Omega Red

Omega Red in X-Men: Gold v2 #10.

Omega Red is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.

Biography

Origin

Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich

He was born to a peasant family with him having a brother named Vassily Rossovich. During his youth, his Mutant powers began to develop where he began to act out his more violent tendencies against the local wildlife or beggars on the streets. Eventually, his family came to realise that Arkady was a Mutant with them unsure on how to approach to handling him. (Weapon X v3 #20)

Gregorivich came to be a soldier in the Spetsnaz border guard commando unit where in his early years he was noted to had secretly killing young pretty girls with this being unnoticed. This was until he was transferred to an outpost in the Arctic Circle where his murders came to be witnessed among the small populace in the area. He was arrested by the Red Army where they took him into a windowless cell with him being shot in the head as part of his summary execution. However, he survived leading to the Soviets deciding that they had found a candidate that could be put through their Super-Soldier process. By this point, most of the candidates for the Soviet Super-Soldier program had been mediocre with few volunteers and a 95% death rate. In Arkady, they found a candidate capable of surviving the bio-engineering process and they deemed his anti-social violent traits as a boon to the program. (Maverick v1 #1) At some point prior to his transformation, he managed to escape where he continued his murders during the Cold War period. Arkady's murders were initially covered up by the Russian government as they sought to use him as their personal agent and in exchange they kept him anonymous to the point that he did not appear to exist to the public at large. The trial of murders came under investigate by a rogue Interpol agent by the name of Sean Cassidy who tracked down Arkady to a castle. The Mutant wanted a final showdown with his pursuer and goaded Cassidy into killing him but the Irish officer refused to be Arkady's executioner. During the encounter, fellow Interpol agent Magrite Devereaux was killed by Arkady's Death Spore virus with Cassidy failing to save the French policewoman. This led to him formally arresting Arkady with the intention of sending him to prison. However, after his arrest, Arkady was taken in by a special interest group that sought to transform his body into being their Mutant assassin. (Generation X v1 #11)

After his transformation into a supersoldier, Omega Red's body struggled to cope with his Death Factor and he required a Carbonadium Synthesiser to manage his biology. Thus, around 30 years ago, a scientist named Janice Hollenbeck was involved in the experiment though she did not approve of the project and wanted a rescue. At the time, the C.I.A. deployed their elite Team X squad with recovering her and the Synthesiser leading to Omega Red battling Wolverine, Sabretooth and Maverick. He failed to recover the device and the scientist Janice was killed by Victor Creed. (X-Men v2 #6)

The Soviets attempted to employ Omega Red as a field operative despite his weakness, and he assisted the Flagwatch program in investigating an unknown mutant on the Siberian tundra. An Inuit fisherman named Katu Kath was electromagnetically reactive and unwittingly distorting Soviet military transmissions around the Arctic Circle. Omega Red and a military detachment attacked Katu’s village, killing everyone present. After the military officer on site informed Arkady that Katu’s power worked by refracting the energy through his fingertips, Omega Red solved the problem by ripping off the fisherman’s arms. (Cable v1 #10) Omega Red active proved too costly in terms of lives and resources. He was placed into suspended animation until a treatment for his condition could be found. All but forgotten during the fall of the Soviet Union. (X-Men v2 #2)

X-Men

He remained trapped within his containment cell in the mountain facility on the isle situated in the South Pacific. This was until his slumber was disturbed by agents of the Hand under the direction of Matsu'o Tsurayaba who had awakened the Russian supersoldier where he wanted his aid in killing Wolverine. Under Matsuo’s care, Hand scientists and mystics oversaw the resurrection of Omega Red. Twenty ninja lay hands upon the sleeping soldier and employed the Hand’s ancient rituals to restore Arkady to life. Arkady agreed to serve Matsu’o, joining forces with him and the Fenris Twins to seek revenge on Logan, now the X-Man known as Wolverine, and hopefully wrest the secret of the Carbonadium Synthesizer from him. Omega Red and the Hand attacked the X-Men in Westchester, kidnapping Wolverine and bringing him back to the Super-Soldier facility in East Berlin. (X-Men v2 #4) At the secret facility in Berlin, Wolverine was forced to fight against Omega Red for more than 17 hours hours. Their fight was monitored by Doctor Abraham Cornelius, Matsu'o Tsurayaba, and the Fenris twins in order to test Omega Red's stamina. Weakened by his fight with Omega Red and most notably by his death spores, Wolverine was rendered unconscious by the vicious attacks of his nemesis. Shortly after, the Fenris twins, Mastsu'o, Omega Red, and Doctor Cornelius examined Wolverine. Cornelius tried to perform several memory inversions in order to discover the location of the Carbonadium Synthesizer, the only thing that could stabilize Omega Red's powers. Once Omega Red's condition stabilized, the goal was for the Fenris twins to use him in order to gain dominance in the Upstarts and achieve immortality. Wolverine awoke from the drugs given to him by Cornelius, but was still restrained with Omega Red taunting him. Unknown to both men, Maverick was also present and he switched off the lights. When the lights came back on, Wolverine broke free and took out the guards. Knowing he could not defeat Omega Red in his condition, Wolverine taunted him before escaping with the help of Maverick, who then brought him to the German embassy in order for him to heal safely. At the same time, the X-Men Blue Team was also tracking Wolverine. When they arrived at the complex where Wolverine was held prisoner, Cyclops, Jubilee, and Beast were captured by Omega Red. (X-Men v2 #5)

