IDW - Rom and the Micronauts

Title: Gods and Monsters

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Paolo Villanelli

Colourist: Alessandra Alexakis

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

Rom and the Micronauts confront Karza and D'rge, whilst the Absence is incubating both the Presence and the Entropy Cloud within himself, speeding up her rebirth. Rom takes on Karza alone, whilst the Micronauts attack D'rge. Using the Presence's power, D'rge sends energy to all the Wraiths on Earth, allowing them to reveal themselves and begin conquering the planet.

Nearby, Orphion and Livia detect the massive Wraith readings, so they decide to join Rom in his battle, leaving the Wraith guards at the facility to Camilla and Darby.

During Rom's fight with Karza, he attempts to retake his energy from the Baron using an Enerchange, shocking Karza, and the two fight over the Enerchanging process and are slowly fusing.

Livia and Orphion arrive, with Livia joining the Micronauts in attacking D'rge, whilst Orphion goes straight for the Absence, shooting into him to hit the Presence...however when he fired into him, he became exposed to the Entropy Cloud inside, corrupting his body. Knowing he is dying from the exposure, he grapples with D'rge and strangles him to death, just as his body fails too, and he dies...

The Micronauts and the Knights begin their attacks on the Presence when Karza appears behind them, having fully merged with Rom, seemingly in charge of the body, however Rom manages to show he has some sway too, and forces him to blast a hole into the Absence, opening a hole, and beginning to seep out the Entropy Cloud forcing him to help them. The group focus all their weapons fire on the hole, and force the Presence to remain inside the decaying body of the Absence, forcing her to also become over-exposed to the Entropy Cloud, killing her with explosive effect.

The group make it outside where Karza ejects Rom from his body, giving him back all his own energy. The Knights and Micronauts prepare to battle their enemy, when he suddenly displaces himself back to Microspace, declaring victory.

The team soon learn that the Wraiths across the planet are being subdued and killed due to their extra energy being removed with the Presence's death.

A while later, Orphion is buried on Earth with full Solstar honours. Rom bids goodbye to his tiny allies, who have learned that when Karza returned to Microspace he took full credit for getting rid of the Entropy Cloud, and is now being hailed as a god. The Micronauts are heading back home to reunited with Oz and the Time Travelers to try and stop Karza and his new regime...

Characters

Solstar Order

Rom

Livia

Orphion Killed by Entropy Cloud Exposure

Micronaut

Larissa

Phenolo-Phi

Acroyear

Biotron

Microtron

Oziron Rael (Mentioned)

Dire Wraith

The Presence Killed by Entropy Cloud Exposure

The Absence Killed with The Presence

D'rge Killed by Orphion

UN President Wraith Defeated

NORAD Wraiths Defeated

Parisian Wraiths Defeated

Other Earth Wraiths Defeated

Other Microspace

Baron Karza

Microspacian Citizens (Footage)

Acroyear III Units (Footage)

Time Travelers (Mentioned)

Human

Camilla Byers

Darby Mason

UN Members

NORAD Workers

Parisian Citizens

Notes

• It turns out, despite his theory that he would survive exposure to the Entropy Cloud, due to his armour, that Rom would have died if he had of back in Microspace.
• So...for basically the main villain of the Rom series, D'rge dies from being strangled....I'm surprisingly okay with that!
• Orphion's death was sort of spoiled in the earlier released (not reviewed here yet) Unicron #0, where he was missing from the Solstar Order's ranks
• So...I was sort of right in my theory...Karza did end up betraying the Wraiths and helped to kill their Goddess, but he was forced to do so by Rom. So I sort of got it right I guess?
• AHHHH!!! Microtron zombie!!! I mean he clearly seemed to die before, so what other explanation is there to him coming back to the story?
• It can be assumed that Livia leaves Earth after the events of this story to return to Elonia for the events of Unicron #0. This is likely due to the Wraith infection on Earth being so minimal now.
• Oz gets a name-drop in this issue! Now if only he would have appeared...
• Aww what a happy ending (minus the Orphion dying part) it sure would be a pity is some evil demon planet was to come along and ruin it...
• Despite this being the ending of the Rom and Micronauts series', this really feels like an opening to another series for the Micronauts back in Microspace being set up.

