OMEGA the UNKNOWN

Real Name: James-Michael Starling (see comments)

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Protar) bioengineered life form

Occupation: Adventurer, heroic warrior;
    former student;
    intended to be the final prototype as an organic being to perpetuate the robotic Protar.

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Principal Anderson, Dr. Thomas Barrow, Mr. Beal (his intended adviser, although he was not particularly helpful), Dr. Abe Dansker, Amber Grant, Ruth Hart, Hellcat (Patsy Walker), Moondragon (Heather Douglas), Mother Head, John Nedly, Omega the Unknown (Model X3Z), Richard Rory, Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff), Valkyrie (Brunnhilde), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne; also when she was Janet Pym), Dian Wilkins; Rose and Bob (owner of Rose and Bob's)
    he briefly encountered Peter Parker (Spider-Man), declining an offer to help him get more money out of Jameson;
    while he helped somewhat against Chthon, he did not encounter the non-Darkhold versions of the following, who would consider him an ally: Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon), Blade (Eric Brooks), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

Enemies: Chthon, Defiled (Darkhold-addled versions of Black Bolt/Blackagar Boltagon, Blade/Eric Brooks, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Wasp/Janet Van Dyne), Nick Delbello, Dibbuk, Mr. Lucien, Ruby Thursday (Thursday Rubinstein), the Wrench (Kurt Klemmer); various unidentified Protar;
    he felt pain when Omega (X3Z) was injured, and so those who injured Omega (like Blockbuster (Bart Dietzel), Electro (Maxwell Dillon), el Gato (Luis Anaya), Nitro/Robert Hunter, and the Las Vegas Police Department) were enemies on some level, although they never met each other (he observed Blockbuster and Electro fighting Omega);
    the Hulk (Bruce Banner) smashed up Rose and Bob's store while he was there, but James-Michael was not harmed;
    he had a peaceful discussion with J. Jonah Jameson, forcing Jonah to pay Amber what she was owed, so Jonah would almost certainly consider him an antagonist (if he remembered him);
    "Looie" and his woman (the latter of whom resented him for trying to intervene in her defense);
    despite the confrontation associated with his meeting with the Foolkiller (Greg Salinger), James-Michael considered that his mission had some merit, as there were plenty of fools in Hell's Kitchen who deserved to meet him;
    while irrational in Las Vegas, he lashed out at Hellcat, Moondragon, Valkyrie, and Wasp

Known Relatives: Omega the Unknown (Model X3Z; predecessor), three other Protar models ("siblings");
    Protar (creators);
    raised by Mother Head (who considered him her son) and an unidentified android father

Aliases: "J.M." (from Dian Wilkins);
    "punk," "turkey" (from Amber Grant), "Jim," (from Richard Rory), "Jimmy" (from Rose), "Chicken" (from Nick);
    "Quiet One" (from Spider-Man)

Base of Operations: Presumably the the Starling home in the Pennsylvania Appalachian mountains;
    formerly the Other-Realm of Chthon;
    seeming corpse reportedly incinerated in Earth's sun (see comments);
    formerly Las Vegas, Nevada;
    formerly Clinton ("Hell's Kitchen"), Manhattan, New York;
    formerly Dr. Barrow's clinic, New York
    apparently created on the planet Protaris, Regreb System, Milky Way galaxy;

Education: Primarily educated by android "parents";
    gained knowledge transferred from experiences of Omega;
    limited/brief education at JHS-41 school

First Appearance: (James-Michael Starling) Omega the Unknown I#1 (March, 1976);
    (Omega the Unknown) The Darkhold: Omega#1 (March, 2022)

Powers/Abilities: Although created by the Protar, James-Michael was their ultimate model, and he was fully human.

    He possessed a psionic rapport with other Protar organic creations and a direct psionic link to another secret Protar creation, Omega the Unknown (X3Z). If either Omega or Starling was injured, the other would also feel the pain. The psionic link also caused knowledge that Omega gained to be transferred into the subconscious mind of Starling, and it further caused Starling to endowed with the psionic ability to draw upon Omega's ability to manipulate biospheric energy, an ability Omega also possessed. Omega could also transfer power and knowledge to James-Michael, at least.
    One one occasion, James-Michael's energies -- which were growing in intensity -- linked up with Omega's corpse, and the two exchanged places between Appalachia, Pennsylvania and Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Via his connection with X3Z, James-Michael could draw upon the psionic energy in the biosphere (the life energies of all living beings on a planet) to project energy from his hands, usually as twin blasts (one each from the omega-shaped symbol that appeared on each hand just before the firing), but occasionally fired a single blast from one hand. Early blasts might incapacitate a robot and/or stun or knock out a person without injuring them. As he grew more powerful, his blasts might blow a starship out of the sky.
    His connection and similarities to X3Z led the Protar to mistake Starling for X3Z on multiple occasions (see comments).
    Even as an adult, he had limits to his energy-manipulation powers, and he could exhaust them in combat, leaving him physically drained.

    Using biospheric energy beyond an unspecified level threated global destruction. Once he had summoned certain levels energy, he had to discharge them in some fashion.
    If he turned his power inward, he could potentially destroy himself.

    In his youth, having previously only been around his android parents (with minimal interaction with other children), James-Michael was socially awkward, having trouble with joking, sarcasm, etc. He was highly analytical and did not understand emotions initially, but both his time amongst other people and shared experiences drawn from X3Z improved his ability to feel and understand emotions. However, as his powers increased, he became increasing panicked and irrational, attacking others who tried to help him.
    In addition, apparently even prior to his bonding with X3Z, he was prone to hearing voices in his head, which made him feel as if he were two people.
    He demonstrated limited extra-sensory perception, as he proved to be able to sense the presence of his friend Ruth Hart when she passed nearby although he had not seen her. He could even sense her thoughts and detect visual images of those about whom she was thinking.

    Highly intelligent, he could rationally out-debate/argue most adults, to whom he related better than most kids his own age. He had no combat training/abilties.

