Retro Comic Review: ROM: Spaceknight #63

Hi everyone,

Today I'll be writing about the sixty-third issue of Marvel's monthly ROM: Spaceknight series. The cover shows ROM and a pair of unnamed companions engaged in a space battle, in a scene depicted by Paul Neary and Brett Breeding. The story was called "Space Race!" The issue had a cover date of February 1985.

The tale started with ROM and Forge jetting down from Forge's office building in Dallas, Texas, to combat the wraiths who were already endangering innocent civilians. Both of the heroes had neutralizers, but each weapon was quite different from its counterpart. Whereas ROM's neutralizer banished wraiths to the limbo dimension, Forge's neutralizer could only negate wraith magic and return hellhounds to their former state. It could also transform Deathwings into their normal wraith forms.

Wraiths soon realized they were outnumbered and decided to retreat, but not before warning their opponents of the upcoming worldmerge. ROM was impressed by Forge's weapon and wondered why he hadn't supplied more of them to the US government. Forge replied that he gave them one, and it was used to maim a friend (the mutant Storm in the Uncanny X-Men title). 

A while later, we see ROM and Forge in outer space, as representatives from multiple nations around the globe have put aside their differences and started to work on a project that could defend the planet from the Dire Wraith invasion. Technicians were preparing a giant neutralizer, one that would be powered by the rays from ROM's own neutralizer to eliminate the alien threat permanently on our planet. Forge still expressed concern that his neutralizer could be used by government officials to depower super-powered beings on Earth, right before Peter Henry Gyrich asserted that Earth governments would dictate how this new weapon would be used.

The silver Spaceknight's primary concern was whether or not this weapon would be completed before the wraith worldmerge. Unbeknownst to the heroes and the technicians, several Dire Wraiths had already infiltrated the work corps. They were on board one of the space shuttles and planned to destroy the neutralizer before their real identities were revealed.

Back on Earth, Brandy Clark was busy fleeing for her life. She was being chased by wraiths until she was finally cornered. Just when she thought all was lost, she woke up from her dream. In her dream, she still had the powers of Starshine, and when she got up and looked in the mirror, she could see the golden Spaceknight's reflection staring back at her. Clark was still getting used to being removed from the Spaceknight armor and the loss of her cyborg abilities (which happened in ROM Annual #3). Her cries caught the attention of young Cindy Adams, whose parents had been slain by Dire Wraiths, and one wraith died with its mind implanted inside her (in ROM #60). The two bonded over their shared tragedies as the Earth drew closer to impending doom.

Back in space, Forge's wrist detector alerted him to the presence of wraiths in their immediate vicinity. ROM flew toward the weapon to take a closer look and used his own energy analyzer to identify the enemies in question. Both heroes fought off the Dire Wraiths who had infiltrated their ranks. Eventually, the pair was separated. Wraiths threw meteorite fragments at the silver Spaceknights using their sorcery, while Forge was attacked by other wraiths in spacesuits. Gyrich's craft soon leapt to the mutant's aid.

Before long, a menacing comet was trailing the Galadorian. He was wise enough to fly toward the space shuttle that wraiths were sitting in, watching with glee as the Spaceknight was pursued. They were about to gloat when ROM crashed through their vessel, followed closely by the rogue comet, which destroyed the shuttle. ROM and Forge then continued work on their large-scale neutralizer. 

I was very surprised to see Gyrich play the role of a hero, especially saving a mutant, after having read the Uncanny X-Men issue where he used Forge's neutralizer prototype to maim Storm and rob her of her mutant abilities. It was good to see ROM and Forge working together, as well as the governments of the Earth uniting for a common goal. That's something we could sorely use right now.

Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the sixty-fourth issue of Marvel's ROM series. That's the last chapter before the apex of the wraith war on Earth. As worldmerge draws closer with each passing second, we'll find out how that impacts life on our planet. We'll also see what happens to Rick Jones, Brandy, and Cindy, and see if the giant neutralizer can meet the threat. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.