She-Hulk & Pals #25 from 1970 includes this pin-up of Jen and ROM about to attend the annual Avengers Mansion Ball. Marvel put these out hoping to compete with the huge success of Archie Comics. She-Hulk & Pals #9 was the first appearance of ROM, who would go on to become Jen's boyfriend for 20 issues until she dumped him for being a bit too straightlaced. ROM appeared for a few more times when he caused drama by dating Jen's best friend Tigra. The series lasted 99 issues.
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Superman's unwillingness to kill is not his greatest weakness...
But Rom the Spaceknight's is.
Warning, I am on pain medication.
I didn't want to bloat the post that inspired this more than I did already. In it, there's reference to Zach Snyder alluding to his putting Superman in the position where he 'had to' kill Zod because Superman's unwillingness to kill is "his greatest weakness."
I disagree. Superman's unwillingness to kill is actually his greatest strength, or at least a manifestation of it. Superman doesn't refuse to kill just because of a Christian devotion to 'thou shalt not kill' or an adherence to human law. Clark's refusal to kill is an extension of his absolute dedication to not abusing his power.
Clark's actual greatest weakness is his compassion for others. That's the thing that constantly tempts him to abuse that power. It isn't that killing Lex Luthor or Zod is an unforgivable crime in itself, it's that Clark knows it wouldn't be.
Rom, on the other hand, is the other way around.
Rom isn't really a Superman Expy, but he's certainly a commentary on him, even if unintentionally. Rom is also a paragon-type, also an alien superhuman with a wide assortment of immense powers. His greatest weapon is essentially a phantom zone projector.
Like Superman, Rom is sworn not to kill. But that's the important part. Sworn not to. He is bound by oaths and duty and rules of engagement because he's both a holy knight hunting demons and a soldier in a war. He isn't allowed to kill non-wraiths because they're civilians and doesn't want to because he cares about most living creatures.
He isn't allowed to kill wraiths because death is too good for them. He's hunting down war criminals, and the Galadorian leadership sentenced them all to exile to limbo to suffer for eternity, immortal but unable to affect, much less harm, anything.
A dead wraith is a wraith that has escaped its sentence, and coming back from the dead is easier for a species of demon-warlock aliens than escaping their metaphorical exorcism and banishment to hell.
Rom's code against killing is the most often exploited weakness he has. The wraiths, knowing a front-on confrontation with him is certain banishment, love to hurl non-wraith humans and superhumans at Rom, knowing the Spaceknight won't return their lethal force (and that if he did, they'd have forced him to murder an innocent, which they consider a win).
In these contests, Rom's humanity (specifically his ability to express human traits like compassion, mercy, and self-sacrifice) is usually what turns the tide by convincing these dupes of his true nature.
Pictured: Rogue inadvertently triggers Rom's body dysmorphia
Now, as has often been mocked, Rom does kill a couple of times. This gives him an existential crisis, but it's more about violating his oaths and losing control than remorse for destroying a wraith in a moment of passion. The audience isn't supposed to be horrified at his actions or unsettled, they're supposed to see the impossible standard the Galadorians put on Rom and his brethren.
But it still works with the themes, because Rom is a man trapped in a machine, and his Spaceknight code and duty are a part of that machine.
So where Superman must triumph over the temptations his own compassion puts before him to go too far, Rom has to keep his power and duty from keeping him from feeling the emotions he needs to triumph over his demons.
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Marvel house ad for ROM featuring art by Sal Buscema (1979). The House of Ideas just announced an exciting new collaboration with Hasbro that will result in brand-new collections and reprints of ROM’s original comic book adventures, including a ROM #1 Facsimile Edition and a ROM Omnibus.
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YOU WILL READ ROM SPACEKNIGHT YOU WILL READ ROM SPACEKNIGHT YOU WILL READ ROM SPACEKNIGHT
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