RAINBOW
RAINBOW
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial
(Galadorian) cyborg (Spaceknight);
active circa the late 1700s and the modern era, at least
Occupation: Spaceknight, soldier
Group Membership: Spaceknights of Galador (Astra, Hammerhand, Javelin/Darin, Rom, Screamer, Starshine/Landra, Terminator; possibly Roamer)Affiliations: Angel Elite
Enemies: Dire Wraiths,
Galactus (Galan), Mentus (the evil aspect of the Prime Director), Terrax the Tamer (Tyros of Lanlak);
formerly Terminator (Spaceknight);
fought
the Angel Elite when they were allied with Terminator, who posed as Rom
and was controlled by Mentus
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
perished on Galador, third from the sun in the Taloman system, Milky Way Galaxy
presumably born on Galador
First Appearance: Rom#25 (December 1981)
Powers/Abilities:
Rainbow's primary ability was the projection of emotion-manipulating
energies from her optic units. She tended to use a radiating spectrum
of emotions/energies, each of which presumably correlated to a specific
color, sending her targets through an emotional roller coaster and
often leaving them so emotionally depleted that they lacked the ability
to fight further.
Certain beings lacking specific
emotional capacities were resistant to some of her abilities; for
example, Terrax had minimal capacity for pity, and her efforts to try
to force that emotion on him backfired, allowing him to recover and
strike back. 
Rainbow is composed of a heavily armored cybernetic exoskeleton, an electrically maintained flexible metallic armor, Plandanium, which included fluid “motors” that gave her strength. Rainbow's central and autonomic nervous system were “genetically grafted” into a computerized cybernetic exoskeleton. Her brain was augmented by organic computer assemblies and kept alive in a blood-like fluid that still had to be circulated through her body’s vital organs to be provided with essential enzymes and vitamins with trace elements. Certain components of the “blood’s” plasma-like fluid were added to by automatic machinery that required occasional replenishment; this eliminated the need for breathing.
Although, as a cyborg, Rainbow did not sleep, she occasionally self-induced a “shutdown” of all her major systems in order to give herself time to rest and dream.
She had an unspecified level of superhuman strength; as Rom, "greatest of the Spaceknights," could lift around 15 tons, Rainbow presumably could lift less than that. She did not utilize strength or physical combat in any of her appearances.
Rainbow was resistant to injury by conventional means due to her Plandanium armor, and she could survive for extended periods in the cold and vacuum of space. Her armor was likely capable of withstanding temperatures similar to other Spaceknights, ranging from perhaps 8000 degrees Fahrenheit to –350 degrees Fahrenheit (or possibly somewhat lower on the high end), and was a hermetically sealed, vacuum tight, seamless shell (including articulation). Her armor may have been capable of withstanding ballistic impacts of up to large antitank weaponry, and overpressures of up to 40 pounds per square inch (the equivalent of the blast effects of 1000 pounds of TNT at the range of 100 feet) without damage or impairment of functions.
Rainbow’s natural organs
within
her armor were augmented by automated micro-functioning circuitry. Rainbow’s cyborg form was designed with numerous site of redundancy
programming so that her body could not lose her various abilities
through
damage or malfunction.
However, she was vulnerable to the high-level energies of the Power
Cosmic, such as those possessed by a Herald of Galactus, such as Terrax
the Tamer.
Rainbow could fly, both within an atmosphere and in space. She may or may not have been equipped with rocket pods mounted in twin nacelles on her back. If so, these pods would have been electrically powered, low-density plasma engines with sufficient velocity to achieve solar system escape velocity (36 mile per second, out of atmosphere). Her peak speed within an atmosphere was unrevealed but likely comparable to (or perhaps somewhat slower) than that of Starshine, who could reach a maximum speed of Mach 4 (about 3000 miles per hour) before heat buildup from friction caused detrimental effects to her external sensor arrays. Cool atmospheric re-entry was likely achieved through rocket-assisted deceleration.
Like some other Spaceknights, Rainbow likely contained internal sensing devices that allowed her to locate space warps (topological folds in the space/time continuum that permit “shortcuts” across vast interstellar distances).
Rainbow presumably possessed a translator
similar
to Rom's, though perhaps built-in, to enable her to communicate with
any
sentient being within seconds.
History:
(Rom#1 (fb) - BTS) - Circa the late 1700s
by Earth reckoning, the Dire Wraiths threatened Galador and her colonies.
Millions of youths volunteered to defend their homeworld by being bonded
into cyborg armor to become living weapons: The Spaceknights.
However, only around 1000 were initially found to be compatible, including an unidentified woman who became Rainbow. She joined her fellow Spaceknights in forming a defensive ring around Galador when the Wraiths invaded the home solar system, and after a long and arduous fight, the battle ended with the Wraiths routed and fleeing.
(Rom#13/2 - BTS) - With Galador saved, the Spaceknights hoped to have their humanity restored, but Galador's Prime Director reminded them that the Wraiths still threatened other, less protected worlds, and Rom, the first Spaceknight volunteer and respected for his heroism in the recent battle, rallied his fellow Spaceknights to remain cyborgs for a while longer, while they hunted the Wraiths to the end of the universe.