IDW - Rom and the Micronauts #4

Title: Asymmetric Warfare

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Paolo Villanelli

Colourist: Alessandra Alexakis

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Gold Goldstein

Plot

Orphion, Livia, Camilla and Darby are pinned down by a small army of Wraiths, including Axiom and Reptos, being powered up by sorcerers in South Korea. Luckily Rom and the Micronauts arrive and turn the tide of the fight by taking down the sorcerers, allowing the others to fight properly again. Axiom escapes to warn Karza and the others about this turn of events, whilst the heroes take out the remaining Wraiths. During the battle Rom is pointed towards the Reptos, who have Enerchanged with others to gain a larger size, but are left unstable due to the difference in power, meaning Rom needs to Enerchange with Karza to regain his own true powers.

Following the battle, the Earth team explain that Karza and the Wraiths have set up base on a Japanese island facility, Hashima Island, and have Japan on their side due to them infiltrating their government and portraying the Solstar Knights as murderers. Whilst Orphion shares his intel on the island with the Micronauts, Rom talks with Livia about his lessons in Enerchanging, and believes that they could use it to be able to safely remove their armour and resume their pre-war lives, however Livia doesn't want to do that, as she isn't the same person she was before they joined the war.

At Hashima Island, Axiom explains what has happened, and the Wraiths are starting to panic. Karza reveals that he has a plan to speed up their plans, but it requires The Absence to be "dedicated", angering the intangible Wraith to the point that he agrees, just to show his power...

Back at the staging ground, Acroyear approaches Livia and relates to her that he is also an organic being trapped inside armour, and that he would give anything to remove it and have a normal life, indicating towards Phen again. Livia picks up on what he's saying and points out to him that one's appearance doesn't matter, and she has witnessed many very different species fall in love in her travels across the universe, even a Solstar Knight and a Dire Wraith once fell in love. Rom's true ambition with removing his armour is that he hates it because it is a constant reminder of how his family and his innocence died.

After their preparations, the team head out to Hashima Island, where they split in two teams, Rom and the Micronauts use their smaller size to sneak into the base, whilst Orphion and the others create a big distraction outside.

Things begin well, but Axiom notices that Rom isn't amongst the others fighting so he hunts him down. The Micronauts manage to fight off Axiom, but Rom finishes him off by Enerchanging with him, stealing his size and seemingly sending him to Microspace as Karza did to him earlier. Rom is glad to have a full sized body again, but can feel his body is unstable, so the group rush off to confront Karza and get Rom's true power back, however as they reach his chamber, they see Karza has already succeeded...he has awoken The Presence...

Characters

Solstar Order

Rom

Livia

Orphion

Space Knight in Love (Flashback)

Micronaut

Larissa

Phenolo-Phi

Acroyear

Biotron

Microtron (Voice Only)

Baron Karza

Dire Wraith

The Absence

The Presence 

D'rge

Axiom Shunted to Microspace by Rom

Wraith Sorcerers

Wraith Soldiers Most Killed

Wraith Hawks

Reptos Army Most Self Destruct

Wraith Sorcerer in Love (Flashback)

Human

Darby Mason

Camilla Byers

Other

Fire Alien (Flashback)

Multi-Headed Alien (Flashback)

Torchbearer (Flashback)

Blind Alien (Flashback)

Rom's Family (Flashback) Dead

Notes

• I know it's the penultimate issue, and they had to gloss over the timeline between the end of Rom and this series, but I still find it amazing how quickly Livia and Orphion accept Camilla and Darby, considering the former has partial Dire Wraith powers, and the latter is wearing the dead arm of one of their former allies...
• Oh wow! It's Axiom! He hasn't been seen in like a year, wonder if he'll do a lo- oh...he pretty much dies at the end
• It's implied by his dialogue that "The Absence" is technically "An Absence" and is a position one can attain through a hard ritual, and implies to be a conduit for The Presence to be summoned through.
• Amongst the aliens who find love appears to be a Torchbearer (Camien religious warriors and the guards for the Mistress of Flame) and a blind alien (based on her eyes being covered, yet they still have a gun out)
• Microtron, despite seeming to be on death's door last issue is HEARD on the ship a few times this issue...we don't see him, so either this was a late addition just to show people he's fine before the series ends, or it's for a reveal that he's been modified in some way on the ship (maybe even as part of the ship now?)

IDW - Rom and the Micronauts

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Paolo Villanelli

Colourist: Alessandra Alexakis

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editors: Carlos Guzman & David Mariotte

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

D'rge and Karza discuss their potential new alliance to deal with their now mutual enemies, with The Absence joining them to at that he has a plan for them to work together to defeat the Micronauts and Rom alike. He teleports them all away to their goal...

A few hours later, the Micronauts arrive at the Dire Wraith's lighthouse, having been following Karza's signal but find it abandoned. They detect Wraith signals there too, but since there's no sign of a battle they assume that the two forces have teamed up. They head off to find Rom, as they figure he'd be interested in working together since the Wraiths are involved.

