Rom the Spaceknight is a
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
who was originally conceived as a toy and then a magazine lead. Rom was created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy for
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers (known as Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. It remained family owne ...
and is now a
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
asset. After the toy was licensed to
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, Rom became a character that debuted in the eponymous
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
''Rom: Spaceknight'' (December 1979 – February 1986), by
Bill Mantlo
William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...
and
Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...
.
In July 2015,
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
began publishing a new ''Rom'' comic book series as part of the
Hasbro Comic Book Universe.
In May 2023, Marvel reacquired the rights to begin publishing omnibus editions collecting the Rom material they had previously published in the 1970s and 1980s.
Toy
"Rom" was co-created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy (US Patent #4,267,551). It was sold to
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers (known as Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. It remained family owne ...
and was the inspiration
for the
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
series ''Rom: Spaceknight''. The toy was originally named
COBOL
COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural, and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily ...
, after the programming language, but was later changed to ''Rom'', after
ROM
Rom, or ROM may refer to:
Biomechanics and medicine
* Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient
* Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac
* ...
(read-only memory), by Parker Brothers executives.
The toy set a precedent for the game publishing company, which up until that time had only ever produced
board games
A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
. As this was a new venture for the company, and given that electronic toys were still very new, a decision was made to produce the figure as cheaply as possible. As a result, the final product had few points of articulation, and twin red
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...
s served as Rom's eyes instead of the originally envisioned green, which were more expensive to produce.
Rom appeared in the corner box of the cover of ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's December 10, 1979, issue. It was featured in the interior article, "Those Beeping, Thinking Toys", which decried Rom's lack of articulation and predicted it would "end up among the dust balls under the playroom sofa".
Rom was licensed to
Palitoy
Palitoy was a British toy company. It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence. Its products included Action Man, Action Girl, Action Force, Tiny Tears, Pippa (doll), Pippa, Tressy, Mainli ...
in the United Kingdom to extend the "Space Adventurer" line of
Action Man
Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe.
Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of ...
, appearing in their 1980 catalog. Ultimately, the toy failed and only sold 200,000 to 300,000 units in the US, with creator McCoy blaming the failure on poor packaging and marketing.
Parker Brothers subsequently abandoned the line.
A new action figure of Rom was released for the 2017
San Diego Comic Con and at HasbroToyShop.com in limited quantities as part of the
IDW Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
set alongside figures of
Jetfire (a repaint of the previously released Transformers Thrilling 30/Legends LG-07 Leader Class Jetfire figure),
Roadblock
A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be:
* Roadworks
*Temporary road closure during special events
* Police chase
*Robbery
* Sobriety checkpoint
* Protests
In peaceful ...
,
Action Man
Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe.
Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of ...
,
Leoric, characters from the
Micronauts
Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...
, a
Dire Wraith
The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Space Knight.
Publication history
The Dire Wraiths firs ...
and
Matt Trakker
The following is a list of characters and vehicles from the '' M.A.S.K.'' media franchise, including the toyline and its television adaptation. The toyline lasted longer than the cartoon series.
Toylines Kenner
There were five different lines o ...
.
In September 2024, The Loyal Subjects inked a deal with Hasbro to relaunch a host of legacy brands, including Rom the Space Knight.
In January 2025, Hasbro announced the release of an 6-inch action figure of Rom, inspired by his appearance from the Marvel comic books, as part of their
Marvel Legends product line.
Publication history
Marvel Comics (1979–1986)
To build interest in the toy, Parker Brothers licensed the character to
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, which created a comic book featuring Rom. The comic expanded on the premise that Rom was a cyborg and provided the character with an origin and personality, and established the character was firmly grounded in the Marvel Universe, having regular encounters with mainstream heroes and villains.
[ and ] Ironically, the title outlasted the toy it was created to support,
with 75 issues and four Annuals (double-sized issues) published from December 1979 to February 1986.
The comic was written by
Bill Mantlo
William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...
and initially illustrated by artist
Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...
. Buscema stated in a 2010 interview: "I liked the character. And I liked what they did with it. I thought the concept was quite good. It was unique. It made it attractive to do. I almost hate to say this, but it was pretty easy to draw, too". Buscema was the main artist for the series from its creation through 1984, when
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular ac ...
became the regular artist for the remainder of the series.
IDW Publishing (2016–2020)
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
licensed the character from Parker Brothers' parent company,
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
, and in May 2016, released ''Rom'' #0 as part of
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and has historically been cross ...
