KOREA KATIE

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human (Post-World War II Era) (Korean)

Occupation: Guerrilla operative

Group Membership: Korean People's Army

Affiliations: People's Volunteer Army

Enemies: Combat Kelly, Koo, Muktong Mollie, Cookie Novak, General Olga, the Panther Lady, Major Thorn, Yalu River Rosie

Known Relatives: Koo (sister), unidentified mother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile in Korea during the Korean War

First Appearance: Combat Kelly I#13 (May, 1953)

Powers/Abilities: Korea Katie was an excellent fighter. She carried a pistol and was skilled at throwing knives.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'2")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 104 lbs.)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black

History:
(Combat Kelly I#20/4 (fb) - BTS) - While the Korean woman called Korea Katie allied herself with the pro-China forces of the People's Volunteer Army, her sister Koo allied herself with South Korea and the United Nations. Katie ordered Koo executed but Koo evaded death.

(Combat Kelly I#13/2) - Posing as a South Korean peasant woman, Korea Katie set out with a wagon loaded with weapons and ammunition hidden under a pile of hay to a town near a U.S. Army camp. When Combat Kelly and Cookie Novak left the camp on a 12-hour pass, they saw Katie seemingly struggling with her wagon. Although they had been warned an operative named Korea Katie was in the area, they were overcome by her beauty and helped her guide her wagon to a farmhouse. Korea Katie brought drugged glasses of milk which she gave them as a reward for their help. Before Korea Katie could continue her plot, a South Korean woman who knew Katie's identity interfered, luring Kelly and Cookie away to a nightclub. When Katie's drugs took effect, the woman placed them in the attic of a hut for their own protection.

    Korea Katie broke into the hut and released Kelly and Cookie from the attic. Thinking the South Korean woman was the one who had drugged them, the duo believed they were being liberated from her clutches and happily followed Katie out of the hut. Outside, Katie had three male subordinates ready to help her confine Kelly and Cookie. The two men started fighting Katie's agents but the South Korean woman returned and grabbed Katie from behind. Holding a knife to Katie's throat, she threatened to kill her unless her subordinates surrendered. It was only then that the South Korean woman identified Korea Katie, surprising Kelly and Cookie.

(Combat Kelly I#24/2) - Just as Yalu River Rosie was about to kill Combat Kelly and Cookie Novak by burning them at a wooden stake, Korea Katie intruded and put out the fire. Holding her gun on Yalu River Rosie, she forced Rosie to let her have the American duo so she could kill them herself. Katie had the men stand upon a log and tied nooses around their necks then kicked away the log. Before they could hang to death, Muktong Mollie cut the nooses and held her gun on Katie, demanding she give them to her so she could collect the reward on Kelly and Cookie's heads. Before long, Katie found herself in a frenzied hand-to-hand struggle against Mollie, Rosie, General Olga and the Panther Lady, who all wanted the privilege of killing their foes. Kelly and Cookie simply sat back and watched the women fight.

(Combat Kelly I#20/4) - Korea Katie captured Combat Kelly and Cookie Novak. Tying Kelly to a wooden wheel, Katie began throwing knives at him as an interrogation method to learn where some American VIPs would be stationed while in Korea. However, the wheel spun off by accident and rolled away. Katie emptied her pistol at the wheel but Kelly survived.

    Kelly was found and untied from the wheel by Katie's sister, Koo. Koo supplied Kelly with weapons so that he could rescue Cookie from Katie, just as Katie was subjecting Cookie to water torture inside a cavern. Kelly escaped the cavern with Cookie and when Katie pursued, Koo met her at the mouth of the exit and threw dynamite at her. The dynamite destroyed the cavern and apparently killed Korea Katie. Koo was distraught that now she would have to tell their mother that Korea Katie was dead.

Comments: Created by Hank Chapman and Dave Berg.

    All Asian femme fatales owe a great debt to Milton Caniff and his creation the Dragon Lady from the newspaper comic strip Terry and the Pirates. In fact, Dave Berg's Korea Katie looks like she might have been traced directly from Caniff's comic strips.

    Combat Kelly's continuity is extremely fluid (stories were sometimes set in completely different wars!) so although we could say Korea Katie survived being killed by Koo, I think it makes as much sense to move her appearance in issue #24 ahead of #20.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Korea Katie should not be confused with:

• Chu San - Clark Mason foe--Spy Fighters I#11
• Comrade China - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#14
• Han River Helen - Iron Mike McGraw foe--Marines in Battle I#1
• Kaesong Katie - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#10
• Kima - Doug Grant foe--Spy Cases I#15
• Lee-Sik - Iron Mike McGraw foe--Marines in Battle I#1
• Ling - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#28
• Manchuria Mary - Battle Brady foe--Battle Brady I#11
• Muktong Mollie - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#19
• Nita - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#15
• Panther Lady - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#9
• The Pearl of Pyongyang - Battle Brady foe--Battle Action I#8
• Pusan Polly - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#24
• Red Mary - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#21
• Red Poppy - Combat Casey foe--Combat Casey I#17
• The Snake Lady of Sinyong - Combat Casey foe foe--Combat Casey I#18
• Sweet Lotus - Doug Grant foe--Spy Cases I#14
• The Wasp - Battle Brady foe--Battle I#25
• Yalu River Rosie - Combat Kelly foe--Combat Kelly I#7
• or any other beautiful Asian Communist women

Koo

Koo was Korea Katie's sister. While Katie became loyal to the forces of China, Koo was loyal to South Korea and considered her sister a traitor. At one point, Korea Katie ordered Koo be executed but Koo evaded death.

Koo chanced to encounter Combat Kelly after he had escaped from being interrogated by Katie while tied to a wooden wheel. Koo set him free and he was immediately smitten with her but she resisted his advances and shared weapons with him so that he could mount a rescue of his ally Cookie Novak from Katie's base. Kelly found Cookie in a cavern and released him. After they exited the cavern, Koo hurled dynamite directly at her sister, causing an explosion which destroyed the cavern and killed Katie. Koo announced that now she would have to inform their mother that Katie had been killed.

--Combat Kelly I#20/4

images: (without ads)
Combat Kelly I#20/4, page 1, panel 1 (Korea Katie, main)
Combat Kelly I#20/4, page 1, panel 4 (Korea Katie, face)
Combat Kelly I#20/4, page 5, panel 3 (Koo)

Appearances:
Combat Kelly I#13/2 (May, 1953) - Hank Chapman (writer), Dave Berg (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Combat Kelly I#20/4 (March, 1954) - unidentified writer, Dave Berg (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Combat Kelly I#24/2 (September, 1954) - unidentified writer, Dave Berg (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 07/08/2025
Last updated: 07/08/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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