OMEGA FLIGHTOMEGA FLIGHT
Membership: Bile (Tom Preston), Brain Drain (Werner Schmidt), the Master of the World (Eshu), Miss Mass (Gillian Pritikin), Sinew (William Knox), Strongarm (Steve Caidin), Tech-Noir (Gale Cameron)
Purpose: Lackeys of the Master
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Antiguard (James Hudson)
Enemies: Alpha Flight (Aurora/Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, Guardian/Heather Hudson, Northstar/Jean-Paul Beaubier, Puck/Eugene Judd, Sasquatch/Walter Langkowski, Shaman/Michael Twoyoungman, Wildheart/Kyle Gibney, Windshear/Colin Hume), Gamma Flight (Feedback/Louis Albert, Goblyn, Manikin/Whitman Knapp, Pathway/Laura Dean, Persuasion/Kara Killgrave, Talisman/Elizabeth Twoyoungman, Witchfire/Ananym), the Ska'r, Wyre
Base of Operations: Apparently mobile within Canada
First Appearance: (mentioned):
Alpha Flight I#108 (May, 1992);
(full): Alpha Flight I#110 (July, 1992)
History: (Alpha Flight I#108 - BTS) -
Immediately after the
villain Brain Drain had lost a fight against the Canadian heroes Alpha
Flight and a number of European heroes, he was found by the Master, who
informed the disembodied brain he would become the first recruit in his
new team, Omega Flight.
(Alpha Flight I#110 - BTS) - The Master supplied
Brain Drain with a humanoid cybernetic body to house his brain. Brain
Drain was joined in Omega Flight by the Master's other recruits Bile,
Miss Mass, Sinew, Strongarm and Tech-Noir. Aware that the Magus
was on the verge of conquering reality, the Master sought to unleash
the malevolent Ska'r, who would spread madness among humanity. The
Master preferred humanity to be driven insane than be conquered by the
Magus. The power to release the Ska'r from their other-dimensional
prison was held by Talisman of Gamma Flight, so Omega Flight were sent
to force her compliance.
(Alpha Flight I#110) - Talisman was out shopping at a
mall in Toronto when Omega Flight attacked her. Bile used his viruses
to kill two security guards while the rest of Omega Flight fought
Talisman. Talisman tried to drive away the villains with a mystical
wind but Miss Mass couldn't be blown away and she knocked Talisman out.
Brain Drain used his telepathic abilities to force Talisman to release
the Ska'r.
(Alpha Flight I#111) - The Ska'r were released upon
Toronto and began attacking the rest of Gamma Flight and Windshear, the
sole member of Alpha Flight who remained in Canada while the rest of
his team were battling the Magus. The Master promised Omega Flight they
would be his "children" and inherit the Earth from him. The Master then
sent
Omega Flight to attack Gamma Flight and Windshear before they could
interfere with the Ska'r.
(Alpha Flight I#112) - While Persuasion used her
powers to control Windshear and force him to battle Miss Mass, Manikin
and his other selves (Highbrow, Apeman and Proto) fought Strongarm and
Witchfire fought Sinew. When Bile stepped in to try and kill
Persuasion,
he was distracted by a passing bystander who tried to steal his hat;
Bile killed the bystander. With some help from Manikin, Persuasion had
enough time to react and use her power on Bile, using him to menace
Miss Mass. Miss Mass in turn panicked and ran straight towards her
teammates, who were similarly perturbed by Bile to the extent that
Strongarm was in favor of killing Bile lest he touch one of them. To
make matters worse, the Ska'r appeared. Tech-Noir attacked the
creatures in self-defense, to the Master's chagrin. The Master
attempted to reason with the Ska'r but the combined efforts of
Talisman, Pathway and Windshear sent the Ska'r back to their prison,
once more sealing them away from Earth.
(Alpha Flight I#129) - As the Master schemed to
tighten his hold over Canada, he and Omega Flight silently observed
Alpha Flight and their ally Wyre as they confronted the Hardliners, a
team of armored men who were trying to enforce Canada's superhuman
registration act. Once the Hardliners were beaten, Omega Flight
confronted the heroes, formally introducing themselves to Alpha Flight
for the first time, and revealed their additional ally Antiguard,
formerly James Hudson, the founder of Alpha Flight.
Comments: First referenced by Scott Lobdell and Tom Morgan; fully created by Simon Furman, Pat Broderick, Chris Ivy and Bruce Patterson.
The creature who kills Talisman in Guardian's
nightmare during Alpha Flight I#128 looks an awful lot like Sinew.
