Art by Thuddleston
- Name: Arkady Rossovich
- Code Names: Omega Red
- First Appearance: X-Men #4 (Jan ’92)
- Powers: Mutant Death Factor
- Teams Affiliation: N/A
About
One common criticism of comics writing is that, at the end of the day, it is all glorified fan fiction. The creators of the modern age weren’t the original creators of these characters, and now fans are essentially writing the heroes that they grew up with. In the eyes of many, the inmates are now running the asylum. Now overall, this theory has significant problems and severely discounts the importance of editorial influence, but it is easy to see how it developed. The X-Men weren’t impacted by this for the longest time, sure Stan and Jack were off the book by issue #20 but the characters were really defined by Claremont’s 17 year run. That means it took till the 90’s for anyone new to really leave their mark, and Jim Lee left his with Omega Red.
Arkady Rossovich was a bastard. A sadistic, brutal soldier who couldn’t keep the killing on the battlefield. When the military discovered the young girls he had murdered and the small town he wiped out, they put a bullet in his head. Arkady’s mutant abilities allowed him to survive and the KGB knew they had found the perfect candidate. Not wanting to be beholden to anyone’s will but his own, Arkady ran, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. These murders attracted the attention Interpol agent Sean Cassidy, the mutant later known as Banshee. Interpol had been keeping the murders out of the public eye, even going as far as reassigning Sean off the case, but he pushed on. Banshee found Arkady, who had been waiting for someone to find him and kill him. The KGB had discovered the Russian mutant’s abilities and Arkady was not going to willingly subject himself to their experiments. He released his death spores to put Banshee in a kill or be killed situation and Sean answered by unloading a clip into the monster. Interpol collected the body, somehow still alive, and turned Arkady into the sovereign Soviet government. The Kremlin was more than happy to oblige.
Art by Tom Grummett, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Buccellato
In the thick of the Cold War, USSR leadership was looking for any advantage they could find. It was an arms race and with Captain America and the Invaders leading the charge in World War II, Russia knew it was behind in terms of superhuman soldiers. They learned of a vibranium alloy that was nearly indestructible, the Canadians were calling it adamantium, and they went about finding a way to synthesize it. They were able to make a substance, radioactive, weaker yes, but much more malleable. This was something they could use. They called in carbonadium and with it, they went about their work. They crafted tentacles out of the metal and implanted them into Arkady, He would be their final weapon, the ultimate killing machine, the essence of the Soviet armed response. He was christened Omega Red.
The Weapon X program sent in their operatives, Wolverine, Sabertooth, and Maverick, to extract a double agent who had been working with the Soviets. They escaped with an additional piece of cargo, the Carbonadium Synthesizer, an essential device to complete Omega Red’s bonding process, and Arkady was not willing to be imperfect. He battled with Wolverine’s team, killing the double agent, but it was all for naught, the synthesizer was lost. The carbonadium was slowly poisoning him and he would have to feed on others to stave off death.
Art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Joe Rosas
Omega Red proved to be too much for the Soviet’s to control and they placed him in suspended animation. Hand leader Matsu’o Tsurayaba learned about this weapon and looked to use him for his own goals. He bought the living weapon and gave him an offer, they had a common enemy in Wolverine and Matsu’o wanted to go after him. Omega Red attacked the mansion and captured Wolverine, he brutally beat the Canucklehead to find the location of the Carbonadium Synthesizer. Logan broke after seventeen straight hours of torment but his X-Men teammates, alongside Maverick, were able to find him and stop Omega Red.
Art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Joe Rosas
Omega Red bounced around from appearance to appearance from there, most notably when he came for revenge on Banshee. Sean had taken residence at the Massachusetts Academy as the headmaster for Generation X. Arkady attacked Banshee and left him for dead, wanting to take it a step further by killing his students. His death spores infected Generation X, but Chamber was left unaffected. Chamber was able to surprise Omega Red with his psionic blasts and protect his teacher and school.
Art by Tom Grummett, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Buccellato
Omega Red continued to appear as a glorified mook over the years, driven by his hatred for Wolverine. This would prove to be his undoing when Romulus manipulated circumstances so that Wolverine and Arkady would have one final battle for supremacy. The fight was intense, part manipulation and spy craft, part straight up brawl. Omega Red taunted Wolverine, threatening his son Daken and that was enough for Logan to end it. Wolverine shoved the Muramasa blade through Omega Red’s heart finally killing the Russian mutant.
Art by Scot Eaton, Andrew Hennessy, and Andy Troy
Some years later, the cloning organization, the White Sky, was contracted to create three cloned “children” titled Omega Red, Omega Black, and Omega White. They were implanted with memories of X-Force killing their parents and they were hell bent on destroying them. To that end, they joined Daken’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and joined in the manipulation of Evan Sabah Nur. Black was killed, Red incapacitated, and White was used as a prison for the Shadow King.
Art by Jerome Opeña and Justin Ponsor
Must Read
So Omega Red isn’t exactly a driving force of the stories he is in. He is a cool guy to fight and can be dynamic to draw, but no one would confuse him with someone who is deep. I’m tempted to suggest the X-Men: The Animated Series episode A Deal with the Devil where he holds to world hostage and is generally generic but fun. However, his first appearance remains the icon arc of Jim Lee’s tenure on the X-Men. This story is a blend of everything people remember about the 90’s, Wolverine spy action, amazing art, and a story that falls apart under a bit of scrutiny. It is a fun, classic story that at the very least looks great. You can find X-Men #4-7 in most comic shop long boxes or on Marvel Unlimited.
Art by Jim Lee
Ranking
It is important to take a moment and realize just how much of a “fan” idea this character was. Omega Red, more than Sabertooth, was the evil version of the most popular X-Man of 1991. He was Russian, the enemy in every action movie of the previous forty years. He was the product of a super soldier program with metal implanted into his arms. He had the exact opposite of Wolverine’s mutant healing factor, a mutant death factor. He was exactly what a fan would come up with in a character, he was a twist on an existing concept that people loved. This doesn’t make him bad, but it is worth noting. There is another very 90’s villain on the list already in Exodus, and while he is a deeper character, Omega Red is far more memorable. Looking up the list, Armor is another character who is visually stunning but doesn’t have the most depth, but I like Astonishing X-Men a lot more than Jim Lee’s work. Right below her is Skids and Omega Red wins that one because writers know what to do with him, it isn’t much but enough to make him the new #28 in the Xavier Files.
Omega Red was requested by the appropriately named /u/1RedOne on Reddit and voted on by readers like you. Thanks for the request and support. If you want to cut to the front of the line, we have a Patreon if you want to support it and get a line cutting reward for just a $1 pledge. We just hit our first goal and just need $8 for me to start reviewing every X-Book each week. Oh and we also have exclusive physical items so check those out!
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Next week you get to vote and I get to write. These two have been on this list for months now so let’s give them the love they deserve.
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— Xavier Files (@XavierFiles) October 26, 2016
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Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
