So Rom #1 was a good comic, much to my surprise. How’s #2? Still good, but not as good.
Interestingly, we still don’t get to see the Dire Wraiths in their alien form. Instead, we get a bit of development in the spaceknight’s relationship with the human woman Brandy Clark, who wants to believe that Rom is a hero despite the fact that he keeps burning human-looking people who she has known all her life (because they are actually Dire Wraiths). The premise for ROM is essentially the same as Brian Michael Bendis’ “Secret Invasion” storyline (as well as the classic Invasion of the Bodysnatchers): Aliens invaded, they look us, and they hide in plain sight.
In these issues, we learn that there’s a corporation that has been building anti-Spaceknight weapons. Obviously, it’s a company with Dire Wraiths running it. They give a criminal named Archie Stryker a suit of Spaceknight armor called “Firefall,” and use him to fight Rom.
Sal Buscema is still putting his best into this book. I guess Mantlo–creator of Micronauts–told him how profitable these toy comics could be.
Meanwhile, the Wraiths have infiltrated our government as two “FBI agents” kidnap Brandy. She gets rescued by ROM, further cementing her belief in, and relationship with, ROM.
The story ends with Firefall stuck in his armor–just like ROM is stuck in his–and ROM saying that killing a human is murder. By implication, killing Dire Wraiths is not.
It’s worth noting as well that on the letter page, Space Notes, we see a heavy product placement hype blurb for Parker Brothers.
Jim Shooter this kind of thing. This was his influence. In fact, many blame him for the art-obscuring banners that would appear on the covers of comics. Notably, the cover to X-Men #138.
An iconic cover, famously obscured.