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
Rom came to Earth to eradicate the Dire Wraiths that had hidden themselves among its populace. He arrived in Northern California, where his elimination of several Wraiths caught the attention of G.I. Joe. Secret Raiders Learning that the Joe ranks had been infiltrated by Wraiths, Rom subsequently interceded in a battle between the Joes and the forces of Optimus Prime in Portland, Oregon, where he slew the four Wraiths posing as the Joes Red Zone, Hi-Tech, Wreckage and team leader Joe Colton. Believing he had just killed their human team-mates, the other Joes opened fire on him, but Rom refused to counterattack and flew off. Unfortunately, the appearance of Rom's metallic armor had led the Joes to believe he was a Cybertronian, forcing Optimus Prime's team to pursue him so they could get some answers and clear their names. Concorde Hymn Prime's team chased Rom to the Umpqua National Forest and engaged him in battle, during which Rom was initially able to out-maneuver Prime, but—out-numbered by the Cybertronians—was soon defeated and "urged" to explain himself. The Divine Source of Liberty
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
- 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's 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 comic (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 this ID number is "B007," as there was no Series 2 figured with this 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.[1]
