Roma is a fictional character appearing in
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 ...
s published by
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 ...
. She is the daughter of
Merlyn. Roma is the Omniversal Guardian, charged with the safety of the
Omniverse. She is assisted in her task by
Saturnyne (the Omniversal Majestrix), and the
Captain Britain Corps.
Publication history
Roma first appeared in Marvel UK's ''
Captain Britain
Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain'' #1 by writer Chris Cl ...
'', in the first issue in Oct. 1976, and subsequently appeared in the second volume of Captain Britain's series. The second volume was reprinted in the U.S. in the ''Captain Britain'' trade paperback.
In 1978, Chris Claremont introduced Captain Britain to an international audience, fully integrating him into the Marvel Universe via a story that starred Captain Britain and
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
, with Roma in a small role. Initially published as a black & white story in the UK's ''
Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain'' comic, this was then coloured and reprinted in an American title, Marvel's long-running ''
Marvel Team-Up'' series, issue #65.
Fictional character biography
Captain Britain
Brian Braddock, a research assistant at the Darkmoor Research Centre nuclear complex, was attacked by Joshua Stragg (the Reaver), who chased him over a cliff. Roma, then calling herself "the Lady of the Northern Skies", appeared to him, along with Merlyn, and offered him the chance to become a hero. Roma offered Braddock a choice of weapons: the Sword of Might or the Amulet of Right. He chose the Amulet, earning Roma's gifts.
Roma and her father exist in a dimension called
Otherworld and operate out of Roma's Starlight Citadel. When a battle with Lord Hawk left Captain Britain in a coma, his spirit met them in this dimension.
Roma gave Captain Britain great physical strength and a quarterstaff that could be used for direct attack or emit a protective force field. Merlyn eventually replaced the staff with Captain Britain's Star Scepter.
Thinking Merlyn dead, Roma took his place as the Omniversal Guardian and ruler of Otherworld. In fact, Merlyn had faked his death so he could manipulate events while being safe from his enemies. She observed Captain Britain from Otherplace. She later brought
Captain UK to an alternate Earth and reunited her with her husband.
X-Men/Siege Perilous
Roma appeared in human form while reaching out to a recovering and disillusioned
Colossus shortly after "
Mutant Massacre" and before "
Inferno." Colossus had just healed from his injuries inflicted on him by the
Marauders when 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 ...
were fighting to rescue the
Morlocks. Roma approached him and asked him to draw a sketch of her; she offered to pay him by telling him his fortune. When he finished his sketch, she hinted at things that would happen in the X-Men's future, but remained vague enough to anger him. She disappeared from the scene, leaving behind a figurine of him in his armored (steel) form.
During this encounter, Roma was really being held captive in her Starlight Citadel by the Trickster (aka the
Adversary), a deity who planned on destroying the earth to remake it into whatever image he chose. The X-Men defeated the Adversary, freeing Roma and forcing the Adversary into a portal. Using
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 ...
's spell, it took harnessing the souls of all eight active X-Men and
Madelyne Pryor, who was there at the time, to create and shut the portal. Roma repaid them by retrieving their souls from the portal, which had a side effect of making them undetectable to electronic equipment and cameras, effectively making them "invisible" to their enemies.
Roma also bequeathed the X-Men with and made them the guardians of a mystical portal called the
Siege Perilous. This portal is a gem that enlarges into a doorway. Individuals walk through the portal to have their lives and deeds judged on a cosmic scale, eventually being reborn if they are deemed worthy. X-Men who have traveled through the Siege Perilous include
Rogue (accidentally sucked into it while battling the
Master Mold/
Nimrod
Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...
),
Havok,
Psylocke,
Dazzler, and Colossus.
Excalibur
One of the X-Men who sacrificed herself was Psylocke, Captain Britain's sister. The grief over his sister's death united Captain Britain and his girlfriend
Meggan with the surviving X-Men
Shadowcat and
Nightcrawler. Together they saved
Rachel Summers
Rachel Anne Summers is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne (comics), John Byrne.
In her first appearance, the cha ...
, host to the
Phoenix Force, and formed
Excalibur
Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...
. To keep the individualistic Captain Britain a part of Excalibur, Roma put a
jinx on him. Whenever he tried to act independently of the team, he would make mistakes and fail. Roma had foreseen that Excalibur would become essential to the safety of the Omniverse; only a group with their specific talents could stop an unknown threat. Roma later warned
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 ...
not to slay
Phoenix.
Roma eventually discovered that Merlyn was still alive. Merlyn, in disguise, manipulated Captain Britain into confronting Roma and she removed the jinx and told him about the secret threat. Excalibur encountered the threat shortly afterwards:
Necrom
Necrom is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as an enemy of the British superhero group Excalibur (comics), Excalibur. Created by writer/artist Alan Davis, the c ...