. The free issue served as a prologue to a new ongoing series which began in July. Rom continued to be part of the
Hasbro Comic Book Universe until 2018, following the ''
Transformers: Unicron'' event.
A
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term ...
limited series titled ''
Rom: Dire Wraiths'', written by
Chris Ryall and drawn by Luca Pizzari, Guy Dorian and
Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema ( ; born Silvio Buscema, , on January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he had a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as art ...
, was published in January 2020.
Marvel Comics (2023–present)
In May 2023, Marvel reacquired their license with Hasbro to publish reprints of their original Rom series. A
facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of r ...
edition, reprinting Marvel’s first issue, was released in September 2023. An
omnibus collection containing the first twenty-five issues of the original series was also released in January 2024.
A second volume was released in June 2024.
Fictional character biography
Marvel Universe
Shown in
flashback, Rom was originally human in appearance, and belonged to a utopian society on the planet Galador, where he served as a
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
. When the planet was threatened by the warlike Dire Wraiths, another technologically advanced race capable of
Skrull
The Skrulls () are a race of List of fictional extraterrestrials, extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #2 and were crea ...
-like shapeshifting, Galador's ruler, the Prime Director, called for volunteers to be transformed into cyborg warriors called "Spaceknights". Volunteers were promised that their "humanity" (the body parts removed to accommodate the armor) would be preserved and restored to them after the danger was over.
Rom was the first to volunteer, and was transformed into a large, silver humanoid that at first glance appeared to be totally robotic. Rom was given Galador's greatest weapon, the Neutralizer, which on one setting could banish the Wraiths into the
Limbo
The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...
dimension forever. Inspired by his example, other Galadorians volunteered and eventually one thousand were transformed into Spaceknights—each with his or her own unique armor, powers and code names.
The Spaceknights succeeded in stopping the Dire Wraith invasion, although Rom decided to follow the remnants of the fleet back to their home planet, Wraithworld (which orbited a black sun). The Dire Wraiths panicked, and after a futile counter-attack, abandoned the planet and scattered throughout space. Unable to stop Rom, the Dire Wraiths successfully used their sorcery to trick him into allowing their escape. Rom now felt responsible for spreading the Dire Wraiths' evil across the universe and swore he would not reclaim his humanity until all Dire Wraiths had been vanquished. Fellow Spaceknights, including comrades
Starshine and Terminator, adopted the same oath and left Galador.
Terminator ultimately went insane, killing Starshine and attempting to kill Rom and his human friends, as he thought all had been "contaminated".
After 200 years in space, Rom arrived on Earth, landing near the fictional town of Clairton in West Virginia, United States. Rom befriended a local woman named Brandy Clark, who, after witnessing Rom deal with the Dire Wraiths, began to assist him in his mission. Those witnessing Rom's neutralizer could not see the Wraiths being banished to Limbo, leading Rom to be hunted for supposedly killing innocents.
During his time on Earth, Rom fought and banished thousands of Dire Wraiths. The increasingly desperate Dire Wraiths created new foes for Rom, including
Firefall
Firefall is an American soft rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts (musician), Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement ...
, a fusion of human and Spaceknight; the sorcerous Hellhounds; and robotic
Watchwraiths. Two of Rom's greatest foes were Hybrid
(the result of a union between Wraith and human), and Mentus (a suit of Spaceknight armor occupied by the dark side of the Prime Director's psyche). Other opponents were more traditional and hailed from the Marvel Universe proper, such as the
Mad Thinker, the
Space Phantom, and
Galactus
Galactus () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Formerly a mortal man, he is a cosmic entity who consumes planets to sustain his life force, and serves a functional role in the upkeep of the p ...
and his then-herald
Terrax
Terrax the Tamer () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist John Byrne and writer Marv Wolfman, the character first appeared in October 1979, and is a herald of cosmic entity Galactus and ene ...
. He encountered such heroes as the
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
,
Power Man Power Man may refer to:
* Luke Cage, a Marvel Comics superhero, originally called Power Man
* Erik Josten, a Marvel supervillain later known as Smuggler, Goliath and Atlas
* Victor Alvarez, the current Power Man introduced in the mini-series ''Sh ...
and
Iron Fist, the
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
,
Nova
A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
, the
Thing, and the
Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
. Rom was one of the many heroes transported into an arena in space for the Contest of Champions, though he was not chosen to participate.
