Speedball - Marvel Comics' Most Tragic Hero

In this video I talk about Robbie Baldwin, also known as Speedball/Penance. Ultimate Spider-Man video is in the works.
Issues covered:
Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1988
Civil War issue 1
Civil War: Front Line 1-10
Penance: Relentless 1-5
Avengers Academy 1-12
twitter: / lexanderlennen

[@themangoman9315]

Kind of crazy that a borderline joke character would be the catalyst for one of the biggest events in modern marvel history it's kind of like jar jar being responsible for Palpatine's rise to power

[@alexlennen]

never heard that before but it's literally the perfect comparison

[@themangoman9315]

@@alexlennen thanks

[@primal1723]

But jar jar was, jar jar is literally a sith Lord 😂

[@themangoman9315]

@@primal1723 ah a fellow man of culture I see

[@primal1723]

@@themangoman9315 of course of course I sat through a whole documentary about it.

[@ducks7015]

He remembered every single child... Damn. Also, he definitely had to train to be able to swiftly deal with the enemies in the end. This is truly a great character it seems

[@FFKonoko]

I don't think he trained. It's been a while but I think I remember there was some other plot stuff that said nitro never blew up like that before and there was some sort of power enhancing drug he was on? Plus nitro only had one hand for the rematch. And confusingly, penance literally let him take a free explosion shot at him to start the fight, and got blown up again later, and it just...didn't really do that much.

[@jjgarcia156]

@@FFKonoko in Wolverine's story arc following Civil War, he found out about a drug that supes up a mutant's power by like ten or hundred-fold (I forget the exact number); it's essentially steroids for mutants Wolverine kills the guy manufacturing it and considers the civilians avenged. I wish he knew Iron Man was secretly behind Civil War because THAT would've been a great story to see

[@Daftanemone]

I remember reading the reveal of the suit the week the issue came out and we all at the comic shop were laughing at how stupid it was. It was so over the top and asinine.

[@DaDualityofMan]

@@jjgarcia156 What did Ironman do?

[@MilestheDirtyMindedGoblin2099]

@@DaDualityofMan I would also like to know

[@toons8744]

I went from knowing almost nothing about this guy to thinking he's one of the most compelling C listers in comics in a span of 20 minutes

[@Extremezotako]

Same

[@carbonstealer6389]

read up on Scott Free, another one of the greats

[@preposteroussvideos]

same like wtf

[@michaeltagor4238]

The guy who made the video is now an official influencer then....

[@mediatorraptor3349]

Same

[@joeyuzwa891]

This character means a lot to me. I’ve got three types of arthritis and a super rare pain disorder called RSD/CRPS. As a kid I was in debilitating, literally crippling pain 24/7, so reading about a character who derived power from pain was really special for me. It allowed me to look at my situation an imagine it in a more optimistic light. I didn’t know anyone else with RSD, and because of that it was really hard for me to relate to other kids. But I felt like I could relate to penance when he had his suit on. It made me feel cool as a little boy imagining how strong I’d be with his powers.

[@joeshmoe6930]

Shit. You deserve at least a few more likes. Imho.

[@crazypeopleonsunday7864]

Everyone has a superhero they can look up to on a personal level, & it's always always empowering to find that hero you can look at, see them be freaking awesome, & think "That's me." Thanks for sharing who & why that hero was for you.

[@DatGitGhaz]

That's really cool that you were able to derive some strength from your pain through penance. Are you still going through that amount of pain these days?

[@freezzer0019]

As a kid I too had great pain, luckily only on occasions, I had strong phases of growth and as my doctors explained it "my body can't quite keep up" so I used to have like a week in a Month where my own body was litterly ripping itself apart. I had periods of crying, laying in bed and honestly just wishing to be put down from exhausting into sleep from the pain. I imagine your pain was at least similar and I congratulate you for staying strong. I can't imagine that pain but all the time.

[@stoneybones2149]

Ive told people for years this is why speedball is the best superhero. I feel the same way man. I think for all of us who suffered trauma or pain Robbie is a way for us to see that as strength.

[@kevinalford]

The only thing I think you missed was that, over the course of Civil War, we didn't know who Penance was. It was a very well played mystery and the reveal was solid.

[@zachariahsawian335]

Pls elaborate

[@ll4m4k1n9]

@@zachariahsawian335 it wasn't revealed that speedball was penance at the time

[@MrQuest0]

Actually I only found it out because of this video, and I read both civil war and thunderbolts when they came out

[@froogality]

@@zachariahsawian335 how do you need elaboration for that dude

[@overlord6993]

It was in civil war frontlines

[@laku-tikku554]

Gotta love how with way lesser known superheroes, writers can get away with much more when writing stories

[@crazypeopleonsunday7864]

Also, with such characters, their history is less extensive & therefore easier to track.

[@ammagon4519]

God if only other franchises would do stuff like this (not the making edgy crap part, but rather making a minor character more interesting)

[@robwright8949]

That's why the MCU started with Iron Man. In 2008, no one cared about Tony Stark, so if they bombed, oh well. No big loss

[@notimeforcreativenamesjust3034]

SNOWFLAME

[@Blast2224]

In a way, Speedball is what would happen if a superhero from the Boys actually owned up to their wreckless behavior. It’s eerily similar how the lead up to Nitro detonating plays out like a low tier reality television show. The heroes are more concerned about their acne and one liners than the fact children can be blown up.

[@concept5631]

I can't believe Marvel unintentionally did The Boys better than Garth Ennis' The Boys without even trying.

[@giggidygoblin]

​@@concept5631I agree. If The Boys had more tact, and pointed out the flaws of vigilantism better, the series would've been masterful. But Garth Ennis is the guy who made Bueno, after all..

[@jirouhanz2]

The use of Penance's suit and how it helps with his powers is basically like Darth Vader's suit and how it strengthens his Dark Side connection.

[@bsharpmajorscale]

But unlike Vader, he got a much more substantive redemption.

[@eyjay1508]

The vader suit is meant to hinder vader not help him.

[@ManicFiction]

​​@@eyjay1508They're talking about how his hindrance and thus even further suffering than he already feels increases his connection to the dark side.

[@Haedox]

Had no idea that a character called Speedball has this much depth. Great song at the end too. Artful vid

[@KaantheKaan]

Is the beat from Nujabes' Feather or i'm just imagining things?

