Spaceknight Saturdays: Redemption (Ha!)

At the mid-point, Starlin's relaxed handle on the material starts creating inconsistencies in the Rom mythos. He calls Limbo the Ebon Dimension, for example. Why the change? It's not a copyright thing, and Limbo's never looked black to me. It's like he's going out of his way to erase any connection with the previous series. Well guess what, Starlin. There's a big fat "Spaceknights" on the cover.

Another objectionable element is the Galadorian Empire. In the first issue, Trion is described as under Galador's protection, but now Galador is preventing Trion to secede from the "Empire"? I can't believe "Emperor Rom" would have conquered (even diplomatically but so permanently) other worlds. Before you raise a finger an inquire about Galador having an Empire from well before, I'll remind you that Galactus moved the planet to another galaxy during the original series, and that the planet was soon devastated by the NextGen Knights. In other words, an Empire would have been built by Rom in the Galadorian reconstruction. In fact, it's the mulleted Lady Brandy who wants to keep the Empire in one piece and won't give Trion its independence back. Uh-huh.

So our boy Tristan/Liberator keeps getting his visions, all of them dismissed by Balin/Terminator. But how can he dismiss the promised appearance of a deathwing?
Sentry - the angel guy - believes, however, and he pledges himself to Tristan, becoming his (ho ho ho) wingman. Then the visions start becoming true again, and the Wraithkights attack. But nothing the Spaceknights throw at them works, not even Scanner's use of cliché!
Why Hammerhand seems to be attacking her also is just part of the frustration I have with this series. Though the designs are cool and the overall look of the comic is dynamic, the action choreography is frequently confusing. Wingman, can we have a pep talk please?
Ok, I feel like I can plow on ahead now. Only 9 pages to go. Terminator hits upon the idea of unleashing his blast weapon at point blank range to pierce through the evil knights' shields. I say "hits upon the idea", but it's probably just his natural violence that proves fortuitous. And when I say "point blank range", I mean "in the crotch area".
But then the Deathwing arrives and the Spaceknights have to switch strategies. When their choice of recounting how you can beat a Deathwing without Rom's nullifier fails to inspire the troops, Vanium the Knight You Didn't Even Know Was There tries to open a portal back to Galador, though unbeknowst to them, corrupted Lord Gaspar has set a bomb in the nullifier chamber...

Next: Bang?

Comments

Prime Director said…
Galactus actually moved the entire Golden Galaxy (which is surely his most impressive feat to date.)
chiasaur11 said…
I think the time he fired the Ultimate Nullifier might top it.

Of course, Richards set that one up.

Also: This looks like a very bad comic. Better you than me, Siskoid.
Siskoid said…
PD: The way the Golden Galaxy is described, however, seems to make it just a single star system. I'm not sure the system had room for Trion in it. In any case, the Empire does come out of nowhere.

Chiasaur: The focus is on visuals, so they're not particularly long reads.
Prime Director said…
'skoid:

Your position is perfectly arguable. The author of the Rom Spaceknight Revisited website appears to share in this opinion, going so far as to say that Mantlo might not have known his astronomical terms well enough to differentiate between a solar system and a galaxy. I think there may be something to that. Alliteration probably was the deciding factor in naming it the Golden Galaxy, as opposed to the Golden Solar System.

Still, for consistency's sake, and to underscore the nature of the Wraith threat and the scale of the effort needed to repell them, Rom states in issue #53 that Galador's civilization encompassed not just a planet, but an entire Galaxy.