Character Examination: Omega Red
Part 9: X-men Legends (2021) #8
Had I started this project a few years ago, this comic wouldn't have existed to put on the list. But here it is, a flashback comic, part of the X-Men Legends series that came out back in 2021. This is the second issue in a three-part story arc written by Larry Hama (the same writer who game us Maverick: In the Shadow of Death, which I will be breaking down sometime in the near future). A man who is well-renowned for his writing on Wolverine, and for good reason. I definitely recommend not only his work with Logan (some of my favorite years of reading Logan's solo book), but also reading this story arc from its start of X-Men Legends #7, which I did not start with because this project is about looking at Omega Red, and he doesn't make an appearance until this issue.
Now, before I touch on anything else, I think it would be fair to actually take a moment to explain why I am reviewing this story now instead of waiting to review it on the basis of when it came out and why I am placing it where it is sitting in Arkady's timeline. When I started this project, my intention has always been to examine Arkady's story in Marvel Comics in as close to chronological order as I can, so both current readers of this series and future ones can have a solid grasp on the direction of Omega Red's character over the years and see the different events that shaped him during that time -- because his story does have a general arc it follows, believe it or not. I hope that people are -- if not educated by this project -- are at least entertained by the reading material.
So, why did I place this book here? Well, for starters, something I will applaud the X-Men Legends series about (which a certain recent Infinity Comic series does not do despite claiming it is 616 - cough cough -) is actually make these stories fit in the canon of the time period they appear in. There are editor's notes which link back to other issues of the time, characters who appear here actually make sense to appear, and it is those context clues that make it rather easy to figure out where it would fit once I actually sat down for 10 minutes to think about it. My thanks to @clown-cult and other members of the Omega Red Discord for helping me place this series in its correct spot!
The big giveaway for why this story takes place now -- after the Soul Skinner arc -- is because of Birdy, who also makes an appearance in this story. Birdy is a character who didn't live very long after her introduction in X-men (1991) #6, dying at the end of the 1993 Sabretooth miniseries just a few short years later. The Soul Skinner arc also came out in 1993, but at the beginning of the year, giving us this very narrow window that we could squeeze an appearance in between that arc and Iron Man (1968) #295 when Arkady begins his era of running around as more of a free agent instead of obeying either Matsu'o or the Russian Government.
Onto the issue itself then. First of all, the cover is amazing. I love that it has Omega Red featured so prominently on it. It looks gritty, full of action and the characters have some battle damage -- particularly Logan -- which I always think is cool. This time, a cover actually kind of tells what happens in the story, not a gimmick like we see with the next issue's cover (that I will dive into next time). Arkady's design here is notable for something I will get into a bit more later, but I have no complaints on the artwork.
So, for some background, first on this issue, then on how Arkady got roped into all of this. This throwback story is more of a low-stakes romp for Logan, one that is more fun for Hama to play with these characters in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of an 80s action movie than an in-depth story that examines these characters on a deeper level. And for a throwback story, it works, and it's a lot of fun, you don't even have to turn your brain off to enjoy it. In the first issue, Logan and Jubilee had gotten involved in an investigation in Japan involving missing mutant children. They end up getting tangled up with the Hand, who are trafficking and selling these children to whoever is the highest bidder. They tussled with Lady Deathstrike (who is working for the Hand) before Jubilee was kidnapped, causing Logan to follow.
Which is where issue #8 picks up. Logan is here looking for Jubilee and trying to rescue one of the mutant children who is being sold here to a soon-to-be-revealed "buyer" that is first revealed on this page. By context, you can guess who is sitting in the back of the truck:
So, something Hama does a lot in this story is use anglicized words from Japanese and Russian in his dialogue. Which... I understand in part why he does it -- it's easier for people to read the sounds when your primary audience is English speaking instead of hitting a wall of symbols from another language you don't know -- but it makes it so hard, if not impossible, to know what the actual meaning is supposed to be for some of these words if you are curious about translating them to find out what it really means. "Eyu Ren" from what I can find, doesn't really translate back into Japanese well at all, the closest I can find is that it maybe says: "stupid man?" Which... bold move to say something like that while being in Omega Red striking distance!
