This issue closes out the short arc of Serpentyne. In this issue we get a quick recap of the last couple of issues then find that the grave Rom fell into last issue was actually the entrance to Serpentyne’s lair. As Rom searches through his surroundings to find dead Dire Wraith strewn about like trophies, Serpentyne enters the lair and confronts Rom. The two exchange stories about their backstories, Serpentyne telling Rom that his people are actually of Earth. During the nuclear testing of the 60s lizards were genetically altered to evolve quicker by the radiation and created an underground society away from humanity. After a conflict with Humans in which Ms. Marvel intervened the Dire Wraiths became aware of the underground lizard society and wiped them out so they could take over their base. Serpentyne became the last of his people and swore to kill all of the Dire Wraiths in existence. He has now decided to take Rom’s neutralizer weapon as his own to complete his tasks. This brings the two beings to conflict, as Rom tries to deescalate the situation. After a quick battle Serpentyne ends up killing himself, by accident, using a stalagmite he plans to stab Rom with.
While these last two issues were fun and added some depth to the world of Rom, as well as continue to bring him closer to the superhero world we all know and love, it fell short by ending the character of Serpentyne. I would have much rather this character got to continue on his mission as either a B story or his own series alongside Rom. With that said the ending made these last two issues feel more like filler than something that brought depth to Rom’s world.
Thanks for reading! Next week we will continue with Rom #10. If you are enjoying this series and all my other posts please consider subscribing to this substack. So far all my posts are free but if you want to support my work you can subscribe to the paid tier, which I am thinking of ways to reward those that do so. But if you want to support it in other ways you can always share this post, like the post, and comment down below. See you all next time!
Retro Re-Read:Rom #9
Writer-Bill Mantlo
Artist-Sal Buscema
Colorists-Bob Sharen & George Roussos
Letterer-Jim Novak
Editor-Jo Duffy
This issue closes out the short arc of Serpentyne. In this issue we get a quick recap of the last couple of issues then find that the grave Rom fell into last issue was actually the entrance to Serpentyne’s lair. As Rom searches through his surroundings to find dead Dire Wraith strewn about like trophies, Serpentyne enters the lair and confronts Rom. The two exchange stories about their backstories, Serpentyne telling Rom that his people are actually of Earth. During the nuclear testing of the 60s lizards were genetically altered to evolve quicker by the radiation and created an underground society away from humanity. After a conflict with Humans in which Ms. Marvel intervened the Dire Wraiths became aware of the underground lizard society and wiped them out so they could take over their base. Serpentyne became the last of his people and swore to kill all of the Dire Wraiths in existence. He has now decided to take Rom’s neutralizer weapon as his own to complete his tasks. This brings the two beings to conflict, as Rom tries to deescalate the situation. After a quick battle Serpentyne ends up killing himself, by accident, using a stalagmite he plans to stab Rom with.
While these last two issues were fun and added some depth to the world of Rom, as well as continue to bring him closer to the superhero world we all know and love, it fell short by ending the character of Serpentyne. I would have much rather this character got to continue on his mission as either a B story or his own series alongside Rom. With that said the ending made these last two issues feel more like filler than something that brought depth to Rom’s world.
Thanks for reading! Next week we will continue with Rom #10. If you are enjoying this series and all my other posts please consider subscribing to this substack. So far all my posts are free but if you want to support my work you can subscribe to the paid tier, which I am thinking of ways to reward those that do so. But if you want to support it in other ways you can always share this post, like the post, and comment down below. See you all next time!
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