At one stage, a new breed of Dire Wraith arrived on Earth, and appeared to be far deadlier than the first variety. It was later revealed that these were females who relied on sorcery, as opposed to the weaker males who placed their faith in science. Unlike the males, the female Dire Wraiths chose not to act in secrecy and openly attacked Clairton while Rom was away, killing everyone (including Steve and superhero ally
Torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
) with the exception of Brandy. Furthermore, they attacked
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s
mobile headquarters which gave Earth authorities clear evidence of the Dire Wraiths' existence and threat. So informed, the combined nations of the world pooled their resources to counter the threat, with Rom as their resident expert and leader of field operations. The Dire Wraiths came into conflict with the
Avengers
Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
and the X-Men as well. Rom managed to banish all Dire Wraiths on Earth to Limbo with the aid of his super-powered allies and members of the U.S. military.
Rom left Earth soon after the battle and returned to Galador. Unknown to Rom, Brandy had accidentally met the entity called the
Beyonder
The Beyonder () is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jim Shooter and artist Mike Zeck, the Beyonder first appeared in ''Secret Wars'' #1 (May 1984) as an unseen, nigh-omnipote ...
, and Brandy asked to be transported to Galador. The Beyonder complied and Brandy found herself on Galador, now a war-torn world occupied by a new generation of Spaceknights. Created to defend Galador in the absence of the first Spaceknights, this next generation of cyborgs became corrupted by their power, and massacred the Galadorians in a show of superiority. In an act of spite, the new Spaceknights destroyed the frozen remains of the originals. Rom arrived too late and could only save Brandy. Enraged, Rom summoned the original Spaceknights and together they destroyed the traitors. Rom then made a surprising discovery—his original humanity persisted within the entombed body of Terminator. Reclaiming it, Rom became human again and finally admitted his love for Brandy. The two chose to remain on Galador with the intent of repopulating the planet. The remaining Spaceknights, with their humanity now lost, set out to explore the universe, except for a few others that remained on Galador to protect Rom and Brandy.
During
Rick Jones's wedding to
Marlo Chandler, the human Rom returned to Earth, together with Brandy, as guests at the ceremony, and Rom greeted the Hulk with a friendly handshake.
In the ''Spaceknights'' miniseries (Oct. 2000 – Feb. 2001), written by
Jim Starlin
James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...
, it is revealed that Rom took the name Artour (a reference to Brandy's love of Arthurian legends, and perhaps in memory of his own encounter with King Arthur's ghost) and that he and Brandy had two sons.
Rom himself is not actually seen in the series, nor is he mentioned by that name or shown in his spaceknight form (possibly to skirt the fact that Marvel no longer held the license from Parker Brothers, which had retained the copyrights on Rom's name and armored likeness); his ship is attacked off-panel just prior to the start of the story, with Rom himself missing and presumed dead.
Spaceknight Morn, "progenitor for a new type of warrior", appears in a flashback in ''
Cable
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
'' #1 (May 2020).
Hasbro Comic Book Universe
Rom plays an important role in the
Hasbro Comic Book Universe by
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
.
Two hundred years ago, Rom K'atsema lived an idyllic life with his brother and mothers on the peaceful planet Elonia, a world constantly protected by a powerful planet-wide shield that blocked debris and potential invaders. Rom studied geology at the Elonia University of Arts and Sciences, and befriended Livia and Fy-Laa. One day, the three of them investigated a mysterious meteor shower that had breached Elonia's shield and discovered that the explosive meteors were of Dire Wraith origin: weapons designed to penetrate the shield in advance of a potential Wraith invasion, and ultimately responsible for killing his family. When the Space Knights of the Solstar Order intervened, Rom learned that one of his mothers had been infected by a Wraith and transformed into one of their number. Vowing to avenge his family, Rom and his friends joined the Solstar Order as Space Knights.
On his first mission, Rom would be responsible for discovering Elonia's supply of Ore-12, a miraculous liquid metal capable of "bonding" with its wielder and becoming a permanent suit of armor. Realizing that this mysterious metal was the reason why the Dire Wraiths had attacked their world, the Solstar Order would go on to mine the rest of the ore and equip the rest of their Space Knights with the substance. Soon afterwards, Rom—now a full-fledged Space Knight—left Elonia, leaving behind a beacon in memory of his family. Over the next fifty years, Rom took part in a variety of battles against the Dire Wraiths, and participated in the massive battle that saw the Wraiths' current homeworld, within the Dark Nebula, destroyed. The Space Knights spent the next few years pursuing remnant Dire Wraith forces across backwater planets within Solstar territory.
