Cosmic Boy

Cosmic Boy
Cover art forFinal Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds#3 (February 2009), art byGeorge Pérez.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Adventure Comics#247 (April 1958)
Created by	Otto Binder Al Plastino
In-story information
Alter ego	Rokk Krinn
Species	Braalian
Place of origin	Braal
Team affiliations	Legion of Super-Heroes
Notable aliases	Polestar,Time Trapper
Abilities	Powers: Magnetism manipulation Magnetic field / force manipulation Magnetic pulse Geomagnetic link Abilities: Basic hand-to-hand combatant Enhanced intellect Gifted leader Equipment: Legion flight ring

Cosmic Boy(Rokk Krinn) is asuperheroappearing in comics published byDC Comics.He is from the 31st century, and is a founding member and original leader of theLegion of Super-Heroes.

Cosmic Boy made his live-action debut in an episode ofSmallville,portrayed byRyan Kennedy.

Publication history

Main article:Publication history of the Legion of Super-Heroes

Cosmic Boy first appeared inAdventure Comics#247 (April 1958) and was created byOtto BinderandAl Plastino.

Fictional character biography

Original

Main article:Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team)

Cosmic Boy is a founding member of theLegion of Super-Heroes,along withLightning LadandSaturn Girl,and he has thesuperhumanability to generatemagnetic fields.Cosmic Boy's brother, Pol, eventually joined the Legion as Magnetic Kid, but died during the "Magic Wars". Cosmic Boy is one of the few Legionnaires ever to have his own miniseries, which ran for four issues in the mid-1980s as a spin-off of theLegendscross-over.

In the pre-Zero HourLegion, Cosmic Boy was romantically involved withNight Girl(Lydda Jath) from theLegion of Substitute Heroes.During the"Five Year Gap"following the Magic Wars, he lost his powers in the course of a war between the planets of Braal and Imsk (the homeworld ofShrinking Violet), in which the Imskian army used a "dampener" on the magnetic fields within the Braalian soldiers. "Vi" was on the scene when her fellow Legionnaire was crippled by the dampener during the battle of Venado Bay, and harbored deep guilt for years. No longer using his codename, Rokk retired to the slums of a demilitarized Braal with his wife Lydda, who gave birth to their son Pol (named for Rokk's brother).

WhenReep Dagglereformed the Legion, a powerless Rokk joined up, moving his family to the Legion's new headquarters. The former Cosmic Boy continued to serve with honor during the adult Legion's tour of duty, proving that he needed no powers to be a hero. Rokk did however regain his powers shortly beforeZero Hour,thanks to a special pair of power gauntlets. He took on the codenamePolestar,only to renounce the power gauntlets after they began to affect his mind. After learning that he was apparently destined to become theTime Trapper,Rokk and the rest of the Legion were erased from history byZero Hour.

Post-Zero Hour

Main article:Legion of Super-Heroes (1994 team)

In the post-Zero Hour Legion, Rokk Krinn came from a poor family but became a superstar in the Braallian sport of Magnoball, earning the nickname "Cosmic Boy" after winning the Magnoball Cosmic Games. He sent most of his earnings to his family, unaware that his manager, Alex Cuspin, was embezzling them instead. After being approached byR. J. Brandeto form the Legion, Saturn Girl discovered and revealed the truth about Cuspin. Rokk promptly dismissed his manager and had him arrested. The founding members voted him leader, but soon after found out thatLeviathan,aScience Policeveteran, had been appointed to leadership by theUnited PlanetsPresident. Leviathan would shortly thereafter give Cosmic Boy the leadership position after the death ofKid Quantum,a position he served in very admirably.After the attack on Earth by the White TriangleDaxamites,he seemed to turn into a controlling martinet under the thumb of UP President Chu. During this period, he made many unpopular decisions, including forcing Lightning Lad andUltra Boyoff the team. However, this was a ruse planned by himself andInvisible Kidto expose the corruption of the UP President.

After this, he voluntarily stepped down from leadership, feeling that he had served as leader for long enough. When Shrinking Violet fell under the influence of theEmerald Eye of Ekron,Rokk was one of the team members the Eye sent to the 21st century. During this period, he and Saturn Girl began a relationship, but was then rendered comatose during a battle withDoctor Psycho.While he apparently recovered, it was later revealed that Saturn Girl had been subconsciously manipulating his comatose body since Psycho's attack. She also realized that she was in love with Garth. The relationship ended, but the two remained close friends. After returning to the 31st Century, he would deal with an attempt on his life by his former manager, who had been released from prison. After half the team was lost in a rift in space, the Legion was disbanded by Leland McCauley, president of the United Planets. Brande quickly recruited him to reform the Legion in secret and Rokk again led the team for a short time, discovering that McCauley had been killed and was being impersonated byRa's al Ghul.After defeating Ra's, Rokk would step down from leadership again. Later, he began a relationship with the Legion's new leader,Kid QuantumII.

