POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #73 and ROM #23 (1981)

This is a HUGE story, and, other than the first issue of this series, it is the best issue of ROM so far.  Lots to talk about, so I’m not even going to mention the interlude where Torpedo is trying to clean up the mean streets of Clairton, WV.

It starts in PM&IF. This is Greg LaRocque’s first issue as artist of Power Man and Iron Fist.  He’s my favorite artist of this series.

The issue starts with ROM getting brutal on the streets of New York.

Yet, this sequence was a bit much.

Anyway, of course the guys he kills are dire wraiths, not humans. But since the above character looks like a pimp, we know Power Man will be in this story.

ROM goes to New York to get the Fantastic Four’s help in figuring out how to go home.

After the above incident, he meets the Heroes for Hire.

iron fist versus rom


ROM the Spaceknight is no match for kung fu.  But he DOES neutralize the iron fist.

Also, Luke gets a lick in…

They fight and yodda yodda then become friends.

As soon as New Yorkers see ROM, they all start to freak out.

ROM IN A TRENCHCOAT

The citizens of the city can tell he’s an alien, despite Danny and Luke’s attempt to give ROM a “costume” so he can blend in.  (You have to love that look, right?)

In the grand Marvel spirit, Bill Mantlo offers a series of reaction shots from some of Marvel’s biggest stars and one of its newer, lesser knowns…


The best reaction, though, is Iron Man, who is worried people will mistake him for ROM.

Uh…There’s really no chance of that, Tony.  Sounds to me like you’re scared and rationalizing.  rankly, with a new superhero/super-villain fight every day in NYC, it is kind of surprising that so many people are freaking out about ROM.  Remember, it was recently established that he is here to protect us—not hurt us—when his destruction of dire wraiths was caught by news agencies.  So this really seems like a bit of an over-reaction.

ROM finally makes it to the Baxter Building where the doorbell doesn’t get him in so, like everyone else, he just breaks in. When he does, he meets the new H.E.R.B.I.E.s (remember, Franklin Richards blew up the original), which now stands for Human Experimental Robots employing B-Type Integrated Electronics.  They’re the defense system. He takes them out.

The FF give ROM a space ship so he can go home.

Also, during the fun, we get a blurry shot of Mayor Koch demanding that his team protect NYC from ROM.

Also, there’s a brief interlude involving Coleen Wing.

How did I miss that she was dating Cyclops?

Leave a Comment