Rom #53

Dates

Cover date

April 1984

On sale

January 10, 1984

Pages

36

Editions and covers (3)

Copies of #53 are not all the same book. Here is how to tell each one apart.

• Direct edition60¢ cover

  Direct

  No UPC barcode in the corner box: direct editions show artwork, a logo or a blank box there.

  Source ↗
• Newsstand edition60¢ cover

  Newsstand

  A UPC barcode in the cover's corner box.

  Barcode 0714860232304 · shared with another edition

  This edition’s page
• Canadian price edition0.75 CAD cover

  Canadian

  Printed cover price 0.75 CAD.

  Barcode 0714860232304 · shared with another edition

  This edition’s page

Story arc: Dire Wraiths War

This is part 1 of 10. Reading order by cover month and on-sale date; arc records can be incomplete.

1. Rom #53
2. Rom #55
3. The Uncanny X-Men #184
4. The Uncanny X-Men #185
5. The Uncanny X-Men #186
6. Rom #60
7. The Uncanny X-Men #187
8. Rom #61
9. The Uncanny X-Men #188
10. Rom #62

Creators

Stories

• Paranoia Strikes Deep! · 22 pages

  When Dire Wraiths attack the SHIELD helicarrier, the U.S. government begins to take Rom's warning of alien invasion seriously. President Reagan addresses the country and declares war on the Wraiths. Since many of Earth's heroes seem to be missing (they are off fighting a Secret War), Ron names Rom as an official ally in the upcoming conflict.

Publisher’s description

The government can no longer ignore the Dire Wraith invasion as the Helicarrier of S.H.I.E.LD. comes under attack. The President of the United States addresses the nations of the globe and now the world knows the truth. And as a certain cigar chomping super-spy bluntly puts it "...now that the talkin's over...the fightin' starts!" The World leaders decide to getr together and leave old enmities behind to join forces against an common enemy - Dire Wraiths

Characters

Reprinted in

Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus (2023), Rom Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years (2025)