IDW - Rom: Dire Wraiths #3

Writer: Chris Ryall

Letterer: Shawn Lee

Editor: David Mariotte

Main Story Title: One Small Step for Dire-Wraith-Kind, Part 3

Main Story Artist: Ron Joseph

Main Story Colourist: Jim Boswell

Side Story Title: One Small Step for a Spaceknight, Part 3

Side Story Artist: Guy Dorian Sr. & Maria Keane

Side Story Colourist: Ross Campbell

Main Story Plot

On the Moon, the Human astronauts figure out that the last surviving Wraith soldier is too weak to take them on, causing him to run away towards the remains of their gateway, hoping to escape them, but the humans chase him.

When the Wraith reaches the remains of the portal, he stalls for a moment , allowing Dodger to leap at him, but the astronaut goes right through the illusion, and into the portal, activating it again. The real Wraith grabs one of the remaining astronauts to further power the portal to send him back to where he came from, but Rom, on the other side of it fires on the monster, killing him.

As the portal closes, Rom congratulates the humans in their victory and salutes them...

On the Advebture-One Station the Mystic, Aby'ss, is searching for the only Human onboard, Sandra Shen, so she can be absorbed too, however the human scientist is smarter and manages to blast her with an energy weapon, and jabs needles into the alien to take samples for humanity to be prepared to take them on better in the future, killing the creature in the process

In the aftermath, the remaining astronauts complete their moonwalk, and replant the American flag. Shen contacts them and says she will complete the cleanup of the lander site, and lock down the area so noone will know what happened as the duo return to their shuttle.

Reunited with Collins on the Apollo shuttle, the three astronauts head back towards Earth, with two if them unaware that Collins was replaced by a Wraith whilst waiting for them....

Side Story Plot

The adrift Solar Knights manage to take down the Wraith-possessed Dhorian, finally putting their old friend out if his pain. Unfortunately the portal that sent them to this distant part of space is closing, forcing Nikomi to send Rom through alone, while he hibernates until he can be found again...

Rom, grateful for the sacrifice doesn't waste his time, now back where this all started, he opens up the portal again, and sees two Human astronauts being harassed by a line Dire Wraith, whom he kills, congratulating and saluting the two Humans in the process and flying off to continue his long mission to defeat the evil species....

Characters

Adventure Team

Sandra Shen

Dodger/James Brightside Killed by the Wraith Portal

Mixmaster/Martin Flannery (Mentioned) Dead

Arsenal/Anatoli Kiev (Mentioned) Dead

Scalpel/Elmo Aubreyson (Mentioned) Dead

Hank Armstrong (Mentioned, Images used by the Wraiths) Dead

NASA

Neil Armstrong

Buzz Aldrin

Mike Collins (Mentioned, Replaced by Sky'sm) Dead

Other Human

Franco Columbo (Mentioned)

President Eisenhower (Mentioned)

President Kennedy (Mentioned)

Dire Wraith

Mystic Aby'ss Killed by Sandra Shen

Mystic Sky'sm (Posing as Mike Collins)

Third Mystic (Posing as Dhorian) Killed by Rom

Axlar Killed by Rom

Sular (Corpse Only) Dead

Solar Order

Rom

Nikomi Stranded in Deep Space

Dhorian (Corpse Puppeted by Wraiths) Dead

Notes

• This issue was VERY delayed, but after about a year, this three issue miniseries is finally complete!
• Since they never get properly identified this issue, I've decided to use logic to name the Mystics who have different dates this issue. Aby'ss is the one who dies and Sky'sm is the one who survived. If a later story changes that, then oh well.
• As I speculated last issue, it's revealed that Collins has been replaced by the surviving Wraith at the end of this issue.
• Somehow, the Wraith who attacks Sandra turns into Hank to try and trick her, and is implied to be the one who absorbed him, but the one who replaced Collins was also the one who replaced Hank and this is confusing....
• Nikomi being lost in space, seemingly acting as a "death" this issue really loses its edge when you remember this is a prequel, and we see Nikomi later, alive and well.
• And as the series ends, we still don't have a name (or status) for the third Wraith soldier, orca name for the Mystic who took over Dhorian's suit/corpse.
• Rom somehow knows that the beings on Earth's Moon are Humans, despite not knowing about them later in the timeline before Earthfall.