Hi everyone,
Today, I'll be writing about the first part of ROM: Spaceknight's quest to return to his home planet of Galador. The story begins in Power Man and Iron Fist issue number 73. The cover was drawn by Frank Miller (who also created the cover for ROM's debut issue) and shows the silver Spaceknight facing off with the Heroes for Hire while simultaneously using his neutralizer to vanquish what appears to be a Dire Wraith. The story was called "Wraith, Color or Creed" and the issue had a cover date of September 1981.
ROM's actions soon draw the attention of the local news media and police. After his energy analyzer identified his targets, the silver Spaceknight then replaces it with his neutralizer, whose beams quickly banish Dire Wraiths posing as humans to limbo, leaving humanoid-sized piles of gray ash in their wake. The Galadorian easily shakes off bullets fired by a cop before flying off in search of the Fantastic Four. The remaining people are stunned by what they just witnessed, including one who saw his companion turned into ash.
Meanwhile, we see that the stars of this particular comic magazine are currently occupied watching their friend Bob Diamond star in the Broadway play The Day of the Deadlox. Luke Cage (also known as Power Man), Danny Rand (Iron Fist), and their companions, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing, are amazed by the performance and take a moment to congratulate the actor after the show. After the rest of the group had dispersed, Bob and Colleen remained behind. They professed their affection for one another, unaware that they were being watched from afar by someone else.
Cage made his way home to the Gem Theater. When he arrived, he found his colleague, D.W., trying his best to console a man who had witnessed ROM's interaction earlier that evening. He was distraught because he believed that the silver had killed his companion, Polly. Cage saw the outline of the body that was supposedly destroyed, and agreed to take the case. He then phoned his business partner, Rand, to inform him.
Meanwhile, wraiths posing as members of the local police force were working diligently to destroy any evidence of ROM's appearance. They believed that the public would quickly dismiss what happened as a publicity stunt. The next day, Power Man and Iron Fist arrived in costume at the police station. They were stunned to discover that no charges had been filed because there were no bodies and no evidence that any crimes had been committed. Cage called it a cover-up and was angered. The heroes soon departed before Cage could do any damage to the nearby police vehicles.
When they arrived at the Heroes for Hire office, Cage and Fist were informed by their receptionist Jennie, that she had been frantically trying to contact them because she had received a videotape from Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. In the recorded message, Reed Richards stated that ROM was part of an enemy alien space race that planned to attack them before long. He asked the heroes for hire to keep the Spaceknight away from their headquarters while the Fantastic Four went out in search of the Galadorian.
After watching the video, Rand asked their receptionist what she knew about the being known as ROM. Jennie replied by saying that she'd heard about how he first arrived in the small town of Clairton, West Virginia and of his encounter with the Jack of Hearts. She gathered that the reports of this silver armored warrior indicated that he was a formidable foe, part of a big conspiracy or both possibilities. Jennifer suggested that her employers go to the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the Baxter Building, to see if ROM would appear.
Cage and Fist agreed, and were soon on their way. At the same time, ROM was making his way toward the just mentioned destination. He came across a young Hispanic lad, and used his universal translator to understand the Spanish words that the boy was speaking. He had no sooner asked the lad where the Fantastic Four's headquarters was, when he was attacked from behind by Iron Fist. Cage kept the boy behind him, and ROM summoned his energy analyzer to learn if the pair were secretly Dire Wraiths in disguise.
The silver Spaceknight, knowing from experience during his past skirmishes with the Jack of Hearts and the Torpedo that it was pointless to engage in another battle with heroes, raised his arm and declared that the Heroes for Hire were not his opponents. He explained his previous actions in sending his enemies to limbo, and that he was on a quest to save his home planet of Galador from the dreaded Dire Wraiths. The Galadorian also explained that his neutralizer did not slay his foes, but merely banished them.
Unfortunately, the humans didn't believe his story, and ROM was soon attacked, first by Iron Fist and then by Power Man. Fist was actually able to use leverage to bring the Spaceknight down on his back. Cage preferred a more direct assault, one which ROM quickly tossed aside as if the powerful hero was nothing more than an annoying mosquito. Luke made another lunge, but was blown back after the Spaceknight's rocket pods ignited.
During the melee, a trio of wraiths in human guises watched and observed the matchup. While Cage recovered, Rand summoned the power of the Iron Fist. ROM did not wish for the conflict to continue much longer. He soon summoned his neutralizer once more and neutralized the Iron Fist. Rand was stunned by what had just happened, and turned just in time to see one of the disguised wraiths fire an alien gun at the Galadorian. ROM stood in front of Rand and shielded him from the blast.
The Spaceknight was weakened by the weapon's ray, but Cage leapt at the gunman, which caused his second shot to fire wildly into the air. Another wraith kicked Luke, while Rand used a kick of his own to knock the wraith weapon out of its user's hands. As he did so, the gun fired a third shot, this time at a nearby building wall, a large section of which fell down on the female wraith who had just kicked at Cage.
ROM was thankful to Cage and Fist for saving his life. Luke destroyed the gun, just before his partner pointed out the pile of ash that now laid on the ground where the female was just moments before. The heroes started to wonder if she was human at all, right before the two remaining wraiths transformed into birds and flew off. Having witnessed the transformation with his own eyes, Cage couldn't doubt ROM's tale any more. He can Fist then agreed to help the Spaceknight make his way to the Baxter Building, so that he could find a way to journey to his home planet to protect it.
I have a fair number of Power Man and Iron Fist issues in my collection. It wasn't one of my favorite Marvel titles, but this issue was a nice tie-in, and one of only 2 Marvel comics where ROM was featured prominently outside of his own title (the other was Marvel Two-In-One #99, which was also scripted by ROM writer Bill Mantlo). The artwork by penciler Greg Larocque and inker Ricardo Villamonte was a bit rough at times in a few panels, but overall it was serviceable. The script by Mary Jo Duffy set up the second part of the story well.
Next time, I'll be writing about Marvel Comics' twenty-third issue of ROM: Spaceknight, where we follow our hero and his new comrades Power Man and Iron Fist on their way to the Fantastic Four's HQ. We'll also learn about a new menace that threatens ROM's adopted hometown of Clairton in his absence. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment