Kid Omega Gets Busy Living In X-Force #17

In a perfect world, X-Force wouldn’t be necessary. And in a perfect world, Quentin Quire wouldn’t have died so much. Kid Omega gets a new lease on life in X-Force #17 brought to us by Benjamin Percey, Joshua Cassara, Guru-eFX and Joe Caramanga.

Kenneth Laster: So the mad lads have finally done it…given us a Kid Omega focused issue. And it was…ok? There’s a lot here I liked and a handful of stuff that made me go “huh ok.”

Ari Bard: I actually really like this issue a lot. Quentin Quire has always had more going on than just his asshole persona, but very few creative teams strive to bring more out of the character. I think what we got here was an introspective single-character issue that goes toe-to-toe with the rest of the solo spotlights we’ve seen in the Dawn of X era. Shall we dive in, Kenneth?

X-Force: Threat or Menace?

KL: Let’s dive in! But before we get our introspective desert we must eat our plot-tastic veggies which in this case is a mysterious “thingy” making people believe members of X-Force are attacking humans. This is probably the weird Quire clone from that time he died in Russia yeah?

AB: I’d have to agree, especially when considering the return of the mysterious peacock man at the end of the issue. It certainly seems like there’s an evil henchman running around with a piece of Quire’s skin, which is… deeply unsettling to say the least. It’s also quite dangerous because despite Quire’s many many deaths, he is a very powerful mutant. Just including a scene like this is brilliant on Percy’s part, as he is able to tie together one of the many X-Force threats still at large with some growth for the most underdeveloped character on the team, not to mention some brutal art from Cassara, telepathic and otherwise. What were your thoughts, Kenneth?

KL: I like the concept well enough! And I do really enjoy Percy returning to a cliffhanger which…I always want more of. I also think the mystery was well set up with the boat in the beginning and the hospital memories. I enjoyed the datapage in particular, specifically calling out disinformation and distrust as a malicious tactic which is very relevant in our reality. I do also enjoy all of the clues being there to piece together what’s going on but…I can’t help but think this is very similar to the Reverse Domino situation from earlier in this run.

An introspective issue surrounding death and resurrection with a character facing a corrupted version of themselves or someone with their abilities from Xeno. I’m trying to parse whether this parallel is intentional or if Percy’s biting from himself with this and I’m not sure what the story would have to show me to convince me which way. It’s definitely a lighter take on those story beats and I do enjoy where it’s going so I can’t complain but if Quire has a ski chase with a color swapped version of himself I will have to say something. I could also just fully be wrong about what’s going on. Any more thoughts on what Xeno’s up to? Is them taking X-Force’s identity and twisting them a #theme of the book?

AB: I think it is a #theme of this book, and I understand where you’re coming from, especially in this scenario where Domino still hasn’t really reached a catharsis with the fact that Colossus took her memories “for her own good.” This is one of those situations where all of the threads Percy’s left hanging over the issues may have come back to bite him. That being said, we aren’t close to Quentin’s resolution either, so there’s still time to masterfully bring Domino into the conflict as well when things heat up versus Xeno.

I also want to highlight the fact that this is affecting the two heroes in vastly different ways. Domino was dealing with a much more reserved and internal crisis. She simply didn’t feel like herself, and that started when Xeno stole her skin and thus part of her luck. Quentin’s crisis stems from a much deeper set of insecurities that we can trace back through his entire history. Xeno is the vehicle in which he can hash out this trauma, but I think consequences from any one of his deaths could have been used. I think this is much deeper for Quentin than a corrupt version of himself or someone misusing his powers or even disinformation. I think this is a moment of crisis for Quentin because he feels useless when he is one of the most powerful mutants in the world. He is an Omega level mutant. There is no one stronger than him at what he does, yet he is weak. He has died time after time well before he could ever use his abilities in full. Unless he resolves that (which we’ll get into further) his internal crisis started before Xeno and will continue after. Any other thoughts before we dive into the root of Quentin’s insecurities?

KL: Fascinating perspective! Let’s hop into the many deaths of Quentin Quire!

Death(s) Plural

AB: Alright so there’s a lot to unpack here, but I thought we’d start things off on a lighter note first. What’s your favorite Quentin Quire death and why?

KL: The Acid Bath Bomb of course. I really hope it had a very obvious “Do Not Put In Water” label on it for comedic purposes. What about you?

AB: The Acid Bath Bomb is an instant classic, but I think I’ll have to go with the one where Quentin ends up through a Krakoan gate on one of Saturn or Jupiter’s moons. I do not think that this was a known location for a Krakoan gateway, nor do I know what it would be used for, but I hope he just accidentally walked through one that said “Europa” instead of “Europe, Paris” or something stupid like that.

KL: Honestly he’s two planets off for this being technically Zack’s fault [Ed. note: that being CXF EiC Zachary Jenkins, you know, me, hi folks!]. The infamous gate to Galm/Mars. But turning to the nitty gritty, Quentin dying so much…kinda getting to him at this point. What are your thoughts on the self loving, self loathing Omega Mutant?