Inside the Lighthouse, one piece of the Absence remains and reports to the others that the Micronauts are doing as they planned.

Later, the Micronauts find Rom and his human allies, Darby Mason and Camilla Byers, in Utah having just taken down a Wraith cell, and they agree to join the Micronauts in taking down Karza and the Wraiths alike. Rom uses his Analyzer to detect a location where Wraith and Microspace technologies are the highest, and determines that that must be where they are hiding. He sends a message to Orphion and Livia, who are currently dealing with another mission, to tell them where they are going and they head off.

Soon our heroes arrive at the Yucca Mountains in Nevada where they immediately attack the Wraiths, but unfortunately they planned for this, and using a combination of Karza's Enerchange ability, and D'rge's magic, Karza begins to Enerchange with Rom himself. Rom tries to fight off the Baron, but he's getting weaker as Karza is stealing his strength, whilst the rest of the team are busy with the Wraiths, and cannot help their ally.

Orphion and Livia manage to arrive, just in time to see Rom seemingly reduced to nothingness and Karza has taken all his power. The other two Knights attack Karza, but he easily defeats them, and leaves with the remaining Wraiths, planning to kill the Knights at a later date.

Later, the Knights are revived and they confirm that there is no sign of Rom, or the Micronauts. They swear to take down Karza in the name of Rom, and will get revenge for him...

Some time later still, the Micronauts manage to unearth themselves from some rubble they were trapped under during the battle, where they make shocking discovery, Rom is not dead, he has been transported to Microspace. They decide to head to Microspace to rescue him, and also see if he has some way to stop Karza, since their powers are now connected through the Enerchange...

In Microspace, Rom is floating in space, surrounded by a Reptos swarm....

Characters

Solstar Order

Rom Displaced to Microspace, Energy Drained by Karza

Orphion

Livia

Fy-Laa (Mentioned) Dead

Micronaut

Larissa

Phenolo-Phi

Acroyear

Biotron

Microtron

Dire Wraith

The Absence 

D'rge

Lava Monster Likely Killed by Orphion and Livia

Wraith Troops

Wraith Cows Killed by Rom's Team

The Presence (Mentioned)

Human

Darby Mason

Camilla Byers

Action Man (Flashback Only)

Scarlett (Flashback Only)

Roadblock (Flashback Only)

Snake Eyes (Flashback Only)

Other Joes (Flashback Only)

Miles Mayhem (Mentioned)

Other Microspace

Baron Karza

Reptos Swarm

Other

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Flashback Only)

Notes

• It's confirmed here that The Absence is in various locations at once, partly explaining his translucent appearance and intangibility 
• It's also confirmed that The Presence is not literally under the Earth's crust, but in a "Synchronic Dimension" that appears to be connected to the crust
• Larissa has been given a slight redesign, giving her a fully shaved head, likely to help distinguish her from Darby Mason, who could honestly be her alternate universe self, they look so similar!
• Orphion and Livia are fighting against a lava monster of some sort...I guess that explains where they were during the First Strike tie-ins, but....WHY AREN'T WE SEEING THAT STORY?!?
• Rom doesn't look in any way concerned that Darby is wearing his dead best friend's arm on her arm does he? Also his other human friend still has Dire Wraith powers.....I think we're missing a story here!
• Biotron kept up to his promise to analyse the Wraith magic so the Micronauts can be protected from it
• From the looks of it, Karza didn't just steal Rom's strength and size, but also his Neutralizer energies...who wants to be that he'll turn against the Wraiths and kill some with that power in this series?
• The beam of Neutralizer energy that Orphion and Livia shoot up in memorial for Rom's "death" is a reference to what Rom did to memorialize his family's murder by the Wraiths in his annual.
• Oh hey! Rom was sent to Microspace! I look forward to returning there for the first time since pretty much the start of the Micronauts series!
• It's mentioned a few times that there is a Microspace colony on Earth now...I want to see that!
• Considering how Microspace looks peaceful, and the Reptos as alive again, we can assume that the Time Travelers were successful in stopping the Entropy Cloud...yay!

IDW - Rom #14

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage & Chris Ryall

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Long Roads to Ruin Part 4

Art by: David Messina

Inks by: Michele Pasta

Battle Scars Part 4

Pencils by: Guy Dorian, Sr.

Inks by: Sal Buscema

Main Story Plot

Off on his own solo mission, Orphion has tracked down a group of Wraiths, led by Kagan Knight, who have just absorbed a large group of humans, and fed their energy to The Presence. Orphion soon attacks them, and kills the bulk of the Wraiths, before grabbing Knight to get information from him about what has happened here...

