The Rocketeer (character) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Rocketeer
Character art of The Rocketeer, art by Dave Stevens
Publication information
Publisher	(various)
First appearance	Starslayer #2 (April 1982)
Created by	Dave Stevens
In-story information
Alter ego	Cliff Secord
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth
Notable aliases	The Flying Man The Rocket Man
Abilities	Above-average hand to hand combatant Excellent athlete Highly skilled pilot and marksman Flight via jetpack
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Series publication information
Publisher	Pacific Comics (1982-1983) Eclipse Comics (1984) Comico (1988-1989) Dark Horse Comics (1995) IDW Publishing (2009-Present)
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Action-adventure
Publication date	(Starslayer, Pacific Presents) April 1982 – April 1983 (Rocketeer Special Edition) November 1984 (The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine) July 1988 – January 1995
Creative team
Writer(s)	Dave Stevens
Artist(s)	Dave Stevens

The Rocketeer is a cool superhero from American comic books. He was created by the writer and artist Dave Stevens. The character first appeared in 1982. He is a tribute to the exciting heroes seen in old movies from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Rocketeer's secret identity is Cliff Secord. He is a stunt pilot who finds a special jetpack. This jetpack lets him fly through the sky! His adventures happen in America just before World War II. Dave Stevens made the stories feel old-fashioned and fun. Characters who look like famous people from that time, like Bettie Page, appear in the series. The Rocketeer first appeared in comics from Pacific Comics. Then, other companies printed his stories until 1995. Dave Stevens drew with great care and detail. This meant the comics took a long time to publish. After Stevens passed away in 2008, his family allowed IDW Publishing to make new Rocketeer comics.

The character also became a movie! Walt Disney Pictures made The Rocketeer in 1991. Joe Johnston directed the film.

Creating The Rocketeer

In 1981, Dave Stevens was an artist who took on different jobs. He worked on comics, animation, and design. That year, he met Steve and Bill Schanes. They had started an independent comic company called Pacific Comics. They asked Stevens to create short stories for the back of Mike Grell's Starslayer comic. Stevens loved the style of the 1930s and 40s. He quickly came up with the idea for The Rocketeer. A big inspiration was Commando Cody, a flying hero from old movie serials.

Comic Book History

Early Adventures

The cover of The Rocketeer collected edition from 1985, art by Dave Stevens.

The Rocketeer's first stories appeared in 1982. They were backup features in Starslayer issues #2 and #3. Readers loved these short stories. The Schanes brothers wanted Stevens to make a monthly Rocketeer comic. But Stevens was busy with other work. He also worried about his writing skills. So, they agreed to move The Rocketeer to Pacific's new comic, Pacific Presents. He appeared in issues #1 (October 1982) and #2 (April 1983). Stevens enjoyed the work more than he thought. He decided to keep making The Rocketeer stories. The Rocketeer became very popular. Other comics with flying heroes, like Cliff Hanger, also appeared.

However, the stories took a long time to finish. The next parts of the story did not appear in Pacific Presents. The company, Pacific Comics, closed down in 1984. The final chapter of the story was finished. It was supposed to be in Pacific Presents #5. But the company closed before it could be printed.

New Publishers and Collections

After Pacific Comics closed, Stevens made a deal with Eclipse Comics. They published a special comic called Rocketeer Special Edition in November 1984. This comic finished the first story. It also had extra art from other artists. This showed how popular Stevens was becoming. The comic sold very well for Eclipse.

Stevens then worked with Eclipse to make a collected book of the stories. This book was called a trade paperback. Stevens redrew some pages and colored the story by hand. He also added new pages to improve the story. This collected edition won an award in 1986 for "Best Graphic Album." It became Eclipse's best-selling graphic novel.

Stevens later looked for a new publisher for a sequel story. He wanted to make a six-issue series. In 1986, he signed a deal with Comico. The new series was called The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine. It was planned as two mini-series. This gave Stevens enough time to create his detailed art. The first issue came out in July 1988. It was delayed because of Stevens' careful work. It also took time because of a legal issue with Marvel Comics. Marvel had a group of villains called 'The Rocketeers' in a 1975 comic. They claimed Stevens' use of the name was confusing. Stevens fought the lawsuit for three years. He refused to change the character's name. The lawsuit ended when Disney got involved for the movie.