[@alexlennen]

@@KaantheKaan u may be onto something

[@ZillMob]

I've always thought it odd that marvel has a character named after shooting up heroin and cocain

[@heatherdiehl3749]

@@alexlennen +q+qq+

[@heatherdiehl3749]

Qq!qa

[@niccat6052]

Personally, I like to believe that Robbie uses his old suit after becoming a teacher because although it symbolizes the pain and guilt he feels due to being the one that forced everyone to go fight Nitro, it also symbolizes his past and more innocent side. Something to show how he finally accepts how it’s his fault but he’s ready to change rather than dwell in his past mistakes and bring faith back to the name of “Speedball”

[@stressedinmotion]

also I think he didnt want to teach students while bleeding out on the floor

[@kingofballs5512]

@@stressedinmotion even if he wasnt using his old costume, Nitro was currently occupying the masochism suit. So, dunno, maybe he'd just dress in normal teacher clothes.

[@robonator2945]

to me it seemed more like it was him saying "no, I did it, I'm not going to change who I am to hide from it". I mean lets be honest, no-one would look at Penance and recognize him as the same person, but EVERYONE would recognize Speedball, it'd be him putting a banner on himself admitting what he did. To everyone else it might look like a campy way to get out of it, or moving on like nothing happened, making them all the angrier at him.

[@bsharpmajorscale]

And maybe to keep from being made fun of by the students for his edgy OC? :P

[@shekkie]

@@robonator2945 there’s an actual writer statement which states the new speedball suit, while being spiked is much less than penance suit, basically having the new pain powered energy attacks while doing the same message of speedball being redeemed

[@strikermodel]

I wouldn't even call his character arc edgy. He feels remorse for thinking of his own gains before helping others, and causing the deaths of many people. It's really well done.

[@accountpc4311]

redemption

[@emackenzie]

To be honest I'd consider it Edgy Well Done

[@accountpc4311]

@@emackenzie fr fr tbh tbh ngl ngl

[@Gabe600]

being well done doesn't stop It from being edgy

[@accountpc4311]

@@Gabe600 it's edgy of course, but in a good way

[@emmaelstad341]

As a man that lost my dog in a house fire speedballs story really hits when your a child and only have your dog as a loved one

[@d3adandt0ast3d]

Sad that what wasn't covered was the whole conspiracy of WHY Nitro was able to vaporize that city section. Wolverine goes on this whole quest to find out why Nitro, who could never do something like that before was able to release such a catastrophic explosion. I think part of it is definitely the New Warriors fault, but I don't honestly remember if Robbie ever knew it was do to super drugs.

[@andresgomeziii]

The Civil War cannon goes really deep into alot of different groups and people in the marvel universe

[@reke9942]

Wow the plot keeps getting better.

[@jjgarcia156]

Wolverine ends up finding the person who makes this steroids for mutants and kills him and considers his job done: he killed the guy responsible for Civil War. What he doesn't realize is that Iron Man was the person he actually should've killed since he set it all into motion and even helped into creating the drug (implied anyways)

[@Manganization]

@@jjgarcia156 iron Man causes almost 90% of the Marvel plot. XD

[@RealisticHum4n]

@@Manganization on the MCU sure

[@Thelowestofthelowtiers]

I actually learned about Penance through Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and it was pretty disturbing and sad hearing about his origin honestly.

[@newfoundwisdom8532]

Same for me. I legit walked into his fight and was like who the hell is this guy later being baffled at A. How much of a punch he had and B. How readily he chose to help us. Later got to the audio recording collectible where it's clarified he was Speedball(first heard of that moniker from Ultimate Spider-Man racing Human Torch), and was having a new costume commissioned to reflect his guilt and details how the larger spikes represented the 60 children. Just trying to picture Robbie having 612 spikes jammed into his entire body 60 of those being big enough to seriously lacerate organs, kinda made me stop playing the game for a while so I could process it. They took a joke and made it grounded and serious. I have to hand it to games as a good story telling media for adapting Penance in like they did.

[@Thelowestofthelowtiers]

@@newfoundwisdom8532 Yeah that sounds pretty damn impactful.As a kid I didnt really care much for aspects like that,but now that I'm older and able to understand these things,it's just pretty messed up to hear.

[@jiiko.archives]

i main him in that game even tho i didnt know his lore lmao maybe its bc of his sick design and name

[@j.a.m.m]

I first learned about his existence in the game too, and then I read some New Warriors comics I had at home. Also, dope game.

[@TaxEvader22]

dang you just made me wanna get out the playstation 2 from storage

[@juliiju0484]

I'm both a Speedball fan and a Penance fan, so I guess I'm a fan of... *PEN BALL*

[@cartoonishidealism582]

Ballpeen

[@tsinestexicthdauwraum9082]

Bal-ance

[@ADodoBird]

ballpoint pen

[@DeviantYoshie]

Ball pen

[@head-clanka69]

Speedance

[@con4468]

Fun fact: penance (speedball) is a playable character in marvel ultimate alliance 2, he even has his own boss fight.

[@techwizsmith7963]

Fucking loved that game. It was a great fight. I remembered the character during it, but I hadn't known the backstory until now

[@Connor-fj5rc]

That game came out while I was going through my edgy phase, so penance was my favorite character without a doubt.

[@kadenstewart7761]

Reminds me of going to see James Gunn’s Suicide Squad and almost crying because he told a good and brutal story with polka-dot-man of all people

[@PinaKoalaGaming]

I'm not the only one!?!?

[@evagineer9165]

Polka-dot man

[@jjgarcia156]

And he even had Calendar Man bully tf outta Polka-Dot Man 😂 It was great!

[@JohnDoe82947]

Bro, that movie was honestly super good, a lot better than I expected it to be

[@Sillylilgrill]

Ikr

[@andrewh5568]

I loved the Great Lakes Avengers story where Squirrel Girl went to visit Penance and found that he was so dark and edgy that his cat was also locked in an Iron Maiden ad was now called something like "Suffering the Petulant Puss." and Squirrel Girl was so depressed that she went back in time to talk to Speedball before Civil War and just hang out with him.

[@TheJoshDM]

Came here after watching specifically to reference this Squirrel Girl instance; was hoping Alex might mention it, but it was such a niche issue/appearance.

[@arty217]

It took me a couple reads of this comment before I realised it wasn't Petulant Piss

[@rodrigoestebanmartinezardi6661]

Man I just looked at a picture and poor cat he looks so sad!

[@realrealwarpet]

Seems like standard squirrel girl honestly. Theres 2 kinds of joke characters. Dark and broody, or upbeat and chipper. Also deadpool, who’s a mix of the 2

[@chuckhouse5179]

GLA 4 Lyfe!!!!!

