Hi everyone,
Today, I'll be writing about Marvel Comics' seventh issue of ROM: Spaceknight. This issue features a beautiful cover illustrated by Michael Golden, who also pencilled the first 12 issues of writer Bill Mantlo's Micronauts comic. It features Steve Jackson and Brandy Clark distraught over what appears to be an unliving silver Spaceknight, with ominous green tendrils reaching out at the trio from inside and outside their location. Its cover date was June 1980.
The story titled "As I Lay Dying!" lets the reader know early on that the title blurbs are a bit of an homage to George Lucas' Star Wars franchise. We begin with Jackson using an acetylene torch on the underside of a hydraulic lift upon which the unconscious ROM rests. Jackson's police officer pal Artie (whom we met last issue) lifts the tarp to check in on his friend.
Jackson admits to his friend that he is helping the alien that most of the town of Clairton, West Virginia, had presumed to be a killer (not knowing that the ones he had attacked were Dire Wraiths whom he had banished to limbo). Artie is about ready to turn his old comrade in when he sees the form of a strange (and somewhat Jack Kirby-esque) hellhound who passed on during his battle with ROM last issue. Jackson also showed him ROM's neutralizer, still frozen in its force field. Jackson still doesn't know how to revive his silver savior, and decides to call his girlfriend Brandy Clark (who was the first townsperson to encounter ROM shortly after his arrival on Earth in the debut issue), and convinces Artie to help him load the heavy Spaceknight into his patrol car.
Jackson, Artie, and ROM leave the scene, not knowing that the coast wasn't clear. We soon see three telepathic hellhounds enter from the nearby foliage and go to Jackson's garage. They find their deceased companion and mourn him quickly, before they and another wraith in human disguise find ROM's neutralizer, still encased in the protective force sphere that one of their companions constructed. The hellhounds leave the scene with the neutralizer, and the remaining wraith transforms into a bird, on his way to inform his elders about ROM's departure.
Meanwhile, at the top-secret Project Safeguard headquarters in Washington, D.C., wraith agent Rachel Sweet informs the Most High One that their enemy's neutralizer will soon be on its way to them. The blue-skinned alien (whose face we never see in the comic) waves one hand above a mysterious crystal, as he takes in the news and starts to conjure forth another deadly enemy. The leader also decides to let the as-yet-unknown thornoids take care of the incapacitated Spaceknight.
The focus then shifts to ROM, Jackson, Artie, and Clark in the pharmaceutical laboratory where Brandy works. The trio of humans wheel ROM, resting silently on a cart, toward a nearby lab for analysis. They soon find an empty room and start efforts to revive their alien friend. At the same time, rain begins to fall outside, and with it, seeds begin to drop from the upper atmosphere, but these are seeds that no one on Earth has ever seen before.
The seeds soon sprout strange-looking pink tendrils that grow rapidly and sprout thorns. These are the thornoids that the Most High One mentioned several pages earlier. Clark connects ROM to an electroencephalogram and thinks that the Spaceknight is emitting some brainwave activity from reading the screen. Jackson fills Clark in on their skirmish with the hellhounds at his garage. Artie keeps watch, knowing that their peace won't last for very long.
Jackson helps his girlfriend operate the machinery while Artie looks on, still not quite believing what he's seeing. Jackson expresses doubts in their abilities to revive ROM, which sets Clark off as she tearfully defends the Spaceknight and accuses Steve of jealousy.
Just as Clark throws herself at the silver suit of armor, one of the windows breaks, and a long, thorned tentacle enters the room. Several more tendrils join the first one, and the thornoid emits an eerie wail. The humans are startled, and Artie draws his service revolver to defend his friends, but he soon finds his gun hand ensnared by one of the tendrils. Jackson throws a chair at the thornoid, but both of their efforts do little to affect the wraith-made terror.
The thornoid then attacks Clark, and she finds that the beaker of acid she tossed at it is effective. The tendrils soon backed Clark and Jackson into a corner. All looks hopeless, until ROM rises up to defend them. He rips at the thornoid with both hands and manages to tear off several tendrils. He is ensnared by more tendrils until he lowers his armor's temperature and simply breaks the frozen limbs, freeing himself in the process.
Jackson and Clark take advantage of the moment to strike back at the thornoid. Jackson grabs a fire extinguisher and points the foam at ROM s opponent. The combined assault proves to be successful, and the wraith creature is easily defeated. As they look at the wreckage that the battle created, the trio can relax for a minute. ROM explains how Jackson was able to help him reactivate his armor, but they soon find that Artie may have been a casualty of the skirmish.
This was another action-packed issue, full of growing suspense and excitement. Unfortunately, this was the only appearance of thornoids in this comic. It would have been nice to see them again, but they were just one of many wraith menaces.
Next time, I'll write about ROM: Spaceknight #8, where we learn Arnie's fate and find out just what kind of evil the Most High One was conjuring at Project Safeguard. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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