The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man Annual #22 is the debut of Speedball (Robbie Baldwin), a kinetic-energy-powered teenager co-created by Steve Ditko and Tom DeFalco who would go on to become a founding New Warriors member and a pivotal figure in Marvel's Civil War fallout. The issue also holds the distinction of being the fifth chapter of 'The Evolutionary War,' the first Marvel crossover event to run exclusively through annuals — a format the publisher would repeat for several subsequent years. Beyond the headline first appearance, the issue simultaneously marks the first professional Marvel Comics work by penciler Mark Bagley, who would become one of the most prolific Spider-Man artists of the following decade. Taken together, it is a single package that introduced a new hero, launched a new artist's career, and anchored a landmark event format.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The character who became Speedball originated in Tom DeFalco's development work for Marvel's short-lived New Universe imprint, where he was conceived under the name 'Ricochet' and presented to editor-in-chief Jim Shooter; DeFalco later retooled the concept for the mainstream Marvel Universe and renamed him Speedball, preferring the new name as a logo and descriptor. Steve Ditko, the character's co-creator and costume designer, handled the backup Speedball solo story (plotted by Ditko, scripted by Roger Stern), while the lead Evolutionary War chapter was plotted by DeFalco and scripted by David Michelinie with pencils by the then-newcomer Mark Bagley. The issue was edited by Jim Salicrup under DeFalco's editor-in-chief tenure and went on sale May 31, 1988.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Speedball (Robbie Baldwin), the kinetic-energy-powered teenager created by Steve Ditko and Tom DeFalco.
- First appearance of Madeline Naylor, Robbie Baldwin's actress mother, who appears in both the lead story and the backup feature.
- This is the first Marvel Comics work by penciler Mark Bagley, whose Spider-Man career would span decades.
- The lead story ('Drug War Rages') is Part 5 of 'The Evolutionary War,' the first Marvel crossover event structured entirely through annual issues — a format Marvel repeated for several years afterward.
- The issue contains three distinct stories: (1) the 35-page Evolutionary War lead (plot: DeFalco; script: Michelinie; pencils: Bagley; inks: Esposito); (2) a 10-page Speedball solo backup ('He Who Laughs…'; plot: Ditko; script: Roger Stern; pencils: Ditko); and (3) a 6-page High Evolutionary origin chapter ('Kindred Spirits'; script: Mark Gruenwald; pencils: Ron Lim; inks: Tony DeZuniga).
- The 'Kindred Spirits' backup depicts the origin of Bova, the New Man who would serve as nanny to Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, and shows the High Evolutionary's fateful dismissal of Magnus's warning about the spirit of Chthon bound within Wundagore Mountain.
- The lead story's plot threads the Kingpin and the Arranger into the Evolutionary War by showing Wilson Fisk manipulating information about the High Evolutionary's sterilization scheme — leaking it to Spider-Man and Daredevil — to protect his own criminal interests.
- Speedball's debut was quickly followed by a 10-issue solo series (1988–1989) plotted and penciled by Ditko, scripted by Roger Stern, before the character found his most prominent home as a founding member of the New Warriors.
Cast · 20 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Evolutionary War Omnibus #[nn] (2011), Marvel Firsts: The 1980s #3 (2014), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #18 (2018), Avengers / Doctor Strange: Rise of the Darkhold #[nn] (2018), Speedball: The Masked Marvel #[nn] (2019), Non-Stop Spider-Man #1 (2021), Σουπερ Σπαϊντερμαν [Super Spider-Man] #28
Key issues in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual
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