History ComicBook / CosmicBoy

->—Lydda

Rokk Krinn, otherwise known as "Cosmic Boy" or "Polestar," is one of the founders and the default leader of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, an organization from the 31st century. He is a Creator/DCComics character created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and made his first appearance in the pages of ''Adventure Comics'' in 1958.

In 1986 Cosmic Boy got his own self titled four issue miniseries as part of the ''ComicBook/{{Legends|DCComics}}'' CrisisCrossover in which Rokk and his girlfriend Lydda try to go on a vacation that is quickly hijacked by one of their greatest foes.

!!Rokk Krinn appears in:
[[AC:Notable Comic Books]]
* ''Adventure Comics'' Vol 1 (1958 - 2011) [-intermittent appearances-]
* ''Action Comics'' Vol 1 (1960 - 2011) [-intermittent appearances-]
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 1 (1973)
* ''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes'' Vol 1 (1976 - 1979)
* ''ComicBook/KarateKid'' Vol 1 (1976 - 1978)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 2 (1980 - 1987)
* ''Cosmic Boy'' Vol 1 (1986 - 1987)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 3 (1984 - 1989)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 4 (1989 - 2000)
* ''ComicBook/{{Valor}}'' Vol 1 (1993 - 1994)
* ''Legionnaires'' Vol 1 (1994 - 2000)
* ''Superboy's Legion'' (2001)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 5 (2005 - 2008)
* ''ComicBook/SupermanAndTheLegionOfSuperHeroes'' (2007 - 2008)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 6 (2010 - 2011)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' Vol 7 (2012 - 2013)
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes2020''
[[AC:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' (2009) [-played by-] Ryan Kennedy
[[AC:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/Injustice2'' (2017)
[[AC:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' (2006) [-voiced by-] Chad Lowe
* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' (2006 - 2008) [-voiced by-] Creator/WilWheaton
----
!!The Character:
-> For the title character, see [[Characters/LegionOfSuperHeroesFounders here]].

!!''Cosmic Boy'' Vol 1:
----

In 1986 Cosmic Boy got his own self titled four issue miniseries as part of the ''ComicBook/{{Legends|DCComics}}'' CrisisCrossover in which Rokk and and his girlfriend Lydda try to go on a vacation that is quickly hijacked by one of their greatest foes.

In 1986 Cosmic Boy got his own self titled four issue miniseries as part of the ''[[ComicBook/LegendsDC Legends]]'' CrisisCrossover in which Rokk and and his girlfriend Lydda try to go on a vacation that is quickly hijacked by one of their greatest foes.

Rokk Krinn, otherwise known as "Cosmic Boy" or "Polestar," is one of the founders and the default leader of the ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}, an organization from the 31st century. He is a Creator/DCComics character created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and made his first appearance in the pages of ''Adventure Comics'' in 1958.

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 1 (1973)

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 2 (1980 - 1987)

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 3 (1984 - 1989)
* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 4 (1989 - 2000)

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 5 (2005 - 2008)

* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 6 (2010 - 2011)
* ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol 7 (2012 - 2013)

In 1986 Cosmic Boy got his own self titled four issue miniseries in which Rokk and and his girlfriend Lydda try to go on a vacation that is quickly hijacked by one of their greatest foes.

For the title characters' entry on the Legion of Super-Heroes character sheet see [[Characters/LegionOfSuperHeroesFounders here]].

* {{Archenemy}}:
** Cosmic King of the Legion of Super Villains. His name rather gives away that he's Rokk's counterpart on the Legion of Super-Heroes's [[ThePsychoRangers Psycho Rangers]] villain team, though unlike most King does not share his heroic counterpart's powerset; he can transmute matter instead.
** Powers-wise, Magno Lad of the Legion of Super Rejects (and later the LSV), is a direct foil, being a prodigy and Magnetic Olympic champion whose level of raw magnetic might leaves even a powerful Braalian like Cos looking like a weak stripling (in his own words). However, Rokk has the advantage of years of combat experience and training with the versatility of his powers, which allows him to come out the winner in their fights.
* DePower: (5YL) Rokk was depowered during the war between Braal and Imsk. He picked up gauntlets that let him continue to use magnetism and act as the hero Polestar but they took a tole on his sanity.
* NotQuiteFlight: Cosmic Boy can suspend himself in flight by riding a place's magnetic field, or pushing away from nearby ferromagnetic materials or moving the ferromagnetic elements of his own costume. He generally finds this even easier to control than using his flight ring.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/founders.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy & Saturn Girl in their early days as a team.]]
->''"You don't think I make hard decisions? You think leading [[ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} this team]] at a time like [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis this]] is easy?"''

