Hi everyone,
I know I haven't posted anything in a while - life's been busy. I finally have a break in my schedule where I can start a new series of blog articles. I wanted to begin this series with one of my favorite comic book characters, ROM: Spaceknight.
ROM was originally a toy robot produced by Parker Brothers. It had lights and sound, and included a translator, neutralizer, and energy analyzer accessories. You could even see a headshot of the robot with its red penlight eyes in an issue of TIME Magazine. Unfortunately, the toy didn't sell very well and was quickly forgotten by retailers and children.
The character was one of several licensed properties for which Marvel Comics created titles in the 1970s. They also created books based on Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, The Man From Atlantis (a short-lived TV movie and TV series starring Patrick Duffy), Logan's Run, Godzilla and the Shogun Warriors, and Micronauts toy lines.
Bill Mantlo was the primary writer on the series' entire run, which spanned 75 issues and 4 annuals. Sal Buscema was the main artist on this book for most of the run, before leaving in the early 1980s. Former Amazing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange artist Steve Ditko took over the penciling chores for the last year and a half of the book's run before it was cancelled.
Time to dig into the first issue, titled "Arrival." It featured an impressive cover by Daredevil writer/artist Frank Miller, and had a cover date of December 1979.
The splash page that was penciled and inked by Buscema was featured in several Marvel print publication ads and showed the silver Spaceknight's landing on Earth, in the fictional town of Clairton, West Virginia. To our knowledge, his arrival was only witnessed by Brandy Clark, a laboratory worker who was driving home from her job when ROM appeared suddenly on the highway.
Panicked, Clark almost crashed her car until ROM saved her. Still in shock, Clark left her vehicle, not knowing what the alien would do to her. ROM summoned his energy analyzer from subspace to determine if she was a Dire Wraith, one of ROM's mortal enemies. Discovering that she was not, he left the young woman scared but at peace.
The next day, we get a glimpse of small town life in Clairton, which looked much like many other towns of its size in that era. ROM then reappeared in the middle of the town square and brought forth his energy analyzer once more. Finding his quarry, he then dispatched the analyzer to be replaced by his neutralizer. The crimson beam sang its song of banishment, as the Dire Wraiths in the milling crowd were sent off to limbo. Their seemingly human bodies were replaced by piles of grey ash.
Not knowing what had just happened, shocked citizens called the alien ROM a murderer. His actions were soon discovered by other wraiths who had already infiltrated the US government.
After banishing the wraiths, ROM recognized Clark in the stunned crowd. He took her to a quiet locale outside of town and summoned his translator, which allowed him to understand and speak English. He explained that the people he neutralized were not humans, but indeed alien Dire Wraiths. He also told Clark about the origin of his people's crusade against the wraiths, which started 200 years ago near his home planet of Galador.
His world had been a peaceful one until one of their starship squadrons was suddenly attacked by wraith ships and a hideous dark Deathwing. The Deathwing overtook and overpowered the Galadorian spaceships and left no survivors. Afterward, Galador's Prime Director realized the seriousness of the wraith threat and soon asked citizens to sacrifice their humanity to save their planet. ROM was the first person to volunteer for this task.
Millions of Galadorians volunteered, but only a select few were chosen to become Spaceknights. These brave souls had their humanity grafted onto cold metal suits of armor. Their human genes were integrated with cyborg circuits. The suits were equipped with rocket pods that would allow flight into space, and each knight was given a unique weapon and/or ability.
Once the first Spaceknights were ready for battle, they soared off into outer space to form a defensive front against the wraiths. A fierce battle ensued, with casualties on both sides. In the end, only ROM was able to defeat the Deathwing, and after leading his comrades to victory, was soon called the greatest of the Spaceknights.
After telling that tale, ROM explained to Brandy that the wraiths that she saw disappear could change their form and had been shunted off into an extradimensional limbo by his neutralizer. Clark was still skeptical about the spaceman's words, which he tried to defend until he was fired upon by members of the US military.
The military and several concerned citizens were convinced that ROM was an alien menace. Those fears were goaded in part by the wraiths in the audience who spoke against the silver Spaceknight. Another battle ensued, and ROM was fired upon by weapons that were made by both Earthlings and Dire Wraiths. After being hit by a laser blast from a wraith weapon, ROM used his neutralizer to send his attacker to limbo.
More wraiths went to grab the fallen disruptor pistol and subdue Clark. Upon hearing Clark's cries for help, ROM turned and neutralized the wraiths, who would menace him no more. ROM seemed to have won the battle, but the war on Earth had really just begun.
Clark was left alone once more, as ROM soared off after the conflict. She was still confused by what had happened, but a seed of belief in the Spaceknight had been planted that day. It was also the start of the wraiths who had already assembled on Earth to take action against their Spaceknight enemies.
This 18-page story is full of action and suspense. The first time I read it, I was reminded of old Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits episodes, where Earthlings were pitted against alien menaces from other worlds. Brandy Clark would go on to become a major character during the title's run, and Dire Wraiths have been included in the Marvel universe long after the title ended and Marvel lost the rights to the character.
ROM was also included in Marvel Two-In-One #99 and Power Man and Iron Fist #73, which was the first of a two-part story that continued in ROM #23. He also had a very brief cameo in the first Contest of Champions limited series.
In 2016, IDW published a new version of ROM that ran for 14 issues and 1 annual. It was followed by a few limited series (including crossovers with the Micronauts and Transformers and a 3-issue Dire Wraith miniseries) and one-shots. Buscema returned to ink a few backup stories that ran in IDW's ROM title before it was cancelled.
Not long after IDW's relaunch of the character, a 3/34" ROM action figure that came with a figure stand and neutralizer was released as part of a ComicCon exclusive pack with their version of Dire Wraiths. Earlier this year, Hasbro released a 6-inch ROM action figure that comes with a neutralizer, energy analyzer, laser blast attachment, 2 extra hands, and a small replica of the original ROM #1 comic book.
ROM was one of the first non-Star Wars Marvel titles that I ever read. I received a copy of ROM #19 (along with Marvel Two-In-One #76) when I was 8 years old, and was captivated by the story and artwork. I eventually went on to collect as much as I could about the character, one that I feel is very underrated.
If you can't collect the original versions, Marvel has recently started releasing omnibuses and Epic Illustrated collections of these books, including a Marvel Tales one-shot that reprinted ROM's skirmishes with the X-Men and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. If you want something different and fun to read, I highly recommend them.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about ROM: Spaceknight #2, a story titled "Second Coming." It features ROM's battle in a laserium and another supporting character who would soon play an important role in the title. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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