Retro Comic Review: ROM: Spaceknight #57

 Hi everyone,

Today I'll be writing about the fifty-seventh issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight series. The John Byrne-illustrated cover shows the silver Spaceknight firing his neutralizer against a massive wave of water, as Sasquatch helps his teammates, Shaman and Snowbird. The tale was titled "Scenes of Destruction on Every Hand!" The issue had a cover date of August 1984. 

The story began with the crumbling of the dam in Beaver Falls, Ontario. ROM, Starshine, Sasquatch, Shaman, Snowbird, and Marrina stood paralyzed by the potential impact the upcoming onrush of water would have on the Canadian village. The Galadorian asked his new friends to save the people, while he and Starshine went to find a way to prevent the floodwaters from destroying the town. 

ROM flew toward a church that was nearest the rising waters, knowing there wasn't much that he or his love could do to prevent the upcoming devastation, but he was determined to try. He and Starshine used their powers against the tall waves, but were soon swept underneath and found themselves floating helplessly. Meanwhile, Sasquatch used a truckful of logs to construct a barrier. As he did so, Shaman levitated once more, this time calling forth the great spirits to assist him. Several mystical seeds were dropped from one of Shaman's pockets, which quickly grew into tall hedges that might hold the waters back. 

Young Marrina dove into the waters, but was swiftly expelled just moments before the waves struck the town. Snowbird flew around looking for her comrades and lamented her inability to be everywhere she was needed at the time. She turned into a polar bear and plunged into the cold waters below. Snowbird was able to save a few citizens, as was Sasquatch, who soon found Shaman and Marrina clinging to each other. He rescued them and then saw the Spaceknights doing their part. 

The heroes saved as many townspeople as they could. Shaman used a potion from one of his pouches to cure Marrina of the sickness caused by the wraith-infected waters. She revived momentarily and rose to join her friends. One of the people who had been rescued asked the heroes why they didn't do something to save their town. ROM looked around and explained that they did.

This was one of those rare instances where the good guys weren't able to save the day, at least not on a grand scale. It was a very real example of what can happen during a natural disaster. I felt that writer Bill Mantlo handled the topic quite well. ROM and his companions couldn't do everything, but they definitely gave their all to save as many people as possible. It was also a rare ROM issue where the Dire Wraiths and/or their wraith-infused allies were nowhere to be found, but given the story, they didn't really need to be included.

Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the fifty-eighth issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight. We'll see how ROM and Starshine pursue the source of the wraith-polluted waters, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. The Spaceknights will also meet another Marvel character who we know well now, thanks in part to the MCU, but at the time was relatively new to most Marvelites. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.