Rokk, along with the rest of the longstanding members of the legion, has an exceptionally [[ContinuitySnarl murky backstory]] due to having the villain Time Trapper in their rouges gallery as he constantly tries to tweak the legion's histories to his liking. In spite of this the basic key points of Rokk's origin generally remain the same, or are swiftly rectified to resemble the history of his past versions.

Rokk is from the artificial planet Braal which was populated with rescuees from Dominators experimentation who had the ability to manipulate magnetic fields. At fourteen Rokk left the econimically depressed planet looking to find a living where he could send money back to his family and ended up joining forces with Garth Ranzz (Lightning Lad) and Imra Ardeen (Saturn Girl) to save the life of the billionaire R.J. Brande. After this heroic rescue the three youngsters joined together to form the Legion of Super-Heroes with Brande and the United Planets' support.

In 1986 Cosmic Boy got his own self titled four issue miniseries.

For his entry on the Legion of Super-Heroes character sheet, which more throughly compares and describes his various versions, see [[Characters/LegionOfSuperHeroesFounders here]].

* TheChainsOfCommanding:
** Thinking he and Sun Boy are in private Rokk decides to cut loose and rant about all the pressure he's under and how much the various idiosyncrasies of the other Legion members annoy him. To his horror, he discovers mere seconds later that the communications channel had been open the whole time and his entire screed was heard by every other member of the Legion. This ultimately leads to a dangerous schism within the Legion, and they only just manage to pull themselves back together in time to defeat the Big Bad.
** On another occasion, Cos blows up at Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad, telling them about the sacrifices he's made so they can be a happy couple and raise a family, forgoing relationships of his own so the responsibility of running the Legion doesn't weigh as heavily on them
* ContinuitySnarl: He's been subject to a lot of retcons, some of which exist at the same and contradict which bits from which other versions are still canon.
* CryIntoChest: (Preboot) After learning his family was injured in a terrorist attack, and having his attack on said terrorists cut short by his girlfriend [[TapOnTheHead clocking him]], sobs into her chest while hugging her when he wakes up back at base.

* ExtraOreDinary: As a Braalian Rokk has the natural ability to lift and manipulate metal.
* {{Flight}}: He can do this by riding magnetic currents, and apparently it's quicker than a flight ring.
* TheLeader: During his tenure as the Legion's first leader he proved charismatic and capable in the role.
* LogicalWeakness:
** Cosmic Boy's power cannot affect non-magnetic metals, such as aluminum and gold, or organic substances like wood.
** Distance affects the limit of his control has over an object, as does the amount of magnetic material in or on that object.

* RealMenWearPink: Most of his costumes include shades of violet or pink. Apparently, he was trying for "pale scarlet" at first, but got used to the color.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: During the "Naked Legion" period in the '70s his magnetic powers were actually required to hold on his new costume which amounted to underwear and a strip of matching material up each side of his torso to about nipple height, making sure to leave a strip bare up the middle to show off his navel and back. Essentially take the pictured costume, make the UnderwearOfPower black, and then remove every bit of cloth or metal that isn't black or part of the belt.

->''"I've been watching this "television" device, and it seems this is a very strange century you took me to. They don't even understand what heroes are for."''
->—Lydda

Rokk and Lydda try to go on a vacation that is quickly hijacked by one of their greatest foes.