AB: I loved this part of the issue and the way in which Percy breaks Quentin open for us is magnificent. Quentin’s been presented as an asshole since his creation but I think many writers have hinted that there’s more going on underneath the surface. The problem is that other writers treat Quentin Quire at face value, and since it’s hard to write a large part of a character’s personality as a coping mechanism, we’re often left with a Kid Omega at face value. Percy cuts through all of that simple by being more explicit using phoebe and it works superbly well.

I’m a DC guy at heart, so I can’t help but make a comparison when one comes to me, but Quentin, especially in this story, feels very similar to Plastic Man. His over-the-top confidence, his extremely strong confidence, the often reliance on absurdism surrounding his character, and the reformation he’s been trying to go through all remind me of the journey Plastic Man went through from when he started as a reformed criminal. I am super excited to see Quentin face a similar reckoning and I am glad that he has someone like Phoebe by his side to help him through it. What did you think Kenneth?

KL: I think I like it? I like the exploration in context of the Quire we’ve seen in this series and as a stand alone exploration it works. But I think in Quire’s broader comics history I don’t know how well I can roll with it. I kind of came to know Quire through Kelly Thompson’s recent West Coast Avengers run and I read his first appearance in New X-Men after that and those two depictions of the character are so radically different and in filling out some missing pieces from reading and some slack discussions there’s a sense of there hasn’t really been a key redemptive arc that bridges the Quentin Quire who was a full on villain that got Phoebe’s sister killed and the loveable scamp we have here today. So I kind of feel like looking at this issue in that larger framework, Quire’s introspection falls flat for me.

I feel like Percy has done decent work consolidating the continuity that makes some of the leads in this more problematic character such as making Colossus’s behavior more explicit and bringing Beast’s war crimes into full view, so it feels really off that we have Quire explore his baggage and completely ignore that he was responsible for killing his girlfriend’s sister. It feels like wasted story potential in my opinion in comparison to the new revelations on his childhood.

AB: I definitely see what you’re saying. I honestly don’t have the continuity knowledge with regard to Kid Omega to diver super deep into whether or not he has had enough of a redemption arc since Morrison to atone or even if there is such a thing. [Ed. note: I have read every Quire appearance and can confidently say that literally every damn story about his is a slow redemption arc.]

I think that this can still be that redemptive arc for him and that we’re only beginning, after all we only slightly get a peek into his childhood and a few other introspective moments before things go haywire, and there’s an investigation to balance. It’s still possible that to deal with all of these other deaths that he feels in some way at fault for, he’ll have to deal with one of the first deaths he caused in the mutant community. I think for what this issue was, it still provided a lot of depth we don’t often see. I’m not sure I’d file this part of his past under being completely ignored quite yet.

KL: Fair. fair. I do have to remember that it is only one part of a story but I also feel eager for Percy to wrap a thread up as soon as possible just from the history of this book kind of feeling distracted from issue to issue. I’m a child of structure. I cannot help it. But speaking of children which are born and can also be reborn.

Rebirth Singular

KL: Quentin’s little psychic key unlocking is orphan traumas gave him something of a rebirth wouldn’t you say?

AB: I would definitely agree here. That being said, this is where the issue fell the most flat for me. I think Percy and Cassara had an opportunity to show the trauma a bit better in the splash page. We only see various images of Quentin crying and aging as a child, and that doesn’t really inform us of the environment that shaped who Quentin Quire is, and we only know that his biological parents were the first people he killed because he tells us. This was the weakest part of the storytelling for me, but it transitions to a rather fun scene where Quentin is able to barely dip his toe into changing for the better wouldn’t you say?

KL: I agree. The art was absolutely gorgeous but boy oh boy was that a lot of telling over showing. I’m not sure if there was a lot of information in the past on Quire’s parents so to learn so much about them and his biological parents all off panel was a lot to take in. It honestly felt like there was some set up somewhere that I missed. It feels like it would have hit harder if we had to think about Quentin Quire’s parents…ever. But, hey. His little strut to Jumbo’s was fun! Love that a new lease on life involves avoiding falling Acme Pianos. Definitely could hear the little music from the Spider-Man 3 jazz walk. Thoughts on the ensuing fashion show?

AB: Would it be bad if I said that while Quentin chose the outfit that probably fits him best, it’s the one I liked the least? While I would love to see the hoops Marvel and artists would have to jump through if Quentin chose to be Glob Omega (Kid Herman?), and a morph suit is always fun, Quentin’s new outfit exudes his confidence. The only thing it needs is overalls. What were your thoughts, Kenneth?

KL: I love the skintight onesie with a domino mask. Honestly more explicit that the Glob Goo. But I do think the final design is pretty slick. I’d want some more happening on the bottom half but it’s a clean look. Also nice and black just in case his new “not dying” thing doesn’t work out in the next issue.

X-Traneous Thoughts

“Too much pee-pee” Quentin? Well you were the one who specified the [redacted] adjustments, so who’s to blame?
Talk about dickishness in more ways than one am I right? This data page really got me though, and now we need a whole book of requests for the five and their ensuing snarky reactions.
I like that he canonically is aerodynamic aside from his hair cut.
Also I can’t tell if I love or hate the lip bite kiss…maybe I’m clutching my pearls or maybe lip too stretchy.
Krakoan reads: NIGHTMARE VISIONS