Only one more issue of The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine appeared in July 1989. Then, Comico went out of business in 1990.

The Rocketeer Movie

Stevens quickly saw that The Rocketeer could be a movie. He first sold the film rights in 1983. The movie finally came out in 1991 from Walt Disney Pictures. Making the movie had many changes in creative teams. Disney also wanted to make it a family-friendly movie. Stevens later felt the movie was "The Rocketeer" in name only. One big change was replacing Betty with an actress named Jenny. Jennifer Connelly played Jenny. This was partly to make the film more family-friendly.

A comic book version of the movie was also made. Hollywood Comics published it. Peter David wrote the comic, and Russ Heath drew the art. Stevens drew the cover for this comic. The movie got good reviews, but it didn't make a lot of money. Plans for sequels were stopped.

Later Comics

After Comico's problems, Stevens signed with Dark Horse Comics. They published the third and final issue of The Rocketeer Adventure Magazine in 1995. This issue finished the "Cliff's New York Adventure" story. Stevens then lost interest in making new Rocketeer comics. He was tired of switching publishers.

In 2008, Stevens made a deal with IDW Publishing. They would create a collected edition of all his Rocketeer work. Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures came out in October 2009. It had new coloring chosen by Dave Stevens before he passed away.

Story Summary

In April 1938, Cliff Secord is a pilot at Bigelow's Air Circus. It is located near Los Angeles. He finds a rocket pack hidden in his racing plane. Two gangsters were running from the police and hid it there. Cliff takes the device to his friend, Peevy, who is an engineer. Peevy helps him design a helmet to control the rocket pack.

During a test, Cliff misses his flying show. Another pilot, Malcolm, takes Cliff's plane up. Malcolm gets into trouble. Cliff uses the helmet and rocket pack to save Malcolm. The dramatic rescue makes the news. The press calls the mysterious hero "the Rocketeer." Cliff is captured by a tough guy. He escapes and learns his captors are Nazi agents. They want the rocket pack for their country.

Betty, Cliff's girlfriend, is kidnapped by Nazi thugs. Cliff chases them in his plane and saves Betty. But the thugs escape and know Cliff has the rocket pack. Cliff is fired from his job. Betty is also spending more time with a photographer named Marco. Cliff feels down. Peevy then shows Cliff how to read the rocket pack's instructions. Cliff hadn't read them before! This leads to a much better test flight.

Later, two people who work for the inventor of the rocket pack come looking for it. Cliff escapes them. He and Peevy go to the airfield. They find that a new experimental plane has been stolen. Cliff tries to clear his name by getting the plane back. He avoids the rocket's inventor, who chases him in another plane. The inventor helps Cliff when his rocket pack runs out of fuel. They work together. Cliff gets onto the stolen plane. He overpowers the Nazi pilots and lands the plane safely.

Cliff is in the hospital. He learns Betty has gone to New York City with Marco. Marco plans to make her a model in Europe. Cliff fakes his own death. He takes the rocket pack and flies to New York to win Betty back.

In New York, Marco shows Betty off to his rich friends. Betty is sad when she hears Cliff is supposedly dead. Cliff finds Betty in a nightclub. They argue because she doesn't want to go back to California. Cliff gets into a fight with Marcus. Marcus has Cliff held and beaten. A mysterious man named Jonas stops the fight. Cliff is upset and refuses to make up with Betty. He doesn't know she has decided not to go to Europe. She is heading back to Los Angeles.

Cliff helps Jonas break up a criminal gang. This leads him into a murder investigation. The victims are all former circus friends of Cliff. Only two are left: the magician Orsino and the strongman Lothar. Cliff and his friend Goose save Orsino from Lothar. Lothar is killing the circus troupe. He wants revenge for the accidental death of a midget named Teena. Lothar was obsessed with Teena. Lothar tries to kill Cliff and Orsino at a funfair. But with Jonas's help, Cliff puts on his Rocketeer outfit again. He saves his friend. Lothar is killed. Cliff then returns to LA. Betty is waiting for him at the Bulldog Cafe.