    As an adult, his sanity apparently suffered some degree of insanity following his experiences in the Other-Realm dimension of Chthon. He remained silent.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6' as an adult; 4'10" to 5' tall at 12-years-old)
Weight:  Unrevealed (approximately 200 ;bs. as an adult; 90-100 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black (possibly brown as adult)

History:
(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - The planet Protaris’ living mechanical inhabitants discovered that, as they had reached the end of their evolution, they would be unable to adapt to the radically changing conditions and climate of their world so that within a relatively short number of years, the Protar would find it uninhabitable.

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - The Protar planned to create a new organic race through bioengineering that would be be able to adapt to perpetuate their culture. 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - The Protar believed that humanoid thought processes and emotional responses were in many ways very different from their own, and so they believed it necessary to learn all they could about humanoid civilizations in order to program the minds of their humanoid creations properly.

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - The Protar constructed a number of prototypes of living, sentient beings, each more truly humanoid than the previous one and each in the form of a different sentient being whom the Protar knew to exist on another planet.

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - The Protar sent each prototype in turn to the respective world with analogous life forms, starting with the least humanoid one. As each model was to think itself a real part of the world on which they had placed it, both the models and the inhabitants of the planets on which the models were placed would be unaware of their true natures and involvement in their project. 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - The Protar would test each prototype to determine how it would function in a society and environment unlike their own. 

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - Each prototype would learn about its adopted culture, and then transfer its experiences "up the chain" to the next, more advanced prototype.
The X3Z (Omega) model was created on Protaris and sent to Srenesk, a planet uniquely suited to teaching him concepts of morality and nobility.

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - The final, purely biological model, human facsimile James-Michael Starling, was sent to Earth where he was raised in an isolated environment in Pennsylvania's Appalachians by a pair of androids in human form (although James-Michael believed them to be his real parents).

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael met other children on certain occasions, but he found them to be boring.

(Omega the Unknown I#2 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael read something about the subway system in Europe having a destructive noise level.

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, James-Michael's parents resolved that he needed to leave their mountain home and go a school in New York so he could interact with human children and be exposed to other children and lifestyles. 

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - The Starlings departed their home and headed to New York, stopping at a motel so James-Michael could sleep overnight.

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - Considered the pinnacle of his warrior caste, X3Z (his name on Srenesk has not been revealed) was chosen by the Sreneskian elders for the honor of being the first of their people to receive the power of manipulating biospheric energy, tapped from Srenesk's life force.

    Checking in on X3Z, the Protar appreciated that such power was too great for X3Z or any being to control, and that there was the added danger that X3Z would pass on the power to their last model and destroy their work. The Protar resolved that X3Z must be removed from Srenesk before he received the power, or else both he and the final model would be able to destroy their worlds..."and we, who sought to form an ideal race, will have created monsters instead." However, despite their efforts, the Protar did not arrive in time.

(Defenders I#77 (fb)) - After Srenesk completed their treatments, the Protar arrived and were mistaken for a conquering race.

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - X3Z battled the Protar on Srenesk.

(Defenders I#77 (fb)) - X3Z's power, as anticipated, overwhelmed him, destroying all Sreneskians (and their civilization) but himself, who was at the eye of the storm; the Protar also survived.

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - Distraught at the energy release's effects, X3Z was subdued by a blast from behind by one of the Protar.

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - X3Z was bound in energy manacles.

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - At the same time, the 12-year-old James-Michael Starling received a clear vision of X3Z's fight during his sleep, but, unaware of his true nature and that the vision was due to his psionic link with X3Z, he believed it was a dream. His screaming drew his "parents," who checked on him and asked him if he could remember the dream, but he told them he could only remember the feeling of a terrible cold and desolation. 

    James-Michael then told his parents that he did not want leave the mountains or go to school. When his father noted that his wishes were irrelevent as he had reached the age when he must interact with other children and lifestyles, James-Michael argued that he had found other children boring and that he could not imagine any other lifestyle. His father explained that this was because imagination was fueled by experience, which was was James-Michael sought to avoid; his father then noted that the discussion was closed, and his parents bade him good night.

    The next morning, as they departed the motel, James-Michael remained silent, explaining when asked that there was only one thing on his mind and that that discussion had been closed. His mother asked if he didn't find the prospect of facing the unknown, learning, and growing to be exciting, and she told him that she envied him for this adventure. James-Michael suggested that she then go in his stead and leave him there, but his mother countered that there were so many areas of knowledge to explore, with the school's facilities and the people he would encounter. After she advised him that human beings weren't as dull as he seemed to believe, his father added that understanding people was a science unto itself. His mother continued that the intellectual need not exist in scholarly isolation, and she encouraged James-Michael that his life was just beginning. 

    Seeing an oncoming truck crossing into their lane as they rounded a curve around the mountainside, James-Michael warned his mother to brace herself, as there was going to be a collision. Indeed, the truck struck the Starlings' car, and James-Michael was ejected, knocked unconscious as he hit the ground. Awakened by the sound of his own heartbeat, James-Michael heard his mother calling to him. Fighting past the pain, he was shocked to encounter the decapitated android head of his mother. Noting she only had seconds left, she told him that while the world may confuse him, he would be alright: Only the voices could harm him. Telling him it was dangerous to listen the voices, her head melted before his eyes.

    James-Michael futilely told his mother that he needed more information, asked which voices, and asked how he would know. As people rushed to his aid, the distraught boy lapsed into a coma.

(Defenders I#77 (fb)) - The Protar declared that the project was ended and that they must destroy both X3Z and the final model. 

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - X3Z broke free, fought his way past the Protar, and reached a ship, from which he departed Srenesk. 

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS / Defenders I#77 (fb)) - X3Z traveled to Earth to protect the boy.

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael was admitted to New York's Barrow Clinic, where he was restrained because he thrashed around in his sleep. 

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - After a month, James-Michael awakened, believing his parents to have died that morning. Fearing the restraints would cause him to panic, James-Michael calmly explained this to his nurse, Ruth Hart, who summoned Dr. Thomas Barrow. Dr. Thomas Barrow released him from his restraints, and asked him about his parents. When James-Michael noted that his parents had been good to him and that he didn't have anything to fear but the voices, Dr. Barrow was intested and asked about these voices, but James-Michael assured him he didn't hear anything.