"Threeboot" continuity

Main article:Legion of Super-Heroes (2004 team)

Part of the cover art forLegion of Super-Heroesvol. 5, #9 (October 2005), art byBarry Kitson.

InLegion of Super-Heroesvol. 5, #1, Cosmic Boy is the leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes. After seemingly destroying theDominators' homeworld (he actually sends it to thePhantom Zone), Cosmic Boy is voted out of office, being replaced bySupergirl.He then joins a superhero team from the 41st century, who come back in time to offer him membership.

Post-Infinite Crisis

The events of theInfinite Crisisminiseries have apparently restored a close analogue of the pre-Crisis on Infinite EarthsLegion to continuity, as seen in "The Lightning Saga"story arc inJustice League of AmericaandJustice Society of America,and in the "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes"story arc inAction Comics.Cosmic Boy is included in their number.

Comics writer Geoff Johns said about the characters:

Cosmic Boy is like the all-around leader who puts it all on his shoulders, but he's magnetic. His powers are all about magnetics, and so it carries over to his personality. And he struggles to bring all the Legion back together. He's like, 'We can do this. We can bring it together'. It comes naturally to him.

The New Golden Age

In the pages of "The New Golden Age",Cosmic Boy is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members that arrive in the present and confront the Justice Society of America over their decision to add Legionnaire (a younger version of Mordru wanting to avoid the path of evil) to their ranks. As he and Saturn Girl want the JSA to hand the younger Mordru over to them, Lightning Lad states" or we're going to take him from you ".

Limited series

Cosmic Boy
Cosmic Boy#1 (December 1986), art bySteve Lightle.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Miniseries
Publication date	December1986– March1987
No.of issues	4
Main character(s)	Cosmic Boy Night Girl Time Trapper
Creative team
Written by	Paul Levitz
Penciller(s)	Keith Giffen Ernie Colón Bob Smith
Editor(s)	Karen Berger

Cosmic Boy was featured in a four-part limited series, cover dated December 1986 through March 1987. A tie-in to theLegendslimited series, it was written byPaul Levitz,with art byKeith Giffen,Ernie Colón,and Bob Smith.

In the series, Cosmic Boy and Night Girl have traveled from the 30th century to enjoy a vacation in the 20th century. They find themselves threatened by many citizens and residents of the United States, who have been manipulated byGlorious Godfreyas part ofDarkseid's scheme to discredit Earth's superhero community.Soon after arriving, Cosmic Boy encountersSuperman,who does not recognize him—even thoughSuperboywas a member of the Legion for years. He and Night Girl review videotapes of recent history, including references to thebombing of Hiroshima,theexplosion of the American space shuttleChallenger,and themeltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,but no mention of Superman's early career as Superboy. Cosmic Boy, a 20th-century Earth history buff, insists that none of these events are correct. As theirs is one of the first journeys through time since theCrisis,the couple fears that something is terribly wrong with history. The future could be in serious danger, since many of the worlds in theUnited Planetswere colonized by settlers from Earth. A space shuttle mission carrying a satellite crucial to Earth's future development of space travel goes awry, with the shuttle exploding. Cosmic Boy magnetically catches the payload and sends the debris harmlessly toward the ocean, but American soldiers assume that he is a foreign spy. They attack him, implementing PresidentRonald Reagan's directive outlawing all superhero activity.

Seeking to protect the satellite, Cosmic Boy and Night Girl travel toNASAfacilities in Houston where they meet Jason, one of the astronauts who designed the shuttle. They help to quell a riot that breaks out when demonstrators break down the gates at NASA, and Cosmic Boy becomes convinced that some unseen enemy is deliberately trying to prevent the mission. As they depart, the couple notes that both of their families are from worlds settled during the Great Emigration from Earth. They are unaware that the last name of Jason — the astronaut they just met — is Krinnski, which implies that he may be a distant ancestor of Cosmic Boy, whose real name is Rokk Krinn.

Cosmic Boy and Night Girl decide to return to the 30th century, where time travel expertsBrainiac 5and Circadia Senius might be able to determine the problem. Upon entering the timestream, their Time Bubble encounters a storm and starts to shake violently. They are forced to return to the 20th century. They turn to Jason Krinnski for assistance, who does his best to help them repair the Time Bubble. However, their second attempt to leave fails, as if there was a barrier blocking them. Realizing that they need a massive power source to propel the Bubble all the way to the 30th century, Cosmic Boy harnesses the electromagnetic energy from Earth's magnetic field. They breach the barrier, but are propelled past their own century, all the way to the End of Time, where they are confronted by one of the Legion's deadliest enemies: theTime Trapper.

