Well, this month I'm pressed for time, again. I had
two conventions, on consecutive weekends and it's put
me way behind on things. Of course, when I run up on a
deadline like this, I sometimes need help coming up
with an idea and this time I went back to the list of
suggested makeover subjects.
This one comes from "Joy", again, who suggested
Annihilus, as well. This time, my victim is Rom, the
Spaceknight.
I also want to thank the folks who run and contribute
to Wikipedia.com for all the info available there.
I remember when ROM, the toy, first appeared. To say I
was underwhelmed would be to overstate my reaction.
Sure, I was older than the age group ROM was aimed at,
but that ain't the point. This was a post-Star Wars
sci-fi toy and it shows nothing in the design to
indicate that. Limited articulation made it unposable
and the accessories were goofy and angular. Imagine my
surprise when this toy turned into a very popular
Marvel comic.
In the comics, ROM is a Spaceknight from the planet
Galador. A world threatened by the invading Dire
Wraiths, a mutant offshoot of the Skrull race. They
are also shapeshifters, like their Skrull ancestors,
but the Dire Wraiths actually replace individuals
whose forms they take. They penetrate their victim's
skull using their drill-pointed tongues and sucking
out their brains. This allows them to assimilate the
memories of the victim and, as a side-effect, somehow
causes the victim to dissolve into a puddle of goo.
These things do not make for nice neighbors, as you
can imagine.
The Wraiths also used "evil magic" and their starships
are powered by a mix of technology and magic.
The Galadorians, somewhat more humane than their
enemies, preferred to use non-lethal weapons against
the invaders. Using a weapon called The Neutralizer,
which could, among other things, banish a Wraith to
Limbo. ROM was the first Galadorian to become a
Spaceknight, a cyborg warrior, to protect Galador and
end the threat of the Dire Wraiths.
ROM, as depicted in the comics, was not 100% faithful
to toy, which is probably a good thing.
Giving him human proportions and pseudo musculature
helps make up for the lack of facial features. The
Spaceknights succeeded in repelling the Wraiths from
Galador, but they scattered across space. ROM chose to
follow the escaping Wraiths back to their homeworld
and banish them all.
200 years later, ROM arrives on Earth, where he is
mistaken for a murdering robot on a rampage, when
people see him "disintegrating" people, really Wraiths
in human form. ROM managed to make friends with some
humans and later, with some of Earth's super-heroes,
who aided him in his battle against the invading
Wraiths.
The Dire Wraiths are one of the greatest dumb villain
creations I can think of. Seriously, what group of
people, even bad people, would put "dire" in their
name? A speed metal band, maybe, but an entire race of
beings? Or was it the Galadorians who called them
"dire"? It's like Magneto, who doesn't think he's evil
or that his cause is evil, calling his group the
Brotherhood of EVIL Mutants...no freakin way. Or maybe
it's just that the Wraiths needed better PR. They made
good villains, though, because they had no redeeming
qualities. You could annihilate them and no one would
shed a tear.
More recently, there was a mini-series called
"Spaceknights" from Marvel, but from what I've seen,
it appears that they 'knights are just guys in powered
armor, not true cyborgs. I could be wrong.
I like the idea of cyborgs, mainly because there is a
sacrifice to gain power. There's something tragic and
heroic about someone who gave up an arm, or an eye, to
get the power to do more than what a normal person
could do before. This is the appeal of ROM, I think.
Except that he gets all his parts back, when he wins
the fight. So, it's a temporary sacrifice and somewhat
less heroic and a lot less tragic.
For my version of ROM, I tried to borrow elements from
the original design, but make him a bit more humanoid.
That boxy head never worked for me and as the series
went on, ROM's head got less boxy with every new
artist.
I kept the human proportions and musculature and
modified the "hard" portions of the armored body. I
never liked the boots, so I worked them more
mecha-armor style. I redesigned the weapons and
scanner, they're less clunky and bulky that the
previous design.
I hope to have more time to work, next month. Planning
to change jobs in a week or two.
|