Later, Orphion reaches a fissure in the ground that Knight told him the energy was sent to where he realizes that something is below the surface. Elsewhere, D'rge and the Absence are monitoring Orphion and his discovery, but the Absence is not concerned for the Knights to learn about their secret, as it is almost too late now...

Under water, Rom and Livia fight off the Aquatic Dire Wraiths, and despite their numbers, are able to take them on head-to-head. Rom soon notices that the Wraiths appear to be acting as a hive mind, and are actually being controlled by Scylla, so he attacks her, causing them to become more disorganized. Scylla scuttles away, and in their confusion the Wraith army leaves too. Rom and Livia chase after Scylla to end her threat once and for all.

The Knights follow Scylla and find her with a giant creature sprouting it's tentacles from under the surface, the Presence, the Dire Wraith's god, and reveals that all the energy they have been stealing from humans and the Knights has been being fed into her, and is slowly strengthening her before she can awaken.

The Knights kill Scylla with their Neutralizer weapons, and they detect no more Wraiths in the area. The Presence's tentacles fade away, they are now determined to destroy this Wraith god before she can awaken fully, and conquer everything....

The two Knights then fly off, presumably to report their findings to Orphion.

Tales of the Solstar Order

"Battle Scars" Part Four

Fy-Laa, now a part of Verdulun-5's hive mind tries to convince Rom to join him, but his friend continues to refuse and even using his Neutralizer energy to free himself from the planet's bonds, and even frees Fy-Laa momentarily.

He tries to convince Fy-Laa to let him remove the Wraith from his body, but he states that it is too late, and he cannot survive without Verdulun-5 now, and asks Rom to destroy the infection and stop them from spreading further. Rom is unwilling to initially, but agrees that this is right. Fy-Laa requests that Rom never allow another planet to fall to the Wraiths again, and he agrees.

Rom flies off the planet and fires off his Neutralizer at full power at it, killing both Fy-Laa and the living planet of Verdulun-5. Rom flies away, now alone, having lost his oldest friend and one of the last remnants of his life before being a Space Knight...

Later, Fy-Laa's remaining armour is captured by the Dire Wraiths, and they intend to study it to discover how their enemies are so powerful....

Characters

Solstar Order

Rom

Livia

Orphion

Fy-Laa Killed by Rom, Remains captured by Wraiths (Tales Only)

Dire Wraith

The Presence Incubating under the Earth's Crust

The Absence 

D'rge

Scylla Killed by Rom and Livia

Kagan Knight Probably Killed by Orphion

Knight's Assistants Killed by Orphion

Aquatic Wraith Army

Verdulun-5 Killed by Rom (Tales Only)

Wraith Sorcerer (Tales Only)

Human

Knight's Audience Absorbed into The Presence

Notes

• Sorry this issue, and the next few are so late, my previous comic supplier was a bit terrible...
• This is the final issue of the Rom solo series, which is set to be brought back as "Rom and the Micronauts" in December...Yay!
• Orphion is revealed to have gone on a mission to take down the Dire Wraiths on his own, rather than anything too reckless, like trying to blow up the planet again!
• Kagan Knight is shown to be alive still here! Last time we saw him, he was being turned into energy and fed into the Presence...dafuq?! Though considering Orphion's stance on Wraiths, he most likely killed him immediately after interrogating him....
• Orphion is able to extend his snake-tongue out of his armour...this is cool and disturbing! Also his tongue appears to be irradiated with Neutralizer energies....I guess he can lick the Wraiths to death!
• It's fully revealed now that "The Presence" is located just under the Earth's crust, and is able to absorb Neutralizer energies to power itself, meaning that had Orphion of succeeded in shooting the energy into Earth to blow it up as planned, then he would have just powered up this Wraith God instead.
• The identify of the Solstar Knight whose armour the Wraiths managed to capture is revealed to indeed be Fy-Laa, as has been long speculated.
• Rom's desire to not allow the Earth to be destroyed is also heavily hinted as being due to Fy-Laa requesting him to not let another world be destroyed like Verdulun-5 was.
• Despite the Sorcerers' claims, we know from the past issues that the Wraiths were never able to learn about the secrets of the Solstar Armour they had in their possession.

