Batman #108 just revealed more about Ghost-Maker’s enemy Kawaii Kid — and set her up to be DC’s own twisted take on Astro Boy.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “Ghost-Maker: Chapter 2” from Batman #108 by James Tynion IV, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Tomeu Morey & Clayton Cowles, on sale now
As a secret hero operating around the world, Ghost-Maker has naturally earned his own Rogue’s Gallery over the years. They’ve even united in hopes of defeating him. One of Ghost-Maker’s villains, Kid Kawaii, might be a dangerous young android assassin, but Ghost-Maker sees the potential for her to become her own person — hinting that she could possibly become the DC Universe’s equivalent of Astro Boy.
Ghost-Maker is Batman’s newest ally — albeit one with a deep history with the Dark Knight. Having trained under many of the same masters in their youth, the pair went from best friends to bitter rivals after Ghost-Maker grew disgusted with the mission at the heart of Bruce’s crusade against crime. Operating as a solo hero across the world, Ghost-Maker has earned his own Rogue’s Gallery over the years. Many of them have been assembled by Madame Midas, one of the world’s most efficient and secretive villains, in the hopes of learning more about their fights with the hero and how to defeat him once and for all. This includes Kid Kawaii who at first glance appears to just be a regular child. But in reality, Kid Kawaii is a deadly assassination robot utilized by Akumaco and the Yakuza to deal with dangerous targets.
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Kid Kawaii has been used to wipe out over a hundred people in the two years since she was activated. However, there’s been a noticeable drop in her efficiency in the last nine months, due to her last encounter with Ghost-Maker. Sent after the Japanese Prime Minister, Kid Kawaii was able to use her appearance to blend into the crowds around a public appearance from the country’s leader. However, Kid Kawaii was surprised to find Ghost-Maker there, disguised as an officer to watch over the Prime Minister. Referring to Kid Kawaii as Kimi, Ghost-Maker engages her in combat. Thanks to the Ferro-Fluid that she’s made from, Kid Kawaii is able to morph and split apart upon being hacked to pieces — effectively giving the little robot elements similar to Clayface.
But Ghost-Maker reveals that he’s been planning for such an eventuality, and has his AI companion Icon activate an electromagnet at the base of the Tokyo Tower. This proves to be enough of an electrical burst to reduce all the Kawaii Kid copies to spasm out. But Ghost-Maker shows a modicum of mercy to the young assassin — promising to deliver the components of the android to Interpol rather than destroy her. He points out that Kawaii Kid may be an android, but her programming was modeled after a real human girl. He tells her that she doesn’t have to be a weapon — prompting Kawaii Kid to thank the vigilante before being allowed to be captured.
It took her creators six months to recover all the pieces of the android, and to eliminate the emotional imprints that Kawaii Kid had developed within her programming for Ghost-Maker, suggesting that this act of mercy had actually gotten through to the robot on some level. It’s an interesting way to play the villain, giving her elements that are surprisingly similar to Astro Boy. Like Astro Boy, Kawaii Kid is a powerful and dangerous young android designed to resemble a child that possesses a host of combat capabilities.
Both Kawaii Kid and Astro Boy are very capable in combat and had their visage and programming based on human children. But while Astro Boy was taken in by Professor Ochanomizu and treated with civility and humanity, Kid Kawaii was only ever used as a weapon. But it’s notable that she’s aware of her emotional capability, with her handlers clearly wary of her developing a fondness for Ghost-Maker after his act of mercy spared her life. If Ghost-Maker is able to get through to her, she might be able to reaffirm those emotional potentials and become a more heroic figure, similar to how Astro Boy became a hero in his own right. But as it stands now, Kid Kawaii stands opposed to Ghost-Maker alongside her fellow villains.
