The Earth of the Marvel Universe is regarded as a rather important planet. I mean, it has dealt with numerous threats to the cosmos, like the Kree, the Skrulls, and even Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds himself. And in the late 1970s, the Marvel Universe would encounter a new threat from the stars. A threat that infiltrated and wormed its way into the highest levels of power all over the world. And only one man can stop them. The Greatest of the Spaceknights. The Galadorian Guardian known only...as ROM.
Rom (sometimes stylized as ROM) actually started out as a toy. Yup. Created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy, the toy would be released by Parker Brothers. It was a rather unique departure for the company, as they were primarily known for creating board games. An early example of electronic toys, the original ROM toy was criticized as nothing more than a plastic statue. That's because of Parker Brothers wanting the toy to be made as cheaply as possible. For example, ROM's eyes used red LEDs instead of green (as originally intended), because of expense. It also had rather limited articulation. The toy was originally intended to be called COBOL (as in the programming language), but Parker Brothers executives instead went with the name ROM (another computer reference, to read-only memory. Rom. Get it?)
In order to build up interest in the toy, Parker Brothers would license the character to Marvel Comics to make a comic book. Bill Mantlo would be given the writing job, and Sal Buscema would be the initial artist. The comic would be significantly more successful than the toy itself. The ROM comic would go for 75 issues and four Annuals, lasting until 1986. Rom also got incorporated into the Marvel Universe, encountering Marvel heroes like the X-Men, Power Man, and Iron Fist. However, in successive years, due to no longer having the rights to use the character, Rom could only be hinted at.
The comic we're looking at here is the first issue of Rom's debut in the Marvel Universe. Was his introduction a grand affair, or was it a worse flop than the toy itself? Let's find out in ROM Spaceknight #1.
The story begins with a crash landing in West Virginia. Our man Rom has made quite the entrance, alright.
Page 6, Panel 1
"Where the space heck am I? This isn't Space Disneyland!"
He notes a nearby city, showing he is on a world with intelligent life. A woman driving in a car tries to swerve away from him (as he's standing in the middle of a road. Rom realizes that she has lost control of her vehicle and so moves to save her. After saving her, the silver-armored man seemingly blasts her with a device...and she's not harmed by it.
(everything's okay)
Without saying a word to her, Rom flies off. Right now, he is after his enemy. We next shift scenes to Clairton, West Virginia. A sleepy little town, later issues would say it's near the unincorporated community of Lansing, which likely places Clairton in Fayette County. There's also a real life Clairton, in Pennsylvania.
(the more you know)
Clairton ends up being graced by the silver-armored space alien. Now, he's not interested in sightseeing. Which is a shame as Clairton has a fantastic art festival during the summer. Not being a major city like New York or Los Angeles, the populace is confused as to why he's here. But two citizens are worried. They believe Rom had found them. How he did it doesn't matter. They need to get the heck out of here.
(run away)
Without saying a word, Rom sweeps the area with his Analyzer, finding the two men. And then he whips out his Neutralizer weapon and blasts the men, leaving them seemingly dead.
Page 10, Panel 5
"They were ashes all along!"
Thing is, the two men he blasted are not actually dead. They've just been banished to another dimension. But the ashes left behind give the appearance that he killed them in cold blood. Also, those men were not even human. More on that later.
The townsfolk flee. This is witnessed by Brandy Clark, who is understandably horrified. Those men Rom seemingly killed? She knew them her whole life.
(what is going on)
He comes closer to her, terrifying the young woman. At his office, Mayor Bradford is trying to call for help, but he gets laughed off. Funny enough, you'd think people would believe him considering this is the Marvel Universe, after all. This is a universe where monsters, mutants, and magic are a regular thing. However, there is a reason for that.
Page 11, Panel 6
"Give me a second, I need to figure out which hole this goes in!"
Seems there's a little conspiracy brewing in Clairton...
(Batman hmmm)
This telephone operator then gets a call to Washington, DC. Evidently, there's a general who is in on this whole thing, and says he'll arrange for them to get some help. On the outskirts of Clairton, Rom has taken Brandy outside of town, as he wishes to talk to her. he has a translation device that allows him to communicate with her. Why didn't you use that when you met her earlier, Rom?!
(facepalm)
He explains to Brandy that those men were not her old friends. In fact, they were not even human. They were actually alien infiltrators known as Dire Wraiths, and they are enemies of Rom's people, the Galadorians. It's time to tell a tale of this war...