(Rom#20/2 (fb) - BTS) - Like her fellow Spaceknights, Rainbow swore an oath never take an innocent life.
(Rom#14/2 -BTS) - Pursued by the Spaceknights, the Wraiths targeted Galador's outpost worlds and neighbors. As they hunted their quarry, the Spaceknights split into smaller squadrons.
(Rom#25 (fb) - BTS) - When Rainbow returned to Galador, she was met by fellow Spaceknight Terminator -- who had been given a form mirroring Rom, the greatest of the Spaceknights by Mentus, the evil aspect of the Prime Director who had allied with Dire Wraiths and was in the process of transporting Galador to Wraithworld in the Dark Nebula -- posing as Rom.
Rainbow was presented to an adoring public as a conquering hero and then incapacitated and frozen in stasis by the Terminator.
Several other Spaceknights -- including Astra, Hammerhand, Javelin (Darin), Screamer, and Starshine (Landra) -- met similar fates.
(Rom#25) - Eventually the true Rom returned to Galador and freed the Prime Director, who in turn told him of the other Spaceknights' fate. Rom revived them all with his neutralizer. As the ice melted, the Spaceknights expressed joy at being freed, but Rom informed them that they still had to deal with Mentus, and so Rainbow and the other Spaceknights followed Rom into battle.
They soon encountered Angel
Elite who believed Terminator to be the true Rom, and thus that the
Spaceknights
were all impostors. After Starshine's use of her powers made some of
the Angels question whether any impostor could do that, Rainbow used
her emotion-manipulating powers to exhaust them and drain their will to
fight while noting that no shapeshifter could possess her powers,
either.
(Rom#25 - BTS) - The Spaceknights then confronted Terminator, Mentus and the latter's Dire Wraith allies. Mentus departed to hasten Galador's approach to the Dark Nebula, after which Starshine got through to Terminator, allowing him to break Mentus' control, and he turned his neutralizer on the Wraiths instead. '
(Rom#25) - After Rom welcomed Terminator back into the Spaceknights'
ranks, Rainbow and the other Spaceknights followed both of them in pursuing
Mentus. They ultimately encountered the Prime Director's spirit, who told them he had dealt with Mentus, but that this
had slain his frail body. However, though he felt
his spirit would soon be drawn to become part of some greater cosmic intellect, he
had held off doing so to warn them of a deadly danger approaching Galador: Galactus!
(Rom#26) - Galactus' worldship, Taa II, approached Galador, and Galactus exited, his arrival announced by his herald, Terrax. When the Spaceknights proved defiant, Terrax struck the ground with his axe, causing a shockwave that temporarily knocked them off their feet.
Rainbow and the others subsequently watched as the Prime Director's spirit sought to confront Galactus, only to be swiftly absorbed by him instead.
Rom rallied the Spaceknights to Galador's defense once more, and they attacked Terrax. Rainbow used her emotion-manipulating energies to enervate him, making him lose all desire to fight. However, when she attempted to make him feel pity for Galador's plight, this backfired, as he did not know pity, which allowed him to fight back, swatting her out of the air and onto the ground. After he reclaimed his axe -- which Javelin had knocked from his hands -- he projected a deadly blast of energy at Rainbow. Apparently dying, she told Starshine to avenge her.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema.
I adapted a significant amount of the "generic first generation
Spaceknight" history, abilities, and stats from Loki's Starshine
(Landra) profile.
As she only demonstrated
flight and her emotion powers, much of it is extrapolation based on the
detail provided in Rom's own OHotMU entries. It seems very likely that
most Spaceknights had similar construction/function, although Rom was
stronger than most. I would think he would be more durable than most,
but it their armors are composed of the same type of metal
(Plandanium), then they should have had a similar level of durability.
Their flying speeds would also seem comparable.
Rainbow may have been "frozen" for years, decades, or even the better part of two centuries...sometime after the Prime Director inadvertently created Mentus and Terminator returned to Galador.
In the "frozen" image, I think Rainbow is behind Starshine's left shoulder, but since I was not certain, I opted to include the whole image, big enough so you could see for yourself.
Rainbow never got a real name. If I could pick one for her, it would be Dia (dee-ya).
Roamer was a Spaceknight featured in a Marvel Novel...he will get a
profile in the next month or so, which will discuss the relevant
issues.
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Rainbow should be distinguished from:
Appearances: Official Handbook of
the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #12 (November,
1986) - Mark Gruenwald(writer/producer), Steve
Saffel, Peter Sanderson (writers/researchers), Elliot R. Brown
(technical illustrator), Sal Buscema (Spaceknights artist), Josef
Rubinstein (inker), Marc Siry, Harry Eisenstein, David Wohl (editorial assistants), Howard Mackie (assistant editor)
Rom#25 (December 1981) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Sal Buscema (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Rom#26 (January 1982) - Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, Al Milgrom
First posted: 02/21/2023
Last updated: 03/24/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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