Rom

Rom is an alien Space Knight from the Generation 1 continuity family.

"You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity."

Rom is a Space Knight, Lord of the Solstar Order. One of their most powerful Knights, the evil Dire Wraiths fear him more than all others, earning him the nickname "Wraithslayer". He has hounded them and kept them underground for centuries. He alone could wipe them off the face of existence. He is Rom, Lord of the Solstar Order! Rom, the Wraithslayer! Rom, the Space Knight!

He sounds like he's got a fusion cannon up his tailpipe... but you've convinced me that's part of his charm.Starscream to Stardrive, Shining Armor #4

Fiction

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime got into a pick-up game of Basketrek with an Iocus-cluster space knight. As he had underwent the Silver Modification process, he had quite a jump shot. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/27

Island Revolutions

According to Mark Weber, Rom rescued Dr. Biggles-Jones from the Cobra Island lab explosion. Rom then restored Air Raid to his proper age. Island Revolutions

IDW Generation 1 continuity

"Uh, ma - ma'am? I, uh, um, well, I just wanted to say you're a bright young woman with a beautiful helmet full of circuitry. A circuitry full of helmet. It's ah... um... I must go."

Two hundred years ago, Rom K'atsema lived an idyllic life with his brother and mothers on the peaceful planet Elonia, a world constantly protected by a powerful planet-wide shield that blocked debris and potential invaders. Rom studied geology at the Elonia University of Arts and Sciences, and befriended Livia and Fy-Laa. One day, the three of them investigated a mysterious meteor shower that had breached Elonia's shield and discovered that the explosive meteors were of Dire Wraith origin: weapons designed to penetrate the shield in advance of a a potential Wraith invasion, and ultimately responsible for killing his family. When the Space Knights of the Solstar Order intervened, Rom learned that one of his mothers had been infected by a Wraith and transformed into one of their number. Vowing to avenge his family, Rom and his friends joined the Solstar Order as Space Knights.

On his first mission, Rom would be responsible for discovering Elonia's supply of Ore-12, a miraculous liquid metal capable of "bonding" with its wielder and becoming a permanent suit of armor. Realizing that this mysterious metal was the reason why the Dire Wraiths had attacked their world, the Solstar Order would go on to mine the rest of the ore and equip the rest of their Space Knights with the substance. Soon afterwards, Rom — now a full-fledged Space Knight — left Elonia shortly afterwards, leaving behind a beacon in memory of his family. Rom profile Cold Fire

Over the next fifty years, Rom took part in a variety of battles against the Dire Wraiths, and participated in the massive battle that saw the Wraith's current homeworld, within the Dark Nebula, destroyed. The Space Knights spent the next few years pursuing remnant Dire Wraith forces across backwater planets within Solstar territory.

In the mid-1800s, shortly after the destruction of the Dire Wraith homeworld, Rom was patrolling the Gray Area when he witnessed a Galactic Council warship shoot down a fleeing vessel. Placing himself between the wreckage and the aggressor, Rom demanded that the Council explain themselves, only for them to warp away the instant he was distracted. Rom investigated the Transformer ship — unbeknownst to him, of Camien origin — and discovered that it had carried a cargo of protoforms, most of which had died in the crash. A single protoform had survived, however; compelled to help the orphaned Transformer, Rom brought it to nearby Elonia, where Solstar scientists built an energon synthesizer and helped nurture the protoform into a female Transformer who called herself Stardrive. During her early life, Rom and several other Space Knights would come to her rescue on the planet Mato Grosso, driving off the Wraith leader Vekktral and saving Stardrive's life for a second time. The young 'bot would soon come to see Rom as her hero and joined the Space Knights to emulate him.

Five years later, Rom and Livia led new recruits Auxin and Sata to Mining Colony 25-6-41 as part of their training. Rooting out the Wraith infestation, Rom and Livia engaged several Wraiths in battle and encountered Stardrive, who had been staking out the colony for a week. Though Livia suggested that the colony would have to be destroyed, Rom agreed with Stardrive's assessment and spared the planetoid, noting that there was insufficient Dire Wraith activity to justify its sterilization.

With Stardrive in tow, Rom led the group to their next mission: a security function at a diplomatic meeting between the Order and Galactic Council to discuss the threat of Dire Wraiths fleeing into territory beyond Solstar space. Livia and Rom repeatedly argued about Stardrive's compassion; on arriving at the Orchid Crossing over Xetaxxis, Rom and Livia explained to Stardrive that they had brought her along to show Council representatives that the Solstar Order could keep Cybertronians "in their place." Rom tried to console a hurt Stardrive by telling her that she was capable of more than the rest of her species.

