THE CHASE: ROM SPACEKNIGHT 5-6
Aug. 8th, 2011 10:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aaron_bourque posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scans_dailyOnly two issues this time around, so let's get to it.
So we pick off shortly after we left it last time. Some local cops arrive (I had previously misidentified Clairton as being a Virginian town, when it's West Virginian, and I'm sure that matters to people from those two states, but to everyone else, meh.) and the cops start searching the area of the carnage. Brandy and Steve are sure ROM will protect them.
The cops discover Firefall, and tentatively search him, revealing he's Archie Stryker. Some of the council of Dire Wraiths show up and take possession of Stryker. They float him into a van, and examine the remains of the Dire Wraiths who were killed in the car chase. We get a couple names (the SHIELD agent is Kraller, and the female is Dr. Rachel Sweet), and that Brandy was supposed to be subjected to something called Project: Safeguard (this will become important later). Finally, they order the cops to cordon off the area for the sake of national security. Lastly, sure that they'll find some sign of ROM in the vicinity--
ROM and his companions manage to get away, and the earth cops are shocked, but the Dire Wraiths brush them off and drive away with Stryker, talking freely, not realizing that Stryker overhears that they're really aliens and that ROM was right! The local cops, though ordered to forget what they just saw, mutter amongst themselves. The Dire Wraith council leave, ROM and friends fly off, and Brandy starts thinking about ROM and what he was like before he became a Spaceknight, while ROM starts to realize he's developing feelings for Brandy, but he tries to quash them. They come across a house--no wait. Excuse me. They come across--
THE HOUSE!
Seriously, it's just as deliciously melodramatic in the comic, but for space reasons I can't show it off. Just imagine a beautiful musical DUN DUN DUN and cheesy B-movie reveal! It's hilarious.
ROM's sensors reveal the house to be uninhabited (spooOOOOOOOooooooky) and they stop to rest. The front door to the house does the creepy horror movie thing where it swings open on it's own, and after noting that it "must have been the wind," like Jeez, guys, have you NEVER seen a horror movie? EVER? They enter (mistake #1), light a candle, and Brandy and Steve fall asleep (mistake #2) in each others arms. Awww. ROM, however--
Aaaaand that's the total of the cross-over. ROM dreams of Dr. Strange, who proclaims he KNOWS YOUR SECRET, and ROM "wakes up." To see--
A Grimwall!
ROM fires his neutralizer at the Grimwall, and the house tosses a table at ROM, surprising him. Seriously, the epic struggle in this issue is ROM vs. a table. It's not even like Ultima III where the grass and the floor attack you, the table just tries crushing ROM until he remembers he's super-strong, and then he explodes it. Because, hey, why not?
The house has been slowly . . . slooooooowly floating Brandy and Steve . . . somewhere? There's only one room to this place! And what is with this issue and floating unconscious bodies? Anyway, ROM grabs for them--
And they argue some more, with the house igniting the fireplace (oh, yeah, there's a fireplace there, but no firewood, that's why they didn't start a fire) with a massive belch of fire, so ROM shoots the . . . whatever the heck he's facing with his neutralizer some more, flies Brandy and Steve out, still zapping the house until it is banished to "whatever realm of shadow spawned" it, leaving an empty lot. ROM, Steve, and Brandy ponder their navels, as well as the many threats that plague their kind. THE END.
This is a strange (pun not intended) issue. While it follows up on what happened last issue and further cements ROM existing on Earth-616, the "dweller in shadows" demon house thing is bizasszare. It's almost like filler, except there is no real filler in ROM, every event has repercussions on later events, and this issue truly brings up the mutual attraction between ROM and Brandy (which will be important later). It's just . . . the villain here comes from almost nowhere (having appeared ONCE before in a comic from the SIXTIES, about 15 years before this issue was published), and doesn't quite mesh well with ROM. Which is odd, because it's a great horror movie threat, which should fit in well with ROM, who's a spin on ANOTHER great horror movie plot. It also shows off one of Mantlo's strengths, exploring the lost and forgotten corners of Marvel lore and bringing it back in a new story. I think in this case, he chose something a tad too obscure, and he does sort of have an unfortunate tendency to definitively deal with them, almost like the comic book equivalency of a giant vaudeville cane . . .
