Retro Comic Review: ROM: Spaceknight #70

 Hi everyone,

Today, I'll be writing about the seventieth issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight comic. The cover shows the titular character engaged in battle with a large pink creature. The story was titled "The Hidden God." The issue had a cover date of September 1985. 

The tale began with ROM and his newly found comrades Scanner and Seeker about to land on a swamp world, in search of more of their fellow Spaceknights. Skera the Scanner used her cyborg senses to identify past and present events and predict what would happen in the future. The trio walked further into the swamp and were soon attacked by a native creature. ROM offered to use his neutralizer to subdue the being, but Seeker chose a more humane option. Knowing that they had entered the beast's home, he opted to fire a sedative into its mouth, ending the battle.

As the Spaceknights wandered on in search of more of their kind, they soon came across a stunning sight. Their mortal enemies, the Dire Wraiths, were hard at work, hauling logs in an effort to build something. ROM went up to one of the wraiths, knowing that it could not affect him with her sorcery after their world had been destroyed (in issue #65). The wraith confessed that they had to continue working, or face the wrath of the hidden god, a mysterious entity that dwelled in a nearby temple. The mere mention of the god made the wraiths tremble. 

Scanner was able to detect a presence inside the temple, just before several wraiths were struck down and a sinister voice spoke. Scanner soon ascertained who the voice belonged to. She accompanied her brother Seeker and ROM as they ventured into the temple. There they were reunited with fellow Spaceknight Unam the Unseen (last depicted in ROM Annual #2). 

Unam explained that the hidden god myth originally began as a joke. He had arrived on this world all alone against the wraiths who had already inhabited it. He used his invisibility ability to strike silently against his opponents, and started the hidden god ruse. His intimidation tactics increased after the wraiths lost their powers following the destruction of Wraithworld. He fed off of their fears and commanded them to do his bidding, which they willingly agreed to. 

The other Spaceknights were ashamed of what Unam had done. He did his duty in defeating the wraiths, but as ROM pointed out, he also subjucted his enemies for his own amusement. Unam responded to this by saying that his fellow Spaceknights were just continuing to mock him, and that none of his kind respected his abilities. Unam went on to say that he not only mastered his abilities, but used them to become ruler of this world that they now stood upon.

He then ordered the wraiths to enter the temple. They soon surrounded ROM, Scanner and Seeker and begged for merciful death or banishment. ROM was willing to send them to the limbo dimension, until Unam intervened. The first of the Spaceknights brushed Unam aside, and summoned his neutralizer from subspace to send the wraiths to limbo. Unam begged him not to spoil the fruits of his victory as the neutralizer ray sang its familiar song of banishment.

Afterward, Scanner was unable to detect any more wraiths on the planet. Unam lamented the loss of his empire as his colleagues walked out of the temple. ROM remarked how the wraith war affected his kind. Some were forged as warriors, who became stronger during battle, while other like Unam were broken in both body and soul.

This was a good morality tale, one that probably had its origins in fairytales or fables of old. It also reminds me of a classic Star Trek episode from the original series. Unam had changed quite a bit since his first appearance, but I think that he learned the error of his ways in the end. Writer Bill Mantlo crafted a marvelous script for this issue.

Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the seventy-first issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight. The Spaceknights' quest to locate more Galadorians continues. We'll also check in on ROM's friends back on Earth for a while. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.