    After Dr. Barrow informed him that he had been out for a month, James-Michael was pleased that this indicated he would not have to go to that school; Ruth was pleased to finally see a normal reaction from the youth.

    Dr. Barrow ordered pills to help James-Michael sleep so they could talk more in the morning.

(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael questioned Ruth Hart about the pills' chemical composition, duration of action, and potential side effects.

(Omega the Unknown I#1 - BTS) - Intrigued with the boy's lack of physical injuries and his analytical nature but knowing that his cost-conscious board of directors would not allow him to keep James-Michael as a patient, Dr. Barrow asked Ruth to talk to the youth and find something that would win the board to his side. Despite her difficulty in relating to others, Ruth agreed to try.

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - Over the next several weeks, Ruth took James-Michael out into the city and tried to reach him, without success, as he remained largely silent, not even giving her a wink or a nod.

(Omega the Unknown I#1 - BTS) - Ultimately, the board only agreed to allow Dr. Barrow to continue to study James-Michael if he supplied the funds ($500/week). As a result, Dr. Barrow had Ruth -- who both wanted the responsibility and needed the money -- place James-Michael under the care of herself  and her roommate, photographer Amber Grant. 

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - Barrow provided funding for Ruth to care for James-Michael.

(Omega the Unknown I#1) - Seeking out Ruth at work, Amber found James-Michael playing chess with himself. She told him she couldn't do that because she kept anticipating the other her's moves, and James-Michael told her that it was easier when you felt like two people all the time. Appreciating that, she said, "the voices can get pretty loud sometimes, don't they?" As he excitedly asked her if she knew about the voices and she started to acknowledge, Ruth then arrived, and they told James-Michael he would be moving in. Amber sympathized with the confused James-Michael, noting that the sucker was always the last two know, but that he was getting the "bum's rush" from Dr. Barrow's hospital and that if he didn't want to live with them, he could get shipped to the "funny farm." Although not understanding Amber completely, James-Michael found her interesting, and he agreed to go live with them.

    That evening, prior to his departure from the Barrow Clinic, James-Michael felt aglow as he excitedly considered Amber. Suddenly, one of the Protar -- apparently tracking X3Z and mistaking James-Michael's similar nature and energies -- broke into his room, analyzing him thusly "the correct target...yet it has altered its proportions...no matter. I shall kill it anyway." Having either tracked James-Michael and found him at the time of the attack or having pursued the Protar to him, X3Z  arrived and battled the Protar. James-Michael found his previous exciemt excitation replaced by cold, calculated loathing (possibly from his rapport with James-Michael). When the Protar got the drop on X3Z with his blaster, James-Michael unexpectedly fired blasts through omega-shaped sites on his palms, incapacitating the Protar. 

    As X3Z approached him, James-Michael recognized the man from the dreams he had had, but as he began to question him further, X3Z took the Protar and departed. Drawn by the commotion, Dr. Barrow arrived, and found James-Michael's apparent burn wounds on his palms. James-Michael noted the burning sensation; unaccustomed to pain, he noted that it was interesting.

(Omega the Unknown I#2) - Believing the wounds to be self-inflicted due to their identical, distinct appearance, and the destruction of the room due to some "adrenal rampage," Dr. Barrow ordered some testing.

    X3Z watched through a window as Dr. Barrow ran a battery of tests on James-Michael. Dr. Barrow noted that James-Michael's body chemistry was only just beginning to return to normal, which supported his initial assessment. Considering James-Michael bright enough to understand, Dr. Barrow noted that they were not sure what were the neurologic and psychologic effects of the crash and James-Michael's subsequent coma. Dr. Barrow subsequently asked him if he was sorry that his parents were dead, and James-Michael noted his uncertainty, asking if he should be, and considering that while he appreciated all they did for him, taught him, and the home they gave him, engaging in such grief would not reverse what had happened. 

    After Dr. Barrow explained how they studied the brain and the mind at his clinic, James-Michael admitted he enjoyed learning of all kind, although he gravitated toward the hard sciences. Dr. Barrow then told James-Michael that he would be the next subject of study, after which he sent the youth to bed, noting he would be moving in with Ruth and Amber the next day.

(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - The results of the testing on James-Michael confounded some of the best medical minds in the USA. 

(Omega the Unknown I#2) - As Amber and Ruth brought James-Michael out to the city, he noted that he did not approve of the subway system's noise level. Amber cut him off, telling him to get a load of his neighborhood, "Hell's Kitchen," as they walked past some guys cat-calling Amber and another man begging for change. As they entered Ruth and Amber's apartment building, James-Michael noted the odor of human excrement. Within the apartment, as Ruth assaulted a cockroach with some bug spray, James-Michael wondered if she knew of the effects of aerosol sprays on the ozone layer. Amber then showed James-Michael to his room, impressing him by revealing that she and Ruth had built the bunk bed themselves. Surprised at the small size of the apartment and the bars on the window, he nonetheless admired the way that they had conserved space.

    Later, as X3Z fought a pair of criminal, one of them shot him in the shoulder, and the pain of this wound was felt simultaneously by James-Michael. Ruth and Amber rushed in to check on him, asking is he had one of his "attacks" similar to what had happened at Dr. Barrow's clinic. As Ruth called Dr. Barrow, James-Michael told Amber that he was hearing the voices and that the pain was diminishing; he wondered if this was some sort of pubescent experience, one unlike any he had read about.

(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Amber told James-Michael how the Daily Bugle's publisher, J. Jonah Jameson, harbored doubts about a woman photographer such as her. 

(Omega the Unknown I#2) - The next day, as Amber and James-Michael walked the streets, James-Michael noted that he was glad Ruth had been unable to reach Dr. Barrow and that he did not understand why an intelligent woman needed to panic. After telling James-Michael that there were a lot of things he didn't understand, which she punctuated by pointing out the "wino" (actually Bruce Banner) sleeping on the sidewalk; she confirmed James-Michael's question that there were charitable organizations an alcoholic could go, but not if he wanted to keep drinking. The two of them then passed by X3Z, now working at the pawn shop owned by "Gramps," but James-Michael didn't recognize him in his jacket and hardhat.