Negotiations got off to a poor start when the Council representative revealed himself as Vekktral, co-leader of a Decepticon/Dire Wraith alliance that had been formed to steal Stardrive's energon synthesizer. Rom moved to protect Stardrive as Starscream tried to recruit her, only to receive a shot to the chest. By the time Rom had recovered, Starscream had found Stardrive's synthesizer... only for the Autobots Ultra Magnus and Bumblebee to burst through the wall, ignoring Rom's weak protests. Shining Armor #1

"I just want you to know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on my planet. But we're not on my planet. Are we?"

Unwilling to let the fragile peace between the two galactic powers crumble under a Cybertronian assault, Rom fired on Ultra Magnus, but soon deduced that the Autobots and Space Knights might yet be on the same side — only for Magnus to shoot him (and Stardrive and Starscream) through a wall for being annoying and talking too much. Back in the chaos of battle, a horrified Rom watched as a Dire Wraith merged with Sky Blast, engaging the resulting monster to buy time for the crew to evacuate. As the damaged station fell into Xetaxxis' atmosphere, Rom shouted for Stardrive to leave with them... only for the Cybertronian Space Knight to choose to help the Autobots escape instead. In the skies of Xetaxxis, Rom and Livia argued about whether Stardrive had fully defected or not; arriving over the Autobot impact site, Rom shot Magnus in the chest and offered Bumblebee the chance to surrender. Shining Armor #2

Magnus quickly recovered from what Rom had assumed would be a killing blow; gearing up for another fight, Rom and Livia engaged Magnus, only for the blue Autobot to withstand every attack. Confused by Magnus' attempts to protect Stardrive, the cadet stepped up to stop the fighting, accusing her superiors of lying to her about her heritage. Learning from Ultra Magnus that, unlike the worlds of the Solstar Order, Cybertron had never permanently unified — and that different Cybertronian factions could stand for different principles —the Autobots and Space Knights agreed to a temporary alliance, with he, Livia, and Stardrive heading off to search for the Energon synthesizer in the ruins. Arriving after another terse argument between himself and Livia, the group discovered the natives salvaging the wreckage of the ship. Despite Livia's disgust, Rom was content with letting the aliens scavenge for what they could and allowed Stardrive to evacuate them before Starscream landed on Rom. Quickly recovering, Rom socked Starscream in the jaw and vowed that he would protect Xetaxxis from both Wraiths and Decepticons. Shining Armor #3

Rom and Livia battled Dirge and Ramjet, managing to temporarily take them out and force Starscream into a retreat. Rom prepared to pursue the Decepticons when Livia suggested an alternate course of action: destroying the energon synthesizer to sterilize the planet, eliminating the Wraith infestation and putting the machine beyond Starscream's reach. Attempting to mediate between Livia and Stardrive, Rom's careless words caused Stardrive take the synthesizer and cut ties with her Space Knights, lashing out at Livia before Bumblebee and Sata arrived. Rom and Bumblebee managed to convince Stardrive to stand down, and, together, the alliance agreed that their next course of action would not involve taking innocent life. Before they could move, however, they were attacked by Vekktral, who had managed to possess Ultra Magnus's body and regrouped his hordes. In the ensuing battle, Rom and the others were quickly overpowered and surrounded... before Vekktral turned on his former allies and began infecting Starscream's forces. Shining Armor #4

Another battle broke out as the Decepticons joined forces with the Autobots and Space Knights to defend themselves; though Stardrive attempted to stop Starscream from getting away, Starscream was able to cut his losses and run, blasting the energon synthesizer so that the volatile detonation would take out the ground-bound Autobots. In the meantime, Ultra Magnus was briefly able to reassert his own consciousness and wrest control of his body back from Vekktral, opening his outer armor so that Rom - despite his misgivings - could deliver a fatal blow. Confused by the presence of a smaller robot inside Magnus's body, Bumblebee briefly explained the nature of the Magnus Armor as the Space Knights airlifted Bumblebee and the Magnus Armor away from the destruction of Xetaxxis as the energon synthesizer detonated. Disgusted by everything that had transpired, Stardrive shed her armor, renounced her ties to the Space Knights, while Bumblebee used the Magnus Armor's recall switch to return to the Autobot fleet.

Some time later, Rom and Orphion participated in another meeting with the Galactic Council, where they were informed that the Council would not join their war against the Dire Wraiths. Rom turned his attention to Livia and Sata, and sadly watched as they imparted their ruthless ideals on a new group of Space Knight recruits. Shining Armor #5

"Don't talk to me about importance! Because of you, the future of this entire universe is in jeopardy!"

