The Karate Kid franchise has come a long way. The original film — a fiery, sharp, and layered take on bullying and self-improvement — still speaks volumes in today’s world. Following its success, three sequels were released, namely, The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), and The Next Karate Kid (1994). At the time, the choice to make quick follow-ups was a wise one since martial arts movies were wildly popular in the 1980s and 1990s. After the fourth movie, it would take 16 years for the franchise to be revisited.
In 2010, a remake starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith premiered, though it had an element of false advertising as it focused on Kung Fu, not karate, as the title suggested. The TV show Cobra Kai (a sequel to the tetralogy) was then released in 2018 and went on to become a mega hit. Now there is Karate Kid: Legends, with Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio reprising their original roles. But none of this would be possible without DC Comics.
DC Comics Held the Rights to the “Karate Kid” Name
The idea of a Karate Kid movie began when producer Jerry Weintraub optioned a news article that had created plenty of buzz. It was about a young child of a single mother who worked hard and earned a black belt to defend himself against the neighborhood bullies. When screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen was informed of this development, he became very interested because he, too, had learned martial arts at an early age to defend himself against bullies.
According to Sports Illustrated, Kamen found himself in an unfortunate situation during the 1964 New York World’s Fair, where gangs of bullies were wreaking havoc on and off the roads, assaulting and pillaging at will, and laughing in the faces of ill-equipped victims. He, too, was assaulted. After the incident, he began to study martial arts, first under his school teacher, who was condescending but helped boost his confidence. He then flourished under the tutelage of a Japanese instructor who did not speak English but had been a student of the great Chōjun Miyagi. Soon, he became an expert at Okinawan Gōjū-ryū karate.
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Luckily for Kamen, Jerry Weintraub agreed to hire him as a screenwriter. Kamen thus combined his own story with elements of the popular news article, using both to come up with the script for the first installment of the franchise. What resulted is a timeless gem. With its jarring realism and uniformly excellent performances, The Karate Kid throbs with fury, bitterness, hope, and cruelty, creating a portrait of societal malice that feels authentic. And, according to Kamen, Stallone always jokes that they ripped off the Rocky movies, given similar storylines and the involvement of director John G Avildsen, who had worked on the Rocky Balboa boxing films.
Despite having a perfect script, Avildsen, Kamen, Weintraub, and Columbia Pictures had a major problem on their hands. DC Comics already had rights to a character named Karate Kid, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. To their surprise, the comic publisher wasn’t so mean with their IP. When approached, they allowed the makers of the martial arts movie to use the “Karate Kid” name in the upcoming movie and all its sequels. Accordingly, the film credits include a thank you to DC Comics.
DC’s Karate Kid Is the Greatest Martial Artist of All Time (Don’t Tell Marvel Fans)
It’s quite surprising that DC gave away the rights so easily, considering that their version of The Karate Kid happens to be the greatest martial artist of all time. Created by Jim Shooter, the character first appeared in Adventure Comics #346 (July 1966). Val Almorr, aka, The Karate Kid, is a superhero from the future and is said to be an expert in every single form of martial art developed before the 31st century, including Super Karate. So good and strong is he that he can damage metals and walls with a single blow. And as you’d expect, he frequently drops into a familiar groove of wind-slicing jump-kicks and spleen-destroying body punches.
For years, Almorr has been neglected in live-action and animated productions. He only appears in the TV series, Legion of Super Heroes, and the Justice League animated movie, JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time. This is unfortunate, considering that the character has quite an interesting story in the comics.
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On the pages, Armorr is the son of Japanese crime lord Kirau Nezumi, aka Black Dragon. His mother, Valentina Armorr, an American secret agent, tried to keep him away from his evil father, but her plan was discovered, and she was killed. Thankfully, Japan’s greatest hero, Sensei Toshiaki, aka White Crane, killed Black Dragon and adopted Armorr before molding him into a fighter, the same way Mr. Miyagi does with LaRusso. The young man then left home and began searching the galaxy for new challenges.
When the Karate Kid came back to Earth, he applied to be a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, who were pumping up the crew to stand a chance against the Khunds (an alien race known for extreme violence). After impressing by defeating Superboy in one-on-one combat (despite lacking any powers), he is allowed to join the group. The Karate Kid even gets to be the leader at some point.
DC’s Karate Kid Would Be Perfect for the Modern Hollywood Landscape
Given the popularity of superhero films, it’s somewhat odd that one of the best fighters in the comics hasn’t made it to film. Well, it’s about time DC stopped neglecting Val Almorr. Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to promote that character. Thanks to the John Wick and Reacher franchises, stories about martial artists and unbeatable heroes have become increasingly popular. It’s arguably because of this reason that Columbia Pictures is also reviving The Karate Kid franchise. The audience’s appetite is clearly there, and DC would reap big by introducing the character to live action right now. What about the name issue? That can be worked out. After all, several comic characters have changed their names in the past, notably Shazam.
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DC is also in perfect hands at the moment, with James Gunn overseeing the baking of all future movies. Gunn has proven good at molding lesser-known comic characters into stars, hence the reason Peacemaker and the Creature Commandos are now a big deal. He’d easily be able to turn Val Almorr into a globally recognized character. Besides that, it’s time for DC to stop recycling the popular superheroes over and over. Batman and Superman are great, but new faces would be welcome as they’d help put a halt to the monotony.
If Gunn is doubtful, all he has to do is look at Marvel. Shang-Chi is very similar to Val Almorr, and his movie was a major hit at the box office despite being released at a time when audiences were still worried about COVID. It also left critics in awe, becoming one of the MCU’s highest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings represents an important milestone in the portrayal of Asian superheroes in cinema, one that led to a better understanding and increased social acceptance. If the Karate Kid were to come in, he’d walk through a clear path where the big thorns have already been removed.
So, as we enjoy every new installment of The Karate Kid franchise, let’s hope the original character will be given a chance on the big screen. Considering that he doesn’t have superpowers, he’d appeal even to audiences who don’t love superheroes. Over to you, James Gunn.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