    Amber then took James-Michael into Rose and Bob's to treat him to an egg cream, the name of which puzzled him, but he enjoyed a chocolate one. However, Zach and a pair of unidentified homeless men then unwittingly accosted Banner for sleeping in their space, knocking him into Rose and Bob's and leading him to transform into the Hulk. Overwhelmed, James-Michael noted the green man and the voices in his head, while Amber noted that this was how she made her money as she started taking pictures. X3Z tried to stop the Hulk with limited success before being blasted unconscious by Electro (Matt Dillon), who wanted his aid to restore the incapacitated Protar he had stolen from X3Z earlier. 

(Omega the Unknown I#2 - BTS ) - When Electro blasted X3Z, James-Michael collapsed as well...

(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - ...falling off the soda fountain stool. As he lay on the floor, voices crowded his consciousness out of his brain. The sensation was tactile, not auditory. 

(Omega the Unknown I#2) - When Amber returned to Rose and Bob's, she found Ruth -- who was in the area and had been drawn by the commotion -- with the unconscious James-Michael.

(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael was taken to Dr. Barrow's clinic.

(Omega the Unknown I#3) - As James-Michael read a Daily Bugle headline article, featuring a picture taken by Amber and identifying X3Z as Omega, Ruth noted that his traumatic introduction to the city could be contributing to his fainting spells. When James-Michael instead asked whether Amber was pleased that her photo made the Daily Bugle's first page, Ruth noted how he was an expert at changing the subject. She then told him how worried she'd been about him, and when he tried to dismiss this concern, he appreciated that he seemed to have offended or hurt her somehow. 

    Another nurse interrupted, sending him to meet with Dr. Barrow; as Ruth told him she would meet him the reception area afterward,James-Michael only heard this subliminally as his mind was again filled with voices. 

    Dr. Barrow told James-Michael that while they had identified ceertain biochemical effects the "attacks" caused in James-Michael, they could not identify any organic cause. When James-Michael expressed interest in helping, Dr. Barrow told him he needed to open up a little. James-Michael replied that he had not had blackouts when he lived in the mountains, after which they discussed potential psychosomatic causes given the recent traumas he had experienced. 

    Dr. Barrow further asked James-Michael to come to him if he ever felt pressure building up and/or whenever there was something Ruth could not help him understand. He then informed James-Michael that Ruth had arranged for him to start school that day and -- while Ruth thought he wouldn't be able to cope with school yet -- he thought it was just what James-Michael needed. 

    At JHS-41 school, James-Michael declined Principal Anderson's offer to show him to his first class, preferring to start learning his way around the corridors on his own. Arriving in the out-of-control classroom of his adviser, Mr. Beal, James-Michael accidentally surprised him by approaching him from behind and received a slap in the face as a result. Mr. Beal unapologetically told James-Michael he was late and that he should take a seat, and while some students laughed at or jeered him, Dian Wilkins, introduced herself and invited him to lunch with her and introduced him to her friend John Nedly, despite his stand-offish nature. 

    James-Michael also encountered local bully Nick Delbello; although Dian and John advised James-Michael to avoid his path, James-Michael found that inefficient as he was meeting Amber nearby. Nick tried to force him to pay a toll to leave the school and then punched him in the chin as he tried to depart with Amber. Shocked at being punched without provocation, he asked Amber how he was supposed to deal with that, she asked if he considered hitting him back. When they returned to the apartment, she advised him to watch a telethon to take his mind off of things. 

    James-Michael watched as the telethon showed Omega defeating Electro and the Protar warrior who were holding it hostage...unable to select from the the thousand voices in his head which to allow to speak, he remained silent. However, he heard the voices with new clarity, as they had begun to speak to him, not to rail at him. Something was different in his universe...

(Omega the Unknown I#4 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael asked if he could attend a private school. 

(Omega the Unknown I#4) - Ruth explained to James-Michael that they could not afford to put him in a private school, and Amber suggested that JHS-41 would toughen him up, put some hair on his chest, and develop his animal cunning. James-Michael argued that whatever body hair he acquired would sprout naturally, that he had no desire to develop into an animal, and that he was becoming impatient with her endless attempts to provoke him. Pleased with him standing up for himself, Amber joined Ruth in escorting him to school. 

    John teased James-Michael for showing up with two older women, and Dian brought him a book, "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," to make his time at JHS-41 more bearable. When he noted that he preferred factual reading, John advised him that while non-fiction taught you about life, fiction taught you how to live. They then again encountered Nick and his friends, who demanded the 50 cent toll James-Michael owed him. As James-Michael futilely tried to reason with Nick, Dian defused things somewhat by escorting James-Michael to his class. As they left, Dian explained that Nick had no status in assaulting her, while John explained that they typically only started fights when they had three-to-one odds against their victim. 

    Later, in science class, after Nick switched two of his beaker's, James-Michael tried to warn Mr. Lucien that a violent reaction would occur, but was ignored and silenced. After John Nedly rushed forward and hurled the smoking beaker out of the window just before it exploded, Mr. Lucien took John and James-Michael to see principal Anderson and accused them of tampering with his experiment and then tried to make him appear a fool. After the two youths stated the facts, Mr. Anderson dismissed them and continued the discussion with Mr. Lucien in private. 

(Omega the Unknown I#4 - BTS) - When John went to the bathroom, he was badly beaten by Nick and friends, who incorrectly assumed that he and James-Michael had revealed his involvement. 

(Omega the Unknown I#5) - James-Michael was sitting with Dian and others in the cafeteria when the badly beaten John stumbled in; after considering that John might die, James-Michael's mind overloaded, and he hallucinated demonic voices and faces; he vaguely heard classmate Thomas "Tank" Tyson voice the word "revenge." His disorientation began to fade as John was taken away in and ambulance, and he felt bad for his friend. 

