Hi everyone,
Today I'll be writing about the thirty-fifth issue of Marvel Comics' ROM: Spaceknight title. The cover showed our hero alongside Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, along with other Atlanteans who all look on as pitch black beams turn three beings in front of them into skeletons. The story was called "Agony In Atlantis!" The issue had a cover date of October 1982.
The tale begins with ROM and the Sub-Mariner staring at a tall, brownish entity standing before them, next to a black pearl that was perched atop a tripod. The creature that emerged from Neptune's cave last issue was one that Namor had faced before (in the old Tales to Astonish book). A Dire Wraith high witch, disguised as an amphibious being, had sacrificed her being to the crystal. The crystal's energy was then focused on reviving the creature. Endowed with wraith magic, it began striking out at the denizens of the surrounding sea.
Namor feared that the creature would head toward his citizens in Atlantis. ROM explained to him where the Dire Wraiths came from, and his goal of driving them from this world, as well as his and Sybil's encounter with wraiths before meeting the Sub-Mariner. Namor told the Spaceknight that he had saved the young female before she reached the water and headed back toward Atlantis. ROM quickly followed him.
Meanwhile, in Atlantis, Sybil was safe in a bubble of air...for the moment. Three of Namor's were stunned by her appearance inside one of their buildings. The one called the Oracle crept away, shedding his disguise to reveal his wraith appearance. Once he was alone, he was determined to kill the human. Before he could do so, Sybil warned the Atlanteans that their land was under attack. They then turned to see that the monster was now upon them.
Two aides moved to sound the alarm and prepare defenses against the creature. As Atlanteans moved to protect their home, Sybil noticed the wraith who aimed to harm her. The creature proved to be formidable, and its black light eye beams even reduced several Atlantean guards to skeletons. Most of the other Dire Wraiths who had been entrenched in Atlantis took the opportunity to flee, hoping that the monster would crush the undersea city.
Namor and ROM arrived before long to join the battle. Together with other brave Atlanteans, the conflict continued. The Sub-Mariner eventually told the Spaceknight that he had once defeated the beast by containing it within a maelstrom. ROM doubted that the same plan would work this time, since the creature was now much bigger and infused with Dire Wraith magic. Namor was undaunted and rushed to gain the creature's attention.
The Galadorian was impressed by Namor's bravery and went to join him, using his neutralizer to hopefully dissipate the monster's energy beams. It seemed for a while that the maelstrom and neutralizer rays would not be effective. ROM and Namor retreated from their enemy and made their way to Atlantis, where they learned that the city was under attack by Dire Wraiths. They arrived just in time to defeat Sybil's attackers. ROM sought to avenge what he presumed was the human's demise and joined the conflict against the wraiths.
Fortunately, all was not lost. Namor instructed ROM to put the girl in a chamber that had been used on other Atlanteans. She recovered, but found that her skin had turned blue and she could breathe underwater (which had previously been shown in other Atlanteans in issues of Subby's own mag and Marvel's Super Villain Team-Up). She was now an Atlantean. Sybil thanked the heroes for her rescue and decided to stay in Atlantis to aid Namor and his people.
I felt that this issue wrapped up the three-party story satisfactorily. Unfortunately, I don't believe that Sybil was ever featured in another Marvel comic afterward. It also set up Namor's 4 issue mini-series that was released not long after this. I enjoyed seeing the creature that I also saw in the Tales to Astonish issue #71, which was mentioned before.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about Marvel's thirty-sixth issue of ROM: Spaceknight. In that issue, ROM departs Atlantis and faces another wraith threat. We'll also learn a bit more about Brandy Clark's intentions. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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