IDW - Rom #11

Title: Long Roads to Ruin Part 1

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Art by: David Messina and Guy Dorian Sr. (Side Story)

Inks by: Michele Pasta and Sal Busema (Side Story)

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Orphion has tasked Livia and Rom with flying around Earth to analyse and deal with the Wraith situation, whilst he deals with some mysterious secret business, which totally does not seem dodgy... Despite his earlier hopes, Rom sees that Livia has become  blood-thirsty and just wants to take out the Wraiths regardless of the situation, so Rom decides to show her a different way,,,

The duo soon locate a cruise boat, where a couple of Wraiths are busy posing as being retired, Livia approaches them, and prepares to kill them on sight. Rom takes her away, but reveals that he does plan to kill them. Rom uses his Translator to spy on the Wraiths, revealing that they were there for a reason, and learn who they are going to warn about the Knights being there, then proceeds to kill them, with no collateral damage. Before they can act on their new information though, a giant Wraith squid grabs them from the water, and drags them under.....

Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Ruan and Darby begin their mission against the Dire Wraiths, by breaking into a storage facility they control, so Ruan can steal a severed Solstar Knight arm from them, so Darby can use it to identify Wraiths by herself, however in the process, Ruan kills himself to get the arm, leaving her on her own again...

At Pismo Beach Medial Centre, a couple of Wraith cops "visit" Camilla, intending to put her out of her misery due to her rejecting her Wrait, but as they attack her, Camilla accidentally activates her now inert Wraith powers and defeats the duo, freaking her out, and leading her to run away.

Battle Scars Part 1

Rom is flying around Earth, looking for Wraiths to kill, when he remembers his old friend Fy-Laa, and of a mission they went on to the planet Verdulun-5, where upon touch down, Fy-Laa is enveloped by a gelatinous substance, that appears to be cleaning any impurities on his armour. Rom however discovers that there are Dire Wraith life signs around them, which the substance confirms, as it announces that it is both a Wraith and the indigenous life of this planet.....

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion

Rom

Livia

Fy-Laa (Battle Scars Only)

Dire Wraith

Ruan Sablik Likely killed when getting Fallen Knight's arm

Squid Wraith

Gelatinous Wraiths (Battle Scars only)

Retired Wraiths Killed by Rom

Warehouse Wraiths Killed by Darby and Ruan

Wraith Cops Defeated by Camilla

Wraith Priest (Mentioned) Dead

Human

Darby Mason

Camilla Byers

GI Joe (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue features the first "Tales of the Solstar Order" side stories...YAY!
• What is Orphion's "true business" all about? Could it have something to do with the upcoming First Strike crossover?
• This is the first issue that I've read since it was announced that post First Strike we're getting a joint Micronauts and Rom comic...let's keep an eye out for bug sized cameos from here on!
• So...Ruan's big plan is to loudly break into a warehouse with his human buddy, then kill himself to give her a severed Space Knight arm with no knowledge on how to work it? Good fella!
• Also, speaking of the arm, I'm pretty sure that's Fy-Laa's arm, aka Rom's likely former partner and best friend along with Livia before their joining the Solstar Order.
• So...if we take it at face value, one of the Wraith cops implies that he had sex with Camilla in the past...I guess he can keep up his human guise whilst....um...climaxing?
• Despite having the Dire Wraith removed from her body, it seems that it's presence has left her body altered to be a Human-Wraith hybrid
• So...there's a giant squid Wraith.....HIDE!!!!

IDW - Rom #10

Title: Interlude: A day in the life

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Art by: David Messina

Inks by: Michele Pasta

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Following up on the conditions of their cease-fire, Rom takes the other two Space Knights into a Californian city, where they reveal themselves to see hoe regular humans act around them. Orphion expects the humans to attack them, but is shocked when they accept them, assuming them to be Autobots, and appreciating their work to protect their planet from evil aliens. The plan works, and both Orphion seems pleased with humanity (though hates being thought of as an Autobot) whilst Livia seems to be easing up on her cold exterior and is more playful, as she was when they were younger.

One of the humans asks if they are there to tackle evil aliens in the area, and points them towards a nearby church, where he says an alien is hiding.

Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, Darby and Ruan are out walking, and Darby s worried about what they are going to do about the Wraiths. Ruan speculates that Darby was able to resist being turned into a Wraith before because of her PTSD messing with her mind. She doesn't care though, as she is worried that she can't identify Wraihs like Ruan and Rom can, but Ruan reveals that the Wraiths have something that could help her, that was taken from a fallen Solstar Knight, but it'll be hard to get to it..

The Knights head to the church, where some kids also ask if they're there to get the alien too, adding to their suspicions. Inside the church, the Knights encounter a Dire Wraith disguised as a priest, who then reveals that he has been hiding on Earth for a long time, hiding as various religious leaders and a congregation members, claiming to bring the humans salvation when he kills them, and evokes his belief that his god will allow him to continue and condones this course of action.

