Steelman
Mr Steelman was a "mysterious underworld figure" (PROSE: Titan Declares War!) who came to be regarded as the world's public enemy number one. (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman)
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
First encounter with Lady Penelope[[edit] | [edit source]]
Steelman hired a small army to storm Creighton-Ward Manor in order to steal some dangerous Luthvian blueprints orginally stolen by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. When this failed, he ordered that the man who destroyed the plans for Lady Penelope, Roger Lyon, be kidnapped and brought to his base in Mount Vesuvius. Intent on getting Roger to reveal what he knew about the plans with the "wonders of science and technology", he commanded that Roger be strapped into a machine. He also destroyed Seabird I, a vessel carrying Lady Penelope and Parker who were following Roger's movements using a homing device, with a torpedo but they survived and were able to confront Steelman before proceedings with Roger could get underway. He immediately captured Penelope and, affording her the luxury of her lipstick before her execution by lava, was caught out when it actually released a toxic gas. In the ensuing fight, Parker was able to knock Steelman into the volcano. As they departed Italy for England, however, Penelope reminded Parker that they never saw a man inside the steel casing identified as Steelman and that it was possible it had been operated by remote control. (COMIC: Mr. Steelman)
On 20 February 2065, TV 21 published a testimony from an anonymous source which indicated that Steelman was behind the kidnapping of one of Lady Penelope's undercover agents after his car was forced off the road. (PROSE: Titan Declares War!) On 6 March, an article stated that Lady Penelope was continuing her pursuit of Steelman. (PROSE: Marineville Waits!)
Further encounters[[edit] | [edit source]]
After Paris was devastated by the Crustavon missile attack, Steelman looted the opened vaults of the National Bank and, when the hue and cry died down, returned to the scene of the crime with the proceeds of the gains. Several months later, he had produced many metal avatars although his work risked being discovered when demolition crews begun reconstructing the French capital. He set of a few explosions to buy himself some time and delay the police while he escaped through the sewers of old Paris. He then took his cargo by boat up the river Seine, hiding his weapons below the water line at a police checkpoint, and eventually arrived at a disused railway in the Black Forest which he made his base of operations. Aiming to become the richest man in the world, Steelman used his robots to break into the Trans-Europe Monorail Headquarters in Strasbourg and discovered the route that a train carrying one thousand million pounds of gold bullion would take, killing a motorist who witnessed him on the way. Steelman's robots worked for two days on a piece of the monorail track so that it could be removed, causing the train to fall into the lake underneath, and replaced again as if nothing had happened. For two days, TEMCO searched for the missing train but found nothing. Under the cover of night, Steelman recovered the gold from the bottom of the lake using his robots and took it to his base in the old railway wagons. Having been on his trail, Lady Penelope and Parker finally caught up with him at his hut. Drawing his robots into action by firing a rocket from FAB 1, a battle started. The duo were heavily outnumbered but Steelman's avatars were not as durable as the one from Pompeii. Parker destroyed many on his own with the guns equipped on the car but Lady Penelope won the battle for them as FAB 1 was recieving a battering after she threw an explosive cigarette case on the ground next to them. Although they had won, Steelman escaped justice again by flying out of range in a hoverplane immediately after the skirmish, abandoning the gold bullion, and still without meeting his nemeses face-to-face. (COMIC: The Return of Mr. Steelman)
Mr Steelman later robbed the London Silver Vaults with more life-like gynoids. After observing that Lady Penelope was once again on his trail, he ordered one of them to kill her. Abandoning his hideout in England, Mr Steelman travelled to Monte Carlo to break the bank at the casino, wishing to increase his haul. He fixed the tables with a gynoid and completely cleared it out, with the gynoid then hiding the money in a lake. Proceeding with the next phase of his plan, he caused a car crash in order to kidnap the Prince of Monaco and his governess, and took them to an old chateau thirty miles from the coast. He briefly returned to his room at Hotel Majestica and was followed to his base by Lady Penelope whereupon she triggered an alarm. Escaping, he took the Prince with him for ransom and ordered a robot to crash into the house with an aeroplane to destroy it. He started back towards Monte Carlo but drove into the ocean, arriving at another base in his amphibious car. Observing via a camera that Lady Penelope was once again following him, he sent out all his robots to kill her. This failed and so he attempted to escape in his car but Parker fired a machine cannon at him and fished him from the water, later annoymously donating him to the police. (COMIC: The Great Silver Robbery!)
Revenge[[edit] | [edit source]]
For three months after his defeat, Mr Steelman was a prisoner in the moorland prison of Cradley. Using his job at the prison to his advantage, Steelman was able to construct a robot mouse to help effect his escape. He put the mouse near a ventilation shaft and waited as it left a trail of unconscious guards using its gas pellets. Steelman then broke out of his cell with a key he had prepared, intent on killing Lady Penelope as his revenge for what she did to him.
After encountering a hiker, he took his clothes and provisions and read his newspaper. He discovered that Penelope had been cast in a new film by Century 21 Film Productions and got a job as a cameraman under the alias of Mr Leader in order to get close to her. He set up a camera and rigged it so it would kill her when he operated it for some tests but Paul Carson, another star of the film, insisted his tests were to be done first. Thinking quickly, Steelman claimed the rigged camera was not yet ready and that they would have to use the second unit. By the time Penelope was ready for her tests, she had pondered on the familiarity of the cameraman, which ultimately saved her because she realised the man was Mr Steelman as he was preparing the camera, which resulted in her getting up and leaving the target area just in time. His plan failed, Steelman attempted to escape but Parker tackled him to the ground and escorted him to the nearest policeman at Lady Penelope's suggestion. (COMIC: Desert Drama)
