Hi everyone,
Today I'll be writing about the fifty-second issue of Marvel's monthly ROM: Spaceknight title. The cover illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz shows a soldier in the trenches as the silver Spaceknight looks on. The story was titled "Total War!" The issue had a cover date of March 1984.
The action begins in a cave where several female wraiths huddle together, discussing their despised enemy, ROM. His renewed commitment to eliminating his mortal enemies changed the wraith plans to use the conquest of Earth as a piece of their ultimate plan to invade Galador. Wraiths would now have to fight for their very existence on our world, which is something they vowed to do, even if it meant annihilating all life on the planet in the process.
Meanwhile, ROM and Starshine were busy assessing the damage wrought by wraiths on another city on the East Coast of the United States. Several army soldiers flanked behind them, with everyone in awe over the destruction that left the town almost unrecognizable. The silver Spaceknight remarked about the swiftness of the wraith attack just before he and Brandy located a family trapped underneath part of a brick wall. The Spaceknights saved the humans. Afterward, Brandy asked ROM if wraiths left many dead and injured on other planets. ROM grimly replied in the affirmative.
They were soon summoned by General Locklin, who awaited them in a nearby tent. The general admitted that he initially dismissed the claims that Dire Wraiths had invaded Earth until he saw their devastation firsthand. He realized that his country was at war with an alien menace, something that probably wouldn't happen until more people were killed and more areas were devastated by the Dire Wraith invasion, like what happened to ROM's world before its people fought back and forced their enemies into hiding in other regions of the galaxy.
Locklin remarked how the wraiths had established a stronghold on his world. He reiterated that he didn't mean to imply that Galador resumed its peace by making Earth miserable in return. ROM reminded him that no world could ever truly be at rest until the wraith menace was ended, once and for all. He recommended that the citizens be informed and armed as needed. In the days that followed, word spread about the wraith threat. Weapons were issued, and the call went out for brave volunteers willing to join the defense.
Project Wraithwatch was soon underway. In its headquarters, Locklin gave Starshine and ROM a tour of the facility. The silver Spaceknight then used his energy analyzer to showcase pockets of wraith activity on a nearby globe. Starshine noticed that some of them were right where they stood. The wraiths who were present quickly shed their human disguises and struck at their enemies. Locklin was grabbed by a wraith until it was banished to limbo by ROM's neutralizer. The general then fired his service revolver at another wraith and led his troops to attack the remaining wraiths in the building.
During the melee, the Galadorian was stunned by Brandy's brutality, as she forced her lighteye rays through a wraith's skull. He doubted that the two of them could enjoy the end of the wraith war together. The Spaceknights sped off into another chamber to combat more wraiths and won the short-lived battle. Afterward, the dead and the wounded were carted off. Locklin was amazed by a foe who could assume their shape and infiltrate their army. ROM stressed the importance of defeating the wraiths, a mission that the general was more than willing to pursue.
This was the first time in this monthly title that Earth's military forces joined the fight on a large scale. It would also set up future issues' storylines as word continued to spread about the enemy aliens. I was a bit surprised at first by Starshine's savagery, but then I realized how she still probably had some pent-up anger after seeing her loved ones destroyed during the decimation of her hometown.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the fifty-third issue of Marvel's monthly ROM title. In that issue, we'll see the wraith threat extend across America. ROM and Starshine will also invite more government involvement, including a well-known character who's been around for decades. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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