The idea of a new Omega Flight led by the Master -
who even in 1992 was the nearest Alpha Flight had to an arch-foe -
definitely had potential, but it's anyone's guess what Scott Lobdell's
version would have looked like; he left Alpha Flight very abruptly,
leaving his "World Tour" storyarc incomplete. Kudos to Simon Furman for
carrying the ball and figuring out something satisfactory for the
concept.
However, Furman's Omega Flight didn't seem like a
concept he was that invested in - he established them in his first
issue as writer, but they were pitted against Gamma Flight at the time,
presumably to whet the audience's appetite for a fight with Alpha
Flight. Then they didn't appear again until the last two issues of the
series, primarily to wrap up the Master's long-term story.
The team members' real names were revealed in the
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z HC Vol. 8 (2008).
The Master might have empowered the five new characters using Plodex technology, but it's also possible those five were existing superhumans in the Marvel Universe when the Master recruited them, just like Brain Drain.
The real names of each of the members, bar the pre-existing Brain Drain, are portmanteaus with nods to some aspect of their respective characters or abilities:
Possibly the most obvious is the cyborg Strongarm, a.k.a. Steve Caiden, named for Steve Austin (a.k.a. the Six Million Dollar Man); before his TV series he was the star of author Michael Caiden's novel Cyborg.
Tech-Noir is Gale Cameron, named for James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, writers of The Terminator, which included scenes in a nightclub called Tech-Noir.
Sinew is William Knox, named for bodysnatchers/serial killers William Burke and William Hare, who sold their victims' corpses to surgeon Robert Knox to dissect in anatomy lessons at the University of Edinburgh.
The obese Miss Mass, a.k.a. Gillian Prikitin, is named for two diets, the Pritikin diet and the (Gillian) McKeith diet.
Bile is Tom Preston. His surname is from Richard Preston, an author who has written several novels related to viral epidemics - the movie Outbreak is loosely based on his novel The Hot Zone. I'm not sure about Tom - it's been a long time and I can't find my notes from when the entry was being written - but I know he was similarly virus connected. He might have been named for Tom Price, one of the lead characters in the TV show Survivors, about a world where most of the population has been wiped out by a virus.
Thanks to Loki for adding Bile's Wolverine appearances and the info on their real names.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
This version of Omega Flight is related to but
should not be confused with:
Bile (Tom Preston) joined Omega Flight in their assault on Talisman in a Toronto mall, where he killed two security guards. Immediately after, he joined the team as they fought Gamma Flight in the streets of Toronto. He killed a bystander who tried to steal his hat but was then mind controlled by Persuasion to menace his own teammates, breaking up the fight. He later fought Alpha Flight alongside the Master and Antiguard but was beaten when Wyre stabbed him with his techno-wires. Wyre remarked of his wires: "Though bonded to my nervous system, they're purely artificial. May have to get 'em cleaned though."
Bile's body was crawling with various forms of deadly viruses, literally dripping from his pores. He could kill people with his touch. According to Tech-Noir, "No one's been able to determine how many strains of deadly virus he carries in or on him."
The nature of Bile's powers made him a threat to his
own teammates under the wrong circumstances, such as when Persuasion
took control of him. His teammate Strongarm was especially terrified of
Bile's touch.
(Wolverine: The Best There Is#3 (fb) - BTS) - Researching beings with healing, regenerative and control over diseases, viruses and bacteria, Contagion collected biological samples from as many as possible, including Bile, whose specimen was stored between Night Raven and Elixir's.
(Wolverine V#7 (fb) - BTS) - In Melbourne, Australia, Bile received a message claiming to be from Bacillus, another virus-controller, warning him that someone was targeting people like them and inviting him to meet up. Bile checked into the story and became convinced it was true upon learning that Pestilence's new host had just been caught in some sort of disintegration blast.
(Wolverine V#7) - As Bacillus was walking past a Melbourne coffee shop Bile approached and introduced himself, but became confused when Bacillus appeared not to know him. Hearing Bile's story, Bacillus realized that since he hadn't contacted Bile, the meeting must be a set-up, but as he desperately tried to convey this warning to Bile they were both engulfed in a massive explosion and apparently slain; the attack made the local news and their deaths were subsequently reported by Nick Fury Jr..
--Alpha Flight I#110 (Alpha Flight I#110-112, 129-130, [Wolverine: The Best There Is#3], [Wolverine V#7 (fb)], Wolverine V#7
Miss Mass had superhuman density, granting her a heavyset, obese appearance. She could resist tremendous forces, such as the "hard air" blasts generated by Windshear's power.
Miss Mass was very jovial about her heavyset
appearance, claiming "These days, it's large and lovely! And there's no
one lovelier... than Miss Mass!" She took exception to the slim-figured
women in Gamma Flight she had to battle (notably Talisman and
Persuasion), mocking them as "skinny."