[@perotekku]

I remember the first reveal of Robbie being Penance was when Richard Rider, Nova, returned to Earth following the Annihilation War in space, but after all the events of Civil War. Really great, and touching moment, where these two heroes who used to be New Warriors together, talk about all that's changed

[@benakinnusi2518]

Do u know the comic

[@lancekemal8989]

Yeah Nova was in space during this event, probably banging Gamora who I think was his gf back then

[@commissarlugh1040]

Robbie as a teacher was a good choice. He has perspective on things that no other support can have.

[@afasdfasafd314]

copy and paste from my comment: being a teacher seems perfect to me, being a hero is much more difficult than being a super, and due to his experience he seems to be the right guy.

[@citizenlame246]

Its always funny that in this story everyone just ignores Nitro's part in the tragedy. You know, the blowing himself up and actually killing everybody part. I dont know why in a universe where there are unambiguously evil villains the public seems to think they're not responsible for their crimes. Its kind of why Civil War doesn't really work in the Marvel universe, especially in a universe thats had superheroes in it for decades.

[@toolatetothestory]

Ikr. Like, would you blame a cop for fighting a bunch of street assholes and one just so happens to go boom? Like Dude he would have went boom one way or the other

[@cooldud7071]

@@toolatetothestory Vigilantes are a whole different can of worms than a cop.

[@cooldud7071]

The people needed someone to blame. Incarcerating Speedball was obviously a political decision, but it makes sense that the public would still react with outcry. If speedball had never fought them in the first place, six hundred wouldn't have died. (of course, this isn't acknowledging the fact that if literally anyone else took on Nitro, the same exact incident would happen, but that falls deaf on the ears of the public). Don't forget, this is the US government, they are willing to violate someones rights to appease the masses (or companies).

[@jonahi1304]

nah, it's actually kinda realistic how they put more blame on Speedball than Nitro. Somewhat of a parallel is Waco, most of the reaction I heard growing up was more "remember when the government screwed up and killed those kids?" rather than "remember when david koresh killed all those people?".

[@EGRJ]

Well, we see it IRL. Some nutter shoots up someplace, and people rush to blame white supremacy, or a lack of gun control, or Pewdiepie, or literally anything but the choices of the actual person responsible. They often turn out to be wrong, but never admit it.

[@robertkendzie3]

Back in the 80's, I was in a group regularly playing the Marvel Superheroes RPG. I created a goofy hero for the game named Pinball who basically had speedball's exact power set and even a similar suit, but I did so about 2 months BEFORE Speedball's first appearance. When the comic hit the stands and a buddy showed it to me, I was a little freaked out at the coincidence. :D

[@RyRy2057]

love it when things like that happen

[@henkelbanana7889]

They ripped you off bro

[@TheAnimationStationTAS]

You should sue marvel.

[@starwolfcyberlight4546]

A yes American love sueing.

[@TheAnimationStationTAS]

@@starwolfcyberlight4546 I do indeed love sueing.

[@BaronVonHardcharger]

Its wild! I remember reading original Speedball back in the day.... Kinda liked the goofy vibe but didn't follow up. To see where it all went and ended up was pretty emotional, I gotta admit... Like hearing an old friend you hadn't seen in years had passed away! Good work, thank you!

[@Brooska]

Whoa….that bit with the kids being incinerated is….something else. It’s sad, but I love that the writers did that. Really gives a new meaning to ‘with great power, comes great responsibility’. I love high stakes like that.

[@Brooska]

A++ for the song at the end.

[@booklover311]

The proper way of saying it is "with great power must also come great responsibility". If you watch the new Spiderman movie they said it right.

[@weegeequeviucoisas9854]

@@booklover311 both phrases are correct because they're both officially used by marvel. Just because it's the original doesn't mean the others aren't also correct.

[@exzyyd392]

@randomvideoboy1 This is a comic though? Comics are for kids because they don't show the thing this story literally shows?

[@ak_nora]

@@exzyyd392 He said most comics, not all comics. The original target audience for comics were children, that's why everything was more on the safe side. Comic as a medium simply evolved and we start seeing more mature or darker tones.

[@jackdeviant2025]

Once X-Men are introduced proper, seeing Speedball in the MCU will send warning flares across the fandom.

[@alexlennen]

Speedball was meant to be introduced into the MCU ages ago but his show got cancelled :(

[@funnyfunnyvalentine7991]

@@alexlennen As does all the good Marvel shows :(

[@alexlennen]

@@funnyfunnyvalentine7991 at least Agents of Shield ended on its own terms, love that show so much

[@Phenriir]

Yeah warning flares that he’ll start a real civil divide between the MCU

[@funnyfunnyvalentine7991]

@@alexlennen RIP Daredevil

[@L_Aster]

Maybe it's just because I love colorful fun characters, but I love the idea of Speedball picking up his old costume and persona. It's like he's moved on from hurting himself and wants to go back to a better life, with the knowledge and maturity he's earned combined with the brightness of before

[@afasdfasafd314]

copy and paste from my comment: I see that you don't like the change back to speedball as a mutant teacher and I understand you, but I differ with that opinion, the story of speedball is a story of arrogance, where a young man thirsty for fame and attention makes an egregious mistake that hurts others and himself (basically, any teenager with tik tok who does stupid challenges for likes), the guilt is so great that he decides to punish himself, eventually, he realizes that it's no use, punishing himself won't bring back those who are already gone, it won't ease the pain of broken families and it won't change anything. the fact that he has returned to his identity as a speedball and put aside his perpetual punishment is the final stage of his growth, demonstrating how he has now left his meaningless suffering to try to make a real change in the world by striving for redemption, even if he does not deserve it, even if doing so is impossible. being a teacher seems perfect to me, being a hero is much more difficult than being a super, and due to his experience he seems to be the right guy.

[@thebush6379]

Yeah, even though it was a short time between "speedball is dead" and "call me speed ball". People forget that time can change someone's opinion. It's just the writers didn't do good enough to emphasize on why he decided to resurrect the persona speedball. But yeah, that part shows he knew being speedball and holding onto his mistakes wouldn't make anything better. And him picking up being speedball was really inspiring as a true hero to keep being a hero, even if he's not perfect. He'll take his mistakes to make him stronger

[@user-zh4vo1kw1z]

And penance had a good underlying idea, but in the end it was a very edgelord tryhard execution. People grow over that just as much as depression. And likewise, it is experience that can be used to help others.

[@redshepherd32]

a part of me wants him to make a third and final identity. I don't know, maybe a bit too cheesy.

[@Tokito935]

@@afasdfasafd314 he never said that

[@Sillimant_]

I think it really is a good way to show how survivor's guilt can shred someone. I'm lucky to not have it and hope I never do, but I've read some harrowing stories. it's nice that they show someone feeling the consequences to their actions, and trying to adapt to it

[@Interitus1]

I've always really liked this story. But I do feel they were too harsh on Robbie. Like literally everyone. Especially since Nitro was still alive and was far more guilty.

