Omega Red

Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich Omega Red
Omega Red taken from a variant cover of Wolverine (vol. 8) #3 (November 2024). Art by Mico Suayan.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Men (vol. 2) #4 (January 1992)
Created by	John Byrne (writer) Jim Lee (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich
Species	Human mutant
Team affiliations	The Hand Red Mafia Weapon X-Force The Marauders
Notable aliases	Arkady Gregorivich Vasyliev Arkady
Abilities	Keen intellect Superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes Enhanced healing Carbonadium coil housed within each arm Life-force absorption Poisonous pheromones

Omega Red (Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by Jim Lee and John Byrne, the character first appeared in X-Men #4 (vol. 2, January 1992).

Arkady Rossovich is a former Soviet soldier and serial killer, as well as a mutant possessing enhanced healing powers and the ability to secrete deadly pheromones. After being subjected to an experimental procedure by the Soviet government that saw the fictional metal carbonadium being bonded to his body, he gained two retractable coils that extend from his hands and allow him to drain people's "life" energy. This ability became vital for his survival, as his carbonadium implants are highly poisonous and draining life energy on a regular basis is the only way to sustain himself in the absence of the Carbonadium Synthesizer, a device that can be used to stabilize his condition.

The character has been adapted from the comics into several other forms of media, and made his live-action debut through a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2, portrayed by Dakoda Shepley. Additionally, Len Doncheff, Richard Newman, and Colin Murdock have voiced Omega Red in animation. In 2009, Omega Red was ranked by IGN as the 95th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Publication history

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (January 2015)

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

Fictional character biography

Little is known about Arkady Rossovich's past except that he was a serial killer born in Soviet Russia. He was captured by Interpol agent Sean Cassidy and turned over to the KGB, which wanted to experiment and attempt to create a super-soldier similar to Captain America.

In another version of Omega Red's past, Arkady Rossovich was a Soviet soldier stationed in a small Siberian town. He was a murderer, his crimes easily discoverable due to the town's small size and limited number of potential victims. He was caught by his fellow soldiers and summarily executed via a gunshot to the back of the head. His superiors were astonished when Rossovich survived the execution, and recommended him for the aforementioned Soviet super soldier project, a brutal process; it is suggested that Rossovich survived solely due to his evil and cruel nature. He became an operative for Soviet intelligence and the KGB.

The Soviet government implanted a retractable carbonadium coil within each of Omega Red's arms. Carbonadium was the Soviets' attempt to recreate the artificial alloy known as adamantium, as carbonadium is a more malleable form of adamantium. Omega Red is able to wrap others in his coils to drain them of their "life" energy. This vampiric tendency is essential to Omega Red's survival; the carbonadium implants, while great offensive weapons, slowly poisoned him and he was required to regularly drain life energy to sustain himself. In order to stabilize his condition, Omega Red requires the Carbonadium Synthesizer, a device that was stolen by Wolverine, Maverick, and Sabretooth during their final mission together as Team X in the 1960s.

At some time in the past, the Soviet government decided that Omega Red was too unpredictable and treacherous to be relied upon and placed him in 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.

After Omega Red is captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., the Red Room buys his freedom with the hopes of using him to their own ends. Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler encounter him after he has freed himself from his master, however, and they engage in combat. Omega Red is largely impervious to Wolverine's claws; the Red Room had been experimenting on his body in an effort to enhance his healing factor. After Nightcrawler intervenes and knocks Omega Red unconscious, he is returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Omega Red is killed after being stabbed in the heart by Wolverine. "The White Sky" organization later arranged for his DNA samples to be used to create the Omega Clan.

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.

Arriving bloodied and beaten at Krakoa and seeking asylum, Omega Red is met by Wolverine, who tries to persuade Magneto that Omega Red is too dangerous to be allowed on the island, as he poses too serious a threat to the women and children living there. Investigating his claims of a secret vampire enclave hidden in Paris, Wolverine is captured by Vlad Dracula, who has rejuvenated himself by drinking his blood. As per their agreement, Dracula presents Omega Red with the Carbonadium Synthesizer, warning him that it now contains a detonator. Omega Red will serve as a spy in the service of Dracula to aid against any interference from the mutants towards the Vampire Nation's hidden agenda.

At Wolverine's insistence, Omega Red is restrained by Krakoa and psychically interrogated by Jean Grey, whereupon X-Force discovers that Omega Red has indeed been mesmerized by Dracula to possibly serve as a spy for the Vampire Nation in exchange for the Carbonadium Synthesizer. While Beast discusses with Forge about creating a duplicate Carbonadium Synthesizer containing audio surveillance and homing beacon capabilities, it is revealed that the original detonator has exploded, killing Omega Red. Omega Red is resurrected by the Five, but is left with no memory of his death or rebirth, allowing him to serve X-Force as a double agent in his future dealings with Dracula.

Powers and abilities

Omega Red is a mutant with superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes, and the ability to secrete pheromones from his body typically referred to as "Death Spores". The spores are fatal to ordinary humans within seconds, though some superhumanly powered beings can withstand exposure to them for extended periods of time.

Implanted within Omega Red's arms are long retractable tendril-like coils made of carbonadium, a durable artificial alloy that is the former Soviet Union's attempt at creating true adamantium. Carbonadium is more malleable than adamantium and, while being vastly stronger than steel, is considerably less durable than adamantium.

Omega Red has the ability to drain the life force of others with his spores, which he can conduct through his coils. Due to the mutant "death factor" and the presence of carbonadium within his body, Omega Red must drain life force to sustain himself.

Omega Red is a highly trained hand-to-hand combatant and military tactician. He was taught 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 became skilled in the management of criminal organizations.

Reception

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

Other characters named Omega Red

There have been other characters named Omega Red:

Other versions

Several alternate universe versions of Omega Red have appeared throughout the character's publication history.

In other media

References

External links

• Omega Red at Marvel.com