return of Major Disaster, who after escaping issue #2 has stolen a time machine completely unrelated to Karate Kid (WTF!?) and traveled to Earth’s distant past (double WTF!?) to build his own fake city where he can test his machines (triple WTF!?).
Oh boy.
Fortunately for what little sanity I have left he doesn’t break the towers, but instead does what any non-superpowered superhero would: CLIMB THEM.
He’s going there because Major Disaster is leaving the city with his hovercraft (why would he leave with anything but his time machine? If THAT is his time machine, why is it on top of the towers!?), but Karate Kid catches him thanks to Ugly.
And that’s how Karate Kid finally manages to return to the 20th century!
Was anyone honestly rooting for Iris and Karate Kid to get together!?
Yep. That’s settled: this subplot still sucks.
Historical significance: 0/10
Silver Age-ness: ∞/10
This was GLORIOUSLY stupid. Nothing in this story makes any sense! How did Major Disaster manage to do ANY of this!? Why would he even need to build a fake city to test his devices? Why would he build it in the past? HOW would he build it in the past!?!? And what’s the deal with the cavemen and the dinosaurs?
At least this earns this story a place in the Hall Of Infamy And Fame !
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
Quite a disjointed story, which could’ve been explained via flashbacks. DC has made more consistent classic epics than this! Still, hope the younger kids enjoyed reading it for its entertainment value. The only standout is the hand-drawn artwork.