Hi everyone,
Today I'll be writing about the sixty-second issue of Marvel's ROM: Spaceknight title. The cover, drawn by Secret Wars miniseries artists Mike Zeck and John Beatty, shows ROM and Forge together. Forge is looking through binoculars, and we can see Dire Wraiths attacking humans through the lenses. The story was called "Truth or Consequences!" The issue had a cover date of January 1985.
The tale began inside Forge's offices in the Eagle Plaza building in Dallas, Texas. Forge was talking with a military leader on a video screen, and Forge told the general to stop wasting his time. He had not intentions of allowing the federal government to use his neutralizer for military use. His concerns stemmed from a recent incident (shown in the Uncanny X-Men title) where Peter Henry Gyrich used one of those prototypes to rob the mutant known as Storm of her powers. Storn was his friend, and he was determined to not let what happened to her be possible for anyone else.
Forge ended the meeting just before the general branded him as a traitor to his country. The inventor scoffed at that remark, knowing how his weapon had already been misused once. He surmised that if it was anything like ROM's neutralizer that it could affect Dire Wraiths and other species. Forge was thinking about the potential dangers, just before glancing up at the black hole that was spreading across our sun.
Back at the Wraith Hunter-Ranger base, ROM looked in on Brandy Clark, who was still sleeping after being stripped of the golden Starshine armor (by Hybrid in the third ROM annual). He thought about how much he had changed since she was the first person to witness his arrival on Earth, going from being a Spaceknight to having just lost those abilities. Clark soon awoke and was happy to see her love. However, upon glancing at her reflection in the silver cyborg armor, she grew angered and felt helpless without her armor. She quietly asked to be left alone, which the Galadorian did wordlessly.
ROM made his way back outside when the sounds of Rick Jones' singing caught his attention. He watched him and Cindy Adams singing and playing together, and wondered how Clark felt that she would rather be dead than human, witnessing how wonderful humanity could be. It didn't take long for the duo to be reminded of their current crises. Adams was reminded of the wraith mind that died inside of her, while Jones' recurring pain from the cancer that was slowly killing him resurfaced once more.
The silver Spaceknight thought about the frailty of being human, but still longed for it more than anything else. He then went to the base headquarters, where General Locklin and Gyrich were talking angrily about Forge's refusal to help their cause. ROM then decided to find Forge for himself. As he flew off, a coven of wraiths observed their mortal enemy from a distance. They were determined not to let the Galadorian accomplish his goal, and dispatched a fleet of hellhounds and Deathwings to stop him.
A little while later in Dallas, Forge was busy with his work when ROM arrived. The silver Spaceknight explained that he had used his energy analyzer to detect the building's energy flow and then utilized his neutralizer to eliminate the security measures. Forge reasoned that his weapon operated similarly to the one of his own design. ROM explained both weapons' purpose in removing the wraith threat, but Forge was still worried that his neutralizer would be used to eliminate the abilities of his fellow super-powered comrades. ROM understood his concerns and asked if the risk was worth taking.
Just then, the pair was distracted by a scream coming from street level. They rushed up to Forge's observation deck, where they watched wraith creations attacking civilians below them. The silver Spaceknight finally convinced his new friend to aid those in need, and the pair went off to defend them.
I remember reading the X-Men issue where Gyrich used Forge's neutralizer prototype to maim Storm (although her powers would eventually return), so I understood his rationale. I'm glad that the effects were temporary and that Gyrich and his government colleagues were not able to use his weapon against superheroes or villains. It was another good issue, one where more established Marvel characters understood the implications of the wraith invasion of Earth.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll write about the sixty-third issue of Marvel's ROM title. In that issue, we'll find out what happened during ROM and Forge's battle with the wraiths in Texas, and what they planned to do next. We'll also see how Clark started to cope with the loss of her Spaceknight powers and her first interaction since then with young Cindy Adams. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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