Spaceknight Saturdays: The Baxter Building Tour

So this week (SBG time), Rom went a little farther afield and, while looking for the Fantastic Four so that they might give him a ride to Galador, found trouble instead. Now, New York City is on high alert, the army has been called in, and everyone's looking for a big silver robot who's been killing Power Man's favorite hookers. Much of the hysteria orchestrated by the Dire Wraiths.

Now it's up to Power Man and Iron Fist to help Rom find the FF and/or clear his name before the authorities catch up to them. And not just the authorities. Attacking New York is a surefire way to attract all sorts of attention.
Now Rom has to watch out for: Spider-Man, with his incredibly detailed spider-sense; Daredevil, human detection machine; Moon Knight, now I'm really scared; and Captain America, media watchdog. You know who's missing though?
Tony Stark really needs to put money into his public profile if he's afraid Iron Man won't be recognized on sight. (Granted, this was before the movie came out.)

For Rom, there's only one option:
DISGUISE!

Meanwhile, back in Clairton... as Torpedo thinks he may be in over his head, a strange fog descends on the small town's citizens.
A new Dire Wraith paranoia? "Maybe they haven't been replaced by Wraiths, but maybe they're their hypnotized pawns!" Well, better look at your own home closely, Torpedo, because guess who else has turned to the Dark Side?
Your infant daughter! Mwahaha!

Ok. Where was I? Ah yes: DISGUISE!
Crap. Rom will just have to fall back on his more tried and true methods. Like throwing stuff around:
You'd think Power Man didn't have super-strength. Easily impressed, that one. One quick escape through the sewers later, and the trio reaches the Baxter Building's basement. Thankfully, Power Man was a member of the FF for all of three minutes, so he has the crotch key.
Well, the lock's been changed, but Rom can just rip doors off their hinges, so...

The Baxter Building. Office space for rent. Home of the Fantastic Four. Plenty of laboratories, workshops and hangers. A toddler running around... AND QUITE THE DEATH TRAP. First there's the elevator shaft, filled with laser beams:
The elevator itself has a paralyzing sonic wail.
So the Neutralizer can negate all forms of energy, not just the Iron Fist.

Then there's the HERBIES.
Up to now it's been a cross between an Indiana Jones movie and a Mister Miracle comic, and it doesn't let up. Time for Rom to trot out his power to be BADASS.
Wait for it...
You can't be badass without the proper one-liners, my friends. Learn from the Spaceknight. But wait, there's more!
And more!
ENOUGH! Rom then goes to the nearest Kirby Wall and turns it into an electrical buffet. Yum. The building powers down and the heroes reach the spaceship hanger where - surprise - the FF are just getting home.
Ben Grimm on that particular storyline: Predictable, but priceless. Just wait 'til he hears how much Luke Cage was paid for three issues' worth of work (sadly left to our imagination).

Just to make sure the FF aren't Wraiths, Power Man has to "use [his] brains insteada [his] fists". Intense! Cuz there's no way the Wraiths could have found out how much that check was. Right. Rom's has a Wraith detector, you know. No? Power Man's brains? That's what we're going with? Ok.

In the end, Rom is allowed to take an old Skrull ship, pre-programmed for Galador.
So he's gone. What's next? How about the return of Nova? See you next week!

Comments

Sea-of-Green said…
Proving once again that Rom is the most badass character in Marvel Universe history. ;-)
yeah he was especially bad ass in this issue.