Yes, Omega Red is the one sitting in the back of the truck. Which, in my mind is such a funny mental image, a large man sitting in a truck bed waiting for this all to be over. How did he get here? Well, after the Soul Skinner arc ended, Arkady just kinda left, presumably heading off into the wilderness to forge his own path for the first time in his life. Before this flashback story, the timeline had the Soul Skinner arc be the moment where he broke free of Matsu'o and went off on his own, but with this story now entering into play, this means the Russian government must have picked Arkady up some time afterward and decided to put him back into service under their control instead of that of a private owner.
Even in that story arc itself, the Russian officials had sounded rather happy about the idea of Mastu'o losing ownership of Omega Red, so this is probably their ideal outcome. Is it Arkady's? At the very least, it is likely familiar to him, which -- given how the Soul Skinner used him and broke him -- is probably the closest thing he can get for comfort as he tries to orient himself again. And given that he had been in Siberia, it wouldn't have been out of the question for Russian officials to find him before he got too far.
Either way, he is here now, and is clearly annoyed by the whole deal going down on this dock, as he overhears the back-and-forth between everyone as he's trying to get them to sign documents to complete this transaction. It's rather interesting that Omega Red would rather sit in the back of the vehicle than actually get out and interact with people, but his whole attitude in this story is of a man who just generally sounds pissed off and annoyed by other people existing -- the ultimate introvert. Arkady always did give off introvert energy. Man loves his peace and quiet.
Finally Omega Red does get tired enough of the chatter to speak up himself. I will give Hama credit for nailing Arkady's speech patterns he exhibited at the time -- he tended to talk that way when it came to people he didn't know well, identifying them usually by some form of defining trait, in this case, "woman," since that is the sound of the voice he hears. Once we get out of the 90s, Arkady doesn't talk like that as much -- a guess as to why (besides changes in wider culture within comic book writers that removed this kind of dialogue that could potentially be viewed as sexist) is probably due to Arkady getting better at English. It won't be long before he actually ends up living in America for a while. It likely improved his English to the point where he wasn't grasping at words to use to refer to the people around him like he does here in older stories.
I still giggle about him mustering up this line of dialogue while he's just sitting there in the back of an empty truck, though. A lot of times the things Arkady tends to say with these big and bold declarations on death and destruction often come off as him trying to sound bigger/more scary to make people give him what he wants without a fight. The more you read of Arkady, the more and more you realize he doesn't want to fight in most of the conflicts he gets dragged into, so this behavior fits into his personality. And given how this whole story arc from his point of view is basically "Arkady trying to get the mail and failing," you can really put in a humorous view to the writing and relate it to some of our own delivery experiences -- especially later on when they really get to throwing lines around about "packages." I would love to say: "Hand the package over or face a wrath you cannot begin to comprehend," too if I could get away with it.
Something to note here before I move on to the next page is how the lady here is able to immediately identify Arkady's voice just by those few words. Which adds to the idea that Arkady has a very distinct voice that the people around him can pick up on. His accent is probably strong and a dead give-away of his identity, not just his face. Another "giggle" moment is just the realization that Arkady had a phone call with this lady prior to appearing in this comic. I just find the idea of this big man -- a dangerous Russian supersoldier -- picking up and answering the phone at an office desk or something absolutely funny. If there is any artist out there who is reading this, it would make a hilarious piece of art (I seriously will pay for this service).
