KARATE KID #8 (1977)
by David Michelinie & Ric Estrada
cover by Mike Grell
While the Legion was fighting Pulsar Stargrave, Karate Kid was fighting Pulsar. Which one is the better villain?
Well Pulsar calls KK “turkey” on the cover, so…
As we saw last time, Karate Kid ends up being attacked by a random villain while hiding in plain sight.
Ric Estrada’s artwork in this series is just atrocious, but the reactions from the civilians are priceless!
You might be wondering “what does this guy have to do with Karate Kid”, and the answer is… absolutely nothing! He just happened to attack a guy while KK was there.
Aaaaand Karate Kid is already down. What a shocker.
When he recovers from Pulsar’s blast, Karate Kid tries to follow him… except Pulsar can turn back into a somewhat regular dude.
Pulsar ends up killing his target, so Karate Kid is charged with ANOTHER murder.
This is a perfect representation on how a Legion fan reacts to this series.
Don’t worry about KK being accused of murder: the landlady he supposedly murdered mysteriously comes back to life, so he’s still at 1 murder only.
Okay what is it with this comic calling people turkeys!?
When the commissioner is informed that he can’t blame the landlady’s murder on KK, on the account that she’s not dead, he reacts in exactly the same way you should treat this comic.
Meanwhile Pulsar is upset because his handler contacts him in his house (Pulsar’s wife isn’t aware he’s an assassin) and wants to quit his job, but turns out he’s being blackmailed.
This is the only scene that doesn’t make me want to gouge my eyes out, so that’s something.
I see only three possibilities regarding Karate Kid’s landlady:
A) her coma caused brain damage
B) she’s high as a kite
C) this comic sucks
Definitely option C.
Pulsar has kidnapped the commissioner, and Karate Kid goes to save him.
Karate Kid’s thing is being so absurdly good at martial arts that he can keep up with people with super-powers, so Pulsar really has no right to beat him in what really looks like a fair fight.
Pulsar manages to escape by transforming into his civilian identity again. Karate Kid ALMOST catches him, but then he’s interrupted by the commissioner.
Are they TRYING to make Karate Kid look dumber and dumber with each panel!?!?
But enough about that, because Iris decides that if she’s going to be the love interest she has to do SOMETHING, and…
Hmm… who will Karate Kid choose?
1) the hot alien princess superhero who is absurdly rich and has been through hell and back with him
2) the hot ditzy teacher who gets kidnapped every five minutes and he’s never shown any interest in
This one sucks so much that I’m not even going to waste words with the scores.
Historical significance: 0/10
Silver Age-ness: 8/10
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10