, Merlyn's teacher had been planning for millennia to use the Phoenix Force to increase his own power. Roma persuaded Excalibur to destroy Merlyn's tower in the multiversal energy matrix, but prevented Merlyn from killing Excalibur. The combined powers of Excalibur defeated Necrom as Merlyn had planned. Roma told Excalibur that from now on, they would be free to determine their own destiny.
Roma was captured and impersonated by the villain
Mastermind
Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to:
Fictional characters
* Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters:
** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...
, who planned on using the Sword of Might and the Amulet of Right to reshape the Omniverse. Mastermind was defeated by Captain Britain and his friends and Roma gave the throne of Otherworld to Captain Britain, who now wielded both the Sword and the Amulet. Roma would retain her function as Omniversal Guardian though.
Fantastic Four/Franklin Richards
Roma briefly appeared in ''Fantastic Four'', when she sent
Gatecrasher to kidnap
Franklin Richards, thinking he was too powerful to stay on Earth and with his family.
Johnny Storm was later able to convince her otherwise.
She again appeared when
Abraxas was trying to find the Ultimate Nullifier. She summoned
Valeria Richards and Franklin Richards to protect them from Abraxas but was unsuccessful, since she was murdered in the process. But Franklin revealed that Roma had taught him for an unknown period of time and that Valeria and himself would be needed in resurrecting Galactus. They used up all their powers to resurrect Galactus and ended the threat of Abraxas. Roma, who was killed, was ultimately resurrected in the process.
House of M
Roma, after sending Captain Britain to
Earth-616, briefly appears to Captain Britain in a dream, telling him that he only has 48 hours to save Earth-616, which
Saturnyne states has become a "causality cancer".
X-Men: Die by the Sword
Mad Jim Jaspers and Fury return to attack the Starlight Citadel in a plan orchestrated by Roma's father Merlyn. During the battle, Roma is mortally wounded and gives all her knowledge to
Sage before Merlyn removes the same knowledge and kills her.
Incursions
Lady Roma has since been revealed to have been restored to life. She is seen along with
Saturnyne expressing their concerns about the Incursions that are destroying many dimensions when they are interrupted by Spider-UK who reveals that all the spiders across the multiverse are being hunted and killed. Saturnyne rebuffs him rude and coldly, but Roma sympathizes with him and gives him a talisman that allows him to travel through the web of life in order to save all the remaining spiders.
The Floating Kingdom
As the result of a deal she made with Saturnyne in the future Otherworld province Blightspoke, after Otherworld was destroyed by Mapmakers, Roma looses her position as ruler. They agreed that she would rebuild Otherworld with the Mapmakers power and become Omniversal Magestrix in exchange for making the Fair Courts for her to rule and the Foul Courts for her father to rule, allowing her to finally achieve power outside her fathers control.
As shown in an arc in
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, sub ...
, she and her father are no longer on speaking terms. When her father unites most of the nations together in a invasion of the Starlight Citadel that forces Saturnyne and her allies into hiding, The Floating Kingdom of Roma Regina becomes one of the only parts of Otherworld not under his control, it becomes a refuge for mutants who are being hunted down by Furies. Roma brings together 10 specific mutants to help stop her father, declaring them the "Knights of X" and sends them on a mission to find the Siege Perilous. She also agrees to help
Jubilee's son Shogo control the powers he has in Otherworld. For his first lesson, she and Saturnyne forced him to watch
Gambit seemingly being killed in battle with King Arthur in their scrying pool to teach him a lesson about sacrifice. She and Saturnyne later flew Shogo to Mercator where they converged with the Knights of X, as well as Arthur and Merlyn's forces.
[''Knights of X'' #4]
Powers and abilities
Roma is the youngest member of the extra-dimensional race of Otherworld, but still millennia old and immortal. She has been highly trained in the mystical arts, with an extensive knowledge of sorcery rivaling that of her father
Merlyn. She has extraordinary prowess in manipulating the vast magical powers at her disposal, which she can use in countless ways, including interdimensional teleportation, astral projection, healing, mind-reading, energy manipulation and many more. As the Omniversal Guardian she also has access to the technology and power of Otherworld, which has devices capable of destroying complete universes. The
Captain Britain
Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain'' #1 by writer Chris Cl ...
Corps obeys her commands.
Footnotes
External links
* http://www.marvel.com/universe/Roma
Roma's Profile at Women of Marvel Comics*
{{Exiles
Captain Britain
Characters created by Alan Davis
Characters created by Chris Claremont
Characters created by Herb Trimpe
Comics characters introduced in 1976
Marvel Comics characters who use magic
Marvel Comics immortals
Marvel Comics female superheroes
Marvel UK characters