Rom Wrap-Up Week Begins!

Yes, Spaceknight Saturdays are over, but there are still some loose ends to tie off. Rom and the Wraiths would appear here and there again, and I would be remiss if I didn't show you the entire story. Rom's last true appearance (not in flashback), for example. It occurs in Incredible Hulk #418, June 1994, written by Peter David with art by Gary Frank. Nice pedigree.

It's the one with Rick Jones' wedding to Marlo, Joe Fix-It's ex-girlfriend/porn star (Joe is the name the gray Hulk gave himself, if you didn't know). It's your standard superhero wedding, with the Impossible Man handing out bogus invitations to various villains, Northstar chatting up some dude at the bar, and Mephisto trying to collect the soul of the bride. The usual.

But it's the guest list that interests us here. The award for guests that came the longest distance goes to none other than Rom and Brandy!
She has a lot in common with Marlo, after all. She too was a hand-me-down from a superhero he was sidekick to. Brandy was his pity wife for the time he had the cancer, you remember. Awkwarrrrrrrd.
Waitaminit... shouldn't Brandy be pregnant? Like, all the time? They've got a planet to repopulate. I'll give Peter David the benefit of the doubt and say she's in her first trimester here.

Why invite Rom? Could it be because he used to be a silver dude?
Could be! More likely it's because the Sidekick-to-the-Stars wanted all his mentors there (Mar-Vell obviously excepted).
But Rom isn't the most unlikely character to show up. No, that prize must go to this girl here:
Peter David spoiling for a lawsuit. And her wedding gift is a brush. A BRUSH WITH DEATH, GET IT??!? GET IT!??! Peter David spoiling for a slap.

Comments

Austin Gorton said…
Puns rule.

I wonder why Rahne/Wolfsbane is so chummy with Rick in those panels. I don't recall much of a connection between them (aside from the fact that Peter David wrote them both at one point).
Kandou Erik said…
In response to Teeborn: That was because of the Hulk/X-Factor crossover, inwhich Rick killed an evil dictator who everyone else was going to let get away. Rhane was talking with him about it at the end, I believe.
Austin Gorton said…
Ah, that makes sense, thanks. It's been awhile since I read that crossover and the details are fuzzy.
Kandou Erik said…
I really loved the sneaky guest spot of Death. That event seemed innocent enough back then, but that was a hint to another of Peter David's long term plot-lines, with continued into Captain Marvel with ghosts following Marlo around, and then finding out she has this incredible "Death Power"
Siskoid said…
That's less interesting than it foreshadowing her death, for some reason.
LiamKav said…
What happened to Marlo, in the end? I read all of PAD's Hulk run, but I never read his Captain Marvel stuff. Was she killed off in that or something?
CalvinPitt said…
I'm with Teebore, I love puns. Even if they make me groan, which they usually do, it's a groan of envy, because I couldn't come up with it first.

Was the Hulk referring to Captain America's socks, or Rick's?
Austin Gorton said…
it's a groan of envy, because I couldn't come up with it first.

Ha! Well said.
Kandou Erik said…
In reponse to LiamKav: What happened to Marlo in the end is, when Captain Marvel was canceled, Marlo wished away her Death Power. It was PAD's way of dealing with getting canceled, just having everything spontaniously wrap up.

As for what else happend to Marlo - well, a ghost began following her for quite some time. She and Rick ran a successful comic book store in the LA area, where Peter David was able to make numberous jokes about the industry (I loved "I have the entire run of Fantastic Force to sell"She discovered her Death Power, which entailed her ability to kill the whole universe if she throught too hard about it. She kissed Moondragon and became a lesbian. And, before wrapping everything up, she suddenly found out she wasn't a lesbian.
This is the kinda stuff i like to see on blog sites about ROM. obscure stuff that actually ties into the ROM Spaceknight legacy that many ROM fans out there might not be aware of. Needless to say I had no idea ROM ever made an appearance again in the Marvel Universe in human form since issue #75. although i'm glad ROM became human again i always thought it was bullshit how that sphere "magically" just made him human again. they should have come up with something better that made a bit more sense. speaking of "ROM Wrap-Up" if anyone out there is curious whatever became of The Torpedo Suite go to Siskoid's blog role and check out "Blog for Rom Fans" ( 15th down from the top )
Ant-Man, the ROM doll repair man.

Hey Siskoid, i found a ROM appearance (of sorts) in the mainstream Marvel universe under the most cleverly humorous of circumstances. i think Siskoid you are to finding cool ROM stuff on the internet what Indiana Jones is to archeology but i think i actually may have come across something you missed out there. check out my latest post through your blog roll: blog for ROM fans