Kanto (comics)
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Kanto is a fictional extraterrestial assassin published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Mister Miracle vol. 1 #7 (April 1971), and was created by Jack Kirby.
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[edit] Character History
Once a student of Granny's named Iluthin, he was accused of stealing weaponry from Darkseid's then-master assassin Kanto-13. Against the request of Kanto 13, young Iluthin was exiled from Apokolips to Earth, Renaissance time. There he trained under Italian teachers, and fell in love with a woman named Claudia. But Kanto 13 tracked him to Earth, and at the wedding altar, Kanto 13 attacked them, and killed his bride Claudia. Iluthin and Kanto 13 battled, and in the end Darkseid's assassin was defeated. Darkseid himself came to Earth and destroyed Kanto 13 for failure, and Iluthin returned to Apokolips as Darkseid's new assassin.
When Mr. Miracle comes back to Apokolips, Kanto is one of the obstacles he faces. Kanto dresses in a quasi-Renaissance fashion, possibly to imply both royal court intrigue, and the artistic pride that he has in his assassin's work. It should be noted that of all the foes Mr. Miracle faced while Mr. Kirby worked on his books, Kanto shared a sort of professional respect with Mr. Miracle.
During Darkseid's attack on the Source, Kanto encountered Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, the one-time Wonder Woman, and defeated her in battle. During this fight it was implied that Kanto was not only her former teacher but her former lover. This unfortunately falls out of continuity as Artemis was trapped in a demon dimension along with her Amazon sisters between the ages of 14 to 24 years of age. Artemis was, by this time, an experienced warrior and was not shown alongside Kanto until the Source Wall storyline. Hence, he would have only had the opportunity to have had an affair with the Amazon before the age of 14. Also, in the Requiem mini-series Artemis admits to being a virgin.
This was the second time that writers tried to tie the character to the Wonder Woman mythos. Previously, during the Amalgam Comics period, he was explained to be the son of Wonder Woman and Frank Castle. This story however also is not part of the character's canon, as it was a short-lived alternate reality.
[edit] Powers and Abilities
Kanto is a master swordsman and fighter, and considers his work his art. He models himself after the people of the Italian Renaissance whom he lived among during exile. He remains in the service of the recently revived Darkseid, awaiting his next command. As one of the New Gods, he has incredible resistance to harm--for example, on at least one occasion he survived a fall into Apokolips's fire pits.
[edit] Notes
- Kanto was modelled after Renaissance nobleman Cesare Borgia.
[edit] Other media
Kanto appeared in an episode of Superman: The Animated Series voiced by Michael York. In that episode, he supplied Intergang with weapons from Apokolips they can use to kill Superman. After Intergang failed, Kanto retreated back to Apokolips, with Bruno Mannheim desperately following him.
He later appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode, Alive! along with Mantis as a lieutenant for Virman Vundabar in his power struggle with Granny Goodness when Darkseid, following his death at the end of the Justice League episode Twilight, returns, putting an end to the war. Despite speaking, no voice actor was credited for this appearance. It clearly was not York; best speculation, based on the cast list for the episode, would be top impressionist Corey Burton.
