Roma (comics)

Roma is a fictional character appearing in

Publication history

Roma first appeared in Marvel UK's Captain Britain, in the first issue in Oct. 1976, and subsequently appeared in the second volume of Captain Britain's series.^[1] The second volume was reprinted in the U.S. in the Captain Britain trade paperback.

In 1978, Chris Claremont introduced Captain Britain to an international audience, fully integrating him into the Marvel Universe via a story that starred Captain Britain and

Captain Britain, then still a baseline human, was working as a research assistant at the Darkmoor Research Centre when the nuclear complex was suddenly attacked by a man named Joshua Stragg (the Reaver). In his efforts to escape, Brian was chased over a cliff. Roma, then calling herself "the Lady of the Northern Skies", appeared to him and offered him the chance to become a hero. Her father, Merlyn, was with her during this first encounter with Brian. Roma urged him to choose between two weapons, the Sword of Might, or the Amulet of Right; Roma's decision to offer him salvation and power rode on this choice. Brian subsequently made the correct choice, choosing the Amulet.[3]

Roma and her father exist in another dimension called

Aside from endowing Captain Britain with great physical strength, Roma also originally gave him a quarterstaff, a weapon that could be used for direct attack or emit a protective force field. Merlyn eventually replaced the staff with Captain Britain's Star Scepter.^[4]

Roma would eventually replace her father as the Omniversal Guardian and ruler of Otherworld, thinking her father had died. In fact, Merlyn had faked his death so he could manipulate future events while being safe from his enemies.

Roma eventually discovered that Merlyn was still alive.[15] Merlyn, in disguise, manipulated Captain Britain into confronting Roma and she removed the jinx and told him about the secret threat.^{[volume & issue needed]} Excalibur encountered the threat shortly afterwards: Necrom, Merlyn's teacher had been planning for millennia to use the Phoenix Force to increase his own power. Roma persuaded Excalibur to destroy Merlyn's tower in the multiversal energy matrix, but prevented Merlyn from killing Excalibur. The combined powers of Excalibur defeated Necrom as Merlyn had planned.^[16] Roma told Excalibur that from now on, they would be free to determine their own destiny.

Roma was captured and impersonated by the villain

Roma, after sending Captain Britain to Earth-616, briefly appears to Captain Britain in a dream, telling him that he only has 48 hours to save Earth-616, which Saturnyne states has become a "causality cancer".^[19]

X-Men: Die by the Sword

Mad Jim Jaspers and Fury return to attack the Starlight Citadel in a plan orchestrated by Roma's father Merlyn. During the battle, Roma is mortally wounded and gives all her knowledge to

Lady Roma has since been revealed to have been restored to life. She is seen along with Saturnyne expressing their concerns about the Incursions that are destroying many dimensions when they are interrupted by Spider-UK who reveals that all the spiders across the multiverse are being hunted and killed. Saturnyne rebuffs him rude and coldly, but Roma sympathizes with him and gives him a talisman that allows him to travel through the web of life in order to save all the remaining spiders.^[21]

The Floating Kingdom

Following the rebirth of all existence after the Incursion crisis, Roma lost her position as the Omniversal Majestrix and ruler of Otherworld to Saturnyne and split apart from her father, Merlyn.^[22] This is the result of a deal she made with Saturnyne in the future Otherworld province Blightspoke, after Otherworld was destroyed by Mapmakers.^[23][24] They agreed that she would rebuild Otherworld with the Mapmakers power and become Omniversal Magestrix in exchange for making the Fair Courts for her to rule and the Foul Courts for her father to rule, allowing her to finally achieve power outside her fathers control.^[25] She created the Floating Kingdom of Roma Regina, which become one of the provinces of the Fair Courts in Otherworld, but due to her desire for freedom and lawlessness, her queendom has become a chaotic (but gentle) hedonism ranging from candylands, ruckus dance halls, neon playrooms, and lusty pleasure zones.^[26]

As shown in an arc in