In Seattle, Leonard Song has been called to Deepwave HQ to finalize the work on the Axiom armour, finally perfecting the technology to allow people to control machinery, much to Caleb Awan's delight.

Meanwhile in a Californian hospital, Camilla wakes up from her life-saving operation, seemingly in pain...

The three Knights fight the priest, who manages to get the upper hand on them by morphing into a never-before-seen giant monstrous Wraith form, who is able to resist a Neutralizer's blasts with ease, however when Rom and Livia combine their weapons, they are able to destroy him, but not before he claims that his god will "embrace" them and the planet soon....

Orphion s glad that they have defeated the powerful Wraith, and is now intrigued by why the Earth is making the Wraiths so powerful, but is also concerned that this is further proof that they should just destroy the planet after all...

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion

Rom

Livia

Fy-Laa (Mentioned)

Fallen Solstar Knight (Mentioned) Dead

Dire Wraith

Ruan Sablik

"Freaker" Priest Killed by Solstar Knights

Caleb Awan

Axiom

Dave Dubosky (Mentioned)

Human

Darby Mason

Camilla Byers

Leonard Song

Jogger

Old Lady and her Dog

Californian Civilians

GI Joe (Mentioned)

Other

Benna K'atsema (Flashback only)

Reyn K'atsema (Flashback only)

The Transformers (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue follows up on Rom's promise last issue to show Orphion and Livia why it is worth saving Earth
• Shockingly, all of the civilians seem to be very accepting of the aliens, even assuming they are Autobots, whom they have been shown to partially blame for the devastation on Earth and recent annexation of the world.
• This issue confirms that the short black haired  mother is Benna, and she is the one who would later be turned into a Wraith during the Annual story.
• Despite her imaginations, the three "Wraiths" seen by Darby are clearly not actually Dire Wraiths...Ruan would have told her if they were.
• This issue reveals to us that starting from issue 11 there will be a back-up story focusing on the other Solstar Knights!
• It's unclear whether Leonard Song knows that Caleb and Axiom are Dire Wraiths, as you would assume he'd not want to work with a known invading alien group
• Also, Deepwave have now continued their work on developing their cybernetic interfaces, as seen previously in the Rom: Revolution tie-in, but they apparently needed some outside human help with it.
• ALSO, didn't Caleb get absorbed into the Karza-Wraith hybrid? After which they all died, resulting in most of the other Wraiths going rogue on Earth since a large portion of their leaders were now gone?
• Rom still has Orphion's Neutralizer, most likely he'll keep it until his commander promises not to blow up the planet.

IDW - Rom #9

Title: Reinforcements Part 5 

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Pencils and Inks by: Paolo Villanelli

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

The Wraith sorcerers work with The Absence to complete their mission, despite the Space Knights having defeated all their troops above, but they have an unexpected ally, Rom is distracting the other Knights from attacking them...

Above, Orphion starts to charge his energies into the drill heading to the core of the planet, but Rom continues to fight him, despite being weakened himself. Livia is forced to fire on Rom by an order from Orphion, and knocks him out. Before anything else can happen though, The Presence appear and slams his arm through Livia's chest, draining her of her energy. He turns to Orphion, who tries to attack him, only to find him intangible. The fight continues to go bad for Orphion, but Rom suddenly appears, and fires his Neutralizer from inside The Presence, causing him to explode.

Orphion thanks Rom for his help, but goes back to charging the drill, whilst informing him that Livia is close to death now, and he has to choose, either save her life, or stop him from destroying the Earth.

Meanwhile, in Pawtucket, Darby has brought Ruan home with her, and her grandmother is surprisingly understanding about it (though still shocked that he's an alien). They explain that they are going to try and stop the Dire Wraiths from conquering the world, so she gives Darby a suitcase filled with weapons to help her out (she'd been stocking them up since the Transformers returned to Earth)

Rom tries to save Livia, but his energy is too depleted to heal her, Orphion continues to send his energy into the drill, unaware that the energies are being syphoned by the Wraiths below into a device.

Luckily, Rom is able to convince Orphion that saving his loyal and obedient partner is more important that rashly destroying a planet, which manages to convince Orphion of his mistake, so he helps Rom to heal Livia.

Livia wakes up, but is angry that they would "sacrifice" this world to the Wraiths just to save her. Orphion reveals that he hasn't given up on his plans to destroy Earth, but wishes to allow Rom a chance to prove to him why it should be saved instead...