    After school, Amber rushed James-Michael to the Daily Bugle, where he shocked J. Jonah Jameson -- who was trying to pay Amber less than the agreed upon amount for her Hulk vs. Omega photograph -- by logically explaining why his arguments were faulty. After Jameson agreed to pay, Peter Parker asked James-Michael for a consultation to help him with Jameson. Later, at Rose and Bob's, he and Amber enjoyed an egg cream, and he complimented Bob on the repairs done following the damage from the Hulk. James-Michael then discussed John's hospitalization and noting that the voices he heard were like a vastly magnified version of the sound of wind through a seashell. As Ruth passed by outside, James-Michael sensed her presence and noted how he could hear her having a monolog about someone named Richard, and that he could see an image of some sort of strange, animalistic human (presumably the Man-Thing?). This sensation then swiftly faded, and James-Michael asked if they could get Dr. Barrow to arrange to see John in the hospital. 

(Omega the Unknown I#5 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael called Dr. Barrow when they got back home, and Amber and Ruth brought James-Michael and Dian to meet him at Midtown Receiving Hospital. Dr. Barrow called John's doctor, Abe Dansker, to facilitate this. 

(Omega the Unknown I#5) - After Dr. Barrow convinced him it was OK, Dr. Dansker allowed James-Michael and Dian to see John, still unconscious and in critical condition following surgery for internal injuries. 

    Later, they were still in the hospital when a badly beaten Nick Delbello was brought in on a gurney.

(Omega the Unknown I#6) - James-Michael had a nightmare involving Omega, and he was surprised to find Ruth, rather than Amber checking on him. After Ruth teased him that Amber had gone out on a date, he told her that her unwarranted sarcasm was becoming tedious, and she apologized over worrying about a "prepubescent robot." Feeling a need to stretch his legs, James-Michael went downstairs and awakened a homeless man sleeping by the doorstep to get outside. When the man tried to talk, James-Michael expressed disinterest and eventually pushed the man away when he grabbed his arm. Feeling bad after the man fell down and noted that he was alone in the world, James-Michael gave him a coin and then felt foolish for having done so.

    Later, after seeing "Looie" batter a woman (he may have been her boyfriend, or her pimp, or her drug-dealer), James-Michael tried to intervene in her defense, only to have her lash out at him, mock his youth, and tell him to mind his own business. Seeing Amber and her date, Dennis, James-Michael became uncomfortable with his feelings for her, and he hid as they walked by.

(Omega the Unknown I#6 - BTS) - Learning James-Michael had run out, Amber went back out to find him.

(Omega the Unknown I#6 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael went into an arcade where a boy taught him how to play pinball.

(Omega the Unknown I#6) - After James-Michael repeatedly won at pinball and earned a free game, the other boy accused James-Michael of hustling him. When James-Michael refused to leave, the boy and three of his friends prepared to teach him a lesson, at which point Amber arrived and defused the situation. He started to explain that he hadn't needed to be protected, but she clarified that she had just provided a shortcut out of the hassle. 

    As they crossed a dark construction site, they were confronted by the violently addled Kurt Klemmer (aka the Wrench). Having been observing Klemmer, Omega leapt down from a ledge into Klemmer's back, knocking his wrench out of his hand, but then Klemmer pulled a gun and shot Omega...

(Omega the Unknown I#7 (fb) - BTS) - grazing his temple and knocking him out.

(Omega the Unknown I#6) - Telling James-Michael to run, Amber used her limited self-defense training to futilely strike Klemmer, who swatted her unconscious and then raised his wrench to finish her off. Desperate to protect her, James-Michael became distraught and again unleashed energy blasts from his hands, incapacitating Klemmer. He afterward dropped to his knees, still thinking "no..."

(Omega the Unknown I#7) - Awakening and seeing James-Michael's hands smoldering, Omega prepared to explain their connection, but approaching police allowed him only to take James-Michael a short distance away and tell him the blasts were "secret." James-Michael subsequently returned to Amber, deflecting her question of where he had gone and leading her to take him home. 

    The next day, Sunday, as James-Michael and Amber went to visit John Nedley, JM wondered how the school could allow the beating of a passive innocent, but she told him the school did not care. They soon encountered Dian and invited her along, and she told them of the boy Woody whose parents gave him so much grief that he never smiled. They were interrupted by the sounds of the criminal Blockbuster assaulting a nearby bank, and Amber told them to stay there while she got pictures for the Daily Bugle. Instead, Dian convinced the reluctant James-Michael to follow Amber. 

    As a result, James-Michael watched as Omega less-than-successfully battled Blockbuster, and he remained silent as the crowd jeered Omega for letting Blockbuster go. 

(Omega the Unknown I#8) - As Omega unsuccessfully battled Nitro, James-Michael felt a sense of bewilderment while waiting the Port Authority Bus Terminal, as the voices in his head overwhelmed the local clamor. Alongside Dian, he joined Ruth in greeting her arriving friend, Richard Rory. James-Michael awkwardly greeted Rory and then made things more awkward when Rory noted that he was sure "Jim" would be better company than his last roommate, and James-Michael assumed that he was referring to his recent prison stay. As they reached their apartment, James-Michael sensed -- via their psychic rapport -- Omega watching from atop a nearby building. As they entered the apartment, James-Michael was pleased when Rory offered to have a "man-to-man" talk to get to know each other better.

    Later, as Omega defeated/drove-off Nitro but was buried in debris when the roof collapsed, James-Michael was briefly overwhelmed by the same sensation, and when he noted that he felt the world was falling on him, Rory acknowledged that he knew the feeling. After Rory panicked after receiving a letter, James-Michael picked up the dropped card containing a warning from Foolkiller, which mystified him.

(Omega the Unknown I#9) - As Omega awoke in the building's ruins, trapped under metal and surrounded by flames, James-Michael developed a fever and struggled to breathe. After Omega ultimately blasted the debris off of him and leapt to safety, James-Michael immediately returned to normal.

