Credits:
Writer - Bill Mantlo
Artist - Sal Buscema
Letterer - Jim Novak
Colorist - Ben Sean
Editor - Mary Jo Duffy
Cover - Uncredited (possibly Al Milgrom)
Story - 4/5: Bill Mantlo turns in another high-caliber comic story in the classic Bronze Age tradition with this conclusion to the Firefall storyline. The issue opens with an exciting battle in the sky over West Virginia, with Rom in one corner and the newly-grafted Archie Stryker, occupying the Firefall armor, in another. The two battle using their powers, and the Living Flame of Galador is clearly a formidable weapon. Rom, however, holds back, because he knows that Stryker does not really understand what is going on. Throughout the first part of the battle, Rom attempts to reason with Stryker, to convince him that the more he uses the Firefall armor, the more permanently he will be grafted into it, until eventually it is irreversible. Stryker, still convinced that Rom is a murderer, refuses to listen, and keeps lashing out with the Living Flame -- thus sealing his fate.
In the mean time, on a lonely highway in the W. V. mountains, Brandy Clark sits between two men she thought were from the government, who have whisked her away from her apartment. However, she quickly realizes that the "men" are really Dire Wraiths, and worries what they will do to her. Following this car is a second vehicle, driven by Steve Jackson, Brandy's boyfriend.When the wraiths realize he's following them, they try to shoot at him.
Here, the two stories intersect. As the two cars hurtle down the road, Rom and Firefall crash into the pavement in front of them. Brandy uses the opportunity to kick one Wraith out of the car, and Steve Jackson's car hits him, killing him (which as usual, turns the Wraith to ashes). Meanwhile, Brandy grabs the wheel and forces the car off the road, crashing it. She survives and is pulled out of the car by Jackson, while the Wraith inside dies. This begins what will become an interesting motif in the Rom series: for all their advanced wizardry and technology, for all their evil, the Wraiths seem to have very fragile physical bodies (the crash didn't hurt Brandy very much but killed the Wraith). I confess that I was never sure if this had something to do with shape-shifting (i.e., they die more easily when shifted than when in their natural forms), but I always found it curious that they seemed to be so delicate. I've always thought this "vulnerability" of theirs provided an interesting counter-point to their powerful evil.
Once on the roadway, Rom again tries to reason with Stryker. He tells the story of how the original Firefall, Karas, once saved Rom's life. Later, once they were Spaceknights, Karas recklessly flew off to face the Wraiths. He was never heard from again. Rom now knows that Karas was killed, and the Wraiths have control of his armor. Stryker refuses to listen and attacks again. Rom has at last had enough, and decides to pound some sense into Stryker. This time, Stryker realizes he is feeling pain through the armor itself, and that Rom is telling the truth -- Stryker has been permanently merged with the armor.
Overall, this is an exciting, action-packed issue that is also filled with heart and emotion. Steve Jackson's relentless pursuit of the Wraiths to save his girlfriend is touching. Similarly, Rom's efforts to reason with Stryker rather than just kill him or send him to limbo are the stuff heroism is made of. We also get to see another brief glimpse of Rom's early history, and his life before the armor. Over time these glimpses will continue to pepper the story, but this is one of the earliest scenes of Rom's pre-Knight days (which were also glimpsed in #1). The pacing of this story is excellent -- it keeps one turning the pages.
Artwork - 4/5: The artwork in this issue has Sal Buscema's usual high quality. The action scenes are kinetic and expansive. You can almost feel the heat of the Living Flame and the impact of the collisions between the two armored knights. The "special effects" work is particularly good in this issue -- Buscema does an outstanding job of making each type of energy look distinctive. The faces all convey the right types of emotions. It seems there is nothing Mantlo can write in the story that Buscema cannot draw with great skill.
Cover - 3/5: This issues weakest element is the cover. There don't appear to be any signatures on it, and I was not able to discover who drew it. I suspect Al Milgrom may have inked it, because the finishes definitely appear to be done in his distinctive style... but the inking could just as easily have been done by someone like Joe Sinnott. Although the poses are good, there are several technical problems with this cover. Fro example, Rom's neutralizer is far too small. His armor is blockier than it should be, and there are strange attachments on the sides that appear to be connected to his chest piece, although they are in the position usually occupied by the rocket pack. The penlight eyes are also drawn very poorly.
Overall Experience - 4/5: Overall, this is another strong issue from the Mantlo/Buscema creative team. I continue to be amazed at how comfortable these two were with the story and art from this series so early on. Many of the common motifs of both story and art that one would see for years to come, had already been established by this fourth issue. It is very interesting to see the armor of another Spaceknight, as well... here for the first time, we begin to appreciate that not all Spaceknights have the same powers. They can be, in fact, quite different.
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