G
JUDOMASTER
Golden Age Origin
Rip Jagger was a skilled boxer who joined the Marines after Pearl Harbour and was sent to the Pacific. There he encountered a group of Japanese refugees who had fled from the mainland rather than live under the Emperor Hirohito's banner. He rose to the rank of sergeant and during one battle, he saved the life of a young girl who had blundered onto the battle site. His comrades were all killed, but Jagger's life was saved because the girl was the village leader's granddaughter. The old man convinced Rip to take up the study of the martial art of judo, an art he mastered in a very short time. He was then given a costume and led the villagers against the Japanese warriors stationed on the island who had killed his men. Rip then became a secret agent and fought against villains such as the Cat and the Acrobat. During his first meeting with the Cat, Rip met a Japanese-American orphan, a boy who he named Tiger and who turned out to be proficient in the martial arts. Donning a costume, he followed Rip gallantly into battle and was able to watch Judomaster defeat the Acrobat one on one in their second to last public domain adventure.
Golden Age Appearances
SPECIAL WAR SERIES #4 (Charlton Comics)
JUDOMASTER #1-9 (Charlton Comics)
Note
DC Comics bought out Charlton's characters in the mid to early 80s and have used them since then - Judomaster got an entry in WHO"S WHO IN THE DC UNIVERSE - and even created a new female Judomaster. While the adventures of the new female Judomaster are still under copyright protection, the original male Judomaster's first appearance and series are not.