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scans_dailyAnd now I take you back to the dim and distant past... well, 1983 at any rate, and no, I do not wish to know whether you were alive or not yet at that time... let's just say I was, and this was bought at the time... As we meet some new Spaceknights on a mission...
The time is a couple of centuries at least, before the start of the normal comic. We are at a point in time not long after the peaceful Golden Galaxy and it's shining pinnacle, the planet Galador, were attacked by the Dire Wraiths, a species of shapeshifting, brain leeching, technologically advanced and black magic using conquerors from a positive holiday spot of a hellhole called "The Dark Nebula".
These are NOT nice people, they make the Skrulls look like the NICE neighbours... in fact the Dire Wraiths are the Deviant strain of the Skrull Species (Deviant, as in the MU term, where there are often three sub-groups of a species created by the Celestials; the baseline normal, the genetically scrambles Deviants, and the genetically enhanced Eternals)
Things have not gone the way the Dire Wraiths had hoped, and for the first time in a long, long time, their entire fleet has been routed and is retreating as fast as it can from Galadorian space, but it looks like someone has a bit of an agenda...
Guess who! :)
(I love Sal Buscema's art on ROM and the armour design, though based off the toy figure that inspired the whole concept looks REALLY good!)
The Wraith Witches on board start to weave spells to attack ROM, but in doing so, they can't focus on the ships stardrives (The Wraiths use a combination of science and black magic) so they slow down...
ROM is a reluctant warrior, he was the first volunteer for the process, but won't kill. What he does instead is use his Neutralizer to banish the Wraiths to a dimensional limbo (Not the Limbo Magik uses, but another limbo). It's sort of a Phantom Zone projector deal.
The fleet retaliates as best it can, summoning giant Deathwing monsters to attack him, but he defeats them and keeps on going.
So the Wraiths do they only thing they can think of, they split up... most of them head off into the rest of space, whilst the Command Cruiser, with the highest ranking Wraiths turns and heads towards home...
He makes his choice, and follows the Command Cruiser (It's noted that in doing so, he basically sentenced a LOT of worlds to Wraith infiltration and infestation, but it's fair to say there was no "right" choice.. since he probably couldn't have followed ALL the ships, and would have lost his chance to take out the highest ranking Wraith military to boot)
So he heads towards Wraithworld, and I really wish i could include the panels showing what it looks like, a rock entirely engulfed in black and red toxic clouds, basking under the cold light of a black sun... (I love science fiction bullshit like that!)
He follows the ship down without a second thought...
It should be noted that before he was a Spaceknight, ROM was a poet (IIRC), which might explain his somewhat flowery mode of cod-medieval speech.
The ship crashes into the Fortress with a suitably destructive explosion, and the Wraiths around the place start making what defences/attacks they can. Weapons are readied, battle-forms are assumed and covens are formed... but ROM keeps a-coming and a-Neutralizing every step on the way
(I include this next panel to make it clear how much emphasis was put on what had been done to create Rom. Most of his organic components had been excised, including... well... um... you can get the reference from the panel I think.)
Ouch! Not exactly subtle there Mr Mantlo (Who wrote this story)
Three of the last few remaining Witches try one last ditch spell... ROM isn't going to rest until he's wiped out every living thing on the entire ruddy planet...
Sadly I had to trim a few pages featuring the Prime Director of Galador, who has some of the most wonderfully puffy hair of any comic character ever. Contact has been lost with ROM, and so he sends out some of the other Spaceknights out to locate him, or recover his body.
(Up until this time, we'd only see a few Spaceknights; ROM himself, his old girlfriend Starshine, and his best friend Firefall... so it was nice to meet some new ones, and these guys have some great designs...
Aren't they toyetic? :) Of course, sadly they never would be action figures of these guys, but as you read the rest try to imagine how much fun it would have been if there HAD been!
Scanner uses her abilities to find the right path, though identifying ROM's trail is straightforward enough... just follow the trail of devastated Wraith battle cruisers.
Breaker , you will see, is the aggressive warrior type, and is the team asshole. Seeker is quite prepared to rub his nose in it. Scanner and Seeker have similar, but not quite identical, abilities. but we'll get to that.
Seeker leads the way (And I love his Hunter-Seeker mode) but they find that "hostile environment" is a VERY literal term on Wraithworld, where even the clouds come alive to attack them with corrosive chemicals. Seeker is snared, but Pulsar is able to free them with the force-fields that are HIS power. Seeker is a little embarrassed at having to be saved, but Scanner reminds him that they all contribute to their missions in their own way. Breaker is dismissive.
I suspect that Breaker and Guy Gardner might get on well with each other...
They make it to the surface, which appears to be completely deserted, not a soul anywhere... if Wraiths have souls.
because everyone is busy, Pulsar is attacked by Wolf creatures, Seeker by small vicious bird like energy beings, and Scanner finds herself being pulled into a tarpit.
