Hi everyone,
Today I'll be writing about the forty-fourth issue of Marvel Comics' ROM: Spaceknight. On the cover, we see the silver Spacenight locked in combat with a green-garbed human known as the Devastator. The story was called "It Takes Two to Tango!" The issue had a cover date of July 1983.
The tale began with Starshine (aka Brandy Clark) holding the body of her love ROM just outside of Quasimodo's cave as a cadre of Russian soldiers looked on. A series of flashback panels explains how Clark came to occupy Starshine's Spaceknight armor, her battle with Quasimodo (who had removed ROM from his own armor), and ROM's confrontation with Doctor Dredd, the late wraith witch who was able to merge Clark with Starshine's armor in exchange for her vow to rob ROM of his life essence. They led up to the present moment, where Clark thought that she had lost the man that she fought so desperately to love as he was.
Starshine soon realized that they were not alone. Clark turned and focused her lighteye beams on the Russian soldiers, melting the guns in their hands before they could even fire them. She knew from their uniforms that they were now in Russia and transported ROM inside Quasimodo's cave. There she stood in front of his silver cyborg armor, as his human body lay next to it. ROM explained that his cloned body was dying rapidly, and pointed to the stasis cube that held his remaining humanity. Starshine feared all was lost, until a voice from behind them doubted that sentiment. Clark turned to see the Gremlin behind her. The small man said that he could restore her lover if she accepted his assistance.
Several beings flew from Moscow to the site where the Russian soldiers had come across ROM and Starshine. They identified themselves as Devastator and his Soviet Super Troopers. They were quickly debriefed and took off to find the individuals who had destroyed the soldiers' weapons.
Meanwhile, the Gremlin worked on restoring ROM's humanity to his Spaceknight armor. As he worked, he explained to the heroes why he became an enemy of the state and talked about his encounters with the Hulk. After his last battle with the jade giant, his headquarters were destroyed, and Soviet military leaders believed that the Gremlin was dead. However, he was indeed very much alive and was shocked to learn that his father (the Gargoyle) died saving Bruce Banner, the American scientist who had cured him (way back in Incredible Hulk #1), which was contrary to what the Gremlin had believed. Feeling betrayed, the boy genius fled to his current location. He then told Starshine that he would cure ROM if she agreed to participate in his vengeance against the Soviet state.
No sooner had those words been uttered than the Devastator and his troops soared into the cave and began their attack. The Gremlin asked Starshine to protect them while he continued his work. Brandy's attacks were effective, but she was outnumbered. Just as she squared off against Devastator, ROM was reunited with his cyborg armor. He rose from the table and noticed that both he and the cloned body next to him existed simultaneously. After that brief recognition, ROM flew to confront the Gremlin's enemies and soon found the Super Troopers to pose little threat to him.
Starshine stayed behind, wondering how two ROMs could exist. The Gremlin explained that the human version lying in front of them was a clone created by Quasimodo, who had kept the original preserved in a stasis cube, waiting to be regenerated. Meanwhile, ROM found himself face-to-face with the Devastator. The human's power gauntlets were quickly destroyed, along with the orbiting satellite that powered them. Afterward, the Galadorian remarked that he'd made his opponent just a man, and that he envied him. ROM returned to his companions, just to see his clone die in their arms. Part of his humanity expired for the second time.
The Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union was a regular source of influence for many works of fiction in the Eighties, and this comic was no exception. There would continue to be more of that theme in upcoming issues. It was nice to see the Gremlin and the Devastator for the first time since their Herb Trimpe-drawn appearances in the Incredible Hulk comic. In the last issue, ROM wondered if he would ever meet the Hulk in person, something that would happen, but only in issue #296 of the Hulk's mag. If you're wondering what happened to Steve Jackson, the Torpedo and other residents of Clairton, West Virginia, you'll see them sooner rather than later in upcoming issues, leading up to the anniversary issue #50.
This was another good issue. I felt that the story was fast-paced and focused on ROM, Starshine, and the Gremlin. It was interesting how the former Hulk enemy befriended the Spaceknights and would eventually become a hero for the motherland that had previously shunned him. Akin and Garvey's covers continued to get better, including the one for this issue.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the forty-fifth issue of Marvel's ROM comic. In that issue, we'll find out the final fate of ROM's clone. ROM and Starshine will also encounter other Soviet superbeings, and of course, there will be a few Dire Wraiths thrown into the mix for good measure. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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