Spaceknight Saturdays: The Wedding of the Decade

Totally by coincidence, I'm heading off to a wedding this afternoon. So I'll dedicate this Spaceknight Saturday to Pout and Elyse and if it the wedding is at all geeky (and I know it is), I'll tell you about it tomorrow. For now, let's focus on a very similar pairing: Brandy and a Dire Wraith. Hey, who knew the creator of GURPS was an evil shapeshifting alien, eh? Well, we did, obviously. But will Brandy figure it out before she says "I do?" Or will Rom stand up in church and oppose this unholy union (just as I plan to do this afternoon)?

Stick with me. All will be answered.

Now I have to admit to the padding in this issue. There is a LOT of recapping. Rom remembers meeting Brandy, fighting Firefall and the Thornoids. Steve remembers being captured by the Wraiths. Ace remembers her taking pictures of Rom and Jack of Hearts. And so on.
Oh Rom, it was a different time for comics. When every issue was treated as someone's first. You can understand that, can't you?

But looking in on the real Steve for a second, we find that's he's been locked up in a Wraith sensory deprivation cell for the last few issues.
Pretty cool visual, actually. When the Wraiths come to copy Ace, they make a break for it, and one punch to the right tentacle later, Steve is back out in Clareton's streets! And he's off to stop his own wedding.

Rom's just looking for Brandy, but no one's at home. He's getting pretty pissed, actually. And he's about to get pisseder. A car sees him in the street and decides to run him over before he endangers the child biking BETWEEN Rom and the car. Insert your own joke about senior citizens at the wheel or Virginians here.
Rom COULD prevent it... 5 pages later, he finally does. And that's when he learns the awful truth:
Over at the church, Brandy is wondering why Steve is acting so strangely, but she chalks it up to wedding jitters. Wraith-Steve puts a ring on her finger... but he isn't allowed to kiss the bride!!!
Take note that Rom doesn't know this isn't the real Steve yet. He's just a very jealous wannabe boyfriend. Let's just say this dramatic entry doesn't meet with unanimous approval.
Haha. I love Brandy's expression. Hey Junior Spaceknights! Have you spotted all the Wraiths in that panel? Methinks the priest just gave himself away!

Rom uses his analyzer on Steve and sees that he's a Wraith, but as usual, no one else does. Even Brandy doesn't know what to think.
Will Rom once again be forced to "kill" someone in full view and draw even more heat? No, not this time. Steve Jackson to the rescue!
He kills his double, proves that Rom is on the side of the angels, and as a bonus, DOESN'T marry Brandy right then and there. Hey, he wasn't even the one to ask her. I dunno Steve, maybe you should have jumped on the chance while you still could. Don't look now, but someone's gunning for your girl...
Not if "Red-headed best man" has anything to say about it! But Rom is too focused to notice that guy suggestively stroking his armor. And the priest? Fed Rom a line about willingly undergoing the analyzer, so Rom didn't bother. That priest-fighting action will just have to come a little later, that's all.