Speedball (comics)

Template:Superherobox Speedball is a fictional character, a superhero from Marvel Comics. He debuted in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 22, a part of the Evolutionary Wars crossover, and was created by artist Steve Ditko with the help of writer Roger Stern.

Character biography

Robert Baldwin was a young intern at a scientific research firm in Connecticut when he was exposed to the energy from another dimension, becoming Speedball. He gained the power to surround himself with a field of super bouncy material, which also made him invulnerable. He soon joined the New Warriors. For a time, he was transported back to the dimension he gained his powers from, and during this time, Darrion Grobe took up the mantle of Speedball, although the other members thought it was still Robbie.

"Robbie" Baldwin was a high school student who became a costumed crimefighter in his hometown of Springdale, Connecticut after an accident at the Hammond Research Laboratory where Robbie worked part-time. The accident occurred when the Hammond scientists were trying to tap into a mysterious otherdimensional energy source, an energy which accidentally bombarded Robbie and a cat named Niels that belonged to one of the scientists. Baldwin survived the experience but found himself surrounded by weird energy bubbles and clad in an odd costume (presumably fashioned from the bubble-energy by Baldwin's subconscious).

A chance encounter with some thieves minutes later led to a battle in which Baldwin discovered that his body now generated a kinetic energy field that protected him from any impact and made him a bouncing dynamo of kinetic energy. Calling himself Speedball, Baldwin made a minor name for himself as a crimefighter in Springdale.

Robbie's parents, a successful lawyer and a soap opera star, were having marital difficulties while Robbie secretly led a double life, and the domestic stress escalated over time. Further Robbie's father, the lawyer, was anti-superhero which added hidden angst to the young hero's father-son relationship.

A turning point came when Robbie was in NYC with his mother shopping, when he saw a battle breaking out involving Terrax, former herald of Galactus. Joining the fray along with the other heroes that would subsequently become the founding members of the New Warriors, Robbie agreed to join the team as well after Terrax was defeated.

However, the commute from Connecticut to New York City was a killer (Robbie would do things like jump in front of a speed train to get enough of a kinetic charge to bounce into the city), and was perrennially late for Night Thrasher's formal meetings. After an adventure involving his mother led to her discovering his secret identity as Speedball, and (unrelatedly) the collapse of his parents' marriage, Robbie moved permanently to NYC.

While with the Warriors, Speedball gained far greater control over his powers via a combination of experience in battle and Night Thrasher's mentorship off the battlefield. Whereas previously Speedy could only bounce in the direction he wanted, he eventually became more proficient at controlling his leaps and using his powers in various ways, such as to deliver impressive whallops, and even to project a stream of kinetic energy from his bubble field at range.

Speedy quickly became like an annoying but loveable kid brother to the older Warriors, but he found a true friend in Rage after the young boy trapped in the body of a huge man joined the team. While the older heroes were having romances, the younger Speedball and Rage just hung out and provided moral support to each other. Later on an older and wiser Robbie began a tentative relationship with Timeslip, a girl that was briefly a member of the Warriors before losing her powers.