* AloofBigBrother: It's not consistent given the myriad of reboots but Rokk's relationship with Pol is distant partially due to Rokk leaving home so early, and after Pol joined the Legion partially to avoid accusations of favoritism and nepotism. He regrets this after Pol's HeroicSacrifice.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Cos is always the gold standard other Braalians on the team hold themselves to. This was tragically deconstructed when his little brother Pol joined the team to emulate his awesome big brother and ended up pulling a HeroicSacrifice after struggling in his brother's shadow the whole time he was on the team regardless of how supportive Rokk tried to be. The other Braalian on the team ended up losing his powers and becoming MissionControl instead.

* BadassBeard: (5YL) Rokk grows himself a beard as the hero Polestar.
* BattleCouple: With Night Girl (Lydda) when they're dating and on the same team, and sometimes when on separate teams but not nearly as often.
* BigBrotherWorship: (Preboot) Rokk's little brother Pol looks up to and idolizes him. When Pol grew old enough and skilled enough to join the Legion of Super-Heroes as Magnetic Kid he did so in a costume almost identical to the one Rokk wore when he started out.
* BlueOni: Cosmic Boy plays the coolheaded blue to Lightning Lad's Red Oni. Always.

* DeadGuyJunior: (5YL) Rokk and Lydda had a son named after his deceased little brother.
* DependingOnTheArtist: Rokk's eyes have been blue, black, grey and purple.

* TheDutifulSon: He left his economically depressed planet to find work so that he could send money home to support his family when he was fourteen. He only ended up a superhero because he helped save the life of one of the richest men in the galaxy on his way to search for work and was then offered a job as a hero. Preboot this takes a tragic turn as his his mother dies in a terrorist attack on the new neighborhood brought them to so they could be together again and his little brother dies trying to follow in his footsteps as a hero.

* FanOfThePast: Cos is a huge fan of the age of the dawn of superheroes (WWII - "present"), which makes the legalization of time travel awesome for him as he pretty much immediately goes to visit and make pals with Superboy.
* FishbowlHelmet: When the Legion of Super-Heroes first appeared Cosmic Boy was wearing a glass globe of a helmet. It was the '50s and he was from space and the future. Later incarnations of him and the Legion have invisible means of maintaining a breathable atmosphere for themselves when needed.

* FutureMeScaresMe: Rokk is pretty unsettled when he meets his future self (the [[spoiler:Time Trapper]]) in the "End of an Era" closing out the 5YL run.
* GeniusBruiser: It doesn't come up much since he's on a team with ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} 5/Querl Dox but Rokk is extremely smart with an encyclopedia of knowledge about history in his head and enough knowledge and skill to repair a time machine with its own cannibalized parts and deconstructed local tech when he and Nite Girl get stranded in the 1980s with a broken Time Bubble.
* HumanAliens: Rokk and the other Braalians are usually humans, descended from a group that was taken and experimented on to give them a uniform powerset--like Kryptonians or Martians--rather than humanity's unpredictable potential powerset brought about by the meta-gene, but while not all continuities keep to this version of the story Braalians are always physically indistinguishable from humans save for occasionally purple eyes.
* IconicOutfit: His Silver Age lilac bodysuit with black down the sides, a tall white band collar, convex white shoulder bands, with four beveled metal medallions on the chest. It makes him recognizable as nothing more than a silhouette and is the go to choice for animated adaptations, though they tend to get rid of the UnderwearOfPower.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: (Preboot) Cos decides on his own that if her kills his mother's killers he'll be no better than them, and that he doesn't want to do so in her name. It probably had something to do with the fact that he was torturing them to death using their own blood so the screaming helped snap him out of it and made it really clear to him he was doing something vile.
* ItsAllMyFault: (Preboot) Cos blames his mother's death on her killers, but still feels he's at fault since he's the one who bought his family a home in the neighborhood the terrorists targeted. His brother's HeroicSacrifice after following Cos into superheroics is something he likewise feels responsible for.