NEXT UP: The Hellhounds just introduced chase our intrepid trio!
. . . somewhere offscreen, they found a van to transport ROM around in on their way to Clairton.
ROM explains that he doesn't consume food anymore for energy, instead demonstrates how he recharges by grabbing a low-hanging lightbulb and . . . somehow absorbs some energy from it by making it (and him) glow brighter. ROM describes the process as "More efficient . . . but far less satisfying," than eating. Steve expresses shock and makes a joke about his electric bill going up, and ROM mentions that on Galador, they didn't have to pay for their energy. Man, ROM, don't hold out on us! Earth just went through one energy crisis, and within 2 decades, will be approaching another! Oh well . . .
All this talk of money reminds Brandy that she's still got to report to work in a couple of hours (she works at a lab), and Steve shows he's still a decent boyfriend by promising he'll drive her to work on time. But then, what will ROM do?
The next shot of ROM shows him just standing there, his glowing eyes not glowing. Steve and Brandy realize he's in rest mode, while his armor repairs itself and running diagnostics. Brandy wonders if he still dreams . . . and ROM is, of a sort, of Ray-na. Awwwwww . . .
After that, we cut to the strange key-stub building, which is identified as PROJECT: SAFEGUARD, where the Dr. Sweet and Agent Kraller are examining Archie Stryker in the Firefall armor, who's ranting and raving about how ROM was right, curse you all! ROM WAS RIGHT!! Dr. Sweet threatens to kill him and sedates him, and the council talk about where they got the Firefall armor, revealing they don't know of any reliable way to kill a Spaceknight, and that even Karas, the original Firefall, might still live. (Whenever anyone makes the statement that someone "must be dead!" you know it can't be true!) They also reveal a little bit of the caste structure of the Dire Wraiths, that there are "first-borns," like Dr. Sweet, who are from the Dark Nebula, the home of the Wraiths, and "second-born," like Kraller, who were born on Earth. They bicker before reaching the council room, where another member is in the shadows, but his hands are blue and clawed and gnarly. This new guy decides Kraller needs to be killed--
IT'S COMING!!! TMI, Deathwing. TMI.
And Kraller dies, the rest of the council uneasy with unleashing Deathwing. I guess Dire Wraiths aren't a "communal porn" culture.
Meanwhile, the hellhounds are on the hunt--
The hellhounds drop a car on ROM, who throws it back at them. They faze through it, and the three of them wreck the repair shop until Steve returns. Steve manages to soak one of the hellhounds with gasoline, and throws his lit lighter at it. One down. BBQ hellhound, yum-yum. The other is dealt with by ROM, who wraps it up with hot electric wire and tosses it into a water tank. However, the current overcharged ROM's systems, and the issue ends with him collapsing, and Steve wondering what the heck he's gonna do now.
This is one of those world-building issues, were we learn more about ROM, the Dire Wraiths and their plans, and get a little more on their capabilities and hierarchy. The bulk of the issue is the Dire Wraith's conversation, and we gain a few juicy morsels. The question of Karas' fate is brought up, as well as a new Wraith villain and threat. The bits about Steve and Brandy realizing just how bizarre ROM potentially is nicely contrast with how similar ROM actually is. This is basically just a nice case of various plot strands traveling almost parallel until they meet up and things brought up in previous issues carrying over into future issues. I don't know how much or how far in advance it was all planned, but Bill Mantlo fairly obviously had an intended goal in mind for at least a few strands. It's really cool to look back on the days when a creator could stay on a single title for years and really develop the plot and characters involved.
Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; short issues, short issues, pack more story than modern issues, though they are longer, how does that work~~~~~~???
So we pick off shortly after we left it last time. Some local cops arrive (I had previously misidentified Clairton as being a Virginian town, when it's West Virginian, and I'm sure that matters to people from those two states, but to everyone else, meh.) and the cops start searching the area of the carnage. Brandy and Steve are sure ROM will protect them.
The cops discover Firefall, and tentatively search him, revealing he's Archie Stryker. Some of the council of Dire Wraiths show up and take possession of Stryker. They float him into a van, and examine the remains of the Dire Wraiths who were killed in the car chase. We get a couple names (the SHIELD agent is Kraller, and the female is Dr. Rachel Sweet), and that Brandy was supposed to be subjected to something called Project: Safeguard (this will become important later). Finally, they order the cops to cordon off the area for the sake of national security. Lastly, sure that they'll find some sign of ROM in the vicinity--
ROM and his companions manage to get away, and the earth cops are shocked, but the Dire Wraiths brush them off and drive away with Stryker, talking freely, not realizing that Stryker overhears that they're really aliens and that ROM was right! The local cops, though ordered to forget what they just saw, mutter amongst themselves. The Dire Wraith council leave, ROM and friends fly off, and Brandy starts thinking about ROM and what he was like before he became a Spaceknight, while ROM starts to realize he's developing feelings for Brandy, but he tries to quash them. They come across a house--no wait. Excuse me. They come across--
THE HOUSE!
Seriously, it's just as deliciously melodramatic in the comic, but for space reasons I can't show it off. Just imagine a beautiful musical DUN DUN DUN and cheesy B-movie reveal! It's hilarious.
ROM's sensors reveal the house to be uninhabited (spooOOOOOOOooooooky) and they stop to rest. The front door to the house does the creepy horror movie thing where it swings open on it's own, and after noting that it "must have been the wind," like Jeez, guys, have you NEVER seen a horror movie? EVER? They enter (mistake #1), light a candle, and Brandy and Steve fall asleep (mistake #2) in each others arms. Awww. ROM, however--
Aaaaand that's the total of the cross-over. ROM dreams of Dr. Strange, who proclaims he KNOWS YOUR SECRET, and ROM "wakes up." To see--
A Grimwall!
ROM fires his neutralizer at the Grimwall, and the house tosses a table at ROM, surprising him. Seriously, the epic struggle in this issue is ROM vs. a table. It's not even like Ultima III where the grass and the floor attack you, the table just tries crushing ROM until he remembers he's super-strong, and then he explodes it. Because, hey, why not?
The house has been slowly . . . slooooooowly floating Brandy and Steve . . . somewhere? There's only one room to this place! And what is with this issue and floating unconscious bodies? Anyway, ROM grabs for them--
And they argue some more, with the house igniting the fireplace (oh, yeah, there's a fireplace there, but no firewood, that's why they didn't start a fire) with a massive belch of fire, so ROM shoots the . . . whatever the heck he's facing with his neutralizer some more, flies Brandy and Steve out, still zapping the house until it is banished to "whatever realm of shadow spawned" it, leaving an empty lot. ROM, Steve, and Brandy ponder their navels, as well as the many threats that plague their kind. THE END.
This is a strange (pun not intended) issue. While it follows up on what happened last issue and further cements ROM existing on Earth-616, the "dweller in shadows" demon house thing is bizasszare. It's almost like filler, except there is no real filler in ROM, every event has repercussions on later events, and this issue truly brings up the mutual attraction between ROM and Brandy (which will be important later). It's just . . . the villain here comes from almost nowhere (having appeared ONCE before in a comic from the SIXTIES, about 15 years before this issue was published), and doesn't quite mesh well with ROM. Which is odd, because it's a great horror movie threat, which should fit in well with ROM, who's a spin on ANOTHER great horror movie plot. It also shows off one of Mantlo's strengths, exploring the lost and forgotten corners of Marvel lore and bringing it back in a new story. I think in this case, he chose something a tad too obscure, and he does sort of have an unfortunate tendency to definitively deal with them, almost like the comic book equivalency of a giant vaudeville cane . . .
