ROM THE SPACEKNIGHT (Earth-616):
Rom is a Galadorian converted into a Spaceknight to fight the Dire Wraiths. The Galadorians were a peaceful race and welcome throughout the galaxy for their trade and gifts of knowledge. On one mission, the Galadorian fleet entered the The Dark Nebula on a trade mission. They were attacked and slaughtered by the Dire Wraiths whose home planet Wraithworld was at the center of the Dark Nebula. The Wraiths then proceeded to attempt a conquest of "The Golden Galaxy". With their fleet virtually annihilated, the home planet Galador was virtually defenseless. A call was made for the citizens to sacrifice their humanity to save their home. Rom was the first to volunteer and 1000 others joined him, sacrificing all they held dear to fight the Wraiths. An epic battle ensued in orbit above Galador as the Dire Wraith fleet battled the severely outnumbered Spaceknights. Through determination and the desperation of fighting for their homes and loved ones, the Spaceknights wreaked havoc among the Wraith fleet. It was then that the Wraiths summoned their most feared weapon, a living creature spawnded from the black sun of the Dark Nebula known as a "Deathwing", to combat the Spaceknights they could not defeat themselves. The tide was almost turned in the Wraiths favor by this creature before Rom slew it. The Wraiths then fled before the wrath of the Spaceknights. Wraithkind were pursued all the way back to their homeworld where Rom himself dared alone to face the horrors of Wraithworld. As a last gasp defense, the Wraiths cast a spell that caused Rom to see wraiths everywhere allowing them time to escape and disperse throughout the universe. His fellow Spaceknights (Raak, Codename: Breaker; Plor, Codename: Pulsar; Skera, Codename: Scanner; Tarm, Codename: Seeker; Vola, Codename: Trapper; & Unam, Codename: Unseen) were able to break the spell Rom was under and rescue him from the now deserted Wraithworld. Rom then decided that the Dire Wraiths needed to be hunted down rather than be given time to regroup or harm other worlds.
His chase of them led him to Earth where he met a number of superheroes who often assisted him in his battles once they realized the threat of the Wraiths. Brandy Clark and her boyfriend Steve also helped Rom when others fled thinking he was a crazed robot killing people. Two other Spaceknights, Starshine and Firefall, followed Rom to Earth. Both were killed and the Wraith's Doctor Dredd bonded Brandy to Starshine hoping she could be used against him. However, Brandy had fallen in love with Rom, and was angry at the Wraiths for murdering Steve.
The Wraiths were weakened by Galactus's attack of Wraithworld and largely banished by a satellite Neo-Neutralizer designed by Forge. Feeling his mission was complete, Rom returned to Galador. Brandy wished to follow him and was transported there by the Beyonder. There, they found that the race had become corrupt by a new more ruthless generation of Spaceknights led by Dominor. Rom and the remaining good Spaceknights reluctantly fought their own people with heavy casualties resulting.
Rom and Brandy married and returned to Galador to start over. Their last known visit to Earth was for the marriage of Rick Jones.
POWERS AND ABILITIES:
Powers
As a Spaceknight, Rom's 'Plandanium' armor gives him superhuman strength, durability,
stamina and reflexes, as well as interstellar flight. He does not need to eat, breathe, or sleep in this form. An auto-repair system heals injuries to his cyborg parts.
Abilities
As a Galadorian,Rom has night vision and has an enhanced sense of smell. He is able to change from his original body to his Spaceknight form.
Strength level
As a Spaceknight ROM can lift roughly 70 Tons. In his normal form he seems to have the strength of a man who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Rom’s armor provided him with superhuman strength; extreme durability; flight and the ability to travel through space via backpack rockets and to breathe in any atmosphere, including space. The armor also stored a "Solar Charge" that could be used as a weapon and could also drain power sources by mere contact. It also gave him the ability to summon three pieces of equipment stored in “subspace”:
* The Neutralizer - In addition to banishing Dire Wraiths to Limbo by opening a dimensional portal, this handheld weapon could fire energy beams and neutralize various forms of energy. This device was designed so that only Rom would be able to discharge it. The mutant Wolverine once tried to use the weapon and received a numbing blast of energy feedback.[17]
* The Analyzer - Allowed Rom to see shape-changed Dire Wraiths in their true form and could assess the energy and potential of any object/entity. It could also 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. Unfortunately, the device resembles a handgun, and Dire Wraith imposters have taken advantage of this fact to fool others into thinking that Rom is attacking them.
* The Universal Translator - Allowed Rom to instantly learn the language of any creature, irrespective of their origin. This device was also used to scan and store printed information from an encyclopedia in Rom's memory banks for future use.
For all you ROM fans, I'm currently doing a tongue-in-cheek spoof of "Behind the Music" featuring ROM and what happened to him once Marvel canceled his book.
If you want to check it out, do a Google search for Capesnbabes and check out my little web comic today.
KMC Community Forums
May 18th, 2008 01:11 AM