Either way, after he speaks here, we go a whole eight pages where he says and does nothing more. Which, again, is so hilarious to think about since the entire sequence between Omega Red talking on this page until he appears on the page below is one whole long fight sequence between Logan and Lady Deathstrike:
This further adds evidence that Omega Red really does not want to be here for one thing, and for two, that he would rather just sit out the whole thing if he could. Introvert energy. But I know I have said before here that survival is a big driver with Arkady's actions in stories, and he really does not like involving himself in a fight or other event unless he feels like he has to. He probably sat in that truck the whole time hearing the banging, the screaming and yelling, the slashing and other noise just hoping it would resolve itself and he could just "pick up the mail" and go back home. But since Lady Deathstrike can't finish the job so he can get out of here, Omega Red finally feels obligated to get up and do something:
His first words here once he's out of the truck just confirm this. To him, this is an assignment -- a mission -- and he's not looking any further into it. There are other moments where this kind of thing happens with him -- we will see it again when we get to the X-Men Liberators miniseries -- where he kind of just accepts the reality of the evil organizations of Russia that demand these kinds of things, and he's just the tool they use to get their dirty work done. It's really a sad way of viewing oneself and an example of how someone who was broken by such a system can still work in it and perpetuate the cycle onto other victims because they never think to break out and fight against it. Hurt people, hurt people, after all. It's definitely a tragedy, one of the greatest tragedies that comes with Russian mutants in Marvel comics, which is honestly not touched on enough -- and never in a meaningful way. Perhaps someday a writer will actually give us the kind of story this topic deserves.
Looking at these panels, there are a few details to note. First of all, as I said before, the truck is empty. No windows, no amenities. It must have been an awful ride down to those docks. How long was he back there? Hard to say, but then -- as I said earlier -- it took Omega Red a long time to actually convince himself to leave the truck. As terrible as being in the back of a truck like that would be, for him it was probably a godsend. He didn't have to deal with people looking at him. No stares, no screams. He can actually focus on the task (or whatever his mind wants) without distractions. And he is probably quite used to traveling like this too. A weapon doesn't need a window to look out of, after all.
The second thing I will note is that design feature I mentioned previously in this post -- one that adds more support to the idea that these writers and artists actually did their research before committing to the issue. If you look closely at Arkady's face on these pages, you can see there is additional cybernetics that you can see poking out from under the headband he's wearing. That is a design detail that Arkady eventually lost down the line, but one that was very present in his earliest appearances and is thankfully present in this throwback comic. Really, props to the artist for remembering them!
Again, we see an example here of Hama's use of anglicized dialogue for a character. Arkady will use that a lot under his pen, but this time, Hama helpfully translates the words for us, which again is the cause of a laugh. Omega Red calling the leaders/scientists that gave him these orders "eggheads" is such a school-yard insult. For a writer who gave us one of the darkest and grittiest portrayals of Omega Red in a comic, to see him writing Arkady in this almost light sort of style is a notable change of pace. It's not that Arkady is a different person here -- but we're getting a little bit different view of him than the last time Hama wrote him -- which does show Hama's skill as a writer for being able to handle the same characters in a slightly different setting.
One also has to wonder too about this "Space Research Center" Omega Red mentions here. Epsilon Red, anyone?
Something that I will say is that these pages are not the most dialogue-heavy. I find it notable that Arkady is called a "demon" by the lady Jie Jie, as it's not uncommon for Arkady to be referred to in those terms (like being called an "unclean spirit" in Demons and Death).
Logan's words of "his tentacles are poisonous" are not entirely accurate, as his death factor is the real concern and what Omega Red is using here on Logan. You could make the argument that Logan is talking about the carbonadium itself, but Marvel has never really talked about the implants themselves being poisonous outside of Arkady using them as a conduit for his powers, even though carbonadium does negate healing factors. Oh well. It's a minor detail.
Jubilee tries to help Logan, but gets whipped aside by Omega Red after she blinds him. Seriously, a metal whip would hurt! Arkady views her as an annoyance, but really all he does is piss Logan off, and Logan gets a second wind to try to hurt him:
Omega Red still has his durable armor in this comic, so what Logan does just causes superficial scratches on it (if that). But even without the actual cutting of tissue, we can't dismiss the force that Logan can and would be exerting on his blows. All that force would be directed onto fine points of contact with Omega Red's body, and he can clearly feel the blow since he is screaming in pain about it and lets Logan go. I think sometimes people forget how strong Logan is and can be. He has metal bones and can deal out strong strikes. It doesn't matter if Logan is chopping a man in half -- getting hit by him will always hurt.
Something else people may forget is that Arkady actually can kick. And not just kick, kick high. There are a few other times in the comics where it is shown that Arkady can move fast and use more than just his hands/coils in a fight. He used to use these kinds of kicks with his feet more often --we will see it in Iron Man in a few issues -- so again, props to Hama and the artist team for bringing that back for a couple panels. I know they did their research with this one.
