The Rocket Boy is a sci-fi comedy broadcast on TV in 1989. It is a parody of other superhero films, with a semi-competent superhero trying to defeat the villain, Hawkhead.
Hawkhead is trying to hatch eggs. To keep them warm, he harvests human hair from Earth by bringing the hair off random people. After a few minutes of figuring out what is going wrong and trying to keep his secret identity stable, the Rocket Boy finally manages to go after Hawkhead by following the trail of hair.
Tropes include:
- Accidental Truth: Hawkhead guarded his lair with a record player that played scary sounds. To sound impressive, Rocket Boy told Susan that it was a four legged beast with fangs, a large spiky tail and is orange. Seconds later, that monster appears, but Susan steals the kill by grabbing Rocket Boy's weapon.
- All Webbed Up: When the team is held hostage, they're held in place with hair or newspaper.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: When Buddy's hair was tractored, he grabbed it and was pulled through space to Hawkhead's ship.
- Berserk Button:
- Hawkhead doesn't like being called clumsy.
- Mr. Wong doesn't like movies about Alcatraz or Christmas, after being held up by a maniac with a knife and forced to spend the holiday there.
- Bullying a Dragon: Three instances. The first case was Robert Boyd taunting Hawkhead about his clumsy wings before being abducted. At the video store, one hostage called Hawkhead "butterfingers" after he dropped a glass, causing Hawkhead to demonstrate that he can lift hair off his head. The ventriloquism dummy later said that he hopes that Hawkhead doesn't drop him.
- Distressed Damsel: Susan after being kidnapped. She wasn't willing to marry Hawkhead, but a little hypnosis fixed that.
- Flying Car: Requires a trip through a car wash to change from ground and space-flight modes.
- Background Magic Field: Palimon tells the Rocket Boy to use "The Power" on Hawkhead. Not that the Rocket Boy knows what it is, and Mr. Pim biting Hawkhead when told to use the power didn't help teach it either. It ends up as an 11th-Hour Superpower after being told to just believe in it.
- Huge Holographic Head: Palimon speaks to Rocket Boy using one. Hawkhead can pull Palimon through the holographic projection, and wrap him up with hair.
- Merchandise-Driven: Mr. Pim is an in-universe example, of another superhero having his own merchandise and cartoon.
- No Indoor Voice: The Rocket Boy Helmet is a bit too loud, even for the powers it provides.
- Reality Warper: Hawkhead can create and manipulate objects simply by clapping his wings.
- Secret Identity: No one must know the secret identity of Rocket Boy. Except for Buddy. And his parents. And Susan at the video store. And a bunch of people at a party who probably won't recognize him.
- Ventriloquism: The dummy just loves to talk while Hawkhead is drinking a glass of water.
