Saturday, March 21, 2009

ROM : Spaceknight - The Legacy
Is ROM one step closer to a RETURN?

While flipping through some comics a week or so ago, I was checking out the contents of this "comic":

*click to make more eeevil*
Dark Reign Files : Know Your Foes

It's your basic database style reference comic; in this case showing the various baddies that are currently active in the Marvel Universe.

The pretense is that it is Norman Osborne's reference logistics about each of these villains, and what the powers/ threat level / allegiances / expendability for each may be.

Among the list is THIS entry:

DIRE WRAITHS!

Notice the direct name-check of ROM in the text!
Prior to this minor notation, the closest there has been within the past decade to an actual admission that ROM even existed in the Marvel Universe was by referring to him as some alternate title like; "Greatest of the Spaceknights", but almost never directly by name.

Now, perhaps it's just a thorough researcher / editorial assistant / editor who decided that a mere mention of these baddies and their chief enemy wouldn't violate any legal rights / copyright rigamarole...

OR

Perhaps, it's somehow ties in with the fairly recent development that HASBRO has filed for more permanent rights renewals to a certain silver Spaceknight
(the details of which previously blogged about HERE)...

AND

The fact that Hasbro is kissing cousins with Marvel, since they are producing most of Marvel's toys and action figures...

AND

that even some rare / obscure / long-lost-to-the-mists-of-time characters are being made into 3D plastic idols of joy... to the point that some of the action figure releases have been precursors to complete revivals of certain long-unused characters...

SO

Could it be that a return of ROM is on the horizon?
With the successes of Marvel's space and cosmic heroes again, the stars may have aligned themselves to bring about the right time for...


...the RETURN of...

ROM : SPACEKNIGHT!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice catch! Here's hoping...

Matt Duarte said...

There was also a mention of "The Spaceknight Foundation" in the pages of Nova, which was a group that gave help to planets attacked by the Annihilation wave.

~P~ said...

Matt,

While ANY mention of the Spaceknights is a positive step, it must be stated that there have been multiple mentions and appearances of other Spaceknights within the pages of various Marvel comics in recent years.
Among some other recent notables, as a mention in a SKRULLS one-shot, the Annihilation miniseries (where other Spaceknights were portrayed as a fighting unit not unlike the "Green Lantern Corps") as well as the "SPACEKNIGHTS" limited series a few years back (where ROM's love, Brandy Clark was queen of Galador and their sons were the leaders of the "Next Gen" of knights.

ROM was only mentioned with a glorious "title", and a silhouetted image.

ROM is the only one that Marvel has been unable to use by name (or full appearance in armor), due to rights issues.

Anything else, such as the generic term "Spaceknight" or the Dire Wraiths, are all Marvel intellectual property since they were created in and for the comics.

However, you are correct in thinking that their recent appearances in NOVA can only further help the cause.

;-)

Tegan O'Neil said...

Well, the cosmic books are known for their cliffhangers. So maybe there'll be a surprise ending in WAR OF KINGS, with the one, true ROM returning to defeat the sinister Shi'ar empire?

...

Well, we can always hope.

Mark said...

please please please please...
Thanks for keeping the dream alive ~P~

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