    James-Michael subsequently appreciated that Mr. Rory seemed agitated and asked the reason, but Rory told maybe he'd tell him when James-Michael was older, and at least he was going to get older. James-Michael watched  silently as Rory talked to Ruth about Foolkiller and when Amber angrily grabbed the handyman Guillermo when the showers only had cold water. However, the "new" Foolkiller (Greg Salinger) then arrived at Ruth and Amber's apartment and demonstrated his power and madness, using his purification gun to incinerate a chair. After Foolkiller related how he had been inspired during their time as prison inmates by Rory's tales of the previous Foolkiller (Ross. G. Everbest) and then blasted his way out of the apartment, James-Michael countered Rory's assertion that Greg was insane by implying that Hell's Kitchen had plenty of fools who deserved to meet the Foolkiller.

(Omega the Unknown I#10 (fb) - BTS) - Omega resolved to earn enough money to move James-Michael out of Hell's Kitchen as soon as possible to save him from the physical, mental, and emotional dangers present there.

(Omega the Unknown I#9 - BTS) - Back at Gramps' apartment, Omega abruptly asked Gramps for money, taking his entire $300 but refusing to explain his reasons, after which he departed. 

(Omega the Unknown I#10 (fb) - BTS) - Returning the box of stolen gems to the jewelery store, Omega obtained the reward, some of which he used to purchase two tickets to Las Vegas, Nevada.

(Omega the Unknown I#10) - Alongside Dian, Amber, Ruth, Omega, and others, James-Michael attended the funeral of John Nedley, who had died after being playfully knocked down after returning to school, due to complications from his previous injuries. Ruth noted that James-Michael shed a tear.

    Afterward, James-Michael told Dian that he did not intend to die in Hell's Kitchen like John. After he clarified that he intended to remove himself from this intolerable environment, and Dian asked if there was room in his life for a fellow refugee.

(Omega the Unknown I#10 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael "borrowed a small sum" from Amber's wallet and left a note that he was leaving by bus.

(Omega the Unknown I#10) - Dian and James-Michael subsequently met up at the port authority bus terminal at 9pm. He bought her a hot chocolate, telling her they were heading to the mountains where he was raised, and he noted that he was pleased she was accompanying him.

    After midnight, their bus dropped them off in Pennsylvania (somewhere ending in "vill" (an "e" at the end seems likely)), and James-Michael told Dian that his parents' home was some distance from that town and that they would have to walk thirty minutes to get there. As a city kid, Dian was intimidated by the idea, but James-Michael assured her that the danger was minimal. 

(Omega the Unknown I#10 - BTS) - With James-Michael missing, Ruth chided Richard for letting him out of the apartment after dark, and then Amber found the note. As they didn't know where he had gone, Amber advised they wait for a phone call.

(Omega the Unknown I#10) - When they arrived at his former home, Dian was impressed with the large and advanced facility, but she found it odd, as if it didn't seem to have ever been lived in. Seeking a bathroom, Dian screamed after encountering inert robot duplicates of his parents. 

(Omega the Unknown I#10 - BTS) - In Vegas raising money, Omega was fatally shot by police while assaulting the cyborg criminal Ruby Thursday who had stolen his money and was in the form of a normal woman.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8: Omega) - Omega died approximately two months after his arrival on Earth.

(Defenders I#76 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael and Dian spent a week at the Starling house.

(Defenders I#76 (fb) - BTS) - A fleet of Protar seeking Omega traveled to Earth. 

(Defenders I#75 - BTS) - Richard Rory and Amber Grant asked the Defenders' Valkyrie and Hellcat to help them locate the missing James-Michael Starling, who had taken a bus with his friend Dian Wilkins to the house of his "parents."

(Defenders I#76 (fb) - BTS) - Needing transport, Valkyrie and Hellcat sought aid from the Avengers and Fantastic Four; only the Wasp was available, and she joined them, piloting an Avengers Quinjet.

(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - <A week after James-Michael's disappearance> - Amber, Richard, Hellcat, Valkyrie, Wasp, and Ruth Hart headed toward the site of the car crash from which James-Michael had first publicly appeared. Amber noted how Omega had disappeared the same time James-Michael had, and that she had had a feeling that there was some connection between the two of them. 

(Defenders I#76) - Aided by her monstrous servant, Dibbuk, the cyborg Ruby Thursday stole Omega's body from the Las Vegas morgue and gained entrance into the morgue, plotting to incorporate Omega's power into her own robotic circuitry and thereby gain his biospheric powers. They brought his body to a secret room in downtown Las Vegas, and Ruby prepared to perform an autopsy.

(Defenders I#76) - The contingent aboard the Avengers quinjet spotted the Protar fleet.

(Defenders I#76) - Having found a pair of android duplicates of James-Michael's parents, James-Michael reasoned that they were duplicates and questioned whether he might not be a robot,too. Dian tried to soothe him, but James-Michael desperately tried to determine the logical explanation for everything; and as his frustration grew, the omega "stigmata" reappeared on his palms, further distressing him, as they seemed to develop more easily each time. Hearing voices in his head (of the Protar, of his "parents," etc.), he cried out for them to get out of his head and leave him alone. His outburst frightened Dian, who talked him back to his senses. James-Michael then told her of the the voices in his head, which his "mother" had warned him about. Sensing the approaching robots, James-Michael told Dian "They've found us!" and he led the confused girl to flee to somewhere else, where "they" couldn't find them.

(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - A Protar reported to the fleet commander that they had located the prime subject, although he noted that its proportions were altered, smaller and more compact; this was actually James-Michael in his parents' house in the Pennsylvania Appalachians. 

    Due to the energies and power levels within James-Michael, they mistakenly believed him to be X3Z. Resolving that he must be destroyed, the commander directed all units to the target area. 

(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - As the Protar fleet headed toward Starling's house, the Avengers quinjet followed them; unaware of the fleet's connection to James-Michael, Wasp considered these alien ships to be the higher priority.

(Defenders I#76) - As soon as James-Michael and Dian were outside of the house, Protar began traveling down a beam of energy from a ship. 

    One of the Protar noted that he had sighted the subject but then realized that this model was completely organic yet it held the previous model's identified energy. 

    As the Protar raised its weapon, resolving to terminate the model and seek answers after the threat had been removed, James-Michael lashed out, destroying the Protar with an energy blast from his hand. 

