Hi everyone,
Today I'll be writing about the fifty-fourth issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight title. The cover indicates that wraiths are on a blood trail. Even the traditional ROM image in the top left corner is a blood-red color. The story was named "The Blood-Trail!" The issue had a cover date of May 1984.
The tale begins in a sewer underneath the city streets of Atlanta, Georgia. ROM and Starshine are following a SHIELD (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law Enforcement Division) ESPer (Extra Sensory Perception) agent who was pursuing the psychic activity of Dire Wraiths. Sure enough, the Spaceknights and SHIELD members soon encountered a cadre of wraiths who were busy tormenting several screaming humans.
At first, the female wraiths thought that it was the silver Spaceknight who initially discovered them. They soon learned that the human ESPer was responsible for that and let loose a mental barrage that assaulted the young agent. The man collapsed face forward into the murky sewer waters just before the battle began. ROM, Starshine, and the SHIELD soldiers fought back against the Dire Wraiths. Humanity won that day, and the mystery of people disappearing in Atlanta was solved. However, the conflict wasn't without cost. Several of the wraith test subjects perished, and the ESPer agent's comatose state proved their vulnerability to wraith psycho-sorcery.
Starshine expressed her bloodthirsty intent before ROM reminded his love that they needed to find their enemies before they could be defeated. One soldier noticed that all the blood had been drained from the wraiths' victims. He wondered aloud what the aliens wanted with human blood.
Meanwhile, at Mercy Hospital, a new patient calmly strode through the front doors. He made his way to the front desk before his appointment with Doctor Garrison. The young man's name was Rick Jones. Yes, this was the same Rick Jones who had once been a partner of the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and the late Captain Marvel. Jones struck out on his own after helping Banner regain control of the Hulk, and recently fell ill. He scheduled the appointment in an attempt to find out just what was wrong with him. The doctor arranged a private room for Jones to stay in while tests were being run.
Back at the SHIELD Helicarrier, Director Nick Fury was in the ESP room when ROM and Starshine arrived. Thus far, the ESP agents were the only ones who had been able to knew where the wraiths could be found. One man expressed his concern for their survival rate, before Starshine declared that they were engaged in a war, and that soldiers were expendable. ROM was surprised by this perspective, noting that he still planned to reclaim his humanity one day and hoped that Brandy would join him in that effort. Starshine replied by saying that he spoke to Brandy Clark, the person she once was, and that the person he once knew died when the wraiths murdered her family members and friends (in the landmark fiftieth issue). Starshine went on to say that her reason to live now was to see the extermination of the wraith race.
Fury interrupted the Spaceknights' conversation by stating that his ESPer agent, who had joined them in their mission in Atlanta, had his brain fried from the inside. He thought that ROM's energy analyzer could detect wraiths wherever they hid. ROM clarified that he and Starshine could only detect general wraith activity and that it was only the ESP agents who could precisely pinpoint where wraiths were lurking. Fury acknowledged that, adding that it has also cost his people their lives, a cost that he wasn't willing to make consistently.
Another solution presented itself as a stranger entered the doorway behind the trio. That person was none other than Doctor Strange, sorcerer supreme. Strange offered to lend his magic to the ESP agents' abilities. Fury agreed, and the agents were soon bombarded with powerful magic that enhanced their abilities to detect Dire Wraiths on Earth. Strange then left as quickly as he had appeared. The ESP agents stood up from their seats. One of them felt the powerful horror of wraith sorcery that was emanating from Mercy Hospital.
At the hospital, Jones was sitting up in bed, strumming his guitar and trying to take his mind off of his troubles. As he did so, we can see menacing black shapes and puffs of pink smoke infiltrating the hospital. The invaders made their way to the hospital's blood bank and soon entered. Once inside, the wraiths were able to cast sinister spells on the blood supply, dooming those in need of that vital resource.
In Jones' room, the doctor asked her patient if he had been exposed to gamma rays recently. Indeed, Rick had (in issue #269 of the Hulk's monthly color comic). Doctor Garrison explained that although the gamma radiation had been purged from his system, it had done considerable damage. She announced that the heroic sidekick was dying from a rare, irreversible, and incurable form of cancer. Rick was reminded of Mar-Vell's death from that same disease. He asked the doctor how much time he had left. She wasn't sure exactly, but advised blood transfusions, not knowing that the hospital's blood supply was already tainted by wraith sorcery. Neither of them knew that Starshine and ROM were already on their way to that hospital to confront the cause of the blood contamination.
Rick Jones has been a part of the Marvel Universe since Incredible Hulk #1. He's been superpowered and depowered at various times over the years, and has shown up in many different titles since his initial introduction. He would play an important role in this title for most of its remaining run, and he's a character that I've always liked. It was also good to see Doctor Strange's first appearance in this comic since issue #41. This was the first indication that the wraiths planned to take over the Earth on a more microscopic scale, a trend that we'd also see in future issues.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the fifty-fifth issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight series.In that issue, we'll find out just what the Dire Wraiths had in store for the blood that they contaminated with their foul sorcery. We'll also see Rick's first interactions with the Spaceknights. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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