Hi everyone,
Today, I'll be writing about the thirty-second issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight series. The Al Milgrom-drawn cover depicts the silver Spaceknight using his neutralizer against the half-wraith, half-human entity known as Hybrid, with Mystique, Destiny, and Rogue watching on. The story was titled "Choosing Sides!" The issue had a cover date of July 1982.
The story begins in an abandoned West Virginia home, in the midst of a winter snowstorm. Inside the building, we see Hybrid confronting Rogue, Destiny, and Mystique, half of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The humans confront their foe, and as Mystique makes contact with Hybrid, she learns about his origin. She finds out that his father was a Dire Wraith whose spaceship crashed on Earth. The wraith assumed the human identity of Jacob Marks, a farmer who later married a human female who bore their son, Jimmy Marks. She saw how Jimmy's wraith family came to teach him more about his otherworldly abilities. The young child soon used those powers to slay his parents and became Hybrid before battling ROM and the X-Men.
Mystique had just learned of Hybrid's banishment to Limbo when the young X-Man known as Sprite (aka Kitty Pryde) had used the Galadorian's neutralizer to banish him and ROM to limbo, when Hybrid lashed out at her. The battle continued until Destiny told the creature that they, too, were enemies of the silver Spaceknight. Hybrid reminisced about the pain the neutralizer caused him and the strain it took to reintegrate himself and return to Earth. Mystique suggested an alliance with him.
Meanwhile, at the Jones residence in Clairton, Brock Jones shared his encounter with Hybrid with ROM, his doctor, Brandy Clark, Steve Jackson, and his wife and children. ROM knew all too well the danger that Hybrid posed. He had just finished explaining his opponent's dual heritage when Mack Killburn arrived. He offered his assistance after explaining that no one else in the news business took his claims of the wraith threat seriously.
ROM shared his story of meeting convicts who had claimed to be slaves (in the last issue) and stressed the dangerous potential of Hybrid. With Brock still weakened from his encounter, he was unable to join the Galadorian's pursuit. ROM decided to fly off to find his foe, after Clark expressed concern over his joining the future battle alone, to the silent consternation of her fiancé, Jackson.
During ROM's flight, the convicts who had escaped in the previous issue made their way to the previously abandoned dwelling. Destiny sensed their presence before Hybrid went to investigate. He raised one hand and levitated the men, spinning their bodies rapidly until only their skeletons remained. Rogue was horrified by the action, which Hybrid justified, stating that those who did not serve him were expendable. Her teammates began to doubt their alliance with the menacing villain.
Minutes later, ROM's energy analyzer led him to Mystique, who feigned injury before striking the Spaceknight. Rogue then lashed out at the cyborg before he trapped her in his embrace. She then kissed ROM, hoping to leech off some of his powers temporarily. However, the interaction showed her the Galadorian's decency, a trait that she quietly admired.
As the Spaceknight and human mutants stood in the snow, Hybrid appeared from behind them. As ROM fought his old opponent once more, Rogue called out to her teammates, asking them to help the Spaceknight. Destiny reminded the young mutant that they were evil mutants, but that fact didn't deter the brash female, who flew to attack Hybrid. She was caught in his hand until she used a portion of the mental powers that she'd siphoned from him to break his hold. ROM was impressed by the young human's bravery and offered her his hand in friendship.
ROM then renewed his assault on Hybrid. As he did so, his foe used his ability to change forms to appear as the Spaceknight's human half, and then appeared as Brandy Clark. The Galadorian was confused until Mystique used her own shape-changing ability to appear as a second Brandy Clark. She stated that she and her cohorts were united with ROM against a common enemy, and ROM lashed out at Hybrid again before summoning his neutralizer from subspace and trained its beam on him.
ROM continued to intensify the neutralizer's ray, while the female mutants talked about how to help the cyborg. Hybrid was about to force the Spaceknight to turn his own weapon on himself when the female trio realized that Rogue had to touch Hybrid again to drain his power to make it a fair fight. Even though Rogue dreaded the thought of touching the abominable being once more, she did so. Her touch distracted Hybrid enough for ROM to concentrate his neutralizer's ray on Hybrid and send him to limbo once more.
Afterward, ROM and the evil mutants made their separate ways. Before parting, Mystique swore that she and her comrades were committed to their same goals as before. However, Rogue wasn't quite so sure and wondered if she and the Spaceknight would meet again.
This issue is memorable for many Marvelites because Rogue joined the X-Men not long after this. I'd seen the character before in issues of Dazzler and the Avengers, but I didn't realize then how popular a character she would become. She never did meet ROM again, but that's not to say that the wraith threat was something that Earth mutants would never face again. It was another solid issue by Mantlo, Buscema, Sinnott, and company.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the thirty-third issue of Marvel Comics' ROM: Spaceknight. In that issue, the titular character will have another solo adventure. There won't be any new interactions with established Marvel characters, but it will be a turning point for some of his close friends. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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