Issue(s): Marvel Comics Presents #85 (Speedball story only)
Cover Date: 1991
Title: "...The dude in the really rad armor!"
Credits:
Scott Lobdell - Writer
Ron Wilson - Penciler
Christopher Ivy - Inker
Mark Powers - Assistant Editor
Terry Kavanagh - Editor

Review/plot:
The one Marvel character that did not need any more short stories about him popping up was Speedball. This isn't a Ditko-drawn leftover from Speedball's cancelled solo series, but that's the point. After that series, we've had what has felt like an endless stream of Speedball stories from his - i remind you - cancelled series, and that's on top of the fact that all of the stories from that series were inconsequential short stories themselves. Speedball needed a break from these things, and we needed a break from him. Maybe the idea was to show that Speedball could be more interesting as a solo character with a different creative team, but it's too soon! He's been working out as a member of the New Warriors; let him be that for a while.

This one is by Scott Lobdell, so it unsurprisingly goes the comedic route.

That title is no joke. Well, i mean, it is a joke, but Lobdell really commits to the joke.

Dude in the really rad armor was an exchange student named Edgar Marlopolis from "the island of Trepica"...

...but he's really come to America to steal Doc Benson's experimental armor. The armor winds up splitting Dude into four bodies.

The Deep and Meaningful Soul Dude can displace a person's soul...

...so Speedball tricks it into crashing into Armor dude, which knocks him down and... the end?

Ooookay.

Forget everything i said about the creative team maybe trying to show that a non-Ditko version of the character might work better. Ron Wilson, of all people, is doing everything he can to mimic Ditko. Scott Lobdell's humor at the expense of the bad guy's bad English is funny for a few panels, but the story is still as loopy and pointless as any Ditko Speedball story.

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Speedball mentions being a New Warrior, so this might as well go in the present day.

References:

• Edgar becomes the Dude in the same room where Robbie got his Speedball powers in Speedball #1.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A