Black Boy Joy

Cornell and his friends at school have weekly debates over who the best superhero is and why they would win in any fight. Each week, Cornell loses the debate, and Cornell is determined to win the debate on the final week of school. The debaters are forbidden from using Batman in the debate, and many other superheroes have already been used, so Cornell has to get creative. He enlists his family’s help to come up with the perfect superhero team.

Cornell asks his brother first, who is entertaining a girlfriend and reacts with irritation to Cornell’s presence. Cornell’s brother tells him to make sure that his team has a wide variety of skills, and his girlfriend suggests that Cornell think about using female superheroes. Cornell then asks his father, who tells Cornell about Ka’Zaam, a character from a 1997 movie starring Shaquil O’Neal. Cornell’s father grew up admiring Black movie actors because his parents taught him that they were important. Cornell finds the idea of a basketball-playing genie strange, but he adds the name to his list anyway. Cornell then goes to his grandfather’s room, which reeks of cologne. Cornell’s grandfather tells him that in the 1970s, Black producers started putting Black actors in movies, but these roles were often replacements for characters that already existed.

Cornell’s mother creates her own stories and encourages Cornell to create his own superhero. Cornell makes a new superhero called Fan Girl, based on a girl he likes. The next day, he shows the girl his drawing, sharing the lesson he learned about the power of creating heroes.

After Jamal’s grandfather Big Mac dies, Jamal and his cousin Dre are driven separately to a mansion in the middle of the countryside. Nobody in the family knew that Big Mac owned the mansion until he died. His will stated that it should go to one of his two grandsons, Jamal or Dre. Jamal’s and Dre’s parents do not get along, and the cousins have drifted apart in recent years.

Jamal and Dre go into the house alone and see a large model of the solar system on the ceiling. They are greeted by a robot called a Key Droid. The droid explains that whoever can go through a golden door will inherit the house. Dre and Jamal engage in a series of competitions in search of a physical key. They go through a long hallway filled with drawings of people whom Big Mac called the “caretakers of the universe” and enter an anti-gravity room to search for a floating key.

Next, they enter the lair of a creature called a “breathworm,” which attacks Dre. Remembering Big Mac’s advice, Jamal begins singing Motown songs to soothe the breathworm, and the boys escape together. They find themselves at the golden door again. Their key does not work, and it occurs to Jamal that perhaps the keys are his and Dre’s own hands. When they touch the handle together, the door opens. Behind it, they hear Big Mac’s voice, which urges the boys to stick together. The voice announces that one of the boys will get the house, while the other will get Big Mac’s spaceship.

Twelve-year-old Jevon Lawrence is watching one of his favorite YouTube bakers, Connie, for recipe ideas. He is one of the final four in a baking competition, and he has to create something amazing in order to win. As Connie adds a touch of chili powder to her peanut butter cookies, Jevon thinks about how nervous he is about the competition. One of the other contestants in the final four is a boy named Noah, whom Jevon has a crush on and who might like Jevon in return. Noah held Jevon’s hand when the final four contestants were announced, and during the competition, he reminded Jevon to add a missing ingredient to his recipe.

Jevon recalls coming out to his father a couple of months ago. Jevon’s father became quiet and barely responded. Jevon took that as an indication that his father was unhappy about the news, and things have been awkward between them ever since. Jevon hopes that he can impress his father by winning the baking competition and help mend the bond between them.

Jevon’s grandmother G’Ma comes over to teach him how to make her famous peach cobbler, and Jevon’s father joins in. The three generations bake and laugh together as G’Ma instructs Jevon along each step of the process. She continually tells him how proud he is going to make the family. Jevon admires G’Ma because she is filled with zest despite her age and loves Jevon unconditionally. When Jevon mentions Noah and the other contestants, Jevon’s father seems quiet again, making Jevon feel ashamed. Distracted by this tension, Jevon accidentally adds chili powder to the recipe instead of cinnamon. He panics and starts to cry, admitting that he feels like he is failing his father. He fears that his father will reject him because he likes boys.

G’Ma surprises Jevon by telling him that she had a girlfriend in college and is bisexual. Jevon is relieved to know that someone in his family knows how he feels, and G’Ma assures Jevon that his father would never stop loving him. Jevon’s father admits that he was afraid of saying the wrong thing or making Jevon feel bad, so he closed himself off. Jevon and his father reach an understanding, and the peach cobbler finishes baking.

Jevon’s father is the first one to try it, and it turns out to be delicious. Without meaning to, Jevon created his own version of the famous family recipe. Now, he is confident that he has a chance of winning the competition. When the doorbell rings, Jevon knows it is Noah, who planned to come over and compare final creations. Jevon looks forward to introducing Noah to his family.