Webtoon Review: Kid Cosmic
“Kid” lives in a wide spot on I-70 in the American Southwest desert. There’s Mo’s Diner, a truck stop where most of the regulars have their own favorite stools, Flores Florists, the junkyard where Kid lives with his grandfather Papa G (a found objects artist), and that’s about it. Orphaned some years ago, Kid is a huge comic book fan, especially of the superhero genre. So when five alien stones fall into his possession, Kid knows exactly what to do. Turn them into five Cosmic Rings to become Kid Cosmic!
The first ring Kid Cosmic tries is the green rock, which allows him to fly. Not terribly well at first, but fly. This comes to the attention of Jo, teenage waitress at Mo’s Diner (her mother Flo is the current owner.) She’s not convinced that Kid hasn’t just made up some narrative where he’s the hero who saves the world from evil alien invaders, even after discovering that the purple rock ring allows her to make portals in time-space. But then an evil alien invader attacks. The two Earthling manage to defeat and capture the alien, who they name Chuck, and Chuck lets them know more invaders will come after the Stones of Power, including his Great Leader.
The blue stone ring falls into the hands of Rosa Flores, a four-year-old who can now grow to giant size; the yellow ring is taken up by Papa G, who can create multiple copies of himself, and Kid semi-accidentally gives the red ring to local cat Tuna Sandwich, who gains precognitive abilities. Together, they become Kid Cosmic and the Local Heroes!
This animated kids’ series is fast-paced for its ten episodes, never truly settling down into a status quo (though one episode does take the time to create a status quo to be disrupted by the next episode.) At one point, the story even becomes a sentai show! The fast pace is punctuated by a running gag of having a character move across the screen very slowly.
Like many other modern kids’ cartoons, this one mixes in some heavier themes. “There is no power without pain.” Kid frequently has to deal with real life not being exactly like his comic books, or that he’s mistaken which comic book plotline he’s in. For most of the plotline, Kid Cosmic, who is the most invested in being a superhero, is the least effective of the team, which eats away at his fragile sense of self. (It’s especially galling when the preschooler is better at alien fighting than you are.)
Chuck has something of a parallel plot arc, where at first he studies Kid’s comic book-related fantasies in an attempt to destroy the young hero, but eventually realizes that he too has been following a delusional path.
The story wraps up pretty neatly at the end of the available episodes on Netflix, but then there’s a sequel hook.
The art is suitably comic-booky, and there are some interesting alien designs and theme music. (The theme for the Earth Force Enforcement Force is dire on purpose.)
Content note: comic book/cartoon violence, alien gore.
Recommended for about fourth-graders on up; younger viewers may want some discussion with parents or guardians.