Time for a little showcase of abilities...
It's not much good at breaking through rock... which Pulsar proves more than capable of doing. And just to embarrass Unam further, no sooner is Trapper free than she rescues HIM from the swarm of insects. She then rescue Seeker from the bird things and he can then use his abilities to track where in the pit Scanner has been pulled down to.
I like that little detail, that connections exist between these hulking cyborg things; lovers, siblings, whatever.
Scanner locates the energy trace of the Neutralizer and they head off, but not before being attacked by elemental creatures, Fire, Water and Earth given life.
Whilst the rest of the Squadron tackle them, Unam heads of on his own, undetected (of course)
Yup, he's the asshole. I actually find it interesting that of these six, two have powers which are not inherently offensive (Unseen and Scanner) and Seeker is sort of a mix of the two, it's refreshing to see that a mlitary team has intel and covert specialisations included. (It took the X-Men until Cypher to have a non-combat oriented power in their ranks)
Of course, Breaker uses his microwave powers on the Water Elemental, which, as Trapper notes... And this page is just to show that Trapper not only has a great "hairstyle", but is really rather badass.
The Earth Elemental is shattered by a combination of Breaker and Pulsar, so the gang all head into the Fortress... where they find their goal.
Though his allies don't know it, ROM see's the Spaceknight Squadron as Dire Wraiths and attacks them... it's likely the Neutraliser would damage them, so Pulsar shields them with his forcefields, and they try to stop him. Seeker uses his Hunter-Seeker form, which has energised wings to try and shock him to his senses,, with no real effect.
That's handy, most of us would need psychotropic chemicals to alter out perceptions, she has a keypad for hers!
Breaker decides to go the direct approach. ROM is attempting to harm them all, so he must be stopped... (And I love the effect used for the microwave beam hitting ROM, it's like cheap animation!)
Finally it's Unam who makes a more direct approach, he drops his protective invisibility right in front of ROM, who instantly declares him a "Wraith!"
Sigh, I love the passive powers, they're so much more interesting than straightforward zapping.
And now, the finalé
Sadly, they are not for inspiring fun toy lines... pout.
The time is a couple of centuries at least, before the start of the normal comic. We are at a point in time not long after the peaceful Golden Galaxy and it's shining pinnacle, the planet Galador, were attacked by the Dire Wraiths, a species of shapeshifting, brain leeching, technologically advanced and black magic using conquerors from a positive holiday spot of a hellhole called "The Dark Nebula".
These are NOT nice people, they make the Skrulls look like the NICE neighbours... in fact the Dire Wraiths are the Deviant strain of the Skrull Species (Deviant, as in the MU term, where there are often three sub-groups of a species created by the Celestials; the baseline normal, the genetically scrambles Deviants, and the genetically enhanced Eternals)
Things have not gone the way the Dire Wraiths had hoped, and for the first time in a long, long time, their entire fleet has been routed and is retreating as fast as it can from Galadorian space, but it looks like someone has a bit of an agenda...
Guess who! :)
(I love Sal Buscema's art on ROM and the armour design, though based off the toy figure that inspired the whole concept looks REALLY good!)
The Wraith Witches on board start to weave spells to attack ROM, but in doing so, they can't focus on the ships stardrives (The Wraiths use a combination of science and black magic) so they slow down...
ROM is a reluctant warrior, he was the first volunteer for the process, but won't kill. What he does instead is use his Neutralizer to banish the Wraiths to a dimensional limbo (Not the Limbo Magik uses, but another limbo). It's sort of a Phantom Zone projector deal.
The fleet retaliates as best it can, summoning giant Deathwing monsters to attack him, but he defeats them and keeps on going.
So the Wraiths do they only thing they can think of, they split up... most of them head off into the rest of space, whilst the Command Cruiser, with the highest ranking Wraiths turns and heads towards home...
He makes his choice, and follows the Command Cruiser (It's noted that in doing so, he basically sentenced a LOT of worlds to Wraith infiltration and infestation, but it's fair to say there was no "right" choice.. since he probably couldn't have followed ALL the ships, and would have lost his chance to take out the highest ranking Wraith military to boot)
So he heads towards Wraithworld, and I really wish i could include the panels showing what it looks like, a rock entirely engulfed in black and red toxic clouds, basking under the cold light of a black sun... (I love science fiction bullshit like that!)
He follows the ship down without a second thought...
It should be noted that before he was a Spaceknight, ROM was a poet (IIRC), which might explain his somewhat flowery mode of cod-medieval speech.
The ship crashes into the Fortress with a suitably destructive explosion, and the Wraiths around the place start making what defences/attacks they can. Weapons are readied, battle-forms are assumed and covens are formed... but ROM keeps a-coming and a-Neutralizing every step on the way
(I include this next panel to make it clear how much emphasis was put on what had been done to create Rom. Most of his organic components had been excised, including... well... um... you can get the reference from the panel I think.)