NEXT UP: The Hellhounds just introduced chase our intrepid trio!
. . . somewhere offscreen, they found a van to transport ROM around in on their way to Clairton.
ROM explains that he doesn't consume food anymore for energy, instead demonstrates how he recharges by grabbing a low-hanging lightbulb and . . . somehow absorbs some energy from it by making it (and him) glow brighter. ROM describes the process as "More efficient . . . but far less satisfying," than eating. Steve expresses shock and makes a joke about his electric bill going up, and ROM mentions that on Galador, they didn't have to pay for their energy. Man, ROM, don't hold out on us! Earth just went through one energy crisis, and within 2 decades, will be approaching another! Oh well . . .
All this talk of money reminds Brandy that she's still got to report to work in a couple of hours (she works at a lab), and Steve shows he's still a decent boyfriend by promising he'll drive her to work on time. But then, what will ROM do?
The next shot of ROM shows him just standing there, his glowing eyes not glowing. Steve and Brandy realize he's in rest mode, while his armor repairs itself and running diagnostics. Brandy wonders if he still dreams . . . and ROM is, of a sort, of Ray-na. Awwwwww . . .
After that, we cut to the strange key-stub building, which is identified as PROJECT: SAFEGUARD, where the Dr. Sweet and Agent Kraller are examining Archie Stryker in the Firefall armor, who's ranting and raving about how ROM was right, curse you all! ROM WAS RIGHT!! Dr. Sweet threatens to kill him and sedates him, and the council talk about where they got the Firefall armor, revealing they don't know of any reliable way to kill a Spaceknight, and that even Karas, the original Firefall, might still live. (Whenever anyone makes the statement that someone "must be dead!" you know it can't be true!) They also reveal a little bit of the caste structure of the Dire Wraiths, that there are "first-borns," like Dr. Sweet, who are from the Dark Nebula, the home of the Wraiths, and "second-born," like Kraller, who were born on Earth. They bicker before reaching the council room, where another member is in the shadows, but his hands are blue and clawed and gnarly. This new guy decides Kraller needs to be killed--
IT'S COMING!!! TMI, Deathwing. TMI.
And Kraller dies, the rest of the council uneasy with unleashing Deathwing. I guess Dire Wraiths aren't a "communal porn" culture.
Meanwhile, the hellhounds are on the hunt--
The hellhounds drop a car on ROM, who throws it back at them. They faze through it, and the three of them wreck the repair shop until Steve returns. Steve manages to soak one of the hellhounds with gasoline, and throws his lit lighter at it. One down. BBQ hellhound, yum-yum. The other is dealt with by ROM, who wraps it up with hot electric wire and tosses it into a water tank. However, the current overcharged ROM's systems, and the issue ends with him collapsing, and Steve wondering what the heck he's gonna do now.
This is one of those world-building issues, were we learn more about ROM, the Dire Wraiths and their plans, and get a little more on their capabilities and hierarchy. The bulk of the issue is the Dire Wraith's conversation, and we gain a few juicy morsels. The question of Karas' fate is brought up, as well as a new Wraith villain and threat. The bits about Steve and Brandy realizing just how bizarre ROM potentially is nicely contrast with how similar ROM actually is. This is basically just a nice case of various plot strands traveling almost parallel until they meet up and things brought up in previous issues carrying over into future issues. I don't know how much or how far in advance it was all planned, but Bill Mantlo fairly obviously had an intended goal in mind for at least a few strands. It's really cool to look back on the days when a creator could stay on a single title for years and really develop the plot and characters involved.
Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; short issues, short issues, pack more story than modern issues, though they are longer, how does that work~~~~~~???
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Date: 2011-08-09 03:11 am (UTC)