The Return of Mr. Steelman (comic story)

The Return of Mr. Steelman
Main character(s):	Lady Penelope
Companion(s):	Parker
Main enemy:	Mr Steelman
Main setting:	Paris, 2065 Strasbourg, 2065 Germany, 2065
Key crew
Publisher:	City Magazines
Editor:	Alan Fennell
Release details
Printed in:	TV21 20-34
Release date:	5 June - 11 September 1965
Format:	15 parts - 30 pages
Thunderbirds crossover stories
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The Return of Mr. Steelman was a Thunderbirds comic printed in TV Century 21 in 1965.

The story was a sequel to and direct continuation of the Doctor Who universe crossover Mr. Steelman. It was notable for building upon the titular character, revealing the human face behind the robot puppet hinted at in the conclusion of the first of the duology over the course of a foreshawowed second confrontation with Lady Penelope and Parker.

Summary

to be added

Characters

• Penelope Creighton-Ward
• Parker
• Mr Steelman
• Senior police officer
• French police officer
• Motorist
• German police officer

Worldbuilding

• The editor of TV Century 21 sends Lady Penelope and Parker to Paris to write a piece on the rebuilding of the French capital.
• Penelope and Parker get FAB 1 to Orly Airport via a Fireflash Airliner.
• Penelope distracts a police officer by claiming to have lost her poodle. She tells Parker that she doesn't usually resort to lying but that it was an emergency.
• Penelope has a mascara pencil which amplifies the sound of movement.
• Mr Steelman booby traps the Parisian sewers with an explosive watch. Penelope has explosive cigarettes.
• Penelope keeps a highly condensed laser beam in her handbag. She uses it, in conjunction with a device capable of a form of temporary hypnosis, to escape from prison.
• Mr Steelman sails a boat up the river Seine, through the Marne Canal and into the Rhine to escape the authorities.
• The monorails have outdated railways for thirty years.
• The Trans-Europe Monorail Heaquarters use guard robots for security.
• Penelope purchases a hoverjet to pursue the bullion train. After boarding the train, she leaves it in the air to crash once it has run out of fuel.
• Spotter Aircraft T12 is one of the aircraft which fails to locate the stolen gold.
• Mr Steelman escapes from the Black Forest, forced to leave empty-handed, in a hoverplane.

Story notes

• Like most of TV Century 21's The Daleks comic stories from the same era, this comic serial was not given a title in the pages of TV Century 21 during its original printing; the title instead comes from later reference sources.

Continuity

• Although early warning systems saved the inhabitants, two months after the Crustavon missile strike and Paris is still largely in ruin. (COMIC: Curse of the Crustavons)
• Penelope Creighton-Ward is a reporter for TV 21. (COMIC: Duel of the Daleks)
• Penelope realises that Mr Steelman did not perish when his base beneath Mount Vesuvius was destroyed. She later observes his robots are not as strong as the original model she and Parker encountered in Italy. (COMIC: Mr. Steelman)
• One thousand million pounds of gold is being taken from Strasbourg to Berlin to pay for special isotopes for use in hospitals. (PROSE: Bullion Train)