When Rom arrived on Earth, he was misjudged as Cybertronian. He killed a Dire Wraith impersonating
General Joseph Colton, which later exposed the Wraith infiltration around Earth. In time, he gained new allies like the
Micronauts
Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...
, and together, they stopped Baron Karza and the Presence (the Wraith goddess). When
Unicron arrived, it destroyed Elonia, which caused Rom to learn more about the monster and its link to the Dire Wraiths' creation. After
Optimus Prime sacrifices himself to destroy Unicron, Rom and the surviving Elonians accepted Earth as their new homeworld, and Rom and Livia rekindled their previous relationship.
Powers and abilities
Rom's armor was composed of the Galadorian metal plandanium. It is extremely durable, even able to stand up to
Wolverine
The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
's
adamantium
Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy, most famously appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and claws.
First mention in Marvel comics
It was ...
claws. It was shown to be damaged from time to time, demonstrating that plandanium is not indestructible. The armor had self-repair capabilities, though it took several weeks to repair major damage. It provided him with superhuman strength, flight, and the ability to travel through
space
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
via backpack rockets. It allowed him to breathe in any
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
and survive in the vacuum of space. In Spaceknight form, Rom also did not need to eat or sleep. Controls near the torso allowed Rom to lower the armor's temperature to well below zero. The armor stored a "solar charge" that could be used as a weapon and could drain power sources by mere contact. It gave him the ability to summon three pieces of equipment stored in "subspace".
;Neutralizer: Rom's primary weapon, which is designed to banish Dire Wraiths to Limbo by opening a dimensional portal, but the process leaves considerable waste material (ash, etc.) that makes it appear to an uninformed observer that the weapon kills its target. This handheld weapon could fire energy beams that could be deadly at a high setting. It could also neutralize various forms of energy. The device was designed so that only Rom would be able to discharge it. The Dire Wraiths unsuccessfully explored the possibility of examining the weapon to find some means of returning its victims to the normal dimension. The mutant Wolverine once tried to use the weapon and received a numbing blast of energy feedback.
Rom's Neutralizer would inspire a similar creation by the mutant
Forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...
when the US government tasked him with constructing a weapon against the Wraith horde. Forge's neutralizer, for a time, cost
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
her mutant abilities. The IDW incarnation is designed to destroy Wraith bio-matter, with a low level blast being capable of curing those who have only been recently infected. It originally looked similar to its toy counterpart, before interfacing with the Ore-12 in ROM's armour changed it into a sleeker, gun-like device.
;Analyzer : This device allowed Rom to see shape-changing Dire Wraiths in their true form and could assess the energy and potential of any object/entity. It could be used on an item which represented a world, such as a globe, and would display lights corresponding to Dire Wraith infestations at that point on the planet. The device resembles a handgun, and Dire Wraith imposters took advantage of this fact to fool others into thinking that Rom was attacking them. Rom once arranged for an ally to have the equivalent kind of vision, but the Dire Wraiths counteracted that by magically blocking his mind from recognizing that particular visual data. Regardless, Rom allowed
SHIELD
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...
to examine the Analyzer in hopes of creating equivalent devices among the Spaceknight's human allies. In the new "Rom" series by IDW, his energy Analyzer is represented as two red lenses mounted on his arms. The arms transform to reveal the lenses, which emit a red light when in operation.
;Universal Translator: Rom instantly learned the language of any creature, irrespective of their origin. This device was used to scan and store printed information from an encyclopedia in Rom's
memory bank
A memory bank is a logical unit of storage in electronics, which is hardware-dependent. In a computer, the memory bank may be determined by the memory controller along with physical organization of the hardware memory slots. In a typical synchro ...
s for future use. In the IDW series, the Translator is not a separate piece of equipment, but a function of Rom himself. When he first speaks, he uses an alien language before shifting to English, seemingly mid-sentence.
Other versions
As Marvel Comics no longer possesses the licensing rights to Rom from Parker Brothers, the character is not allowed to appear in his armored form. Marvel has found ways to work around this dilemma.
* In 2000, Marvel published a five-issue ''SpaceKnights'' series which featured a hero named Prince Tristan (codenamed "Liberator") in a redesigned version of Rom's armor. He fought alongside other SpaceKnights named after some of the more popular ones from the original series.
* In the ''
Captain Marvel'' series featuring
Genis-Vell
Genis-Vell is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Ron Marz and Ron Lim, the character first appeared in ''Silver Surfer'' vol. 3 Annual #6 (1993). Genis-Vell is the son of superhero Mar-Vell and t ...
