Ladies and gentleman--presenting the most egregiously underused supporting character of all time--Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter!!
What's so great about him? Well, first of all, he was named after a brand of carbon paper (really--ask Doug Moench!!)
Secondly, he has two nicknames--two!!
Thirdly, he is an American expatriate who just happens to be the English heavyweight full-contact karate champion, and is also a great sportsman:
Sadly, his opponent isn't so noble.
Which turns out to be a huge mistake!
Carter knows a lot about Zen physiology and binocular vision:
...or maybe he's just full of jive:
And by the way, he owns an antique shop, and needs help against mobsters running a protection racket:
He knows how to deal with the lowlife:
Oh, and he doesn't really run an antique shop, he works for the CIA, and it was all a cover to steal of bunch of French intelligence files from the Yugoslavs, but it turned out they were all about some cat Shang-Chi had already offed last issue, so it was all for nothing...there you go, that's how things rolled in MOKF.
Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter is so badass, he smokes stogies in his hospital bed, and uses the cigar to burn up his CIA ID card as a particularly badass way to resign:
Of course, then his former masters want to kill him because he "knows too much," so he ends up going to Shang for help. And they've got a great buddy act going:
And his ex-boss finds out the hard way: you DO NOT betray Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter. Ever.
And that's it. After 3 meager appearances, Rufus Carter hasn't been heard from again since 1983. Nada. Zilch.
How is that possible?!?
How can it be that this man hasn't made zillions of guest appearances, and had his own limited series? Hell, a continuing series?!? Where the hell is Ed Brubaker when you need him--Rufus Carter is right up his alley!!
And why in Zod's name hasn't somebody optioned him for a film?!? For heaven's sake, movie studios will pay big bucks to buy an option on one of Mark Millar's cocktail napkin scribblings before a single issue is even published, and no one wants to make Super-Midnight: The Rufus Carter Story?!?!?! Who wouldn't want to see a film about a one-eyed American English karate champ who runs an antique shop but is really a CIA operative but is now a man on the run from his own government while going freelance to help those in need? What's wrong with this country?!?!?!
OK...gotta calm down...all I'm sayin' is, there's a hell of an opportunity to do something with one hell of a great character who's been neglected for 2 and a half decades.
So hop to it, Marvel.
PS. Nobody draws better moustaches than Mike Zeck. I'm just sayin'.
Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter appears in Master of Kung Fu #96 & 99 (1981) by Doug Moench and Mike Zeck and Gene Day, as well as #120 (not pictured here because it's Zeck Week) by Moench and Day. C'mon, Brubaker? Van Lente? Somebody??? Use this guy!!
What's so great about him? Well, first of all, he was named after a brand of carbon paper (really--ask Doug Moench!!)
Secondly, he has two nicknames--two!!
Thirdly, he is an American expatriate who just happens to be the English heavyweight full-contact karate champion, and is also a great sportsman:
Sadly, his opponent isn't so noble.
Which turns out to be a huge mistake!
Carter knows a lot about Zen physiology and binocular vision:
...or maybe he's just full of jive:
And by the way, he owns an antique shop, and needs help against mobsters running a protection racket:
He knows how to deal with the lowlife:
Oh, and he doesn't really run an antique shop, he works for the CIA, and it was all a cover to steal of bunch of French intelligence files from the Yugoslavs, but it turned out they were all about some cat Shang-Chi had already offed last issue, so it was all for nothing...there you go, that's how things rolled in MOKF.Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter is so badass, he smokes stogies in his hospital bed, and uses the cigar to burn up his CIA ID card as a particularly badass way to resign:
Of course, then his former masters want to kill him because he "knows too much," so he ends up going to Shang for help. And they've got a great buddy act going:
And his ex-boss finds out the hard way: you DO NOT betray Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter. Ever.
And that's it. After 3 meager appearances, Rufus Carter hasn't been heard from again since 1983. Nada. Zilch.How is that possible?!?
How can it be that this man hasn't made zillions of guest appearances, and had his own limited series? Hell, a continuing series?!? Where the hell is Ed Brubaker when you need him--Rufus Carter is right up his alley!!
And why in Zod's name hasn't somebody optioned him for a film?!? For heaven's sake, movie studios will pay big bucks to buy an option on one of Mark Millar's cocktail napkin scribblings before a single issue is even published, and no one wants to make Super-Midnight: The Rufus Carter Story?!?!?! Who wouldn't want to see a film about a one-eyed American English karate champ who runs an antique shop but is really a CIA operative but is now a man on the run from his own government while going freelance to help those in need? What's wrong with this country?!?!?!
OK...gotta calm down...all I'm sayin' is, there's a hell of an opportunity to do something with one hell of a great character who's been neglected for 2 and a half decades.
So hop to it, Marvel.
PS. Nobody draws better moustaches than Mike Zeck. I'm just sayin'.
Rufus "One Eye" "Super Midnight" Carter appears in Master of Kung Fu #96 & 99 (1981) by Doug Moench and Mike Zeck and Gene Day, as well as #120 (not pictured here because it's Zeck Week) by Moench and Day. C'mon, Brubaker? Van Lente? Somebody??? Use this guy!!
I think he's not in a movie since no man alive is a bad enough dude to play him in the movie.
ReplyDeleteRufus "Super Midnight" Carter---man oh man.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about him is that issue #96 (with its cool blue cover tones) was hyped as "the dramatic debut of an exciting new martial arts super star!" but on the cover he's sprawled flat on his back, and the hype blurb is placed right above Carter's unconcious body! Rare unintentional hilarity from the wizards of Master of Kung Fu! And to add to the '70s vibe, there's Shang Chi kicking holy hell out of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-inspired character, Oryx.
Outta Sight!