Rocket Racer

Amazing Spider-Man #182-#183

by Ross Andru, 1978

In his second appearance, Spider-Man spots the Rocket Racer zooming out of an office building. After a brief fight and chase, the Rocket Racer manages to speed down a subway entrance and loses Spider-Man in the subway tunnels.

Later, the Rocket Racer talks to an embezzler named Jackson Weele. Weele has hired the Racer to steal the evidence against him for $10K. The Racer completed the job and turned over most of the evidence to Weele, but the Racer demands that Weele give him an additional $10K for the most critical piece of evidence - something called the Minerva Document. The Racer speeds off to give Jackson time to think about his options.

When Peter Parker visits Aunt May in the hospital, we see the Rocket Racer wearing civilian clothes, lingering in the background.

Down at the docks, Jackson Weele has decided that his only option is to take his own life. The Rocket Racer is nearby and prevents Jackson from jumping into the bay. The Rocket Racer vows to be everywhere that Jackson is until Jackson pays him the $20K.

When the Rocket Racer leaves the docks, he's spotted by a police cruiser. A chase ensues which catches Spider-Man's attention. Spider-Man chases the Rocket Racer over a bridge, but is unable to stop the Racer. While Spider-Man is distracted by dodging traffic, the Rocket Racer hides in a nearby smokestack until Spider-man leaves the scene.

When Peter Parker visits Aunt May in the hospital, his spider-sense warns him of pending danger in Aunt May's room. He bursts in, as Spider-Man, to find nothing. However, Aunt May's roommate happens to be the Rocket Racer's mom. In his civilian clothes, the Rocket Racer attacks Spider-Man with a chair. While Spider-Man fends off the hospital security, the Rocket Racer changes into his outfit and returns for the fight. The battle carries them out the window and into the street below. When a couple of micro-missiles stun Spider-Man, the Rocket Racer prepares to finish off the web-swinger once and for all.

But, the moment is interrupted when Jackson Weele, in his new guise as the Big Wheel, appears on the scene. Firing his machine guns, Big Wheel pursues the Rocket Racer across the city and down to the docks. His spinning outer shell makes him impervious to the Rocket Racer's mini-missile, and his giant steel treads simply crush any obstacle in his way. Down at the docks, a recovered Spider-Man catches up to the pair. Spider-Man captures the Rocket Racer in a web cocoon and dodges out the Big Wheel's path. The Big Wheel crashes into the bay, and when Spider-Man dives in after him, the Rocket Racer manages to free himself and escape.