Jump to content

Omega Red

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Omega Red
Omega Red as depicted in X-Men (vol. 2) #18 (March 1993). Art by Andy Kubert.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceX-Men (vol. 2) #4 (January 1992)[1]
Created byJohn Byrne (writer)
Jim Lee (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoArkady Gregorivich Rossovich
SpeciesHuman mutant
Team affiliationsThe Hand
Red Mafia
Weapon X-Force
The Marauders
Notable aliasesArkady Gregorivich
Vasyliev Arkady
Abilities

Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. In 2009, Omega Red was ranked as IGN's 95th-greatest comic book villain of all time.[2]

The character made his live-action debut through a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2, portrayed by Dakoda Shepley.[3] Additionally, Len Doncheff, Richard Newman, and Colin Murdock have voiced Omega Red in animation.

Publication history

[edit]

Omega Red first appeared in X-Men #4 (vol. 2, January 1992), and was created by Jim Lee and John Byrne.[4]

Fictional character biography

[edit]

Little is known about the past of Arkady Rossovich except that he was a serial killer born in Soviet Russia. He was captured by the Interpol agent Sean Cassidy and turned over to the KGB, which wanted to experiment and attempt to create a supersoldier similar to Captain America. Omega Red was given carbonadium coils in his arms that slowly poison him and require him to drain the life force of others to survive.[5][6]

At some time in the past, the Soviet government decided that Omega Red was too unpredictable and treacherous to be relied upon. As such, he was placed in cryogenic suspended animation until a method could be found to control him. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Omega Red is revived by Matsu'o Tsurayaba, the leader of the Hand. Omega Red became a warrior serving Tsurayaba and was led to believe that Wolverine knew the whereabouts of the Carbonadium Synthesizer which could save his life, and sought him out in an effort to find this device. In doing so, he comes into conflict with the X-Men many times.[7][8][9]

Omega Red is killed after being stabbed in the heart by Wolverine.[10] The members of the Church of St. Mitrophan later obtain Omega Red's corpse and resurrect him in a mystical ceremony. However, the resurrection is incomplete, leaving Omega Red in danger of dying again until the Russian mafia uses Magik's abilities to restore him.[11]

During the Krakoan Age, Omega Red seeks asylum at Krakoa. Wolverine tries to persuade Magneto that Omega Red is too dangerous to be allowed on the island, as he poses a serious threat to its residents. Omega Red is captured by Dracula, who gives him the Carbonadium Synthesizer in exchange for serving him.[12]

It is later revealed that Omega Red has been killed under unknown circumstances.[13] He is resurrected by the Five, but has no memory of his death or rebirth, allowing him to serve X-Force as a double agent.[14]

Powers and abilities

[edit]

Omega Red is a mutant with superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes, and the ability to secrete pheromones referred to as "Death Spores". The spores are fatal to humans and can kill within seconds. Furthermore, Omega Red possesses durable carbonadium coils in his wrists and the ability to drain the life force of others.

Omega Red is an excellent hand-to-hand combatant and military tactician. He was trained in various forms of armed and unarmed combat by both the Soviet government and various organizations throughout the Japanese and Russian criminal underworlds. Highly intelligent, he has quickly become highly skilled in the management of criminal organizations.

Reception

[edit]

In 2018, CBR.com ranked Omega Red 17th in their "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World" list.[15]

Other versions

[edit]

Age of Apocalypse

[edit]

An alternate universe variant of Omega Red from Earth-295 appears in "Age of Apocalypse". This version is a businessman with ties to the mutant underground and the black market.[16]

Days of Future Now

[edit]

An alternate universe variant of Omega Red appears in "Days of Future Now" as a member of X-Force.[volume & issue needed]

Ultimate Marvel

[edit]

An alternate universe variant of Omega Red from Earth-1610 appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint. This version is an enemy of Spider-Man who possesses organic tentacles.[17]

Ultimate Universe

[edit]

An alternate universe variant of Omega Red from Earth-6160 appears in the Ultimate Universe imprint. This version is a member of the Rasputin family, who rule over Russia.[18]

In other media

[edit]

Television

[edit]

Film

[edit]
  • Omega Red appears in Hulk Vs, voiced by Colin Murdock.[19][21] This version is a member of Weapon X's Team X.
  • Omega Red makes a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2, portrayed by Dakoda Shepley. This version is a prisoner of a mutant prison called the Ice Box.[3]
  • An Omega Red film was in development at 20th Century Fox before it was canceled.[22]

Video games

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Misiroglu, Gina Renée; Eury, Michael (2006). The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9780780809772.
  2. ^ Omega Red is number 95 Archived August 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine IGN. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Han, Angie (August 6, 2018). "Omega Red shows his face in this bonus feature from Deadpool 2: Watch". Mashable. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  4. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  5. ^ Generation X #11 (January 1996)
  6. ^ Maverick: In the Shadow of Death #1 (1997). Marvel Comics.
  7. ^ X-Men (vol. 2) #4–7 (January - April 1992)
  8. ^ X-Men (vol. 2) #18–19 (March - April 1993)
  9. ^ Uncanny X-Men #497–499 (June - August 1998)
  10. ^ Wolverine: Origins #39 (October 2009)
  11. ^ X-Men Gold (vol. 2) #9–10 (October 2017)
  12. ^ Wolverine (vol. 7) #1 (April 2020)
  13. ^ X Lives of Wolverine #2 (March 2022)
  14. ^ X-Force (vol. 6) #27 (June 2022)
  15. ^ Lealos, Shawn S. (September 16, 2018). "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World". CBR. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  16. ^ X-Man #2 (April 1995)
  17. ^ Ultimate Spider-Man #86–87 (January - February 2006)
  18. ^ Ultimate Invasion #2 (September 2023)
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Omega Red Voices (X-Men)". Behind the Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.). Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  20. ^ Jennings, Collier (May 2, 2024). "Each of Those Cameo Appearances in X-Men '97's Latest Episode, Explained". Collider. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Valentin, Mel (January 28, 2009). "Movie Review - Hulk Vs.". efilmcritic.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  22. ^ Couch, Aaron (June 14, 2019). "Longtime X-Men Editor Shares His Abandoned Beast Script". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  23. ^ "GameFAQs: X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (SNES) FAQ/Walkthrough by Black Rabite". www.gamefaqs.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2007.
  24. ^ "X2: Wolverine's Revenge (Game Boy Advance) - All Bosses/Cutscenes". YouTube. 24 August 2022.
  25. ^ @MarvelPuzzle (July 27, 2023). "Check out MPQ's newest Original Character take on Omega Red (Horseman of Pestilence)! ☠️ Swear fealty to Apocalypse and don the mantle of a Horseman to gain the power to steal life itself from your foes" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ Damore, Meagan (July 27, 2023). "Piecing Together MARVEL Puzzle Quest: Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich) & Omega Red (Horseman of Pestilence)". Marvel.com. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Omega_Red&oldid=1291342170"