OMEGA RED (Arkady Rossovich)
Created By: John Byrne & Jim Lee
First Appearance: X-Men #4 (Jan. 1992)
Role: The Rival (to Wolverine), Status Affecter
Group Affiliations: The Hand, The Red Mafia
PL 11 (228)
STRENGTH 7
STAMINA 8
AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 12
DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2
AWARENESS 2
PRESENCE 0
Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 4 (+11)
Deception 6 (+6)
Expertise (Crime Lord) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Assassin/Agent) 6 (+8)
Expertise (History) 2 (+4)
Insight 8 (+10)
Intimidation 12 (+12)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 6 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Technology 4 (+6)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Chokehold, Close Attack 2, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment (Carbonadium Armour +2), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fascinate (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Coils), Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative 2, Improved Trip, Last Stand, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Ranged Attack 3, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown 2, Tracking
Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Death Pheromones"
Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed & Fatigued/Stunned & Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Cumulative, Extra Condition, Area- 30ft. Cloud +2, Free Action +2) (Flaws: Scent-Dependent) [36]
Linked to
Weaken Stamina 5 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud +2, Free Action +2) (Flaws: Scent-Dependent) [20]
"Maximized Life Drain" Weaken Stamina 8 [8]
Regeneration 10 (Flaws: Source- Requires Life Drain) [5]
"Carbonadium Coils"
Elongation 2 (Flaws: Limited to Coils) [1]
Strength-Damage +1 [1]
Extra Limbs 2 [2]
Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Coil Smash +14 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Death Spores +5-6 Area (+5 Weaken & +6 Affliction, DC 15 & 16)
Life Drain +14 (+8 Weaken, DC 18)
Initiative +12
Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +8 (+10 Armour), Fortitude +10, Will +8
Complications:
Obsession (The Carbonadium Synthezier)- Without this device, Arkady's Death Factor is permanent (thanks to Carbonadium poisoning), and he cannot live without draining energy.
Weakness (Death Factor)- Arkady's life force itself will begin to drain if he does not steal the life forces of others with his abilities.
Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 32 / Powers: 73 / Defenses: 15 (228)
Omega Red- Coulda-Been Villain:
-Omega Red is one of my faves from back in the day, mainly because of his awesome, unique Jim Lee-drawn appearance. A giant albino with huge freaking tentacles, a death-effect, red armour, and the whole badass aura of being Russian? I was there, dude. The fact that he could absolutely kick the CRAP out of an entire team of X-Men made him a real terror. I mean, "New Villain Stink" is a thing for a reason, and this was one of those cases where it really made an impression on me.
-Unfortunately, they demoted him pretty quickly, having him lose to Generation-X (no, really- Chamber WHUPPED him), and be the lackey to the one-time villain Soul Skinner. Later revisions haven't made him the elite villain he could've been early on, effectively turning him into an elite Hired Goon (despite an appearance in the
X-Men Fighting Game... though that could just be the Japanese game designers demanding someone with tentacles being put in
), but I'm still waiting. He's one of the X-villains with potential, who WASN'T driven into the ground from over-use, but nonetheless turned out to be pretty minor (he was a Russian version of The Kingpin for a bit).
Evil Russian Baddie:
-Arkady Rossovich was an elite killer and cold-hearted murderer, killing dozens before being recruited into the Soviet "Super-Soldier" program- the result of a Russian system to create their own Captain America. Because OF COURSE Russia would take a murderer and decide to TRAIN HIM TO BE A BETTER KILLER. They gave him some "Carbonadium" metal tentacles, but these had a fatal side-effect- he had to drain the life out of people in order to maintain his own survival. Only the "Carbonadium Synthesizer" could save his life. It was then that "Team X"- a band made up of earlier versions of Wolverine, Sabretooth and Maverick- arrived, and they stole away with it. This was their final mission- they blew up over Sabretooth casually murdering the double-agent they'd come to rescue, fearing her a "liability" (Logan calls him a "Psychotic sonova--" and implies he murdered her in cold blood because he panicked).
-Unable to survive on his own without murder (and generally being uncontrollabe), Rossovich was placed into cryogenic storage for decades, only being taken out of it thanks to the willing sacrifice of a dozen Hand Ninjas, at the behest of Matsu'o Tsurayaba. He hunted Logan, believing that he knew where the Synthesizer was- he beat Logan once (as well as one-punching The Beast, then taking out Cyclops & Jubilee in one move each), but was beaten in the second fight as the X-Men escaped.
Subsequent Appearances:
-Created by Jim Lee JUST before he left Marvel, Omega Red was kind of left without a protector, and so he just became "one of those guys", showing up in various stories. In one book, he's beaten and mind-controlled by the Soul Skinner, who himself dies in that story. He jobs out in
Generation-X in a "humiliating" manner according to Wikipedia, and later loses to Daredevil & The Black Widow. He FINALLY got a regular gig in more modern times, acting as a head of the Russian Mafia, and dealing with Wolverine off and on. He's captured, then sprung by a deal between the U.S. & Russia, and beaten again by Logan, Nightcrawler & Colossus. He allies with Wild Child and attempts to dip Logan into molten metal to finally kill him off once and for all, but Wild Child isntead suffers that fate- Omega Red is later killed by the Muramasa Blade, wielded by Logan himself. He briefly reappeared in Hell (Logan went there for some stuff), but was finally resurrected by some Russian baddies, eventually scoring a true resurrection before being arrested.
-Omega Red remains one of those odd villains who's got some credibility, but is more of a "short arc" kind of guy with no credibility as a mastermind- he's just too much of a blank-slate "Nineties Villain" with not much personality beyond "Hates Wolverine" and "Wants the Carbonadium Synthesizer". Kind of a shame- he's one of those baddies who could really have been boosted into something- he's one Good Showing or Movie Appearance away from being a big deal.
The Power of Omega Red:
-Omega Red is a freakishly devastating build, PL 11 with his Life Drain, and PL 10.5-11 on offense in general (and PL 11 with his Parry defense). Combined with his versatility and constantly-active powers, it's enough to challenge a whole squad of X-Men, especially when combined with his normal Death Spores, capable of dropping Gambit AND Rogue simultaneously, and killing dozens of normal humans in his radius. New Villain Stink allowed him to cut a hole through any X-Team initially (Beast was one-punched, and Cyclops was taken out in an instant), and even after that he was quite dangerous. FEAR the "Free Action" Extra- he can use it simultaneously with any of his other powers, only turning it off when "allies" come within reach. It's a Linked Affliction (many victims just drop unconscious) & Weaken Stamina (others die) effect, and is one of the most dangerous things a super-villain has ever used as a baseline power.
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