The Plot
In 1938, gangsters steal an experimental jetpack from Howard Hughes and, when the FBI is closing in, they hide it in an aircraft hangar. The hangar, however is used by stunt pilot Cliff Secord and his friend and mechanic, "Peevy" Peabody, who are part of an airshow. Cliff and Peevy discover the jetpack and, after figuring out what it is, Peevy creates a special helmet to correct an inability to steer while flying. Cliff makes his first public appearance as The Rocketeer when he rescues a pilot at the airshow who is in a malfunctioning plane.
The mobsters were hired by actor Neville Sinclair, who coincidentally takes a liking to Cliff's girlfriend Jenny, an aspiring actress. Cliff discovers Neville's involvement when Neville's assassin Lothar (a hulking brute modeled on real-life actor Rondo Hatton), who has been bumping off anyone involved in the theft, comes after Cliff and Peevy. Cliff learns that Neville is on a date with Jenny and sets out as The Rocketeer to stop Neville. However, he fails and Neville kidnaps Jenny.
Neville Sinclair, it turns out, is a Nazi spy. Cliff is arrested by the FBI and taken to Howard Hughes, who explains that the Nazis are after the jetpack as part of a plan to rule the world. In the big showdown that follows, Cliff takes on Lothar and Neville on board a zeppelin.
Fitting it into the WW4C
This is the other movie that spawned the idea of the WW4C. There have been other masked heroes in the WW4C, like Zorro and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, but the Rocketeer is the first one with superhuman powers, even if those powers come from a piece of equipment.
The Rocketeer in the WW4C remains active through World War II and into the 1950s. He will serve as the inspiration for later superheroes. If the Super-Soldier program which created Captain America in the Marvel Universe was also attempted in the WW4C, it's possible that The Rocketeer fought alongside Captain America during the war.
It's very likely that Cliff Secord passed down the jetpack and helmet to either his children or to someone else to carry on the legacy of The Rocketeer after he retired from superheroics.
In 1938, gangsters steal an experimental jetpack from Howard Hughes and, when the FBI is closing in, they hide it in an aircraft hangar. The hangar, however is used by stunt pilot Cliff Secord and his friend and mechanic, "Peevy" Peabody, who are part of an airshow. Cliff and Peevy discover the jetpack and, after figuring out what it is, Peevy creates a special helmet to correct an inability to steer while flying. Cliff makes his first public appearance as The Rocketeer when he rescues a pilot at the airshow who is in a malfunctioning plane.
The mobsters were hired by actor Neville Sinclair, who coincidentally takes a liking to Cliff's girlfriend Jenny, an aspiring actress. Cliff discovers Neville's involvement when Neville's assassin Lothar (a hulking brute modeled on real-life actor Rondo Hatton), who has been bumping off anyone involved in the theft, comes after Cliff and Peevy. Cliff learns that Neville is on a date with Jenny and sets out as The Rocketeer to stop Neville. However, he fails and Neville kidnaps Jenny.
Neville Sinclair, it turns out, is a Nazi spy. Cliff is arrested by the FBI and taken to Howard Hughes, who explains that the Nazis are after the jetpack as part of a plan to rule the world. In the big showdown that follows, Cliff takes on Lothar and Neville on board a zeppelin.
Fitting it into the WW4C
This is the other movie that spawned the idea of the WW4C. There have been other masked heroes in the WW4C, like Zorro and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, but the Rocketeer is the first one with superhuman powers, even if those powers come from a piece of equipment.
The Rocketeer in the WW4C remains active through World War II and into the 1950s. He will serve as the inspiration for later superheroes. If the Super-Soldier program which created Captain America in the Marvel Universe was also attempted in the WW4C, it's possible that The Rocketeer fought alongside Captain America during the war.
It's very likely that Cliff Secord passed down the jetpack and helmet to either his children or to someone else to carry on the legacy of The Rocketeer after he retired from superheroics.
I like the idea of The Rocketeer as a legacy hero, as well as being a WWII aviation hero (perhaps the Army Air Corp equivalent of Audie Murphy).
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