Ro-Man
In Reality Z-25 31-H, Ro-Man was an extraterrestrial from the Crab Nebula and an enemy of Kaza (Reality Z-25 31-H); though appearing to be a gorilla in a helmet, Ro-Man was actually an energy being who merely possessed the simian body of an innocent alien named Hezton, with the helmet shielding Ro-Man from electromagnetic interference.
Description
Physical appearance
Ro-Man's true form was a vapor-like cloud of electrically-charged, glowing, greenish-yellow haze, with two malevolent gleaming eyes as its only stable feature. These eyes manifested in anyone he possessed, glowing out from behind the darkened visor of the round helmet he wore to protect himself from electromagnetic interference signals that might disrupt his possession. His best-known vessel was the large, gorilla-like alien Hezton. Shortly before his final defeat, he also possessed the human woman Deena Hancock. (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man)
Personality
Ro-Man was power-hungry and militaristic. He looked down on humans and other species different from his own, assuming them to be weaker than him on principle, even though he had a poor understanding of their culture and technology. Regardless of what body he inhabited, Ro-Man seemed to identify as male. (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man)
Powers & abilities
Like all members of his species, Ro-Man was capable of possessing organic beings, though he was weak to electromagnetic interference. He also had access to advanced technology, including a deadly laser-gun-type weapon. (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man)
Biography
A “few years” (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man) before 2010, (COMIC: The Serpent Sorceress) Ro-Man served as the “spearhead” of an attempted invasion of Earth. Happening to land in Buranda, he was resisted by an alliance of superheroes led by Blue Beetle and including Dynamo, Flame Girl, Samson and Zanzibar the Magician, with the latter nearly being killed by Ro-Man's “guard dog”, a giant bullet-proof lizard. Also involved were the non-superpowered jungle-heroes Kaza and Gwenna, who were able to help despite their human physiology because they knew the terrain better than any of the superbeings. Ultimately, the invasion was repelled with the help of the Space Patrol and Stardust the Super-Wizard. Ro-Man fled back to the Crab Nebula, nursing a personal grudge against Kaza for killing Rel-Mor, Ro-Man's “life-mate”.
In 2011, he returned to Earth in his personal saucer, still in the body of Hezton, with a plot to take revenge on Kaza by kidnapping and possessing his lover Gwenna and killing him using her body. Attacking the Adventurers Club, however, he mistook Gwenna's old friend Deena for her and abducted her instead. Kaza immediately tried to pursue him, but was delayed when he ran into Hezton, whose body Ro-Man had finally abandoned to possess Deena, and attacked him under the impression that he was simply a helmet-less Ro-Man. Meanwhile, Gwenna and Deena's husband Fred Hancock made their way to Ro-Man's saucer, which was guarded by his giant lizard. They were saved from it by Dynamo, whom Gwenna had alerted to the crisis, and who told them the truth about Ro-Man's nature, just in time for Kaza to be attacked by the possessed Deena.
Dynamo, Gwenna and Fred caught up to them just in time for Dynamo to use his energy powers to disarm “Deena”, forcing her to fight Gwenna hand-to-hand, something she failed miserably at due to Deena's lack of physical prowess compared to the athletic Gwenna. Rubbing this defeat in his face, Gwenna goaded Ro-Man into abandoning Deena's body to try and possess her; Dynamo then disrupted his energy using his powers, and forced him into his own protective helmet, which Fred then sealed, trapping him. Dynamo then left with the helmet-turned-prison, intending to hand it over to the Defense Department. (COMIC: Ruthless Ro-Man)
Behind the scenes
Ro-Man originated as the titular antagonist of the infamous 1953 low-budget B-movie Robot Monster. Although he is frequently believed to be in the public domain, this is not known for certain to actually be the case, with his usage in Kaza's Mate, Gwenna being unauthorised. Though borrowing the name and design of the original Ro-Man, the Kaza's Mate, Gwenna version is different in personality and origins, with the original Ro-Man (whose full designation was “Ro-Man Extension XJ-2”) being a largely-guileless enforcer to a more actively malevolent leader, as well as a member of a cyborg species of aliens from Mars with a similar body-plan rather than an energy being in a possessed body.
