When you are the bread winner of seven people and your intelligence can’t pay the bills, you will do anything to support your siblings. Introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #172 (1977) by Len Wein and Ross Andru, Bob Farrell was an engineering prodigy but when his mother died, he had to support his six younger siblings. Realizing that he couldn’t earn enough money to help his sibling, he used his skills with a skateboard to become a criminal called Rocket Racer. His first encounter with Spider-man saw him steal a briefcase and nearly got away until a car unexpectedly came out in front of him.

After that, he hired the Tinkerer to upgrade his gear and later hired Jackson Weele to steal some evidence for him. He blackmailed and mocked Weele, who got back at him by becoming the Big Wheel, attacking Rocket Racer. Spider-man saved him, earning Racer’s respect. After Spider-man saved his life from the Bounty Hunter, he joined Silver Sable’s team called the Outlaw, made up of former Spider-man villains. Spider-man also helped him get a scholarship for college. He was later hired by Silver Sable International and was hired to capture Speed Demon. He later helped the Outlaws battle the Avengers and Space Phantom.

When Sable didn’t hire him as much as before, he joined Prowler and enter the Great Game, an underground combat arena, but were attacked by El Toro Negro with a bazooka, which left him with a broken arm and Prowler in a coma. After his tech was stolen by Troy and later returned, he joined Tombstone’s gang in prison. He signed the SRA and was sent to Camp Hammond to train. Wanting to reform properly but needing money, he joined the MODOK 11. However, this would turn out to be a ruse as he was working as a mole for SHIELD. After fighting Iron Fist and Spider-woman, he would join the Avengers Academy as one of the new recruits but left when he was offered a job at Alchemy’s business.