Down below, the energies of Orphion's Neutralizer has killed the Sorcerers, and The Absence reforms following his fight with Rom. He is annoyed that their plan is not complete yet, but is also glad, since it is still within his sights, and he is still waiting for "The Presence" to awaken....

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion

Rom

Livia

Dire Wraith

Ruan Sablik

The Absence

Acolyte Sorcerers Killed by Orphion's Energy

The Presence (Mentioned)

"Friends of our Enemies" Staff (Mentioned)

Human

Darby Mason

Grandma Gay-Lyn Mason

Grandpa Mason (Mentioned) Dead

Notes

• Orphion mentioned "The years of solitude" regarding Rom, this implies that his partner died a while ago. We know that the upcoming Shining Armour crossover is set about 200 years ago, so it's likely that we'll see the identity and death of his partner in that (Most likely the Cybertronian member)
• "The Absence" refers to him as the absence of a Wraith, and is shown to be impervious to most attacks, implying that he is either ghost-like, or simply projecting himself to Earth in some way.
• Grandma keeps a suitcase filled with armed guns in her house?! HIDE!!!!
• "The Absence" mentions someone else named "The Presence" who seems to be his opposite....wouldn't ALL of the Wraiths other than he be classed as "present" though...

IDW - Rom #8

Title: Reinforcements Part 4

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Pencils and Inks by: Paolo Villanelli

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Orphion speeds towards an oil rig, which is infested with Dire Wraiths, and goes about killing them all. Livia and Rom go after him, with Livia just tagging along, but only to accompany Rom. The Joes below are feeling down for being defeated by the Space Knights so easily, but decide to make a new plan with some "smaller friends" of theirs.

Orphion tears through the Wraiths on the oil rig, but makes sure not to damage the rig itself, as he's planning to use it to channel the neutralizing energies that he's going to use to destroy the Earth with, however before he can, Rom and Livia catch up to him.

Elsehwere, in Rhode Island, Darby and Ruan are sitting in a coffee shop, when Ruan soon reveals that he is a Dire Wraith, Darby understandably freaks out, and runs away. Ruan chases after her, leading Darby to fight back. However, Ruan soon reveals that he's not her enemy, he was a sleeper agent from birth, and has chosen to side with Earth against the other Dire Wraiths, and he needs her help to save the world.

Back at the oil rig, Rom tries to convince Orphion not to destroy the planet, but Orphion just sees him as a traitor and attacks him, ordering Livia to help him in attacking the traitor. Orphion keeps Rom busy, whilst sending Livia down below to clear out the remaining Wraiths. Rom and Orphion have a vicious fight, and Livia is overrun and isn't going to be able to defeat them. Orphion soon disables Rom, and prepares to destroy the planet.

Underneath, the Sorcerers are trying to power up "The Absence", but become concerned that the Space Knights are right above them. One of the Sorcerers, Kagan Knight, (the preacher from last issue) gives his life to "The Absence" and fully powers her. The Sorcerers want her to help them defeat the Knights, but she simply announces that there is no need, since the Knights are going to give them all they need, and kill each other in the process.

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion

Rom

Livia

Dire Wraith

Ruan Sablik

The Absence

Kagan Knight Absorbed into The Absence

Sorcerers

Oil Rig Workers Most Killed by Orphion

GI Joe

Beach Head

Grunt

Scarlett (Mentioned)

Human

Darby Mason

The Mason Family (Mentioned) Killed by Wraiths

Notes

• Very quickly, since the last issue's release we've all seen the announcement of a new prequel event called "Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armour" in which a young Cybertronian is raised by the Solstar Order and a conflict arises from it. Last issue Orphion mentioned that when Dire Wraiths merged with Cybertronians it was bad news....I think we may now have a clue about what he was referring to.....
• Grunt's comments about "think smaller" leads me to believe that he's going to ask the Micronauts to help in taking down the Space Knights
• Oh no! Darby's sudden new friend Ruan is revealed to be a Dire Wraith! Shocker! (He is a good one though, so that's a shock!)
• On the point of Ruan though, his comments that he was raised as a human and was a sleeper agent could be also what "Cons4eva" from the MTMTE Revolution tie-in was too, and why he wasn't interested in the invasion of Earth. Just food for thought.
• The strange creature we've been seeing glimpses of and mentioned as "Legion" last issue is named as "The Absence" here....wonder what new name we'll be giving it next issue?