* MagneticHero: The reason why Rokk became the first leader of the Legion and is often looked to when smaller groups of it need leadership or things are falling apart is because people are just drawn to his charismatic personality and optimism. This holds less true under some writers, and for some later versions.
* MagnetismManipulation: He can manipulate, repel or attract metal objects of varying sizes. Naturally, the more metal there is in an object, the easier it is for him to affect it magnetically. His super-magnetism has only a slight effect on the metallic particles of smog.
* ManlyTears: Rokk doesn't care at all who sees him crying.
** (Preboot) When he was very publicly breaking into hospital records to see his family's conditions after they were injured in a terrorist attack and the hospital refused to release any information he had tears running down his face the entire time. He didn't stop crying when he violently left the hospital on his RoaringRampageOfRevenge either.
* MovieSuperheroesWearBlack: In his only live action adaptation to date he trades in his often colorful and pink costumes for a black quilted one.

* ObliviousToLove: He was clueless to Nite Girl's rather obvious interest in him for quite a while, though it helped that she was on the substitute team so he didn't interact with her all that much. His teammates on the other hand were all aware of her affections for him long before he clued in.
* PrepareToDie: (Preboot) He tracks down his mother's killers tells them he's going to kill them and starts to do so, but decides it would make him no better than them and a disgrace to his mother's memory. The terrorists are still left badly injured since it took Cos a bit of their screaming to decide he was stepping over a line he didn't want to cross.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: When fire-bombers killed his mother and severely injured the rest of his family, he rips apart the prison shuttle they're being transported in and Night Girl has to [[TapOnTheHead intervene]] to stop him from tearing ''them'' apart as well. Later he does the same to ''another'' shuttle they're in, but manages to stop himself on his own this time.
* SinglePowerSuperheroes: Like most of the traditional members of the Legion he's got a single power which everyone on his planet also possesses, in his case magnetism manipulation. He has over the years found ways to turn it into a SwissArmySuperpower due to his training and abnormal strength level.
* StandardizedLeader: In some continuities and most adaptations to other media Cos is very plain and bland compared to his teammates but remains their steadfast no-nonsense leader, which is something they tend to require due to all the drama they generate. He's also very effective in a fight with or without them and is ''always'' a bit of a geek who loves studying and memorizing things from history.

* SuccessfulSiblingSyndrome: (Preboot) Rokk is the successful sibling while Pol spent years in the Legion's academy trying to become an actual member and once he did was still in his brother's shadow. Other versions avert this with Pol becoming a professional athlete instead of a hero.
* SwissArmySuperpower: Cosmic Boy has the ability to control and sense magnetic fields, which has over the years been used to allow him to "fly" without a flight ring, create a personal force field, yank people around by the iron in their blood—though he usually avoids this since the internal damage can kill them—and operate as a computer hacking {{Technopath}} which makes him incredibly effective in the computer driven setting in which he lives. He can, and has, locked people out of their own buildings and systems without anyone even having a chance to realize he's using his powers.
* TalentedButTrained: In addition to his powers being considerably stronger than those of the average Braalian (possibly due to being born on Earth), Cosmic Boy has had years of Legion training including combat practice against his super-powered teammates, and is a seasoned fighter of villains of all sorts, super- and otherwise.
* ThouShaltNotKill: One of those who came up with the Legion's no killing code and usually one of the code's most stringent enforcers and followers. He can however get mad enough to want to throw the code away, which is probably why he feels so strongly about having it be an enforceable rule in the first place.
* UnderwearOfPower: He's worn white and black trunks over his bodysuit, and for a period black ones and little else, but he's dropped this element of his traditional costume these days.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: During the period where Cos was wearing the Mike Grell designed "Cosmic Corset" he was essentially wearing two strips of tape that covered his nipples in place of a shirt.
* YouKilledMyFather: When Cos' mother Ewa was killed in a terrorist attack he drops his usual rule abiding ways to seek revenge, catching the Legion off guard. He painfully drags the terrorists from police custody using the iron in their blood ''before he learns his mother died of her injuries'' and is only prevented from killing them by his girlfriend knocking him out with super-strength. When he tracks them back down later he stops himself from killing them at the last minute not wanting to sully his mother's memory:
-->''"Tonight I'm doing my duty as a son, not as a Legionnaire. And the [[ThouShaltNotKill Legion Code]] be '''hanged'''."''

