In the late 1970s, the success of the Star Wars comics led to even more licensed comics. One of them was The Micronauts, a set of action figures that Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden turned into a successful comic book series. A success that Parker Brothers noted and hoped to be reproduced with one of his new toys, ROM the Spaceknight.
From The ROM Toys to The ROM Comics
Then Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, Jim Shooter asked writer Bill Mantlo and artist Sal Buscema–two creatives who were open to work on non-superhero comics, in fact, Buscema was the only artist who agreed to do it—to develop a story as the toy came with close to no story element.
Mantlo was not aware of the toy before that and immediately thought about doing something in the vein of 1950s sci-fi with a touch of Arthurian myths. He added tragedy and Brandy Clark, ROM’s human ally, who eventually becomes romantically linked with him. But Jim Shooter and editor Al Milgrom himself provided a few ideas.
The final result has often been compared to the Silver Surfer, but ROM the Spaceknight had his own rich mythology that helped him stand apart. ROM is a noble warrior from the utopian planet Galador who volunteers to become a Spaceknight—a cyborg warrior—to battle the Dire Wraiths, a shape-shifting alien species threatening the universe—his primary weapon is the Neutralizer, which banishes Dire Wraiths to Limbo. Rom sacrifices his humanity to become a Spaceknight, clad in powerful armor that enhances his abilities but also isolates him emotionally.
Surpassing the Toys
Parker Brothers quickly lost interest in the project as the toys flopped, but Marvel Comics didn’t cancel the book, and Bill Mantlo wrote 75 issues and 4 annuals in total. And unlike other licensed comic book characters, ROM became fully integrated into the Marvel Universe.
Eternal sidekick Rick Jones was part of the adventures, the Dire Wraiths fought the X-Men and the Avengers, ROM teamed up with Power Man and Iron Fist, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, Alpha Flight, and more heroes, he even fought the Mad Thinker, the Space Phantom, and Galactus and his then-herald Terrax, and was one of the many heroes transported into an arena in space for the Contest of Champions.
If Mantlo wrote every issue of the series, Sal Buscema remained the main artist for the series for a few years, leaving in 1985 when Steve Ditko became the regular artist for the remainder of the series.
ROM the Spaceknight Won The Fight
Marvel published the ROM the Spaceknight comics from 1979 to 1986. The ending of the ongoing comic book series saw ROM ending his war against the Dire Wraiths and getting his happy ending. Then due to licensing issues, Marvel could not use the Spaceknight and some of the characters anymore, but the Dire Wraiths and other characters created by Mantlo remained part of the Marvel Universe.
In 1999, ROM appeared in the comic book limited series Earth X, set in an alternate universe. The following year, Marvel released a five-issue SpaceKnights comic series starring Prince Tristan (“Liberator”) in a redesigned Rom armor, joined by SpaceKnights, but ROM himself was not part of the series.
IDW Publishing later acquired the rights to ROM and launched a new series in 2016, set in its own continuity and part of the Hasbro Comic Book Universe, which includes the Micronauts, Transformers, and G.I. Joe. However, there is no connection between this version of ROM and the one from Marvel Comics. Both differ significantly from one another.
In 2023, Marvel Comics finally signed a deal with Hasbro which allowed the company to reprint the original comics.
The ROM Comics Collection: The Marvel Years
The original ROM comics series is now available in three omnibuses.
- ROM: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 1
Collects Collects Rom (1979) #1-29, Power Man and Iron Fist (1978) #73. - ROM: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2
Collects Rom (1979) #30-50, Rom Annual (1982) #1-2, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #99. - ROM: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 3
Collects Rom (1979) #51-75 and Annual #3-4, and Incredible Hulk (1968) #296.
Following the success of the omnibus collection, Marvel Comics will reprint the same ROM The Spaceknight comics in a more economical format, as part of the Epic Collection:
- ROM Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years
Collects Rom (1979) #1-20. - More coming soon…