    As other Protar continued to beam down, another Protar confirmed that this was the same energy that had destroyed their first agent on Earth, but that the power level was more than doubled; it instructed the others to terminate the subject at all costs. 

    As Amber had spotted James-Michael, the Wasp then flew the Quinjet by and dropped off Hellcat and Valkyrie, who joined the fight against the Protar. Feeling that there were too many of the Protar to stop and that he had brought this upon all of them, James-Michael began to panic, and, at Valkyrie's urging, Dian led him inside the house. 

(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - Due to the overwhelming odds, Hellcat sent out a general SOS from the Quinjet. 

    Having been monitoring cosmic developments on Earth and having heard Hellcat's summons, Moondragon then arrived; quickly learning the situation telepathically from Hellcat, Moondragon confronted the Protar leader, denying him entrance into the house unless he stated his business there. 

    Acknowledging that he had no quarrel with Moondragon (whom he addressed as "priestess"), the Protar commander noted the mission to be imperative. Before anything further could be discussed, there was a flash of light...

(Defenders I#76 (fb) - BTS) - Having become increasingly distraught, James-Michael's energies linked up to the corpse of Omega, and the two exchanged places.

(Defenders I#76 (fb) - BTS) - When the light faded, James-Michael was gone, and Omega's corpse lay in his place. 

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - James-Michael reappeared in the Las Vegas room in which Ruby had held Omega's after she and Dibbuk had stolen it from the morgue in hopes of mastering his power.

(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - Sensing the absence of the energy they had tracked was no longer present, the Protar departed immediately to retrack the energy.

(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - When Amber, Hellcat, Ruth, Rory, Valkyrie, Wasp, and Dian entered the house, they saw Omega's corpse, and Dian told them what she had seen.

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - The Protar tracked James-Michael's energies to Ruby's Las Vegas room. The Defenders followed the Protar to Las Vegas, but they did not know exactly where to find the Protar, and so they wandered the streets.

(Defenders I#77) - As Dibbuk restrained James-Michael, Ruby chastised him for taking away the means she had discovered to destroy the Avengers. She asked him how he had arrived there, and what he had done with Omega, and James-Michael futilely explained that he had no idea what had happened. 

    After Ruby concluded that she would instead dissect James-Michael to learn the source of his power, one of the Protar broke down the door into Ruby's room, noting, "Target sighted! Immediate liquidation will follow!"

(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - Reacting to a perceived threat to Ruby, Dibbuk punched the Protar...

(Defenders I#77) - ...inadvertently knocking it back through the wall and into the streets as the Defenders passed by. As the Defenders engaged Ruby and Dibbuk, James-Michael slipped away and fled down an alley. 

    Frustrated, James-Michael questioned why it was so hard to think, as he was typically the cold analytical one. He considered that everything was happening too fast and that none of it made any sense.

    When a Protar ship appeared overhead, James-Michael panicked and reflexively released his biospheric energy, blasting the ship out of the sky and forcing it to crash into a building; unlike previous times, the power did not burn his hands, nor did the power abate: He continued to glow in power as he became more frightened.

.

(The Darkhold: Omega#1 (fb) - BTS) - Apparently escaping incineration and reviving under unrevealed circumstances, James-Michael evolved into the next Omega the Unknown. Departing on a dimensional pilgrimage, he was waylaid in the Other-Realm dimension of the Elder God Chthon, where -- in its entropy -- he found an endless well to observe and record.

(The Darkhold: Omega#1 (fb) - BTS) - During James-Michael's absence, the android head of -- presumably the replacement unit left in their house following the destruction of the original following the crash that left James-Michael "orphaned" -- the mother who had raised him spent her time hoarding local data in preparation for his return.

(The Darkhold: Omega#1) - As Chthon's immense hand confronted the Defiled -- Darkhold-tainted versions of Black Bolt, Blade, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the Wasp -- Omega appeared amidst an energy sphere that erupted with a blast of bio-spheric injury that drove back Chthon's hand.

    After Iron Man sensed the bio-spheric energies and identified the stranger as from outside this realm, the Darkhold-addled Blade considered him competition and rushed to attack him, only to be blasted back by Omega.

    Spider-Man threatened Omega that they had taken down Chthon's army and could easily handle him, but they were interrupted when Chthon then confronted them all.

    His energies spent in the initial assault, Omega was casually dismissed by Chthon. However, the Scarlet Witch and Dr. Doom the arrived, and the Scarlet Witch ultimately absorbed the Darkhold and then imprisoned Chthon within herself and returned her allies to Earth, where she removed the Darkhold's influences on them, leaving behind only vague memories.

(The Darkhold: Omega#1 (fb) - BTS) - Omega was sent back to an Appalachian village in Pennsylvania, where he was joined by Mother Head.

(The Darkhold: Omega#1) - Traveling to Appalachia, Wasp encountered their silent ally alongside a floating head. Mother Head detailed Omega's history prior to their encounter in Dormammu's realm. Mother Head then revealed James-Michael/Omega's identity and noted that they had returned to their home to mingle their findings and to repair their bond.

    Mother Head vowed that she would not lose her son again.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes and Jim Mooney.

    James-Michael Starling...is that his real name?

James-Michael was created by the Protar, and he was given a human name to fit in on Earth. If Omega, the penultimate version, was X3Z, and James-Michael was the ultimate version, perhaps he would have been Y3Z. Of course, the Protar would not have used an terrestrial alphabet, so it was all equivalent translation, but that was alway my thought reading these stories as a young teenager.

    If Protaris was becoming uninhabitable, and the Protar had space travel technology, why didn't they just relocate? As mechanical beings, they shouldn't have had as many requirements as organic/flesh and blood creatures...   