Later in Siberia, Omega Red interrogated another Arkady about Olinka Barankova. When he explained that she defected to A.I.M. Omega Red killed him. (Iron Man v1 #295) When Iron Man battled M.O.D.A.M., Omega Red appeared, claiming that M.O.D.A.M. was Olinka Barankova, an intelligence agent from his past. M.O.D.A.M. had no memory of this, but prepared to battle Omega Red. (Iron Man v1 #296) While Omega Red and M.O.D.A.M. battled, Tony recovered and regained control of his armor. Brannex asked Iron Man to stop Omega Red, but he only agreed when Brannex promised to return all of the nuclear materials A.I.M. purchased from Stane International. M.O.D.A.M. denied being Olinka Barankova and observed that all A.I.M. records are falsified, but Omega Red refused to believe her. Iron Man arrived and saved M.O.D.A.M., but had to fight her off as well. (Iron Man v1 #297)

Omega Red picked up a lead to Maverick’s current whereabouts, and therefore a chance at locating the Carbonadium Synthesizer. He learned that a former KGB agent named Elena Ivanova was hunting for Maverick in the hopes he could aid her against Sabretooth, the man who killed her pregnant mother and forced her emergency delivery. A psi-talent, Elena was born imprinted with the memories of her mother’s last moments, giving her an innate, visceral hatred of Creed. Arkady tracked Elena and North to a shabby hotel in Ottawa, leading to a prolonged chase. North’s old CIA buddy John Wraith intervened on his behalf, and they lured Omega Red onto a military base where he was temporarily captured by the Canadian Royal Air Force. An argument over jurisdiction gave Omega Red the chance to escape, and he tracked Maverick, Wraith and Ivanova to North’s chosen hiding place for the C-Synth: the abandoned Weapon X facility in the deep wilderness of Alberta. Arkady jumped his opponents again, but was caught off-guard when Elena confronted him with a psi-flash of his last victim from his Spetsnaz days. She then tricked Omega into following what he believed was Maverick with the C-Synth to a pre-arranged spot. When the psi-mask dropped, 'Maverick' was revealed as John Wraith, who teleported away as Omega Red was trapped inside a containment cell created specifically for Weapon X subjects. To seal the deal, Wraith sneakily arranged for Canada’s RAF to launch an air strike on their exact position, burying Omega Red and his cell in a tactical bombing strike. (Maverick v1 #1)

After digging himself out of the wreckage, Arkady somehow entered an alliance with the Black Widow, who needed to position herself into making contact with General Tskarov, the Snow Wolf. The General intended to establish himself as a New York crimelord after fleeing Russia, and the Widow was working with SHIELD to bring him down. Omega Red attacked a businessman opposed to Tskarov’s interests on his behalf, but the intervention of Daredevil forced the Black Widow to alter her plans and cannon-blast Red before he caused the hero any real damage. (Daredevil v1 #368) While in New York, Arkady learned Sabretooth was in the city as well. Taking advantage of the situation, he attacked Creed for old times’ sake. Omega also hoped to capture Sabretooth and use him as a bargaining chip with Ivanova and Maverick to reclaim the C-Synth. That plan was contingent on him beating Sabretooth first, though, something Arkady failed to accomplish. (X-Factor v1 #138)

Logan Files

Returning to New York City, Omega Red traded off of his earlier efforts on behalf of General Tskarov to receive a place in his organization. With the General in prison, his organization was weakened, and so Arkady became an enforcer, ensuring that the criminal element continued to respect Tskarov’s rules and territory even during his absence. (Wolverine v2 #170) Arkady returned to Brooklyn and continued to build his position as an enforcer in the General’s organization. When the opportunity presented itself, he didn’t hesitate to feed intel to the Weapon X Program on Creed’s whereabouts, hoping to enact some revenge against Sabretooth, even if by proxy. (Weapon X v2 #3)

