Robbie Baldwin is the titular Speedball, a teenager who's just gained strange kinetic powers from a lab accident. As he struggles to control them, he takes his first steps towards becoming a superhero.
Speedball contains examples of the following tropes:
- Anthology Comic: A variant, as most issues include two or three short Speedball stories rather than a single long adventure.
- Bouncing Battler: Speedball's powers absorb and redirect kinetic energy, so he bounces through his battles (not always entirely in control) and anyone attacking him is likely to get the energy of that attack reflected or redirected.
- Power Incontinence: After gaining his powers, Robbie avoids sports and is wary of any sudden physical impact, in case the kinetic energy triggers his transformation.
- Self-Disposing Villain: The fright mask gang raid Hammond labs immediately after Robbie first becomes Speedball, but flee as soon as the police arrive. Their van takes a corner too fast, rolls and catches fire, with police commenting that they'll be lucky if the coroner has enough left to identify.
- Speech Bubble: As Speedball, Robbie's voice apparently sounds "weird", which is represented by a red ring around his speech bubbles.
