4l and A.o.D. are back with the more ROM. Herein you’ll find Rom’s story.

Rom of Galador was a poet before the wraith-fleets invaded. He lived an easy, idyllic life and enjoyed the fruits of Galadoran culture. Had he his way, he would have shared what would have certainly been a long life with his love Rayna. This was not to be, for when the invasions threatened to erase the Golden League forever, Rom was the first of the volunteers to sacrifice himself for the cause. After chasing off the scourge of the wraith-fleet, Rom returned to his beloved Rayna only to find her in the final throes of the wraithplague. It was in his now cyborg arms that Rayna died, and that an unfamiliar thirst for vengeance was born in Rom’s heart.

It was because of this event that Rom swore to pursue the enemy to the ends of the universe and inspired most of his peers to do likewise. Rom pursued one such wraith-ship for 200 long years. This ship, known as the “Dire”, arrived on Earth 75 years before Rom, and as such its crew were able to insinuate themselves among the population. Since departing Galador, Rom has not seen any of his fellows or heard any news of his homeworld. Except for the occasional clue leading him ever closer to his quarry, he has been utterly alone.

In 616, Rom swore to never take a life. That is a fine example of Comics Code nonsense. Sure, it would be a fine thing to be able to keep such high pacifistic standards if such a thing were practical, but I’m not of the “They eject out of the jet safely right before the missile hits” school of writing. Rom is a soldier in a war for survival, and when facing an enemy without scruple or compassion, Rom is prepared to take any measure necessary. However, as a knight, Rom should be bound by vows. He is sworn to protect Galador and uphold its ideals. He is sworn to defeat the enemy at any cost. Finally, he is sworn to protect others from the scourge of the wraith-fleet.

At first, Rom’s opinion of humanity is that of barely civilized savages. That is not to say that he despises them, but the Galadorans are further ahead of humans than modern men are ahead of the Neanderthals. His attitude can best be described as benevolent pity. At first, he is unsure as to whether or not humanity is in league with the corrupted Chitauri, and his initial actions are tenative. Once he learns that humanity is in fact wholly unaware (much to the eventual chagrin of Nick Fury) of these aliens, Rom begins to hunt them down wherever he can find them. Perhaps one reason for Rom’s general positive attitude towards humanity is that they look nearly exactly like his own people. He never pursues just how close the two species are, but it is eventually revealed by the Chitauri no less that they are in fact the same species. Rom should come across as forthright and honest to a fault. He should also occasionally seem arrogant, but only accidentally so.

Before becoming the cyborg warrior, Rom was a relatively normal, if good looking Galadoran. After the operation that turned him into a Spaceknight, Rom appears as a menacing, silver clad figure that resembles a machine in the guise of a man, rather than a man assuming the appearance of a machine. It should be emphasized artistically just how fearsome Rom looks to his enemies. He stands 8 feet tall, and his sillhouette is only vaguely humanoid. Where once was a face now exists only a mirrored surface bisected by a black panel. In this black panel burn two red orbs of light which serve as Rom’s optical sensors.

Despite his menacing appearance, Rom is fully half human. His brain, nervous system, and most of his endocrine system is integrated with the armor. The rest of his body lies on Galador, awaiting his eventual return. Rom can smell and feel despite being completely encased in armor. His hearing and vision are many times better than before, but even so, he is capable of still experiencing many of the same sensations that he knew before his transformation. While he no longer hungers, he still craves food. Even worse, though he no longer has the necessary equipment, he still desires the physical and emotional companionship of a woman. One important note to make is that Rom’s armor is not cold. If a character were to touch it, they would notice that it feels ‘warm and alive’, something at odds with Rom’s forbidding appearance.

Rom is incredibly strong, and should be the equal of Ultimate Thing in terms of physical strength. What no earthly force can match is his cyborg armor’s amazing resilience to harm. Rom has flown through the coldest depths of space, as well as the most hellish temperatures of the photospheres of suns and was sustained by his armor through it all. During the war, one of Rom’s favorite tactics was to bodily fly through the wraith-ships, tearing them apart from the force of the impact. Rom no longer requires food or air, as the armor supplies his every need. His need for sleep is minimal, only that which is needed to maintain psychological and emotional well-being. His armor is capable of absorbing, channelling, amplifying, and discharging many kinds of energy. Were he to be attacked by an incredibly powerful laser weapon, he could simply absorb the energy, using some of it to power himself, and then slowly releasing it over time preventing any significant harm to himself. Finally, should Rom absorb a near fatal amount of power, the armor will automatically release it as a burst of pure energy. While this causes Rom no harm other than nearly completely shutting him down, anything nearby would be destroyed by the blast.

Rom’s armor includes a wide variety of systems. The armor can rapidly unlock the secrets of alien languages, interface with nearly any computer, and perform a host of other functions. His eyes can, when required, bathe their surroundings in a crimson light and allow Rom to analyze his surroundings. While useful for general purpose scanning, analysis, and information gathering, the primary purpose for this is to enable Rom to detect his enemy, their devices, and sorceries flawlessly.

His main weapon is the Neutralizer, the single most powerful engine of destruction that Galador has so far dared to create. Its blast turns anything it strikes into a grey, inert powder. Little can stand against it, for it can render nonexistent machines, energy fields, and magic. Should the Neutralizer ever fall into the wrong hands, it is capable of rendering an entire world a lifeless grey waste. Fortunately, not only is the Neutralizer protected by a safety mechanism, Rom wields it prudently and with great skill. The Neutralizer is protected by a feedback mechanism that would tear apart any non-spaceknight that tries to wield it. Rom’s skill with it is so great that he could unerringly pick out 3 corrupted Chitauri hiding in a an angry mob of hundreds. Furthermore, when not in use, the Neutralizer can be dismissed to a pocket dimension only accessible by Rom’s armor.

Next time, I’ll talk about the dreaded enemy which hails from the haunted Black Nebula.

Similar Posts:

• Ultimate ROM 06 – Endgame
• Ultimate ROM 05 – Arc 01: Arrival
• Ultimate ROM 04 – Supporting Cast
• Ultimate ROM: Spaceknight 03 – Dire Wraiths
• Fanboy Masturbation: A proposal to Marvel Comics to retell Rom: Spaceknight.

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