Neutralizer

"Oh, sure, go ahead. Melt him with your scary laser."

Hallmark of theSpace Knights,theNeutralizeris a deadly weapon utilized in their war against theDire Wraiths.

Though the weapon will drop any Wraith it hits, its effectiveness on Cybertronians is very inconsistent.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

Rom's first experience with a Neutralizer came when theDire WraithsinvadedElonia,whereupon he grabbed Diavod's discarded weapon and fired at the Wraith that had once been his mother. While she escaped, Rom impressed the Knights with how he handled the weapon and was invited to join their ranks.Nikomiexplained that the weapon had multiple settings, the higher the setting, the longer it would take to recharge. By the time Rom had graduated, the Mark III Neutralizer had been released but Rom's group still used older models, much to his ire.

When attacked by Dire Wraiths, the obsolete Neutralizer failed to work before it was absorbed bya mysterious alien oreand enhanced.Cold Fire

When the Wraith/Solstar War moved into the larger galaxy, it was deemed unacceptable that a Neutralizer fall into Wraith hands, with any collateral damage taken to prevent this being deemed acceptable. The Neutralizers could be detached from a Knight's armor and transformed into a javelin like weapon.Earthfall, Part 4

Neutralizers came in a variety of forms, with several Space Knights chose to integrate multiple Neutralizers into their armor.Reinforcements, Part 1Combining multiple Neutralizers produced increasingly devastating effects, with the effect being used to shatter theDire Wraith homeworld.InterludeShining Armor #1Long Roads to Ruin, Part 4

Two large scale models were built forStardrivethough, owing to her Camien heritage, these ones were integrated directly into her biology. SeveralWraith Soldiersattempted to kill CadetAuxinfor the chance to study his Neutralizer, only for Stardrive to defeat them. When theDecepticonsbroke ontoOrchid Crossing,Neutralizers proved only marginally effective against them, forcing Livia to use her light cannons to slayUrsa Major.Shining Armor #1When theAutobotsarrived, Rom fired his weapon atUltra Magnus,which did little damage and invited a powerful retaliatory strike. AfterSky Blasthad been infected by a Dire Wraith, Neutralizers had no effect on the resulting Wraith/Cybertronian hybrid. On the surface ofXetaxxis,Rom unleashed the full power of his Neutralizer on Ultra Magnus, downing him,Shining Armor #2but only for a second. Livia and Rom then combined their Neutralizers but Magnus resisted the onslaught. When Livia foughtStarscream,the Seeker was surprised that the weapon actually hurt. Attempting to bargain with Starscream, Stardrive bluffed that she would use her Neutralizer to destroy theenergon synthesizer.Shining Armor #3

When Stardrive attempted to defect from theSpace Knights,Livia used her Neutralizer to shoot down the cadet's jet mode. Stardrive simply turned to car mode and rammed Livia head-on while dodging another Neutralizer barrage.Satacame to her commander's defence but her Neutralizers simply annoyed the Camien. After cooler heads began to prevail and the Decepticon/Wraith alliance closed in for the kill, Rom used his to disintegrate several Wraiths trying to swarm them.Shining Armor #4

After being possessed byVekktral,Ultra Magnus managed to resist enough to open hissparkchamber and have Rom kill him.Shining Armor #5

Upon arriving onEarthin 2016, Rom used the full power and spread of his Neutralizer to completely raze Cooper's Mill to the ground with enough precision to spare Darby Mason's house, though doing so had left his weapon drained.Earthfall, Part 2At its lowest setting, his Neutralizer would have the precision to removeCamilla Byers's Wraithmark, but the process stood a chance of killing her anyways.Earthfall, Part 3

Though the Neutralizer could function as a sniper-rifle,Long Roads to Ruin, Part 1it had a limited range in this regard and would need to revert to large spread firing mode to kill its targets.Earthfall, Part 4Rom used his weapon to slaythe false Joe Coltonand four false other G.I. Joes.Concorde HymnDuring at heated debate inAutobot City,Rom fired the full power of his weapon directly atOptimus Primewho, despite being blown back the kinetic force of the attack, was undamaged.O Ship of State

When forced into combat withOrphion,Rom absorbed his commander's Neutralizer from right out his armor.Reinforcements, Part 4The physical weapon was merely a conduit however, as Neutralizer energy could be channeled directly through the armor. Orphion sent his Neutralizer energy down the Wraith drill shaft in an attempt to destroy Earth.

Though he succeeded in slaying theWraith Sorcerersbelow, the majority of his energy was absorbed by thePresence.Reinforcements, Part 5The three Space Knights combined all three of their Neutralizers to destroy theWraith Priest.Interlude

AfterLivia's energy had been drained by the Presence,Long Roads to Ruin, Part 2Rom used his Neutralizer energy to resuscitate her, but this left them both drained of energy. Using what little Neutralizer energy they had, they jury rigged two boats into bombs before fashioning Neutralizer spears to combatScylla's army.Long Roads to Ruin, Part 3

Rom's Neutralizer recharged in time to destroy Scylla's extra heads with Livia's recharging in time for the two to slay the Wraith general.Long Roads to Ruin, Part 4

Later on, Rom was approached by theMicronautsregarding a Dire Wraith plot, but they read as Wraiths to his Analyzer, prompting him to attack.Micronauts: First StrikeThe Micronauts' small size allowed them to dodge the Neutralizer beforeAcroyearsliced it in two. Though in pain from the weapon's destruction, Rom fired Neutralizer energy from his eyes at the Micronauts beforeBiotronconvinced him to stand down. Afterwards, Rom reabsorbed his weapon and used it to burn the Wraith-taint off his allies. Catching up with the Dire Wraiths at a carnival, Rom used his weapon to slayD'rge's acolyte before destroying the Wraith virus.ROM: First Strike

InMicrospace,Rom attempted to utilize his Neutralizer to destroy the walls of the pyramid that funnelled theEntropy Cloud,only to find the walls impervious to attack. AfterMicrotronhad destroyed the walls with their starship, Rom flew straight to the conduit and destroyed it with a single blast.Entropy

When thePresenceawoke,Orphionturned the full power of his Neutralizer on the goddess but the attack had no effect. After Rom had been forciblyenerchangedwithBaron Karza,the Baron attempted to turn Rom's Neutralizer on the Micronauts only to find the Space Knight had enough willpower to force it away from his allies. When Rom forced Karza's hand to shunt theEntropy Cloudinto the dimension of the Presence, Rom and Livia fired their Neutralizers at the goddess to prevent her from retaliating.Gods and Monsters

Rom later tracked down a group of humans who had come into contact with a Dire Wraith, turning his Neutralizer on their bootlegEarth Defense Commandweapons.Unstopped and Unstoppable

Toys

Revolution

• Revolution Set(SDCC Gift Set,2017)

Released as part of a San Diego Comic-Con 2017 exclusive set, the Rom the Space Knight action figure included a Neutralizer which the figure could hold. Like Rom himself, its design is based on the classic look fromMarvel’sROMcomics, even though the figure is meant to represent theIDWincarnation.