Spider-Man Meets Rom, Spaceknight!

Let's go back to the late Spring of 1984. Rom's entering the last phase of his war with the Dire Wraiths, who are infiltrating Earth, replacing humans, and planning a sorcerous coup. Spider-Man's only recently come back to Earth with a symbiotic costume that responds to his commands. ] Synopsis

Roderick Kingsley’s office is intruded by the Hobgoblin. But it reveals itself to be a Wraith, and offers him a body double he can use for his secret identity! He runs for it, hidden passage out, and makes it to his gear. He fights back as the Hobgoblin, not trusting anyone to have his secret. He seems to kill all the agents present from the Dire Wraiths.

The Dire Wraiths report this attempt to replace Hobgoblin and assume his place in the underworld, failed, but they have two other plans, converging. One, they have a poltician adviser in place, who will get the humans to build detention centers, for the use of the Wraiths once they take power. The second plan involves the Chameleon, who they’re hiring to steal a part being made for a government-made Neutralizer. They use, for their meeting, the old off-Broadway Theater where Norman Osborn kept one of his secret Goblin stashes. That’s also where Spider-Man first fought the Hobgoblin, so, it was part of their reseach, and they know it’s abandoned. Rom uncovers the remains of a lair of the Thinker, with whom he clashed early in his mission on Earth. He finds plans to analyze Spider-Man, and this self-destructs. He encounters Frog Man on patrol, and ascertains he’s human. He then decides to visit his friends, Power Man and Iron Fist. Peter Parker missed the assignment to cover Roberto Riverdale’s campaign initiative, now that he is head councilman. He’s there at the announcement, though, and so is Lance Bannon, his photography rival. Lance ducks behind the scenes to try to catch who is there. This gets the attention of the Dire Wraith disguised as Brick Holderman, the advisor, a TV dinner making retired major it replaced months ago. Peter and Ned Leeds don’t get anything special, then they spot Bannon together. The Holderman Wraith decides to take over a woman’s body, then start making the moves on Lance. It keeps in mind Ned and Peter are journalists, too. Chameleon’s holographic blueprint theft is a success, but as he prepares to drop it off at the secret Wraith HQ, across town, Power Man has taken Rom to the Baxter Building, to see if the Analyzer can be safely adapted by Reed Richards. Starshine and Iron Fist meanwhile occupy themselves, and she meets some supporting PM/IF cast. The top-secet gizmo blueprint turns up missing, according to She-Hulk and Torch, so Rom decides to team-up with Starshine and continue the trail there. Peter Parker suddenly gets taken to lunch by Delilah, a disguised male Wraith who can shape-shift, one of the only of his kind remaining after the females purged the males. While they dine together, Lance’s one-time girlfriend Amy walks by. She mocks the Delilah girl as somehow yet another person dating Lance now of late, who has gotten tangled up with Peter like she did. She asks how his red-headed lady friend is doing. Delilah decides to go back to using Lance to get into the investigation. She only needs to ascertain the truth does not come out before the bill to build the detention centers is passed. It’s at this point the symbiote that is actually Spider-Man’s black costume in this era, has begun taking Peter out while he’s asleep and swinging him around. Rom runs into this phenemenon, which he thinks might be a Wraith, but he analyzes it, then uses his translator to detect a rudimentary, buried intelligence. Rom wonders if it needs to be freed from its state, and remembers his failure to help the Hulk. It surprises Rom with its changing form and appears as different clothing. Then it swings Peter away just as he’s waking up. Rom just about runs it down when he runs into the Chameleon, fresh back from the Dire Wraiths’ old theater HQ.

The Chameleon makes his costume, Spider-Man, in black, and talks with Rom. The Analyzer reveals him to be human. He explains his powers were taken somehow by the same enemies Rom declares he seeks, and he offers to take Rom back there. He was paid handsomely by the Wraiths to take advantage of this opportunity to help trap Rom.

But Rom runs into the real Spider-Man, who he mistakes for the Wraith-disguised one described to him by the fake who is Chameleon. He can’t get his Analyzer on him, and Spider-Man and Rom exchange blows in a four-page conflict. It’s the arrival of the Black Cat that affirms this is Spider-Man, who submits to the beam, then denies having talked to Rom before. But that takes about three pages of her following, fighting, and talking sense to them both. She thinks her bad luck power will work against Rom if he means ‘my Spider’ harm, but Rom and Spider-Man decide to join sides. Spider-Man recognizes the Delilah girl, and trails her right to the Wraiths. He still doesn’t know the Chameleon was involved, but that bit about Rom encountering an impostor did nag him. What happens is, he apparently finds aliens working for Mysterio! But the magic is REAL this time, and then their identities are revealed by the attack of Starshine. That’s when Rom comes in to face the actual Wraith magic, his Analyzer unveling their true nature. He and Spider-Man fight together for about four pages. Black Cat gets the drop on Holderman, and runs him straight into Starshine. The entire business now ended, the blueprint is restored, and shipped directly to the security of the Aerie, Forge’s skyscraper in Dallas. (Except there’s a serious disturbance there in X-Men #187, where the Wraiths infiltrate Forge’s home.) Reed doesn’t get the Analyzer done before “The Final Conflict” in Rom #65. Rom doesn’t get to tell Spider-Man about his conversation with his costume alien. His first clue will come soon while Puma attacks him in ASM #256. I’ll share this with William. That was quick. It is still 1:12 am, so I got that in just over half an hour!