Issue(s): Speedball #9
Cover Date: May 89
Title: "The hidden past"
Credits:
Mary Jo Duffy - Script
Steve Ditko - Plot
Steve Ditko - Penciler
Jim Sanders III - Inker
Terry Kavanagh - Editor

Review/plot:
The final two issues of Speedball have full length stories, unlike the rest of the series except for issue #4, and that's noteworthy since this issue resolves the mystery that was opened in that issue. Roger Stern is gone, so Mary Jo Duffy scripts both this issue and next, and it's also worth noting that these are the first issues of the series not inked by Bruce Patterson except for #1-2 (Butch Guice), and, again, #4 (Dan Adkins and extra help). I note all this with the idea in mind that the majority of the series was developed much earlier that publication date (as early development for the New Universe that got scrapped) and perhaps now that all the individual short stories have been published, allowing Marvel to recoup some of that development cost, this issue was produced in something closer to realtime so that the mystery from issue #4 could be resolved before the series is cancelled next issue.

The mystery of Alex Bow, and the separate secrets that Speedball's mother and father have been keeping, is tearing the Baldwin family apart.

There is so much that is hilarious about the above two scans i can't even comment on it. And it gets even better when Robbie's father thinks he's driven Robbie into prostitution.

In fact, the thought of that is what causes them to actually tell their secrets to each other.

Even when it's all out in the open, the Baldwins don't exactly seem to have a lot of respect for each other.

But at least since it's out, they can start actually investigating Alex Bow's death, without worrying that they're compromising themselves or each other.

The book then proceeds with the usual twists one might expect from a 1960s era mystery story, but the issue does benefit from having the room to include these various pieces instead of just rushing right to the conclusion. However, it's all inconsequential in the long run, so i'm going to rush right to the conclusion. And the answer is that a respected philanthropist named Nathan Boder was behind the murder.

One thing that is weird, especially at this point, is that while the story does benefit from the extra length, it's still a very retro book, and it's not just because of Ditko's art. Roger Stern sometimes subverted the plot a bit, like by having the scene where Robbie was being bullied actually be a little different than it looked, but generally his scripting was not like his scripting on, say, Avengers. And Mary Jo Duffy seems to have equally embraced the 1960s tone. If there's anything notable about her scripting besides that, it's her occasional detours into the surreal. I'm not sure which category Boder's response above as to why he went into crime falls in.

The rest is again standard stuff.

The "Masked Marvel" takes care of the bad guys...

...although only Maddie Baldwin sees it. Robbie's father was unconscious, and when he wakes up, he prefers to believe that his wife "romanticizes" things (a euphemism for hallucinations?) than accept that he was rescued by a masked vigilante.

If i was right that this issue and next were designed as wrap-ups to close the series, then next issue would probably have Robbie catching Niels the cat and either finding out that his powers are safe or having them removed. And that's what the end panel here seems to imply.

But i'm probably wrong, because, as we'll see, the final issue of this series is much weirder than that.

Quality Rating: D+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• The mystery of Alex Bow was introduced in Speedball #4.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A