Circa 2016, Rom came to Earth to eradicate the Dire Wraiths that had hidden themselves among its populace. Landing in northern California, his elimination of several Wraiths — which, to outsiders, looked like indiscriminate murder — caught the attention of the Earth Defense Command and G.I. Joe. Secret Raiders Learning that an alien ore on Earth had the power to amplify the magic of the Wraiths and render them invisible to his Energy Analyzers, Rom also discovered that G.I. Joe had been recently compromised by Wraiths. Field Test Seeking to eliminate the Wraith imposters, Rom intervened in a battle between the Joes and Optimus Prime's Cybertronian peacekeepers in Portland, and slew the Wraiths who had been masquerading as Red Zone, Hi-Tech, Wreckage, and team leader General Joe Colton. Believing he had just killed their human teammates, the other Joes opened fire on him, but Rom refused to counterattack and simply flew off.

Unfortunately, Rom's mechanical armor had led the Joes to believe he was a Cybertronian, which forced Optimus Prime and his team to give chase so that they could clear their names. Concorde Hymn Prime and his teammates pursued Rom to the Umpqua National Forest, where Prime attempted to interrogate the Space Knight. Rom was initially able to outmaneuver Prime, but — outnumbered by the Cybertronians — was soon defeated and "urged" to explain himself. The Divine Source of Liberty

Escorted by the Autobots, Rom was brought to Autobot City, where he briefly witnessed the aftermath of Windblade's return from the realm of Microspace. Informed Rom gave the Autobots information on the Wraiths' pursuit of Ore-13, before realizing that his armor — unbeknownst to him, Cybertronian in nature — "resonated" at a similar frequency to Metrotitan's own Space Bridge. Realizing that he could use this connection to put Ore-13 beyond the reach of the Dire Wraiths, Rom activated the bridge to teleport chunks of Ore-13 into Microspace, inadvertently causing destruction on the other side. When Windblade and Optimus made him realize that he was allowing his desire to defeat the Wraiths to blind his reason and logic, Rom stood down and was placed in stasis cuffs by Soundwave who sympathized with what he did. O Ship of State

"Keep your accessories with you at all times. Spare parts, batteries, anything you need for an orderly transition."

When the Heliopolis and Snake Eyes were discovered within the city, Rom and Windblade deduced the crew of the former were inhabitants of Microspace; despite being unable to understand one another's language, Rom offered a heartfelt apology for endangering their universe, which endeared the Micronauts to him. Rom's Analyzers soon detected a massive army of Wraiths bearing down on Autobot City, backed up by M.A.S.K. forces. Rom joined Optimus's new alliance to mount a defense of Autobot City, defending the space bridge and Ore-13 while engaging the lead Wraith in combat. The Ultra-Energon-empowered Wraiths outnumbered the heroes, and things only got worse when the villainous Baron Karza emerged from the spacebridge, enerchanging with the Wraiths and M.A.S.K. tech to become a fusion of Cybertronian, Wraith, and Microspace power. The New Colossus

"Don't worry, Soundwave. In just a few hours you'll be sitting around a campfire with Matt making delicious hot Schmoes."

As their teamup broke down into confusion, Rom found himself mistakenly battling Snake Eyes until Optimus intervened, grabbing the pair and Acroyear so that the Autobot leader could explain that Karza had masterminded the entire crisis from the beginning. Karza was now too powerful to fight one-on-one, however; instead, Rom joined Soundwave, the Micronauts, Mainframe and Trakker to concoct an alternate strategy, using Rom's armor as a buffer between the energies of the nearby spacebridge and the Micronauts' enerchange abilities, while Trakker used his mask to beam a counter-frequency to the bridge, sending Karza back to Microspace and destroying the space bridge to ensure that he wouldn't return. Rom resuced Matt from the ensuing explosion, and once on solid ground, apologized to Scarlett for all the trouble he'd caused before flying off. Valley Forge

Several months later, a surge of Wraith energy in Europe led Rom to Verenya, where he discovered that the city had been overrun by hostile Wraith-like beings. Rom quickly deduced that they were not "true" Wraiths, but innocent civilians who had been mutated with Wraith genetics; when he encountered a G.I. Joe detachment led by Mayday, he joined forces with them and requested that they refrain from using lethal force against the creatures, instead using low-level Neutralizer blasts to stun. There, the group discovered that an alien Talisman had been responsible for the mutation, caused by a battle between Garrison Blackrock and Action Man. Rom intervened in their fight, allowing Mayday to talk down the combatants; when the Oktober Guard attacked, Rom was took part in the battle, and used his Neutralizer to create a forcefield to shield Action Man and Mayday from the Talisman's mutagenic blast. At the conclusion of the battle, Rom tried to use his Analyzer to glean the Talisman's origins, but was interrupted when their captive Major Bludd teleported away with Action Man. When the group was still without an answer hours later, Rom had to take his leave to fight off the true Wraiths. Crisis Intervention