[@lazerfruit2121]

Speedball has like 5% of the blame for urging them to catch the villains. Its like blaming a cop for suggesting they should arrest people making homemade bombs and blaming the cops if one of those bombs go off. You can argue that the way it was handled was incompetent but its not like he himself set the bomb off

[@LordFreya-uz4bo]

@@lazerfruit2121 I feel like its because the main narrative the media in this story pushed (in this case probably CNN) is that it was Speedball that "triggered" Nitro's explosion, because for all we know Nitro and his gang were not planning to attack the school, but because Speedball and the New Warriors pushed for the attack, they preassured Nitro to go completely bonker and explode.

[@fbafoundationalbuck-broken6011]

TOO HARSH ON A GUY WHO CAUSED 600 PEOPLE TO DIE. HITLER WOULD LOVE YOU.

[@fbafoundationalbuck-broken6011]

@@lazerfruit2121 DOOFUS, NO IT'S LIKE AGGRAVATING A GUY WITH POWERS TO KILL MILLIONS BECAUSE YOU WANTED RATINGS.

[@afasdfasafd314]

copy an paste from my comment: a lot of people complain about how nobody blames nitro but to me they miss the point. A) while nitro was the one who caused the explosion, if speedball and his crew hadn't tried to arrest them on their own instead of calling the pros in the first place that wouldn't have happened, think of it this way, if you discover the mob hideout and decide to attack them head on instead of calling the cops, if something bad happens it's your fault. B) nitro was dead (or given by) as well as the rest of the speedball team, people couldn't blame it on a dead body, so they went to the closest thing they had. when you are suffering a loss all you want is someone to take it out on, a target to release all your anger on, and if you can't find it, create it. god, fate, yourself, whoever it is, as long as you can blame them for what happened they will be valid targets, because being mad is easier than being sad.

[@remc0s]

Speedball's costume was a transformed version of the lab gear he wore during the lab accident that gave Robbie and his cat Niels their powers and was basically instantly created from this same extradimensional energy. Therefore Speedball wearing different versions of his costume over the years and eventually taking off his costume and even burning it was a mistake by the writers, because it was never a fabric costume. It's like Eddie Brock taking off the Venom symbiote like a sweater and then burning it.

[@slinkybeans2442]

69 likes

[@valletas]

Its like when flash takes his costume off despite the fact that it is made from speed force

[@remc0s]

@@valletas Exactly!

[@lewis-da]

@@valletas What?

[@concept5631]

Interesting

[@epobirs]

One detail that was left out here was that the power of Nitro's blast was completely unexpected as it was an order of magnitude greater than he'd demonstrated in the past. It turns out he was on Mutant Growth Hormone, which magnified his power. Wolverine traced the source to the then head of Damage control, who though this was a great way to drum up business for the company.

[@crazypeopleonsunday7864]

Wow. And *Speedball* gets all the hate, blame, & guilt for the attack instead of that guy. What the heck?!

[@warhorse03826]

Damage Control was manufacturing it on behalf of Tony Stark..who was doing it to create a tragedy so he could push his Registration Act. so ultimately, the whole thing falls on Iron Man and the Illuminati.

[@epobirs]

@@warhorse03826 That is absurd. Where was there any indication whatsoever Stark drove and was in turn responsible for the 600 dead in Stamford? Wolverine took out the head of Damage Control and certainly would have come for Stark if he had any reason to believe he was responsible.

[@warhorse03826]

@@epobirs it's not absurd. it's canon. Civil War Front Line #11. Stark is confronted by the newspaper reporter Ben Urich with the facts of MGH production and everything else.

[@epobirs]

@@warhorse03826 I don't have the issue at hand but find this extremely dubious. There would be an army of very powerful people seeking to take down Stark if the information were widely known. Yet this never comes up anywhere in the aftermath.

[@Dingy-doodles]

I loved it when Speedball said, "it's ballin time," and then he balled everywhere

[@LiamTheBoy1234]

Underrated comment

[@aaronking2020]

I loved it when Speeball said "It's ballin time" and then he indirectly killed 612 people, 60 of which were children.

[@Riley_Sanford]

@@aaronking2020 I mean technically they had to have come back one of the 70 times the timelines and universes were revived and reset.

[@PandaBlanda-sh2ql]

You're stupid ...i like ya

[@zaqareemalcolm]

@@aaronking2020 i cant believe he put the new forgis on jeep, how could he?

[@jonatasgrolli]

AND THE WALL VIDEO WAS TEASED HERE OMG THIS IS REALLY A SAGA WITH BUILDUPS AND PAYOFFS

[@marmato9332]

When is it teased?

[@jonatasgrolli]

@@marmato9332 right here 11:25

[@marmato9332]

@@jonatasgrolli Huh

[@feathermanr7577]

So it’s foreshadowing a feet video too?

[@lazylapraspo]

In the ultimate spider-man villains video in the end musical bit there's feet, just saying

[@purplehaze2358]

I didn't expect Speedball's story to become a commentary on the nightmarish and inhumane state of the US prison system, but here we are.

[@MegrelMamba]

@@asscancer9510 what's scp 3000?

[@Ultramanchan]

@@asscancer9510 goddamnit not again

[@beartheconfused6798]

To me it’s more like the horrible state security and safety measures. A month ago in Texas a school shooting happens and 16 kids YOUNGER THEN SEVEN!! We’re killed. And you know shot and killed the shooter? Not the police but a solder from the border who heard the call and drove over to the school. The police wouldn’t go into the school to get the shooter afraid to get shot and the solder just ran in and immediately gun downed the man. I got some serious connections between Robbie’s accident and that tragedy.

[@thebean6496]

@@asscancer9510 Sorry Dr.Cancer I’ll get him of the internet

[@thecheesen]

@@beartheconfused6798 Both, I'd say. There's a lot of problems with the american justice system

[@ElEscolta]

The story does sound kinda edgy but in the overall context of what was happening during Civil War it definitely fits. Would definitely love more writers going back to him keeping all that backstory and weight

[@The-king-u1e]

0:01 i wonder how this guy feels seeing as more than 3 million people saw he almost crashed

[@artistna]

I actually like the path his character took. I see penance as an unhealthy way of atoning for his path through punishment. But only when he became a teacher for new heroes can he actually atone for what happened, by making them better than he was. This video did a great job of explaining the character.

[@maxdacool]

“Will probably tank cause it’s not about Spider-Man” *does the best on the channel* Dude this video rocked. I’ve read ever marvel comic that’s come out since infinity and I had no clue about any of this. It’s just not something that touched on today even in books where speedball appears. Loved this and loved his story. Keep up the good work!

