It is written that the Martial Arts were primarily developed as a method of self-defence and as an exercise regime to promote good health, both in China and Japan. The mid-seventies saw an explosion of Martial Arts movies, and just like Westerns, Science Fiction, and Fantasy films before them, they created a movie trend that had a great influence on the comic books of the time. Martial Artist superheroes started to appear throughout Marvel and DC comics, and any character of Oriental origin was inevitably a master of Kung Fu, "Super Karate" or something similar. The current affairs of the period also affected the comics' content as American comics were rife with ~yellow peril" paranoia and diabolical Chinese supervillains. In this blog post, I'd like to discuss some of the more prominent figures in the genre...
Interestingly, long before the Bruce Lee invasion of the 1970's, we had DC's Judomaster in the 1940's team The All-Star Squadron, but my first favourite Martial Artist was Karate Kid [first appearance Adventure Comics #346 in 1966]. Long before Bruce Lee hit the silver screen in the West, this member of The Legion Of Superheroes had a superpower based on a real skill. Or rather a super-skill - a combination of combat techniques from all over the Galaxy. Essentially all he had was a super Karate chop. Marvel's Karnak of The Inhumans also chopped things with his hands, but he wasn't described as a Martial Artist as such until the seventies. His principle power was to find the weak points in targetsand exploit them. Bear in mind also that Karate Kid was a white caucasian teenager, NOT an oriental. This was groundbreaking stuff, and his white costume with the yellow collar was gorgeous.
Villains figured predominantly as Oriental Karate experts. Any other martial artist was a lackey, hood, or sidekick, their importance was played down by the fear of Yellow Peril Communism. One great example of this stereotype was Chop Chop of The Blackhawks [their mascot and cook], a bald Oriental with a leering grin, bright yellow skin, and a pencil mustache. Curiously his appearance changed as he became more acceptable. A fat buck-toothed caricature when he first appeared in 1941, slowly evolving into a more palatable Chinaman.
The first MAJOR Marvel hero in this genre was of course Shang Chi, Master Of Kung Fu. Note that he was only half-Chinese, being the son of the infamous Fu Manchu and an unnamed American mother [hinted to be Marilyn Munroe]. His first mission was an assassination ordered by his father - he began life as a murderer! In a traditional tragedy plotline, he rebelled against this manipulation and returned to confront his father thus becoming mortal enemies. This was an attempt to modenise the pulp adventures of the 1920's, and it was a great success. Again, current affairs influenced the stories especially during wartime.
Superheroes we created to boost morale during the war, patriotic idols to look up to. Then Japan bombed Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941 and the Oriental masterminds REALLY became the bad guys. Cue The Mandarin and the stylishly revamped villain The Yellow Claw. Added to this was an espionage slant, pseudo-realistic James Bond style spy stories featuring Nick Fury of SHIELD, Ninja, martial arts weapons, and deathtraps. Another fine example of movies affecting comics - this was the birth of the science fiction/martial arts/espionage thriller!