Val Armorr is the son of Japanese crime lord Kirau Nezumi, also known as Black Dragon. When he was born, his mother, American secret agent Valentina Armorr, tried to hide him from his father, but she failed and was killed for her effort. Japan's greatest hero, Sensei (White Crane), killed Black Dragon for his crimes and adopted the infant Val. He raised Val as if he were his own son and trained him in all manner of the martial arts. Val became the youngest warrior ever to earn the title Samurai, and he went to work for his local shogun. However, after trying his best and failing to please his supervisor, he quit and searched the galaxy for new forms of battle to master.
Legion of Super-Heroes
When Val returns to Earth, he learns that the Legion of Super-Heroes are searching for new recruits to battle the Khund. Despite lacking powers, he is accepted into the Legion after challenging Superboy to single combat and impressing him with his skill. As Karate Kid, Val becomes the leader of the Legion for one term.
Val falls in love with Princess Projectra and spends one year in the 20th century to prove that he is worthy to marry her.[6] He returns to the 31st century to find that Projectra's father has died, with her cousin Pharoxx becoming king of Orando. After Projectra defeats Pharoxx, Val becomes her consort and resigns from the Legion.
Val and Projectra return from their honeymoon and learn that Orando has been taken over by the Legion of Super-Villains. Nemesis Kid mortally wounds Val, who prevents the Legion of Super-Villains from transporting Orando to another dimension before dying.[7] Following his death, Val is succeeded as Karate Kid by Myg, a judge from the planet Lythyl.[8][9]
During the "Five Years Later" storyline following the Magic Wars, Earth falls under the control of the Dominators and leaves the United Planets. A few years later, the members of the Dominators' classified "Batch SW6" - temporal clones of the Legionnaires - escape captivity. The SW6 incarnation of Karate Kid is killed in battle with the Dominators.[10]
1994 reboot
In 1994, the Legion of Super-Heroes was rebooted following the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! event, resurrecting the original Karate Kid in the process. Karate Kid joined Leland McCauley's Workforce to have the opportunity to travel to different planets and learn new disciplines, despite knowing that McCauley's values were far different from his own. He was able to live with those differences until McCauley attempted to profit from an anomaly in space which, to Val, represented something purely beautiful, like divine creation. Unable to reconcile his employment with his conscience any longer, he destroyed McCauley's anomaly-tapping machine and fled, and McCauley's men chased him, almost killing him. He asked for the Legion's protection, and they provided it, and, in a deal they worked out with McCauley, McCauley renounced any claim against Val, and Karate Kid became a Legionnaire. In 2005, Legion history was rebooted for a second time, with this third continuity being referred to as the "Threeboot".[11] This version of Karate Kid is a combat instructor for the Legion. Although initially drawn to Shadow Lass, who possesses a similar warrior spirit, after he and Shadow Lass broke up, he harbored a one-sided infatuation with Phantom Girl.
One Year Later and Countdown
In "The Lightning Saga" event, the villain Trident is revealed to be Val Armorr from the pre-Crisis Legion. In issue #8, he battles Black Lightning and Batman in the Batcave. As Batman interrogates him, Karate Kid identifies himself as "Wes Holloway, a member of the Trident Guild".[12] When the other Legionnaires return to their own time, Val remains in the 21st century.[13]
In Countdown to Final Crisis, Karate Kid and Luornu Durgo, now known as Una, visit Barbara Gordon, where it revealed that Val is dying. They are sent to see Elias Orr, who declares that he has the answers they seek.[14] Brother Eye scans Val, informing him that he is infected with the Morticoccus virus, and directs the group to Blüdhaven. Brother Eye later assimilates Una, who mortally wounds Karate Kid.