[@TrikYodz]

I implore you, go back and read civil war & civil war frontlines. CW was done so much better in the books and it became a pissing match between Capt America and Iron man, when there’s so much more going on… then go read dark reign followed by siege. Marvels story writing was impeccable over those arcs.

[@michaeltagor4238]

"I've read since infinity" well yeah that's your first mistake, ofc you wouldn't know abt him marvel is always awkwardly the best on every non-mainstream product of theirs

[@apersonwhomayormaynotexist9868]

Damn how much have you spent on comics? I only read the X-Men comics and it's draining my wallet so badly, and I see the like other hundred comics that get released by marvel every week how do you do it

[@XX-sp3tt]

Meanwhile, the only two people who give a damn what Nitro, the person who, ya know, ACTUALLY KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE, are Wolverine, and Nemor (because Nitro killed his sister).

[@Reddotzebra]

They should probably do what Spider-Man did to the dude and have him explode close to a warehouse full of riot gas... And THEN siphon his gas form into two separate cylinders, before shooting one of them into the sun. I mean, Nitro is a special kind of batshit insane and he's a walking weapon of mass destruction, I'd say he deserves the death penalty by now.

[@sparklee5044]

I literally forgot nitro existed halfway through the video and thought robbie was at fault for the initial explosion.

[@thatoneguy9549]

@@sparklee5044 That's how they getcha

[@FrostySnow1000]

@@sparklee5044 You're the public in the comic lmao

[@preposteroussvideos]

@@sparklee5044 basically same as those people its nitros fault 100%

[@Silverwind87]

A neat detail I noticed is that revenge never improves the situation. Robbie's mother disowning him didn't make her feel better. That man shooting Robbie didn't make him feel better. Robbie taking revenge on Nitro for essentially framing him for mass murder and ruining his life, it doesn't make him feel better. Only when the characters mourn, and make amends with Speedball, when Robbie is forgiven both by the survivors and by himself, only then do they begin to heal. It was because of people like Reed Richards, Robbie's new teammates, and his therapist, who all saw the potential for redemption in him, that he was able to be a hero again.

[@feliperocha1907]

If they ever make a disney+ show about him, your *Speedball Rap* needs to be the credits song

[@Saltydkdan]

Been loving these videos dude, been watching everything ever since the first one was recommended to me. You have a very natural way of talking about this stuff, it’s very well presented!

[@certifiednobody]

Holy shit, Salty's here.

[@alexlennen]

sup Salty, thank you❤️

[@whitestarmaniahub8587]

Big Salty!

[@Hoodles321]

Yo!

[@cyberhonk2999]

oh wow!

[@completelybored9228]

7:39 "It wasn't the villain's fault that everyone died. [...] It was him and only him." Damn, I didn't know Speedball had the power to cause villians to explode with enough force to kill everyone nearby.

[@Wingededge]

It was his because he insisted on attacking the villains in a populated place, knowing that they were out of their league... He basically put everyone in danger by starting a fight they couldn't control. Shoulda walked away.

[@xreaper2451]

@@Wingededge the villain still chose to explode wtf😂

[@marymohr2799]

It's really complicated because he was the one who insisted they do it, but everyone else agreed to do it, (all his team mates and the camera people) and he can't control whether or not someone decides to blow up and possibly didn't know what their powers were. BUT if he had been okay with just going home, none of it would have happened. So it's nuanced, but the general public doesn't like that, because all people have the instinct to find someone to blame when crap goes wrong, it seems.

[@cordeerellony1863]

@@marymohr2799 I mean, it was everyone's involved fault, but it was really irresponsable to try anything in a place like that, just right next to a school. Not knowing the capabilities (both powers and how far they're capable of going) of the people you're going to battle against can just cause as much harm as Nitro did.

[@completelybored9228]

Yeah, I'm not saying Speedball isn't responsible at all, but saying that it wasn't at least partially the villain's fault is just wrong. The explosion also would never had occurred had the villain chosen not to explode either. Honestly my comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek, I just saw the opportunity for a joke and took it.

[@Corneilus1]

This would make an excellent an miniseries for Marvel. There are so many great Marvel stories that deserve a live action treatment.

[@Alverant]

I never understood why so few people blamed Nitro. He's the one that blew up and killed everyone. Robbie started the ball rolling, but Nitro chose to explode instead of holding the area hostage or something. I stopped collecting comics when this first came out. I was a big NW fan and upset over how they treated the team (seriously, the art in their third volume is horrible). I just lost my job so without income, it made for a good excuse to stop. This and Civil War could have been handled so much better if the writers didn't decide to hammer in a bunch of bad characterization and out of character moments.

[@augustusfren133]

mainly bad optics due to the clips somehow not being destroyed and getting released. but if we're being objective he's definitely guilty of those deaths too, he wasn't fighting to save people but to climb up that hero ladder. he had no uncle ben so he went ahead with it and learned the lesson the hardest way possible. heroing ain't a game unless you're saitama lol

[@walkermcmullin8665]

Because people need someone to blame, and Nitro wasn't around to point the finger at.

[@deaf-tomcat]

ooh, the new warriors parts of Civil War are so hard to get through I hate the art style so much like....ew.but also yeah, it's optics and the fact that it was easier to blame Speedball. idk if the general populace even knew who Nitro was, but they definitely knew Speedball as he'd been filming a reality tv show non-stop

[@OlivierFanton]

@@walkermcmullin8665 Nitro was alive. He got hunted by Wolverine in his book at this time, IIRC. Blaming the NW made zero sense.

[@vee1766]

They are both responsible. Why is it so hard for people these days to understand that not everything is "one side vs the other side" ? Both sides can be worng, both sides can be right. In this case, both Nitro and Speedball are responsible.

[@sergioruiz733]

I always liked when Nova returns from the Annihilation War, finds out about Civil War, sees Robbie as Penance and with the Thunderbolts, finds out about what happened to the New Warriors and just can't handle returning back, even his parents are freaked out by him. Its kinda a nice effect of the PTSD he suffered from the war and coming home and realizing everything has changed.

[@dweeb7991]

in general, it turned out to be a very underestimated antihero, it was very difficult to observe public pressure on the speedball and subsequently moral decay, in general, an excellent video, thanks for discussing forgotten and interesting concepts in comics

[@jameshowlettii761]

This was a genuinely *great* video. Robbie even started self injuring again, I think, as Speedball. I remember seeing a panel somewhere where, although he'd moved on from his "Penance" days and went back to Speedy, he still harboured guilt and shame for his part in the disaster and started cutting.

