| Kid Kaiju | |
 | |
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Totally Awesome Hulk #3 (April 2016) |
| Created by | Greg Pak (writer) Frank Cho (artist) Terry Dodson |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Kei Kawade |
| Species | Inhuman |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Partnerships | Elsa Bloodstone Moon Girl |
| Abilities |
Monster summoning and creation |
Kid Kaiju (Kei Kawade) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is an 11-year-old Japanese American boy of Inhuman heritage who has the ability to summon monsters that he draws. His name comes from "Kaiju", which is a term used meaning "strange beast" commonly in Japanese movies. He was the primary focus of the Marvel event series Monsters Unleashed.
Publication history
The character was created by Greg Pak, Frank Cho and Terry Dodson and first appeared, albeit unnamed, in The Totally Awesome Hulk #3 (April 2016). His first official appearance was in Monsters Unleashed Vol. 2 #1 (March 2017).
Fictional character biography
Kei Kawade is a Japanese American kid from Atlanta, Georgia who loved Kaiju monsters of all kinds. His life changed when the Terrigen Mists awakened his Inhuman DNA. His parents, Minouru and Deanna, were relieved to see that it didn't appear to have any effect on him. However, Xemnu came out of nowhere and attacked Minouru's workplace forcing the family to move. After a second attack, Kei's parents began to suspect that the Terrigen Mist had changed their son. When the family lived in Oahu, Hawaii, Kei drew a picture of Amadeus Cho's Hulk form battling Fin Fang Foom resulting in the two materializing and confirming Minouru and Deanna's suspicion. Since then, the Kawades continued to move, leaving a trail of monster attacks.
During the events of Monsters Unleashed, the Leviathon Tide began invading the Earth. With no other choice, Kei summons Fin Fang Foom, Gorgilla, Zzutak and Green Thing with Foom warning him against summoning more. Later on, Elsa Bloodstone breaks into Kei's house and tells him that she's just "doing [her] job". Elsa takes Kei to Parker Industries to meet with the various heroes and monsters who are defending Earth. To demonstrate his powers, Kei summons Devil Dinosaur and unintentionally brings along Moon Girl for the ride. Moon Girl gives Kei encouraging words and forms a close friendship with him due to their shared Inhuman heritage. Together they decipher the Leviathon's shrieks and howls and discover they wanted to "cleanse" the earth. Rallying with the other heroes, and earning the name "Kid Kaiju" from Spider-Man, Kei confronts the Leviathon Mother. He creates his own original monsters Slizzik, Hi-Vo, Aegis, Fireclaw, Scragg, and Mekara. When Fireclaw is killed, Kei combines himself with his monsters to form Smasher and successfully defeat the Leviathon Mother. This causes some of the Leviathons go into hiding on Earth while the others retreated into outer space. The Inhumans enlist the terraforming members of their kind to create an island for Kei and his family called Mu, and Elsa promises to act as a mentor to him.
Since then, Kei has continued to have his monsters battle larger threats while he stayed in the comfort of his new home being home schooled by H.E.R.B.I.E. and frequently visited by Damage Control liaison, Gloria Clark. Kei and Elsa teamed up with the Mole Man to battle the New Intelligencia (consisting of MODOK Superior, Leader, Mad Thinker, and Mister Sinister). During this time, Kei sympathized with Mole Man when he expressed the desire to have his "children" resurrected through Kei's power, something which Kei was unsure was even possible. When New Intelligencia was defeated, Kei and Elsa handed them over to Dum Dum Dugan and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with him.
Powers and abilities
Kei Kawade's main superpower is the ability to summon monsters of any kind. This is accomplished through drawing pictures which he can manipulate the situation based on how he draws them. He can also bring people if they are touching the monster he summons though it is unknown if he can intentionally summon people by themselves due to people, such as superheroes, being "hard to draw" for him. Kei can also create his own monsters and apply certain abilities to them as well. If his original creations are harmed or killed, Kei can feel it (e.g. nose bleeds). He is also capable of communicating with monsters and creatures of various kinds as he was able to speak to Groot clearly.
Monster creations
- Slizzik - A green reptilian creature with wings, prehensile tail and claws. He can also breathe fire. Despite not being able to speak, he is considered intelligent.
- Hi-Vo - A black and blue dino-like creature with electricity surging through his body. He can also absorb energy of all kinds including radioactive material. He is the most child-like of the monsters.
- Aegis - A giant red and white robot that possess laser eye blasts, impenetrable armor and "thruster punches". He is the most gruff of the monsters.
- Mekara - A green skinned humanoid female monster in battle armor. She possesses missiles and lasers, but prefers close combat melee weapons. She is the kindest and fun loving of the monsters.
- Scragg - An insect-like monster. Much like Slizzik, he possesses claws and wings, but can spit webs and a swarm of insect drones. Despite being a monster, Scragg considers himself a pacifist and speaks in old english.
- Fireclaw - A red reptile/cat hybrid monster that, as his name suggests, has flaming claws as well as tail spikes and heightened senses. He was supposed to be the leader of the monsters and was considered Kei's best monster. However, in his very first battle, he was killed by the Leviathon Mother.
In other media
Video games
- Kid Kaiju appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.
Animation
- He appears in a two-episode arc in the anime Marvel Future Avengers in the episodes "A boy drawing a monster picture" and "Monster Battle".