Arkady returned to Brooklyn and continued to build his position as an enforcer in the General’s organization. When the opportunity presented itself, he did not hesitate to feed intel to the Weapon X Program on Creed’s whereabouts, hoping to enact some revenge against Sabretooth, even if by proxy. (Weapon X v2 #3) He also accepted a contact against a neophyte super-heroine named the White Tiger after she interfered with some Russian operations in the city, although the ultimate resolution of the contact was never shown. (White Tiger v1 #6)

Russian military officials in the Red Room pressured S.H.I.E.L.D. into turning Arkady over to them. Having lost nearly all of their assets to the Decimation, the Red Room was eager to recoup their losses. The project’s leader tortured Omega Red for some time as the former Super-Soldier was forced through various experiments. The general overreached himself when he kidnapped the X-Men Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine, however, and they soon broke free and ran wild inside the Red Room. The general foolishly released Arkady in the hope he would attack the X-Men on behalf of Russia, and instead became the first victim of Arkady’s death factor. Even with the general’s life energies, Omega Red was too weak to defeat the X-Men, and was soon carted off by SHIELD once again. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #499)

Weapon XI

Omega Red was relocated in prison yet again, this time thanks to the shadowy intervention of Romulus, who wished to arrange a trap for Wolverine. Arkady was transferred to Vutluga Prison in Russia and instructed to wait for good things to come his way. As Romulus planned, both Wolverine and the Carbonadium Synthesizer soon arrived at the prison, giving Omega Red everything he wanted in one location. The caged prisoners even provided Omega with a constant source of life energy to replenish himself with during the fight making it the perfect trap for Wolverine. (Wolverine: Origins v1 #37) The battle quickly swayed in Omega Red’s favor, as any injury Wolverine inflicted upon him was rejuvenated in moments thanks to his death factor draining the prisoners or Logan himself. Wolverine was forced to outthink Arkady, using his need for the C-Synth to split Weapon XI's attention. By tossing away the device, Logan lured Omega Red into position and dropped an iron gate on top of him, pinning Arkady to the floor and causing him tremendous pain. The battle quickly swayed in Omega Red’s favor, as any injury Wolverine inflicted upon him was rejuvenated in moments thanks to his death factor draining the prisoners or Logan himself. Wolverine was forced to outthink Arkady, using his need for the C-Synth to split his attention. By tossing away the device, Logan lured Omega Red into position and dropped an iron gate on top of him, pinning Arkady to the floor and causing him tremendous pain. (Wolverine: Origins v1 #38) Omega eventually struggled free of the gate and tracked Wolverine to a nearby ironworks, where another of Romulus’s pawns named Wild Child was attempting to kill him. Omega Red’s interference allowed Wolverine to escape, but he killed Wild Child and took back the C-Synthesizer. Unfortunately for Arkady, his ego wouldn’t allow him to stop there. Having been informed by Wild Child of Romulus’ efforts to choose his successor via 'Last man standing' rules, Omega Red eagerly hunted down Wolverine to prove he was at the top of the food chain. Logan had little interest in fighting Omega Red anymore, especially knowing that it was all according to Romulus’ plans, but he had little choice once Arkady threatened to go after his son Daken instead. Mentioning Wolverine’s son was Omega Red’s first mistake; letting him take one free shot was his second, and last. Unaware of the mystical properties of the Muramasa blade, Arkady laughed at Logan when he confronted him with a broken sword. His laughter turned to shock when Wolverine threw the blade through Arkady’s chest, and he began to feel the life draining out of him. The Muramasa blade was pure concentrated hate and rage cast into physical form – no healing factor, or death factor, could undo the wounds it caused. Still in a state of disbelief, Arkady Rossovich collapsed to the floor and died moments later. (Wolverine: Origins v1 #39)

Legacy

Rossovich's soul was seemingly sent to Hell where Logan encountered Omega Red after he was sent there by the Red Right Hand. Omega Red was sent by Satan to fight against his old foe alongside several other villains killed by Wolverine over the years. He managed to quickly get to Wolverine and told him he was going to make him suffer for eternity before being stabbed by his old foe. (Wolverine v4 #2)

Meanwhile, the organization known as White Sky that created customisable assassins was responsible for using Arkady's genetic material to create the Omega Clan that were three siblings whose memories were implanted to make them believe that Wolverine had killed their parents. They were dispatched to kill Wolverine and his X-Force team who had come to their sky flying facility to shut it down. The new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants commissioned the Omega Clan for their campaign against Wolverine and his X-Force kill squad. According to their memory implants, Sylvia Engel and her two brothers were the children of a research scientist who discovered a cure for a heinous disease. Wolverine, Deadpool and Nightcrawler of X-Force were then allegedly hired by a pharmaceutical company to kill the Clan's father to prevent his righteous discovery from eating into their profits. The Clan remembered being herded into the safety of a closet where they watched through a crack in the doors as X-Force brutally murdered and dismembered their parents. After a lifetime of grief and revenge they believed they were approached by the Brotherhood and White Sky, and augmented to strike back against their family's murderers. Engineered with new abilities partially derived from Arkady's cells creating the second Omega Red, the female Omega White who believed she was Sylvia Engel and the masked Omega Black. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #26) Ultimately, they came to be defeated by the X-Force team during a battle against them. (Uncanny X-Force v1 #34)