After pelting Logan in the face with his boot that has absolutely no traction on it (it's so rare to see that sort of thing on character's boots anyway, so it's not a big deal), Arkady begins to go on a little tirade, calling Logan a "lickspittle running dog of the-" before getting cut off. What was Arkady going to finish that phrase with? Well, looking up the meanings of both "lickspittle" and "running dog" and... oof. Those are some rather big insults in and of themselves:
Lickspittle: a fawning subordinate or bootlicker.
Running dog: a term for an unprincipled person who helps or flatters those who are more powerful and often evil.
If anything, this is a very strong indicator of how Arkady views Logan -- especially around that time they started to cross paths again. Now, a person can definitely point towards Arkady himself and say: "you sure you're not talking into a mirror?" given how he himself is in the position where he is trying to take mutant children back to Russia to be used for their space program -- but trying to keep the focus on Omega Red's views for a moment -- right now, Arkady has had two present-day interactions with Logan and the rest of the X-men. He's still very new to the modern world and clearly still holds onto the old East vs. West views that shaped him. Those don't die just because the country he is from did, and Arkady is viewing Logan through that lens. That Logan is a "yes man" to the ideals of the West, and of the X-men, who Arkady is already starting to look on with scorn.
As time goes on, you will see more and more of Arkady really hating the X-men, especially with how they interact with not only him, but other individuals they all bump into. These early interactions form a base on which Arkady continues to look at and judge them in stories moving forward, and he views Logan almost in this way that is not unlike how Sabretooth looks at Logan as opposites. Where Sabretooth looks at Logan as a tamed version of himself -- someone who represses his animalistic side and lessens himself to be around others -- Omega Red looks at Logan as an attack dog that stopped snapping at the hands of those who shaped him into who he is and fawns over them instead. Omega Red sees the X-men as Logan's handlers in a way, and that Logan has accepted a place among them as something akin to a treat and a reward rather than a cage that Arkady sees his own life as. It's an interesting dynamic that really could use some comic page time to delve into. But that would take a skillful writer and one that would actually care to handle Omega Red and Logan in that sort of way, and we haven't gotten that yet.
Moving on to the final parts of this story, Arkady gets interrupted by the truck crashing, and we get a rare mild curse from him. Looking at Omega Red's appearances, he does not swear a lot at all. Ben Percy probably holds the record for giving Arkady the most swears, as Arkady is much more foul-mouthed in the Krakoa era than he really ever is in other stories. We'll definitely explore that more when we finally reach the Krakoa era, but for now, we can at least note that when Arkady curses, it's not often, and when he does it's for a reason.
The action also in a way humanizes him, as he's venting mounting frustration in verbal form. A lot of the giggle moments that have taken place in this comic are all things that in a way sort of humanize this giant, terrifying Russian with these small details that show there's a bit more to him and what he does when he's not on panel than what he sometimes gets in stories. In that way, I really do appreciate Hama's writing in this arc.
Birdy makes her grand entrance into the story with a surprise attack from behind -- really the only way to take Omega Red down in one blow. Birdy says it was a "level 10" plasma blast, which I assume is the max level? The next issue shows that Arkady was knocked out by the blast, so the below page of him trying to rise is likely the result of adrenaline. He rises for a few seconds only to pass out:
And on the last page of this issue, the whole gang's finally all here! Sabretooth makes his grand entrance, and I really love the use of him as an interloper here. Next comic is going to be quite the showdown, and I can tell Hama had a blast with this as he got to have all of Logan's baddies together on page in a brawl that honestly should have happened a long time ago. Really this whole arc is one big action flick, and it handles all its players quite well without the characters or their actions feeling out of character -- which is huge for a meet-up like this.
The other times we've had Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Logan all in one book like this have given at least one of the characters a significant amount of plot armor, so really this is a treat of a story arc if someone wants to get a good handling on how these characters all interact and fight each other in their prime. Plus it's just good fun, as we will see in the final part of this throwback in our next installment.