(story time)
Two hundred years earlier (by Earth temporal measurement), the planet Galador was at the peak of a Golden Age. It was a peaceful planet, full of prosperous people. They also had a space fleet, ships full of explorers, dedicated to seeking out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. I'm a Trekkie, give me a break. One fleet of ships headed towards a region of space known as the Dark Nebula. Thing is, the beings within said Nebula were not the friendly sort. They were not interested in peaceful contact and sharing of knowledge. They wanted war. They wanted death, and their desires were not to be denied.
Page 14, Panel 2
"Surprise, mothatruckas!"
The Galadorians tried to protect themselves, but the Nebula's inhabitants unleashed a monster known as the Deathwing. This dragon-like creature was so horrific, even the Nebula's inhabitants themselves feared it. The Deathwing, well...utterly wrecked the Galadorian explorers.
(ouch)
The news of this reaches Galador. Their leader realizes they need an army to face them, and so, the people are called to sign up. One of those volunteers was a young man named Rom. Rom's bravery seems to spark some inspiration. Many Galadorians volunteer for this army. Despite this, only a few are chosen. Why? Because to become soldiers to fight the Dire Wraiths, these brave Galadorians had to "sacrifice their humanity". Basically, they were turned into cyborgs. They had been turned...into the Spaceknights.
These newly-forged warriors faced the Dire Wraiths on their turf. The Wraiths unleashed the Deathwing on them. Many of these Spaceknights fell, but they managed to defeat the monster. Rom becomes a legend among his people, considered the greatest of the Spaceknights. The Deathwing may have fallen, but the Wraiths are still out there. As such, Rom's mission is not over. And for the last two centuries, our man has hunted the Dire Wraiths. It's why he's come to Earth. They have a presence here. Rom's Analyzer and Neutralizer allows him to find and banish the Wraiths to a limbo dimension (presumably not the same Limbo associated with Illyana "Magik" Rasputin).
This talk with Brandy makes Rom realize that people don't see the Dire Wraiths. The Neutralizer doesn't reveal them to other people, and the banishing makes it look like he's killing folks. Unfortunately, that issue will have to be tabled for the moment, as the silver-armored cyborg finds himself up against the National Guard, still believing that he is a murderous invader. And they have tanks.
(they got a tank)
The Guard's tanks fire at Rom, but his armor, designed to handle the harshness of space, easily shrugs off the shells. Flamethrowers also have no effect, as Rom has flown near stars. Some disguised Dire Wraiths congratulate themselves on tricking the humans into attacking Rom, but they also fear not only exposure, but that their weapons won't do that much good against him. Rom continues fighting the soldiers, while trying not to harm them. After all, all life is sacred to a Galadorian. They don't kill. Even the Dire Wraiths themselves are not exempt from this (Rom doesn't kill them, just exiles them to another dimension).
One disguised Wraith blasts at Rom with a Wraith weapon.
Page 21, Panels 2-3
"This is for my momma!"
It doesn't do a lot of damage, and the Wraith gets exiled for his trouble. Brandy tries to get at the gun. If she can show it to the Guard's commander, it can help prove that Rom is one of the goodies. Other disguised Wraiths try to stop her, but Rom is able to neutralize them. One managed to escape. Rom flies off, leaving a confused Brandy. The story ends with the surviving Wraith reporting to her superior, and then she decides to hit the dusty trail, in a new form.
I actually enjoyed reading this issue. Something I realized when reading this comic is that Mantlo is homaging and doing a twist on the old 1950s alien invasion/science fiction flicks. The way people react to ROM, his actions seemingly being murderous but actually benign,
If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2024 hardcover Omnibus ROM: The Original Marvel Years Vol.1. If you want a more affordable option (because Omnibuses are huge and expensive), there is also 2025 trade paperback ROM Epic Collection Vol. 1: The Original Marvel Years Vol. 1. I have the Epic Collection.
In 2015, IDW Publishing would get the rights to Rom from Hasbro (Hasbro had bought Parker Brothers in 1991) and use the character as part of Hasbro's own comic book universe, alongside Transformers and G.I. Joe. In 2023, Marvel reacquired the comic book rights, allowing them to (for the very first time) collect the character's original Marvel series in not just their previously mentioned hardcover Omnibus format, but also as trades in the Epic Collection line.
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