[@kabe6927]

WOAH. This is the most sorrowful shit I've ever seen and now that I'm not a comic books geek, I'm missing out on lesser known stuffs like this. Thanks for putting effort into this, I really appreciate it

[@toons8744]

Pick up some comics man, there's lots of characters outside the movies that have great stories like this

[@clickpause8732]

@@toons8744 "now that I'm not a comic books geek" implies that at some time they were.

[@lockitty7263]

I’ve recently gotten into Speedball/Penance about a year ago, I just remembered back when I was younger, I liked playing as him in Ultimate Alliance 2 I’m honestly a really big fan of the character and his development and especially the realistic and brutal development he went through in Civil War, but also showing his redemption in Avengers Academy… Which is honestly really emotional and powerful… Robbie may not be like a top 10 Superhero character or top comic book character out there, but there’s a special place in my heart for this character

[@divoltious]

Yoo! Me too I got introduced to him through ultimate alliance 2 back then

[@Tboss8910]

@@divoltious you too? Same! Ultimate Alliance introduced me to Penance as well. He was really cool

[@luckycatQ]

I see a lot of people discussing about the people to blame for the firey explosion, I want to put my two cents in as well. Personally, I think that Nitro was the main culprit, Speedball was the 2nd most to blame (although very little compared to Nitro), the new warrior that flung Nitro into a school zone had decent amount of blame, and the rest of the new warriors had some blame. While it is poingiant to point out that if it wasn't for Speedball's recklesness than this would likely not have happened, you need to remember that the reason he was reckless was due by his tragic backstory. Also, the other new warriors went along with him, so it's not like he rushed in by himself to mess everything up. Also, no one would have expected Nitro to be able to create such devastation. I think that while Speedball is guilty, he gets a way worse rapport than he deserves.

[@shortangel333]

Speedball did nothing wrong, those kids would have died anyway. It's a school in America for goodness sake. The country that doesn't care about people because weapons of mass destruction are more important than human lives?

[@LineOfThy]

He's one of the only survivors and Nitro got away, so everyone blames him. Tis' the sad truth.

[@thegoldengamer9315]

I juat wonder why nitro decided to just blow himself up

[@carlbloke8797]

@@thegoldengamer9315 I also hate that Nitro didn’t suffer any actual consequences for what he did

[@thegoldengamer9315]

@@carlbloke8797 fr like he didnt think to just kill the hero he just wanted to cause destruction.

[@Bored-Box]

9:03 This line was killing me for hours.

[@cutmanlight1400]

A whole new meaning to "busting a fat one."

[@harrisonfackrell]

I can't believe they ran The New Warriors for 20 years only to kill all of them in a single fight.

[@rickymcn1]

They've all been brought back in one way or another and while the original run started in 1990 the cumulative years the book actually ran was way less than 20. I wish it was 20 though. New Warriors was a good comic.

[@sawtooth808]

That would be Joe Quesada’s idea, Penance came about when Paul Jenkins (writer of Civil War Frontline) most likely said to Joe “Killing off Speedball is too easy, I have something more twisted in mind”

[@jacksodudee]

The craziest part of his storyline. Is when I first read every single comic tying into civil war was while I was deployed. Little did I know I’d soon end up dealing with PTSD myself. Just makes it hit even harder now.

[@loneronin6813]

I had never heard of this character until now and he seems pretty interesting. I'm reminded of another character I heard of once called, "Forget-Me-Not." If I remember correctly he was incapable of being perceived, so no one knew of his existence unless he was in their direct eyesight. While I don't dare try to rate which comic characters have it worse than others, I assume he suffers from his fair share of emotional baggage on top of what one could only describe as crippling loneliness. Side-Note: That Speedball rap at the end was brilliant! XD That alone deserves serious likes and subscriptions!

[@ABronyNamedBurnie]

Oh yeah, I remember him. Well, I do for now

[@loneronin6813]

@@ABronyNamedBurnie I see what you did there and I love it! XD

[@rabl3535]

He’s a mutant. Was basically the X-Men’s mvp and no one in said team even knew he was there.

[@ChickenGuy_]

No more song

[@_Tzer]

professor x had to use his own powers to give himself a mental alarm clock to remind himself forget me not existed.

[@warcrest]

I remember learning about Penance from Ultimate Alliance back in the day. Penance needs more recognition.

[@Fluff_a_tail]

Remember kids; When someone with a previously established intent to murder pulls the trigger and kills people. It isn't his fault and all blame solely rest on the shoulders of the person who pushed that madman into a corner. No need to consider if this person had any previous knowledge as to who the maniac was or what he was thinking/willing to do. ALWAYS BLAME THE PERSON LEFT AT THE SCENE!

[@andrewgrant6516]

Rick Jones killed Captain Marvel. Nitro was innocent.

[@Schloopytoober]

Sry for nitpick but when speedballs superpower kicked in and absorbed the blast and saving him the force was so strong he was sent to uptown New York. Also if every One died in the explosion then how the hell did anybody find out that speedball was even apart of it? Like the camera man must’ve gotten killed aswell

[@Ninjamaster-sq6vo]

@@Schloopytoober ahh, but you forgot one thing. The cameraman never dies

[@Void_Out]

@@Schloopytoober It was a live broadcast

[@LineOfThy]

unfortunately very true.

[@Obi-Wan_Kenobi]

Goodness, I went into this video thinking it was about _Screwball_ and was extremely confused for the first minute. "A self loathing mass murderer? We are talking about the bad guy that streams herself online right? Oh you meant _Speedball,_ that makes much more sense! Twitch streamers aren't at that level of broadcasting their felonies... yet."

[@alexlennen]

oh there's definitely some twitch streamers who've done bad stuff on stream lmao

[@Ebola-Kun]

@@alexlennen dudes beat their girlfriend up for a $10 tip

[@DemonPrinceofHell]

Literally who?

[@tylercoon1791]

I mean....pretty sure Pokimane broadcasted a federal crime

[@darkzeroprojects4245]

@@alexlennen Don't mean you are the one to blame when you didn't create the explosion. Yes he was overconfident for taking on Nitro... BUT IT STILL WAS NITRO WHO CHOSE TO EXPLODE. This is one of the things I never could stand with stories like CW.

[@erikferal]

Penance is a playable character in Ultimate Alliance 2, and I remember him being too edgy for even my highschool self at the time. But I'm glad Speedball found his heroic side again.

