Rocketking
was the other half of that very first story, of course. For every villain,
there must be a hero. But the world is not always kind to heroes.Rocketking
was the other half of that very first story, of course. For every villain,
there must be a hero. But the world is not always kind to heroes.
In that first text story, Rocketking got disillusioned with the legitimate world, and decided on his own to join Professor Wadleigh. I wrote several comic scripts playing off of that; then wanted to turn the first story into a script. It did not work out. Text stories and scripts are not always inter-convertible.
So I wrote a script prequel that ended in the same place. In this one, Rocketking thinks he's found a good way to make some cash. Since buildings get flattened whenever he fights the good Professor, he takes out a demolition contract and challenges the Professor to a fight in the Clearance Project.
Unfortunately, Jimmy Crockett, boy reporter, has tapped the hotline between the Superheroes' Club and the Supervillains' Club. He gets the front page of the Daily Trumpet with the story: "Collusion Alleged in Westbank Clearance Project". Next thing you know, lawyers for the Demolition Workers' Union are knocking on Rocketking's door.
It gets complicated at this point, and his girlfriend Mira is furious. Rocketking has nobody to turn to but the Professor, who kindly helps him out of the problem. This does not get him out of the lawsuit, however; and on the last page, Rocketking commits one-finger contempt of court, then holds judge, jury, and bailiffs for ransom with the help of Professor Wadleigh.
When Rocketking moved from the comic strip into the world of Champions, I gave him a cat, Puff. There was a certain logic to it. If you're working your way to superdom, there will be experiments. If you're inventing a super-serum, it might go wrong. You try it on laboratory mice, not yourself, if you are smart.
When it works on the mice you find yourself with an infestation of supermice, and the lingering doubt about your own intelligence for setting such a thing in motion. Then you realize there is one ideal solution for a supermouse problem: a supercat. A supercat that knows and likes you. So the family pet gets the injection, the mice get eaten, and the scientist decides the serum is safe for human use. He takes it. Then, once he is invulnerable, it is time to work on rockets. Science works much better when experiments are done in the proper order.