Rom
- Rom the Space Knight is an alien from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Rom is a Space Knight and 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!
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
IDW Generation 1 continuity
While discussing Optimus Prime's recent annexation of Earth, Miles Mayhem mentioned that Action Man could be of help to a "situation" in Northern California, referring to where Rom was hunting hidden Dire Wraiths. Secret Raiders
 Plot details for Concorde Hymn follow. |
Rom appeared in Portland, Oregon during a battle between G.I. Joe and the Transformers. Thinking him to be another Cybertronian, the Joes attacked Rom. Joe Colton ordered the Joes to ignore the Transformers and concentrate their fire on the Space Knight, only for Rom to blast Colton, Red Zone, Hi-Tech, and Wreckage with his Neutralizer, ignoring the rest despite their attacks. Jazz tried to tackle Rom to stop him from harming anymore "humans," only to be shot by Rock 'n Roll as Rom himself flew away. Concorde Hymn
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
Toys
Bot Shots
- 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.
 Proceed on your way to oblivion. |
Notes
- A 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; due to a lack of name placards at the event, however, 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"... which, given the traditional colors of Rom the Space Knight, pegs him squarely as the unknown 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.
- Bot Shots Rom the Space Knight's faction is unknown.
- There is no Series 2 Bot Shot with the number B007. It's likely the number was meant to be Rom the Space Knight's.
- As implied above, Bot Shots Rom the Space Knight is based on a toy originally released by Parker Brothers in 1979, who was the star of a relatively long-running Marvel comic. Parker Brothers merged with Kenner in 1985, who were bought by Tonka in 1987, who were in turn bought by Hasbro in 1991. Needless to say, the rights to Rom are sort of muddled, especially since Marvel may or may not actually own everything created for the comic - including Rom's villains, setting, and supporting cast. (They have, at least, periodically tried to revive the "Space Knight" concept without him as the lead.)
- 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.[1]
- In 2016, IDW Publishing launched a revived version of Rom, 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.