[@ajlemuel969]

Same and he's so much different from anyone on the game

[@H20No]

He was always on my team because I was an extremely edgy kid and also just cause I liked his backstory. Never would have known about speedball without ultimate alliance 2, one of my favourite marvel games

[@CrackSausage]

I like to imagine that the actual reason that Speedball didn’t want to continue as Penance is because he wants the costume to remain on Nitro for as long as possible.

[@thebaseandtriflingcreature174]

and it was way less expensive to commission a normal, speedball costume, than to commission another penance suit

[@zzmarkus8788]

I think I’ve come to realize what I love about your content is mainly is hearing your perspective of something and doing something different (imo) from other channels who talk about topics. It’s very amazing.

[@alexlennen]

thank you, that's kinda what I strive to do❤️

[@stefanalcantara3826]

I got introduced to Penance as one of the unlockable characters in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and I didn’t know the full story of civil war so I really thought he was so out of place in the game because of his edgy and scary look so it was great to finally know his backstory.

[@lancekemal8989]

Did you skip the cutscenes or something? You see a scene with Speedball and Nitro blowing up Namorita with the school in an early cutscene.

[@CasaiAgicap]

The 2014 run of New Warriors had a bit where it showed that even though he's trying to be more carefree and jokey again, he's still internalizing Penance and won't ever forgive himself. That run got cut WAY too short.

[@danelkatz7524]

"this isn't a Spider-Man video so it'll probably tank" he says, as it becomes the most popular video on his channel

[@jtjelani]

On a serious note, I liked Speedball’s story because it gave some vindication to repentant wrongdoers. For all the guilt they should rightfully feel, there’s also a virtue that goes unacknowledged. That kindness doesn’t have to be given, but as the conversation with the police officer at the memorial shows, people do see moral improvement when it’s there; their efforts aren’t in vain.

[@DONNY_G1028]

I remember playing this character in a marvel video game. I didn't know this character had it this down bad

[@anthonyescobar8695]

Ultimate Alliance 2

[@DONNY_G1028]

@@anthonyescobar8695 Yup, it was that game

[@DaDualityofMan]

That's the only reason why I knew who he was, the Ultimate Alliance games introduced me to a lot of characters.

[@pilky0851]

I did. I read the Civil War comic like 10 times with my sister as a kid because it's amazing. Penance/Speedball was one of the best characters in the story.

[@curtisgibson7328]

No pain no gain. I love his story. Everyone can identify with it. Sometimes failure is the only thing that teaches us to be better. The prison story is maybe too overdrive. But still one of the best stories in marvel comics even compared to spiderman.

[@jrandall000]

Very well done mate. I remember reading his main story arch through the Civil War series and I loved the transformation, albeit sad as hell, that he had after the reality tv disaster. I recall thinking most people who read comics will miss this one story because of the massive all encompassing story arc of the Civil War series. It stuck with me and I have always loved telling this story to fellow comic readers that just missed it because it was one of so many stories. Cheers, and thanks for that video.

[@higaiwokeru]

I wonder how the MCU would tackle this character if they ever decided to give him a movie or appeared in one his story is just so brutal and tragic that I don’t know if Disney would ever have the guts to show every part of his story

[@FFKonoko]

I feel like this video really gave it a better feel than the actual story, which had nitro arbitrarily stronger and more deadly for no reason, then mostly dropped from the story, only to show up later to be utterly ineffectual and get beaten up. Squirrel girl made it a joke for a reason, it was a lot more....mixed result. If they DID do it, they'd probably have the sense to do the same as they did with civil war and...trim a lot of stuff. Much like this video did.

[@KinekaiNHFan]

MCU can do anything now. Since the multiverse doors are open sideways they can now put the Real Civil War vision and stories, but it is too much now to transform into a Fase. Maybe 2 fases. Like, it would take YEARS to tell the story of the first Civil War. I believe that they might be brewing Civil War 2 with their Mary Sue Cpt Marvel. But she sorely needs a movie in which she gets her ass dragged through the mud and questions her very existence to actually earn a spot with the Avengers. Yes, she is the strongest one, but it was too forced and that is why she is hated by many. No humbleness, no nothing.

[@ldiod4374]

I doubt they would cover his history has Penance since it was a result of the civil war storyline, and that’s already been covered in the MCU. They’ll probably just have him be Speedball. It’s not like he’s been Penance in years anyway so it’s no longer relevant. In fact, Marvel had a New Warriors show in production a while back before it was cancelled and Speedball was set to be one of the main characters.

[@strawberrylotlizard]

They wouldn't

[@higaiwokeru]

@@KinekaiNHFan I guess you are right and Captain Marvel has always been such an annoying character, like, I believe she was willing to put Miles Morales in jail for something he didn’t do, for something he would never do

[@madgenus]

I've only ever read after Robbie turned into Penance, so i had no idea he actually used to be speedball, and what motivated him to change. I too would have called him edgy, but now learning about why he changed into penance, it makes perfect sense to me.

[@marvelk8651]

Ayy, I’ve been waiting for this.

[@TrueGamer22887]

Hahahah sure pal, whatever you say but guy

[@alexlennen]

@@TrueGamer22887 it's true he has genuinely been waiting for this

[@blueluny]

Really liked this video. Bringing the art, scenes and story summary together from a number of books is really cool. I would have never bothered with this character before but sounds like they made his arc interesting.

[@TheMysticalTank]

Wow. That story is actually very moving. I’m actually impressed by the balance of pain and redemption.

[@tyleraguilera5398]

Always wondered what happened to him, I was first introduced to speedball in the Spider-Man clone saga run and I never saw him in a comic again so it’s nice to know what happened to him but damn that’s rough

[@hikaruhirokivods6944]

I love that someone is covering Speedball. He’s actually a really interesting character!

[@XeroCool420]

Anyone who has played Ultimate Alliance 2 knows who Penance is, and I also gotta wonder if it's actually just coincidence that during the beginning of the opiate epidemic a character named SPEEDBALL is indirectly responsible for so many innocent deaths

[@JeromeProductions]

I didn't know this character before... Now I respect this character a lot.

