Sunday, March 22, 2009

Speedball Mini Notes

Showing how the darker side of Marvel has corrupted even the most fun and light-hearted heroes.

It's hard to have a sense of humor about war, even if you're dressed as a clown with a painted on smile.

Slapstick stands slack looking on a scene from Civil War. The heroes are all fighting each other brutally as he weeps. Showing Slapstick brooding, mocking Speedball as Penance. Build up the friendship of Slapstick & Speedball. New Warriors as emo heroes. Howard the Duck as mentor. Oddball, Madcap, other insane villains reforming. Battle of the silly.

Secret Invasion. Marvel Apes. Marvel Zombies.

Stamford Speedballs. Kids that also survived the explosion reborn with kinetic powers. Speedball rounds them up and helps them with their powers. Reconnecting superheroes to kids.

A team book. Each issue from a perspective of hero. Slapstick. Howard the Duck. Speedball.
Perspective. Detective. Superheroing.

Slapstick as bearer of innocence.
Howard as the Brains.
Speedball as teacher/mentor.

Fun satire. Comics with heart. All ages adventure.

Speedball didn't survive that blast in Stamford that kicked off the Civil War among heroes. Robbie did, but his powers spread out at the last moment, saving the kids in the school and sending them erupting all across the globe. Only now have the kinetic powers these kids all possess begin sparking up, drawing them all together in a massive explosion of kinetic energy that only Robbie can prevent by reclaiming his kinetic powers. Aided by fellow New Warrior, Slapstick, the sad clown, and the mover and shaker in the Marvel Universe, Howard the Duck, they set out to save the kids and all of reality.

It ends with hope, smiles, and a bouncing kitty cat.

Slapstick drowns his sorrows in energy drinks. Goofball of the Marvel Universe. Lone wolf, emo, the clown who cries, but puts on a good show for his friends. His pink hair covers his eyes, hands buried in his pockets, unable to become human again, or not wanting to. He finally turns back to human to come to Robbie and cry, unable to deal with the darkness overcoming his friends.

Howard the Duck rushes in with information. Readings have come in from all over of kids with similar energy readings as Speedball. They begin destroying towns bouncing like mad through the buildings, unharmed in protective bubbles. They all start coming closer. Niels, the bouncing cat comes into play, as the kids draw closer to Stamford.

Speedball reclaims the power he inadvertantly exploded out of him to save the kids. He bounces and soars back and forth across the globe connecting with the kids bubbles and shooting them back to Stamford dropping them off with Slapstick catching them with a giant baseball mitt, bouncing castles, butterfly nets. Finally Speedball saves all the kids and lands in the center drawing the power back into himself, an explosion played in reverse, superpowering Speedball who launches straight up into space, all reborn in bright colors.

Nova saves him and gives him a new perspective on life. From out in Space, the barriers of the dimension of his energy source crackling all about his body, Nova helps Speedball channel the type of explosive power that will come from him. And a wave of joy is sent rippling through the know universe. Skrulls and Kree hug in the trenches. Iron Man takes a bubble bath. The Hulk sits on a riverside and splashes his feet in the water. The Watcher weeps. Human Torch and The Thing bond, smiling and giving thumbs up. The Punisher cuddles up under his blankets, dreaming of his wife. J.Jonah Jameson smiles and waves at Spider-Man as he swings by waving back. A moment of peace and harmony for all of the Marvel Universe. Even the Marvel Zombies take time to have a BBQ.

Speedball has returned.

No comments: