Speedball is essentially an avatar of the kinetic dimension. His form is the first thing you see when attempting to open a doorway to it. Previously when injured, he was revealed to have been replaced by essentially a clone of himself from the future. When Grobe (the guy in that body) died, they were eventually able to pull the real Speedball out of the Kinetic dimension.
So suppose this time, the sheer amount of energy simply propelled Robbie into the Kinetic dimension, where he's been recovering and growing in strength all this time. The Robbie that would become Penance was merely a shade, a kinetic duplicate created to take Speedball's place while he was recovering.
The original Speedball emerges, amped up, and for the most part generally his old cheerful self (and wanting to reform the New Warriors, of course) and he and Penance brawl over who is the real one. Penance is soundly defeated, and depending on your tastes either inadvertently kills himself, or goes on to become a villain or anti-hero that no one cares about and sinks into obscurity.
No more scars, no more S&M, no more sad Squirrel Girl. Three cheers for comics that fuel escapism, with worlds one would still want to escape to.
Speedball
Character » Speedball appears in 742 issues.
After being given kinetic energy based powers in a laboratory accident, Robbie Baldwin became the hero Speedball. He blamed himself for the Stamford tragedy and briefly remodeled himself as Penance. Returned to the Speedball alias, he continues to atone for his past while trying to restart the New Warriors.
How To Undo Penance Completely
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