Ouch! Not exactly subtle there Mr Mantlo (Who wrote this story)
Three of the last few remaining Witches try one last ditch spell... ROM isn't going to rest until he's wiped out every living thing on the entire ruddy planet...
Sadly I had to trim a few pages featuring the Prime Director of Galador, who has some of the most wonderfully puffy hair of any comic character ever. Contact has been lost with ROM, and so he sends out some of the other Spaceknights out to locate him, or recover his body.
(Up until this time, we'd only see a few Spaceknights; ROM himself, his old girlfriend Starshine, and his best friend Firefall... so it was nice to meet some new ones, and these guys have some great designs...
Aren't they toyetic? :) Of course, sadly they never would be action figures of these guys, but as you read the rest try to imagine how much fun it would have been if there HAD been!
Scanner uses her abilities to find the right path, though identifying ROM's trail is straightforward enough... just follow the trail of devastated Wraith battle cruisers.
Breaker , you will see, is the aggressive warrior type, and is the team asshole. Seeker is quite prepared to rub his nose in it. Scanner and Seeker have similar, but not quite identical, abilities. but we'll get to that.
Seeker leads the way (And I love his Hunter-Seeker mode) but they find that "hostile environment" is a VERY literal term on Wraithworld, where even the clouds come alive to attack them with corrosive chemicals. Seeker is snared, but Pulsar is able to free them with the force-fields that are HIS power. Seeker is a little embarrassed at having to be saved, but Scanner reminds him that they all contribute to their missions in their own way. Breaker is dismissive.
I suspect that Breaker and Guy Gardner might get on well with each other...
They make it to the surface, which appears to be completely deserted, not a soul anywhere... if Wraiths have souls.
because everyone is busy, Pulsar is attacked by Wolf creatures, Seeker by small vicious bird like energy beings, and Scanner finds herself being pulled into a tarpit.
Time for a little showcase of abilities...
It's not much good at breaking through rock... which Pulsar proves more than capable of doing. And just to embarrass Unam further, no sooner is Trapper free than she rescues HIM from the swarm of insects. She then rescue Seeker from the bird things and he can then use his abilities to track where in the pit Scanner has been pulled down to.
I like that little detail, that connections exist between these hulking cyborg things; lovers, siblings, whatever.
Scanner locates the energy trace of the Neutralizer and they head off, but not before being attacked by elemental creatures, Fire, Water and Earth given life.
Whilst the rest of the Squadron tackle them, Unam heads of on his own, undetected (of course)
Yup, he's the asshole. I actually find it interesting that of these six, two have powers which are not inherently offensive (Unseen and Scanner) and Seeker is sort of a mix of the two, it's refreshing to see that a mlitary team has intel and covert specialisations included. (It took the X-Men until Cypher to have a non-combat oriented power in their ranks)
Of course, Breaker uses his microwave powers on the Water Elemental, which, as Trapper notes... And this page is just to show that Trapper not only has a great "hairstyle", but is really rather badass.
The Earth Elemental is shattered by a combination of Breaker and Pulsar, so the gang all head into the Fortress... where they find their goal.
Though his allies don't know it, ROM see's the Spaceknight Squadron as Dire Wraiths and attacks them... it's likely the Neutraliser would damage them, so Pulsar shields them with his forcefields, and they try to stop him. Seeker uses his Hunter-Seeker form, which has energised wings to try and shock him to his senses,, with no real effect.
That's handy, most of us would need psychotropic chemicals to alter out perceptions, she has a keypad for hers!
Breaker decides to go the direct approach. ROM is attempting to harm them all, so he must be stopped... (And I love the effect used for the microwave beam hitting ROM, it's like cheap animation!)
Finally it's Unam who makes a more direct approach, he drops his protective invisibility right in front of ROM, who instantly declares him a "Wraith!"
Sigh, I love the passive powers, they're so much more interesting than straightforward zapping.
And now, the finalé
Sadly, they are not for inspiring fun toy lines... pout.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 06:16 pm (UTC)Unless maybe Marvel doesn't want to have to license or purchase any properties, which would make sense, but be depressing.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 07:19 pm (UTC)Conceivably, they could bring the toy back, but in this day and age I doubt they would try. If you have been down the toy isle lately, you will notice it is almost entirely licensed products (like Star Wars or Marvel/DC) or stuff with very strong brand recognition (like G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats)
Hasbro is not going to sell off any property they own, period. They have a 50 year old portfolio of toy properties and the last thing the company would do would be to separate the set.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 08:18 pm (UTC)Mind you, as icon_uk pointed out, Marvel created everything ELSE from the Space Knights 'verse. So all they really need to do is officialize the change of Rom's name, redesign the character a good deal, and they might be able to get away with "relaunching" the Space Knight franchise.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 08:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 10:48 pm (UTC)