Characters

• Cliff Secord/The Rocketeer: He is a brave but sometimes reckless pilot. He finds the rocket pack and becomes the masked hero, the Rocketeer. Cliff was drawn to look like Dave Stevens himself. Stevens said Cliff was flawed. His main goal was often to help himself, not just others.
• Betty: Cliff's girlfriend. She wants to be a famous model. Stevens said Betty loved Cliff but also had big dreams. Her look was based on the 1950s model Bettie Page. Dave Stevens was a big fan of Bettie Page.
• Ambrose "Peevy" Peabody: He is a grumpy but helpful engineer and mechanic. He helps Cliff at the airfield. Peevy makes the Rocketeer helmet. He also reads the rocket pack instructions, which Cliff forgets to do! Peevy's look and personality were based on artist Doug Wildey.
• Marcus of Hollywood: A photographer who wants to make money from Betty's looks. He was reportedly based on a real person named Ken Marcus.
• The inventor: The unnamed creator of the rocket pack. He is a great pilot and a smart American. He gets annoyed by Cliff's actions but is usually helpful. Peevy mistakenly thinks he is Howard Hughes. The character was based on the old pulp hero Doc Savage.
• Colonel May and "Fancy-Pants": The inventor's private investigators. May is a tough but good-hearted guy. His unnamed partner is a very proper gentleman. They are based on Doc Savage's assistants, Ham Brooks and Monk Mayfair.
• "Goose" Gander: Cliff's childhood friend from New York. Goose is a joker and a skilled pilot.
• Jonas: A mysterious, high-society man who fights crime in New York City. Stevens based him on the pulp hero The Shadow.
• Lothar: A giant strongman who used to work in the circus with Cliff. Lothar loved a midget named Teena. Teena loved Cliff and died trying to cover for him. Lothar has been killing the other circus members for revenge. His face was based on actor Rondo Hatton.
• Millie: She owns the Bulldog Cafe. This diner is shaped like a dog. It is a place where the pilots from the Chaplin Aerodrome hang out. Millie often listens to Cliff's problems.

Collected Editions

Other Rocketeer Comics

After Dave Stevens passed away, IDW Publishing started making new Rocketeer comics. Many different creators worked on them.

• In 2011, they published The Rocketeer Adventurers. This was a series of short stories by many artists and writers.
• A second series came out in 2012. It also featured work from famous comic creators.
• In 2013, IDW published two more series: The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom and The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror.
• In 2014, a crossover comic called The Rocketeer & the Spirit: Pulp Friction was released. It featured The Rocketeer meeting another hero, The Spirit.
• IDW also published a book of short stories called The Rocketeer: Jet-Pack Adventures.

IDW Publishing had plans for a new series in 2018. It would have a new female Rocketeer. But this series was canceled. In 2023, it was reported that IDW would publish a new comic based on an unfinished story. This story was by the writers of the 1991 movie.

The Rocketeer in Other Media

A person dressed as the Rocketeer at the 2011 D23 Expo

Movies

• Disney made The Rocketeer in 1991. Joe Johnston directed it. The movie starred Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, and Timothy Dalton. It was released on June 21, 1991. Critics generally liked the film.
• In 2012, Disney was thinking about making a new version of the 1991 movie.
• In 2021, it was announced that Jessica and David Oyelowo planned to make a new movie. It would be called The Return of the Rocketeer. This film would be about a retired Tuskegee airman who becomes the Rocketeer.

Television

• A television series for younger kids was released on November 8, 2019. It aired on Disney Junior. The show is about a young girl named Kit Secord. She gets the family jetpack for her birthday. She uses it to protect her town from villains.
• In 2021, the director of What If...? said that Marvel Studios thought about putting The Rocketeer in their show. He would have teamed up with Captain Carter. But they decided not to because he was too similar to another Marvel character.

Video Games

• A Rocketeer video game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in May 1991. It was made to go along with the movie. It is an action game where you move from side to side. It follows the story of the film.

See also

In Spanish: Rocketeer para niños