When Worlds Collide

Rom was one of the many heroes that joined Optimus Prime and the Autobots after Cobra Commander and Megatron stole the Matrix of Leadership. When Worlds Collide

Toys

Bot Shots

"One minute you're defending the whole galaxy, and, suddenly, you find yourself sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette... and her little sister."

• Rom the Space Knight (2013?)
  • Series: 2
  • Number: B007
    • Fist strength:
    • Blaster strength:
    • Sword strength:

Presumably intended as part of a Series 2 single-pack assortment, Bot Shots Jump Shot Rom the Space Knight is a redeco of Cindersaur (which was itself originally based on Prime Skystalker). He transforms into a beaky-looking reptile thing on wheels. An impact to the front of his beast mode causes him to spring up and autotransform into a robot armed with a pistol. He has a "spinner" in his chest that shows his three attack types and power levels.

This mold was also used to make Skystalker and the similarly-canceled Buzzclaw.

Your bargaining posture is highly dubious. Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Revolution

"I've set my Neutralizer from stun... to kill."

• Revolution Set (SDCC Gift Set, 2017)
  • Accessories: Neutralizer

Released as part of a San Diego Comic-Con 2017 exclusive set, Rom the Space Knight is an action figure based on the character's original Marvel Comics appearance, made up of redecoed parts from various G.I. Joe action figures with a new head, torso and weapon. He was packed with several other Hasbro Universe action figures: Jetfire, Matt Trakker of M.A.S.K., Action Man, Visionaries' Leoric, Roadblock of G.I. Joe, a Dire Wraith, and 9 Micronauts mini-figurines.

Notes

"Spare me your lies, temptress! Your emperor's defeated, and I'm immune to your bewitching good looks!"

• Rom was originally a toy released by Parker Brothers in 1979. One of the great predecessors of the "toys-to-cartoons" media boom of the 1980s that Transformers are a prime example of, Rom would almost certainly have been forgotten by history had he not been the star of a successful and fondly-remembered comic book tie-in series from Marvel Comics (which was actually presented as part of the "Marvel Universe" and had many crossovers with the company's superheroes, unlike the Transformers). Parker Brothers merged with Kenner in 1985, who were bought by Tonka in 1987, who were in turn bought by Hasbro in 1991, placing the character under Hasbro ownership—but aside from Rom himself and a few pieces of relevant terminology, that appears to be all Hasbro owns, as his villains, setting, and supporting cast were all created and owned by Marvel and have been periodically used by them ever since. In 2016, IDW Publishing launched a revived version of Rom, stripped of all Marvel elements, co-written by IDW Editor-In-Chief Chris Ryall, as part of their Revolution event, crossing over several of IDW's Hasbro titles. To celebrate, all of IDW's Hasbro comics, including the Transformers titles, received variant covers featuring Rom.
• Prior to his IDW revival, Rom was almost featured in the Bot Shots toyline, as seen above. The silver and red redeco of the Bot Shot mold based on Prime Skystalker was first shown at Toy Fair 2013 amongst a pile of other Bot Shots, but due to a lack of name placards at the event, the identities of those toys were unknown at the time. Even after the names of other Bot Shots shown at Toy Fair were revealed, the silver Skystalker remained unidentified until a massive product listing leak from the Hasbro Customer Service website landed in the fandom's lap in late October/early November 2013. Among those Customer Service listings was "TRA BOT SHOTS ROM THE SPACE KNIGHT A2587," and Rom's classic silver color scheme clearly marked him as the Skystalker redeco. Why there was going to be a Bot Shot of Rom the Space Knight is anyone's guess—possibly to secure a trademark—but the intent is clear. It's not known what faction Bot Shots Rom would have been released under, but it can at least be assumed that his ID number is "B007," as there was no Series 2 figure with that number.
• In Spain, Rom's relation to Transformers went a bit further, as Comics Forum (the Spanish editorial that had the Marvel rights in the 80s) had Rom as the back-up feature of the Transformers comic book.
• In the U.K., Rom was released under the toyline of fellow Revolution star Action Man.

External links

• Rom at BugEyedMonster.com
• Rom on the IDW Hasbro Wiki