[@joshuafranco5372]

the rap at the end had me dying especially "wanted all the fame now everybody in the street gone"

[@afasdfasafd314]

in the short period of 10 minutes i went from knowing nothing about speedball to considering him as one of my favorite marvel superheroes of all time, great job. I love his story, how being ignored as a kid led him to be an attention seeker who wanted to be known by everyone, how that desire was twisted when he achieved international fame but not in the way he wanted. I liked how he dealt with it all, taking all the blame and choosing to suffer constantly, knowing that his actions could never be forgiven or redeemed, but they could be atoned for. the scene where he tortures Nitro's is incredibly brutal, he puts him inside a torture suit and seeing that he doesn't feel the slightest bit of guilt for what he did he leaves him like that, the most HARDCORE of all is that this is the same suit he wears every day. a lot of people complain about how nobody blames nitro but to me they miss the point. A) while nitro was the one who caused the explosion, if speedball and his crew hadn't tried to arrest them on their own instead of calling the pros in the first place that wouldn't have happened, think of it this way, if you discover the mob hideout and decide to attack them head on instead of calling the cops, if something bad happens it's your fault. B) nitro was dead (or given by) as well as the rest of the speedball team, people couldn't blame it on a dead body, so they went to the closest thing they had. when you are suffering a loss all you want is someone to take it out on, a target to release all your anger on, and if you can't find it, create it. god, fate, yourself, whoever it is, as long as you can blame them for what happened they will be valid targets, because being mad is easier than being sad. I see that you don't like the change back to speedball as a mutant teacher and I understand you, but I differ with that opinion, the story of speedball is a story of arrogance, where a young man thirsty for fame and attention makes an egregious mistake that hurts others and himself (basically, any teenager with tik tok who does stupid challenges for likes), the guilt is so great that he decides to punish himself, eventually, he realizes that it's no use, punishing himself won't bring back those who are already gone, it won't ease the pain of broken families and it won't change anything. the fact that he has returned to his identity as a speedball and put aside his perpetual punishment is the final stage of his growth, demonstrating how he has now left his meaningless suffering to try to make a real change in the world by striving for redemption, even if he does not deserve it, even if doing so is impossible. being a teacher seems perfect to me, being a hero is much more difficult than being a super, and due to his experience he seems to be the right guy.

[@lancekemal8989]

Quicksilver was a former villain who has caused a lot of deaths and was also a teacher in Avengers Academy so Speedball deserved his chance at redemption, too.

[@lachierussell3727]

"Unfortunately Spider-Man saved him..." has me dead

[@lawrenceworrell591]

Speedball has always had a special place in my heart. I love his powers and think his old kinetic powers were never properly explored. Speedball and Animal man my faves from that era.

[@NoVACorpsGaming]

I love Penance, it was cool to see Nova and Penance interact during the civil war era - seeing how far both of these New Warriors have changed was a big catalyst for Rich

[@mechellesmale3055]

I love how at the start of the video he didnt even bat an eye that this dude nearly died 💀

[@AudiiN1]

Am I the only one that thinks they took inspiration for Invincible's suit from Speedball? Pretty crazy how they're both tragic characters

[@pressmybutton]

Fr tho its really cool if that is the case

[@remusbarham5181]

This was an absolutely great video. Glad to learn about a character I knew nothing about and that you did a great job bringing the information to more people. Also the song at the end was an amazing gift thank you Alex

[@alexlennen]

thank you Remus❤️

[@ewyeth7713]

man i remember reading civil war years ago and genuinely out of the whole story line robbie's character was the one thing that stuck with me over the years im glad to find out i wasnt the only one

[@ewyeth7713]

also my joy at finding good nuanced takes on comics has me immediately subscribing keep up the great work!!!

[@robbycooper6787]

12:57 at least it gets a great ending and isn’t a “he gets tortured in prison, goes insane, then dies” thing, so it’s not to edgy

[@maxg3140]

I cannot overstate how happy I was to see this video in my recommendation, almost every other person I've seen talk about the Speedball/Pennance arch talks about it in a bad way, about how it's blatant rebranding character and trying to be edgy for edgy's sake, they make fun of it and say it's a stupid character arch that doesn't work But I've always loved the character arch, I have not seen a more heart breaking depiction of guilt and self-loathing in all of Marvel, some people may think it's extreme but I think it's realistic, the reason it seems so edgy is that nobody else in Marvel comics seems to have such a long-lasting realistic reaction to whatever horrible event, but I don't see how that makes this character lesser, if anything this deserves praise for breaking the mould and deciding to show guilt as someone in that position really would, none of these short term reactions, or "I've failed" this shows the true guilt of feeling responsible even though they did not commit the crime, and the ever-lasting effect it had on their psyche when left untreated

[@dedrik1461]

I've always loved the character concept of speedball, he was a fun comic to read when I first started collecting old comics. I loved seeing him morph into penance because of the psychology behind it. I didn't know about his arc in avengers academy until watching your video but I love it now 😭 thanks for covering one of my favorite underrated characters 🔥

[@SuqMaiDeek]

Great video man I love your concept of narrating the story, rather than a sounding like a 40 year old virigin trying to debate how cool a character is, you just let it flow. Keep up the vids!

[@alexlennen]

ahaha this is a strange but appreciated comment thank you

[@TheBigKaiju]

One of the first games I played consistently on the ps3 were games like infamous, WWE 2010 and Ultimate Alliance 2. There was something extremely maturing about watching that cutscene in the game and later finding all of Robbie's interview tapes about how his powers broke but still worked. Dude has remained in my mind for years despite rarely ever looking into him

[@yikesyourchunkyhostilityha2321]

I know next to nothing about comics and Im already tearing up. I love his story so much. I love deep changes in characters like this; from a funny guy, to an edgy dude, to a teacher- all built up by humanity and an organic flow of action based on emotions and wishes anyone can relate to. I love this I love this!! Subscribed.

[@burningpegasus]

“This ain’t a Spider-Man video” this one already beat the previous one. Keep it up and don’t be afraid of talking about more obscure characters.

[@AGrayPhantom]

I remember reading a Speedball comic when I was a child. I loved it. I had no idea he ended up being one of the catalysts for the Marvel Civil War. Such a tragic end for what a lovable guy.

[@paragonrobbie9270]

This is an amazing piece of Robbie representation and I'm glad I learned about it. - a fellow Robbie

[@theonlyponguin]

penance was one of my favorite characters in ultimate alliance, it's really cool to see his backstory

[@Spoonwizard1]

Bro that ending rap was easily a hood classic

[@alexlennen]

we making it out of the hood with this one

[@citizensupreme4705]

Absolutely great video as always. It really is crazy seeing Speedball’s character develop over time. On a side note, for some reason his Penance suit reminded me of Darth Vader. Lmfao, might’ve been due to the constant pain thing or smth.

[@user-nj2wd4tk2o]

Classic speedball. We need more movies where heroes fk up critical and get steamrolled by the comminity for it. Unexpectedly good video. Keep it up.

[@tawesssoabbox]

I remember when this comic hit.. It was a absolut... "WTF... Did they just..." It was sort of unheard of before and while it was very much a tale of it´s time. It hit deep.

[@dominiklewis4564]

I love how you were worried about this video tanking and it's actually got the most amount of views. Shows the reason people are here is because you're a good content creator and it isn't always just the content you review