* ContinuitySnarl: He's been subject to a lot of retcons, some of which exist at the same and contradict which bits from which other versions are still cannon.

Rokk, along with the rest of the longstanding members of the legion, has an exceptionally [[ContinuitySnarl murky backstory]] due to having the villain Time Trapper in their rouges gallery as he constantly tries to tweak the legion's histories to his liking. In spite of this the basic tenements of Rokk's origin generally remain the same, or are swiftly rectified to resemble the history of his past versions.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: When fire-bombers killed his mother and severely injured the rest of his family, he rips apart the prison shuttle they're being transported in and Night Girl has to [[TapOnTheHead intervene]] to stop him from tearing ''them'' apart as well.

** Powers-wise, Magno Lad of the Legion of Super Rejects (and later the LSV), is a direct foil, being a prodigy and Magnetic Olympic champion whose level of raw magnetic might leaves Cos looking like a weak stripling (in his own words). However, Rokk has the advantage of years of combat experience and training with the versatility of his powers, which allows him to come out the winner in their fights.

* RealMenWearPink: Most of his costumes include shades of violet or pink.

* {{Archenemy}}: Cosmic King of the Legion of Super Villains. His name rather gives away that he's Rokk's counterpart on the Legion of Super-Heroes's [[ThePsychoRangers Psycho Rangers]] villain team, though unlike most King does not share his heroic counterpart's powerset; he can transmute matter instead.

** Distance affects the limit his magnetic control has over an object, as does the amount of metal in or on that object.

* DependingOnTheArtist: Rokk's eyes have been blue, black, grey and purple. His hair on the other hand is black, even if it is sometimes colored brown in individual pictures that is creative license or an error on the part of the artist.

* NotQuiteFlight: Cosmic Boy can suspend himself in flight by riding a place's magnetic field.

->''" Tonight I'm doing my duty as a son, not as a Legionnaire. And the [[ThouShaltNotKill Legion Code]] be '''hanged'''."''

Rokk Krinn, otherwise known as "Cosmic Boy," is one of the founders and the default leader of the ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}, an organization from the 31st century. He is a Creator/DCComics character created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino and made his first appearance in the pages of ''Adventure Comics'' in 1958.

* BattleCouple: With Night Girl (Lydda) when they're dating and on the same team.

* DeadGuyJunior: In the continuity where Rokk and Lydda had a son he named his child after his deceased little brother.

* {{Stripperiffic}}: During the "Naked Legion" period in the '70s Rokk got hit harder than most of his female teammates, his magnetic powers were actually required to hold on his new costume which amounted to underwear and a strip of matching material up each side of his torso to about nipple height, making sure to leave a strip bare up the middle to show off his navel. Essentially take the pictured costume, make the UnderwearOfPower black, and then remove every bit of cloth or metal that isn't black or part of the belt.

* ''Adventure Comics'' Vol 1 (1958 - 2011)

Rokk, along with the rest of the longstanding members of the legion, has an exceptionally murky backstory due to having the villain Time Trapper in their rouges gallery as he constantly tries to tweak the legion's histories to his liking. In spite of this the basic tenements of Rokk's origin generally remain the same, or are swiftly rectified to resemble the history of his past versions.

* IconicOutfit: His silver age lilac bodysuit with black down the sides, a tall white band collar, convex white shoulder bands, with four beveled metal medallions on the chest. It makes him recognizable as nothing more than a silhouette and is the go to choice for animated adaptations, though they tend to get rid of the UnderwearOfPower.

* ShoutOut: One of the people attacking Rokk on Time Trapper's orders is clearly a thinly veiled [[Franchise/StarWars Storm Trooper]].

->'''Time Trapper:''' Call it a room if you will. It's simply a little section of my personal playground, here at the end of time. Remember, the very existence of this place is proof of my ultimate victory. In the end all things will be reduced to what I permit them to be, ''dust''.