Afterwards, a Bratva Pakhan by the name of Viktor Komolov had the body of Omega Red recovered and used his newly learnt skill in magic to resurrect Omega Red. Arkady was brought back to life but as the magic was not skilled this was only temporary with Rossovich being forced to use his Mutant power to drain life to sustain his own existence. (X-Men: Gold v1 #10) The X-Men later battled and defeated leading to his arrest with him being detained by S.I.C.K.L.E. (X-Men: Gold v1 #11) After his capture, he was enlisted into the service of the agency by his brother Vassily Rossovich who operated as Director of S.I.C.K.L.E. with Omega Red planned to be dispatched to eliminate a general that opposed the Russian anti-Mutant camps with him being sent to prison but arrangements were made for his escape. (Weapon X v3 #19) Omega Red was then kept at a Russian super-human prison located in Siberia where he killed the other in-mates at the Stranniy Corrective Labor Camp leading to a battle with Team Weapon X that were being led by Sabretooth. (Weapon X v3 #17) During his time there, his body had been injected with nanobots that controlled him and weakened him to the point that his life-draining powers were not sustaining him. Initially, he attacked Sabretooth and was ready to kill him until Creed saved his life whereupon he was recruited into Victor's iteration of Weapon X. (Weapon X v3 #18)

House of X

He came to ally himself with Dracula and the Vampire Nation where he agreed to work for them in exchange for the Carbonadium Synthesizer. Omega Red was tasked with luring Wolverine away from the Mutant nation at Krakoa and trick him into one of Dracula's old lairs in Paris so that the Vampires could capture him. Once taken, they started to harvest Wolverine of his blood that was to be transferred to Dracula in order to allow him to survive being exposed to sunlight. (Wolverine v7 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

It was known that Arkady prior to his transformation was noted for being a serial killer that targeted young pretty girls who he killed. Though this eventually led to his arrest and summary execution it was the heads of the Soviet Super-Soldier Program that decided that his aggressive violent tendencies could be used to create their own Super-Soldier. (Maverick v1 #1) He was designed to had been the world's first supersoldier in service to Russia. (X-Men v2 #6)

He had a brother by the name of Vassily Rossovich who had become a high ranking figure in the Russian government. (Weapon X v3 #19) Arkady came to hate his brother and from a young age had practiced to kill him. (Weapon X v3 #20)

Powers and abilities

Using his tendrils in combat in Weapon X v3 #18.

He was able to emit deadly pheromones into the air that were part of his Death Factor. (X-Men v2 #6)

The coils that emerged from his wrists were made from Carbonadium that was described as a more malleable version of Adamantium. Though not as indestructible as the original, it served as a conduit for Arkady to use his Death Factor on his foes. (X-Men v2 #6)

Notes

• Omega Red was created by Jim Lee and John Byrne where he made his first appearance in X-Men v2 #4 (January, 1992).

Alternate Versions

• In X-Man v1 #2 (1995), an alternate version of Omega Red known as Rossovich appeared as an inhabitant of the Age of Apocalypse set on Earth-295 in the Multiverse.
• In X-Men '92 v2 #1 (2016), an alternate version of Omega Red was shown to be an inhabitant of the universe designated as Earth-92131 in the Multiverse. It was revealed that he was part of the Soviet Super-Soldier Program with his predecessor being Alpha Red who was the vampire Janus that was transformed by Soviet science alongside magic. However, he was uncontrollable leading to his imprisonment with Omega Red being created as his successor.

In other media

Television

• In X-Men, Omega Red appeared as an antagonist in the 1990 animated television series where he was voiced by actor Len Doncheff.
• In X-Men: Evolution, Omega Red appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series in the episode "Target X" where he was voiced by actor Richard Newman.

Films

• In Hulk Vs Wolverine, Omega Red appeared as an antagonist in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Colin Murdock.

Video games

• In X-Men: Children of the Atom, Omega Red appeared as a playable character in the Capcom arcade fighting game where he was voiced by actor George Buza.

Appearances

• X-Men v2: (1992)
• Wolverine:
• Maverick:
• Generation X:
• Uncanny X-Force v1:
• X-Men: Gold v1:
• Wolverine v7: (2020)

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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