The Trapper toys with the couple, giving them an hour to find their way back to the 30th century. They eventually make their way through the Trapper's Citadel to their Time Bubble, just as the last grains in the hourglass are about to fall. Cosmic Boy uses his power to warp the hourglass, closing it so that the last grain will never fall. Amused, the Trapper allows them to leave. He directs the Time Bubble to the 30th century, placing it right in front of Legion Headquarters. He warns the couple that this will be their final journey through time, and that "the next occasion when a Legionnaire dares break the time barrier will be the last". As the two of them race to warn the Legion about what has occurred, the Trapper realizes that the Legionnaires will be returning for him. He finds this quite satisfying, as he looks at a pair of statues of Superboy and his dogKrypto.

The events of this series are continued in the story arc "The Greatest Hero of Them All",published inSupermanvol. 2, #8;Action Comics#591; andLegion of Super-Heroesvol. 3, #37-38 (August–September 1987).

In the "Watchmen"sequel"Doomsday Clock",Cosmic Boy is among the Legionnaires that appear in the present afterDoctor Manhattanundid the experiment that erased the Legion of Super-Heroes and theJustice Society of America.

Powers and abilities

Cosmic Boy's superpower is super-magnetism. He can manipulate, repel or attract metal objects of varying sizes. Naturally, the more metal is in an object the easier it is for him to affect magnetically. Cosmic Boy has been known to pull large iron meteors and satellites down from space with minimal effort. He can use his magnetic power on rocks that contain iron ore to pull or use them as projectiles. He can also magnetize metal objects so that they become magnets themselves and make them stick to other metal objects. His power cannot affect non-metals, such as organic substances like wood or flesh. His control is such that he can manipulate electronic records or the iron in blood. He has been known to use a uniform with ferrous fibres so he can fly with his own powers, but usually relies on a Legion flight ring.

Equipment

As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Cosmic Boy is provided a Legion Flight Ring. It allows him to fly and protects him from the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments.

Costume

Cosmic Boy's original costume was pink with black at the sides, with four white circles, the code-name "Cosmic Boy" written on the chest, and a plastic bubble space helmet. After his first appearance, the helmet and the codename were replaced with white epaulets. For a period in the late 1970s, he was portrayed in a costume designed byMike Grellwhich was essentially a blackbustierwith black gloves and boots, with bare arms, shoulders, chest, and legs. Cosmic Boy returned to a close variation on the original costume a few years later. As Polestar, he wore a black and purple bodysuit with a stripe up the side and a black cowl. In the post-Zero Hour Legion, he wore a version of his original costume with lavender as the primary color instead of pink. On this version of the costume, the four circles on the chest were actually discs that he could magnetically manipulate and use as weapons. The "Threeboot" version is a similar pattern, with blue as the primary color and black circles instead of white.

In other media

Television

Ryan Kennedy as Rokk/Cosmic Boy onSmallville.

• Cosmic Boy appears in theSuperman: The Animated Seriesepisode "New Kids in Town", voiced byChad Lowe.He,Saturn Girl,andChameleon Boytravel back in time to stopBrainiacfrom killing Clark Kent before he can become Superman.
• Cosmic Boy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in theJustice League Unlimitedepisode "Far From Home".
• Cosmic Boy appears inLegion of Super Heroes(2006), voiced byWil Wheaton.This version is often busy traveling the universe and maintaining the Legion's reputation, which strains his relationship with them, particularly his best friend Lightning Lad. As a result, Cosmic Boy was temporarily replaced byBouncing Boyas the Legion's leader during the first season after Lightning Lad grew frustrated with him and called for a new leader to be elected.
• Rokk / Cosmic Boy appears inSmallville,portrayed byRyan Kennedy.This version rarely speaks and displays the most determination of his teammates. In the episode "Legion", he, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad travel back in time to rescueClark KentfromPersuaderand Brainiac, though Rokk nearly killsChloe Sullivanwhile she was possessed by Brainiac. After Kent inspires him to never resort to murder and helps the Legion defeat Brainiac while saving Sullivan, Rokk updates the Legion's rules accordingly and warns Kent of his future battle withDoomsdaybefore he and his team return to the future to reprogram Brainiac. In the episode "Doomsday", Rokk returns to the present to give Kent a new Legion flight ring and asks him to send Doomsday to the 31st century as the Legion is better equipped to fight it.

Film

• Cosmic Boy appears inLego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash,voiced byYuri Lowenthal.This version comes from a future Earth that Brainiac conquered by the year 2116. As the only Legionnaires left, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad assist Batman in fighting Brainiac before helping the former return to the present.
• Cosmic Boy appears inLegion of Super-Heroes(2023), voiced byEric Lopez.
• TheLegion of Super Heroes(2006) incarnation of Cosmic Boy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the crossover filmScooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!.

Video games

Cosmic Boy makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Brainiac's ending inInjustice 2.

Miscellaneous

• Cosmic Boy appears inAdventures in the DC Universe#10.
• Cosmic Boy appears in the one-shot comicBatman '66Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes.

External links

• COSMIC BOY at the LEGION Collection
• Cosmic Boyat the DC Database Project
• Cosmic Boyat theBig Comic Book Database