, Rick Jones was shown to own a toaster in the shape of Rom's helmet.
* In the alternate world of
Earth X
''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book Limited series (comics), limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian v ...
, Rom had been banished to
Limbo
The unofficial term Limbo (, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. However, it has become the gene ...
and was battling against the Dire Wraiths he had sent there. Rom was seen in human form wielding his Neutralizer and using his chest-plate as a shield. He was referred to only as "the Greatest Spaceknight".
* In ''
The Avengers'' #12.1, the super-villain group, The Intelligencia, was seen working with a 'spaceknight' that had actually been a vessel for
Ultron
Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, the character first appeared as an unnamed character in ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers'' #5 ...
in his digital form, which he proceeds to reconstruct into his own likeness.
Reprint omissions
After Marvel lost their original license to the character, no reprints or collections of the Marvel series were produced due to Marvel's loss of the rights to Rom and the appearance of many Marvel owned characters throughout the series.
During the time that Marvel did not hold the Rom license, issues regarding the reprinting of Rom guest appearances in other comics led to complications. Brief cameos such as a holographic version of the character appearing as a distraction in ''
Uncanny X-Men
''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...
'' #187 have remained intact as have the Rom entries in the ''
Essential Marvel'' trade paperbacks for the original ''
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic Guide book, guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed b ...
'' and its deluxe edition sequel. The cover of the ''Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' removed Rom from the artwork used for the cover of the collection.
Several appearances by Rom have been outright omitted from reprint editions. ''
Power Man and Iron Fist
''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist.
Publication history
''Hero ...
'' #73, which featured Rom, was omitted from ''Essential Power Man and Iron Fist'' vol. 1, and similarly ''
Marvel Two-in-One
''Marvel Two-in-One'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Fantastic Four member the Thing in a different team-up each issue.
Publication history Original series
The concept of teaming the Thing with a differen ...
'' #99 was omitted from ''Essential Marvel Two-in-One'' vol. 4, while ''The Incredible Hulk: Regression'' trade paperback features a heavily edited version of ''
The Incredible Hulk'' #296, removing Rom's entire appearance in the issue. Furthermore, ''Rom'' #72, which was a tie-in to the ''
Secret Wars II
''Secret Wars II'' is a nine-issue comic book limited series and crossover published from 1985 to 1986 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Marvel's then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and primarily pencilled by Al Milgrom.
The series wa ...
'' series, was omitted from the ''Secret Wars II Omnibus''.
Volume 1 of the Marvel Omnibus, scheduled for release in January 2024, will feature the first 29 issues of the series as well as the previously mentioned ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' #73.
In other media
In December 2015,
Hasbro Studios
Allspark, formerly known as Hasbro Studios, LLC, was an American production and distribution company owned by toy and multimedia company Hasbro and based in Burbank, California that was in operation from 2009 to 2019. Originally just a televis ...
(later folded into
Entertainment One
Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series.
The company began on June 1, 1973 ...
in 2019) and
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
were planning a cinematic universe featuring Rom and a number of other licensed toy characters, including ''
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...
'', ''
Micronauts
Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...
'', ''
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light'', and ''
M.A.S.K.''
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon ( ;
born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, ...
,
Brian K. Vaughan,
Nicole Perlman, Lindsey Beer,
Cheo Coker,
John Francis Daley
John Francis Daley (born July 20, 1985) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for playing high school freshman Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' and FBI criminal profiler Dr. Lance Sweets on the crime drama se ...
,
Jonathan Goldstein,
Joe Robert Cole
Joe Robert Cole (born January 1, 1980) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his Emmy Award-nominated and Writers Guild of America Award-winning work on the first season of the true crime Anthology series, anthology television ...
,
Jeff Pinkner, Nicole Riegel, and Geneva Robertson joined to the writing team for the project. By March 2018,
Zak Penn
Zak Penn (born March 23, 1968) is an American screenwriter. Penn wrote and directed '' Incident at Loch Ness'' and '' The Grand'', wrote the script for ''The Incredible Hulk'', co-wrote the scripts for '' X2'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and th ...
had signed on to write the ''Rom'' film's script.
Explanatory notes
References
External links
*
Rom Spaceknight revisited!Rom Spaceknight.comRom If You Want To, Rom Around The World, Part 12 an
3, Comics 101, August 9–23, 2006
*
Roman
''Rom'' (Volume)at Comic Vine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rom (Comics)
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