--Alpha Flight I#110 (Alpha Flight I#110-112, 129-130
Sinew (William Knox) joined Omega Flight in their assault on Talisman in a Toronto mall and the subsequent battle with Gamma Flight in the streets of Toronto, battling Witchfire. Later, he joined Omega Flight and Antiguard to battle Alpha Flight and at first did well against Sasquatch, but when the heroes switched fighting partners, he fared less ably against Wildheart. Finally, Sasquatch threw Sinew at the Master and the Master violently struck him to the ground.
Sinew was a bestial but intelligent creature who looked somewhat like a humanoid lion. He had some degree of superhuman strength and an animal-like ferocity. His animalistic senses made him the first member of Omega Flight to sense the arrival of the Ska'r and the madness they would spread.
Sinew had a rather dour attitude and would butt heads
with the more flippant Strongarm.
--Alpha Flight I#110 (Alpha Flight I#110-112, 129-130
Strongarm (Steve Caidin) joined Omega Flight in their assault on Talisman in a Toronto mall and the subsequent fight with Gamma Flight in the streets of Toronto, during which he fought Manikin's four selves. Later, he joined Omega Flight and Antiguard in battle against Alpha Flight and initially did well in battle against Aurora and Wyre, but when Guardian knocked Bile into him, Strongarm turned from his teammate in revulsion, fearful of his powers. With his attention focused on Bile, he walked right into Sasquatch, who tore off his bionic arm.
Strongarm's right hand had been cybernetically enhanced, granting him superhuman strength within that limb. He could also reshape the cybernetics within his arm so that it better resembled a giant power glove. The arm also had telescoping technology, permitting him to extend the arm to at least a meter in length. Although parts of his forearm appear to be organic, Sasquatch was able to tear out the entire arm when they fought.
Strongarm was Omega Flight's resident comic,
demonstrating a sense of humor such as when he chided Sinew for not
introducing himself with his codename.
Tech-Noir (Gale Cameron) led Omega Flight against Talisman in a Toronto mall and their subsequent fight with Gamma Flight in the streets of Toronto. However, when the Master's allies the Ska'r began to appear, Tech-Noir, not understanding the Master's plot, began to attack the creatures. Enraged, the Master knocked Tech-Noir unconscious. Later, Tech-Noir joined Omega Flight and Antiguard against Alpha Flight and at first did well against Northstar, badly injuring him, but then the hero's sister Aurora attacked and swiftly defeated Tech-Noir.
Tech-Noir was the Master's field leader for Omega Flight. She wore a suit of advanced armor which could fly. She had miniature missiles concealed in the armor's wrists. Tech-Noir badly injured Northstar with one of her missiles, but although the missile seemed to go through his chest, he shrugged it off.
--Alpha Flight I#110 (Alpha Flight I#110-112, 129-130
images: (without ads)
Alpha Flight I#110, cover (Omega Flight, main)
Alpha Flight I#110, p8, pan2 (Omega Flight attacking mall)
Alpha Flight I#112, p5, pan3 (Bile, body)
Alpha Flight I#112, p6, pan1 (Bile using powers)
Alpha Flight I#112, p7, pan6 (Miss Mass, main)
Alpha Flight I#111, p21, pan5 (Miss Mass, closeup)
Alpha Flight I#111, p15, pan1 (Sinew, body)
Alpha Flight I#111, p15, pan3 (Sinew, closeup)
Alpha Flight I#110, p10, pan4 (Strongarm kicking Talisman)
Alpha Flight I#112, p2, pan3 (Strongarm punching Apeman)
Alpha Flight I#110, p11, pan3 (Tech-Noir, closeup)
Alpha Flight I#110, p11, pan2 (Tech-Noir, body)
Appearances:
Alpha Flight I#108 (May, 1992) - Scott Lobdell
(writer), Tom Morgan (penciler/inker), Rob Tokar (editor)
Alpha Flight I#110 (July, 1992) - Simon Furman (writer), Pat Broderick
(penciler), Chris Ivy, Bruce Patterson (inkers), Rob Tokar (editor)
Alpha Flight I#111-112 (August-September, 1992) - Simon Furman
(writer), Pat Broderick (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Rob Tokar
(editor)
Alpha Flight I#129-130 (February-March, 1994) - Simon Furman (writer),
Dario Carrasco Jr. (penciler), Bruce Patterson (inker), Rob Tokar
(editor)
Wolverine: The Best There is#3 (April, 2011) - Charlie Houston (writer), Juan José Ryp (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Wolverine V#7 (September, 2013) - Paul Cornell (writer), Mirco Pierfederici (penciler), Karl Kesel (inker), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
First Posted: 05/18/2020
Last updated: 05/19/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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