IDW - Rom #7

Title: Reinforcements Part 3

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Pencils and Inks by: Paolo Villanelli

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Following the fight at Cooper's Mill, a human recovery team arrives and rescues Camilla, concerned about her injuries, and the lack of any attackers. The Space Knights watch them from a nearby ledge, whilst in their cloaked forms. Livia uses her Analyzer to determine that all of the humans are indeed human, and watch as they leave with Camilla, to give her treatment.

Following their departure, Rom leads the other Knights to his cavern hide-out, where he tries to explain the situation on Earth, including the Wraiths managing to use technology to improve their powers, despite that being blasphemous to their species, and also points out that Earth is a Cybertronian colony world now, meaning that destroying the planet, as the other Knights wish to do, will just lead to a war. Orphion agrees that this will likely cause a problem, but considering that Earth is fully infested in Wraiths, it is a necessary war to help save the galaxy from a massive Wraith threat.

Beach Head and Grunt, of GI Joe, have located Rom's location, and are shocked to learn that he has two new allies. They over-heard about Orphion's plan to destroy the Earth and shoot at him. A battle starts and Rom manages to show Livia that the humans aren't Wraiths, so she agrees to not kill them, only disable them, leading to them having their flight packs torn apart and easily defeating them, for now...

In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Darby Mason is finally leaving her grandmother's house so she can spend time with a new friend she met, who also has PTSD, allowing them to be a mess together.

Meanwhile in a city, four addicts join a new support group, which reportedly has had great results, and they meet it's enigmatic lead, Kagan Knight. One of the addicts is unsure whether he can trust Knight's new group to help him through his problems, since he's been let down so many times before, however when Knight transforms into his true Dire Wraith form, he relents, and the group appear to see him as a god-like figure, and open themselves up to him, causing a blinding light to emit from them, and into the Wraith.

Following their draining, all that is left of the humans addicts are their clothes, Knight wonders if these souls are going to be enough to please "The Great One", but if he isn't pleased, then he will just offer himself up to it as well...

At Vanderberg AFB Sub-Sector S-7, Agent Dubosky meets with Corporal Song, who reveals to Dubosky that Rom hacked into the internet when he arrived on Earth to learn our languages and the geology of the planet, but he never cut the connection, meaning they can send Rom false information to manipulate him!

Characters

Solstar Order

Orphion Injured by Joes

Rom

Livia

Rom's Former Partner (Mentioned) Dead

Dire Wraith

Dave Dubosky

Kagan Knight

"Friends of our Enemies" Staff

"The Great One" (Mentioned)

GI Joe

Beach Head

Grunt

Scarlett (Mentioned)

Scarlett's Team (Mentioned)

Other Human

Camilla Byers Taken to Hospital from loss of arm

Darby Mason

Grandma Gay-Lyn Mason

Ruan Sablik

Corporal Song

Addicts Absorbed into Kagan Knight

Cooper's Mill Recovery Team

Paramedics

Soldiers

Cooper's Mill Guards (Mentioned) Missing/Dead

Other

Cybertronians (Mentioned)

Notes

• It's very likely that "The Great One" is the same shadowy Wraith we saw at the end of last issue, whom I referred to as "Legion"
• It's not clear what the addicts in the side story this issue are actually addicted to. One of them mentions AA and NA (alcoholics and narcotics anonymous) so maybe they're just addicts in general?
• One of the investigators at Cooper's Mill dismisses the attack being due to Cybertronians, due to the damage not matching their sizes....guess they still don't know about Blackrock being a Transformer yet then?
• Rom is revealed to have cloaking technology to make him invisible. But before I can moan that he never seems to use it for covert missions, it is mentioned that it uses up a lot of energy.
• So...did Kagan Knight also absorb the baby that one of the addicts was holding? If so then...harsh!!
• Rom brings up that Optimus has claimed Earth to be one of their Colony Worlds, which is the main plot line over in the Optimus Prime transformers comic title
• Beach Head and Grunt immediately know to refer to Livia as a female, but the Joes in the past didn't seem to realise that Arcee was female...guess they're learning to gender their robot-like alien invaders now!
• Why don't the Joes know that Rom's Analyzer isn't a weapon?! Surely they saw it used during the Revolution!?
• Also, it seems that the events of the Revolution comic storyline are being referred to as "Revolution" in universe too, this is likely just a military code-name for the events or something.
• It's confirmed that Rom learned human languages from tapping into the internet...guess he has a lot in common with Biotron from Micronauts that way!
• So...Countdown/Agent Dubosky is still allowed to be on the loose? WHY HASN'T ROM TOLD ANYONE THAT HE'S A WRAITH YET!??!?!!? 
• Orphion mentions that Dire Wraiths are able to take over Cybertronians....this is a terrifying thought....