    Having created James-Michael and sent him to Earth, I'm not sure why the Protar were so confused about who he was. Each time Protar initially encountered him, they considered him to be X3Z, somehow having changed his size.
    The real reason is that the resolution was that Gerber and Skrenes didn't write the final story/origin of Omega in the Defenders...it was Steven Grant. I forget the details, but Gerber had split with Marvel at that point.
    I definitely enjoyed the resolution in Defenders (at the time I read it, it was the first I had ever heard of or seen Omega (or Ruby Thursday). It was a great story, with a number of cool back-stories going on. Plus some Avengers characters, who I knew better than the Defenders back then. I went on a mission to collect the Omega the Unknown series, but it was not until MUCH later that I appreciated that Omega's creators were not involved in the coda to Omega's story.

.

.     I, for one, would love to learn more about X3Z's predecessors in the steps from Protar to humanoid.     At least two (seen to the left here) were shown between the Protar and Omega.     The names of the Protar (and planet Protaris) and the Sreneskians (and planet Srenesk) were revealed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14's Omega entry. Also revealed in that entry was the star system Regreb, obviously an anagram for (and homage to) Gerber.  Probably wouldn't have been so obvious if they had instead called it Nesserk.

   Omega OHotMU errata:

    The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition I#15: Omega entry notes his cause of death as "self-destructed." Obviously he was shot to death, but James-Michael destroyed himself to spare Dian, so James-Michael self-destructed, but Omega did not.

    The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8: Omega entry notes that "Moondragon took <their> lifeless forms into space, where they apparently incinerated in a sun." Again, not specifically wrong, but she specifically sent then on a trajectory into Earth's sun.

    Over forty years for a return for James-Michael Starling, and now he's the next Omega. Hopefully whoever picks up him next has an appreciation of the character and uses him well.
    Forty years of real time would amount to about 8 years of Marvel Time, so if James-Michael was 12 in 1979, he would be about 21-years-old as of 2026.

    Thanks to MarvelousLuke for cleaning up the cover icon image, which was partially overlapped by Omega's head.

    This profile was completed 04/22/2023, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25^th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Omega (the Unknown) / James-Michael Starling has no KNOWN connections to:

• OMEGA the UNKNOWN (X3Z) - Protar-created predecessor to James-Michael--Omega the Unknown#1
  
• OMEGA the UNKNOWN of Reality-7190 - created by the Omegas and sent to watch over Alex Island--Omega: The Unknown#1
  
• OMEGA - android created by Maximus to lead an alpha Primitive revolt, later taken over by Ultron-7--Fantastic Four I#131
• OMEGA - alias briefly used by the Man-Beast--Thor I#134
• OMEGA of the Thanosi - merged with DNA of Galactus, destroyed by explosion of fissionable planet--Infinity Abyss#6
• OMEGA (Michael Pointer) - later Weapon Omega; formerly merged with depowered mutant energies as the Collective; mutant with ability to absorb mutant energy--New Avengers I#16
• OMEGA - alleged fallen angel; active as part of the "Ultravengers"--UNKNOWN
• OMEGA the ONE-MAN ARMY - merged form of Scramble (Lionel Jeffries) & Roger Bochs--Alpha Flight I#48
• The alien OMEGA race created by the Celestials to colonize the Second Cosmos--Defenders IV#10
• OMEGA-20 (Eugene Omega-20) of Earth-700 - cyborg citizen of Tranquility City, lover of Cassandra Locke; underwent radical genetic alteration for life in deep space, assisted Alexander Locke in locating Cassandra's evidence of Skrull treachery--Marvel: The Lost Generation I#7
• OMEGA 32 - research project, controlled by the Commission, involved with Roxxon's hard air project, involved killing all superhumans who are saturated with nanotechnology--Thunderbolts I#35
• OMEGA BASE of Earth-61024 - SHIELD base attacked by the Masters of Evil--Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
• OMEGA BLACK - clone creation of the Omega Clan--Uncanny X-Force I#25
• OMEGA CLAN - a secret organization that created clones of Omega Red, created by the White Sky & hired by Daken's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to battle X-Force--Uncanny X-Force I#25
• OMEGA COMPOUND - a biochemical weapon used by David Ferrari to destroy AIM base as last resort to prevent it from launching a gene altering chemical in the Middle East, later sought by AIM--Captain America III#35
• OMEGA CONFEDERATION - group formed by the Confederation of Planets to hire Deadpool Corps to fight pirates and bandits--Deadpool Corps#6Omega Core - space settlement, associated with Kyln--Thanos#7
• OMEGA FLIGHT - former Gamma & Beta Flight members manipulated by Jerry Jaxon into attacking Alpha Flight--Alpha Flight I#11
• OMEGA FLIGHT - group formed by the Master of the World to battle Alpha Flight--Alpha Flight I#110
• OMEGA FLIGHT - Canadian government-backed heroic team formed to stop US superhumans fleeing into Canada--Civil War I#7
• OMEGA GANG - created by Quintavius Quire, Xavier School, out to avenge mutant attacks, used Kick, kidnapped Xavier and started a riot at the Institute--New X-Men#135
• OMEGA MACHINE - a device created by the Dark Beast and Norman Osborn to drain a mutant's power--Uncanny X-Men I#513
• OMEGA PRIME SENTINELS - a sub-category of mutant-hunting Sentinels - including Karima Shapandar - alias Omega Sentinel--X-Men Unlimited#27
• OMEGA RAY - alternate identity of extradimensional demon and Beta Ray Bill foe Asteroth--Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill#3
• OMEGA RED (Arkady Rossovitch) - Russian mutant, Wolverine foe--X-Men II#4
• OMEGA RED - clone creation of the Omega Clan--Uncanny X-Force#25
• OMEGA Sentinel (Karima Shapandar) - X-Men ally converted to Omega Prime Sentinel after being captured by Bastion--X-Men Unlimited I#27
• OMEGA SKRULL of Reality-982 - cyborg Skrull, would be destroyer of worlds--Spider-Girl I#46
• OMEGA STONE - power item, part of the Lifestone Tree, and more specifically part of stone discovered on Kree-Lar thousands of years ago which was broken into Alpha + Omega stones - used to power smaller stones - which mutated the original guardians of the galaxy--Marvel Team-Up I#16
• OMEGA TEAM - MI-6 team led by Stone - sought to prove selves as best team in MI-6 - taken out in invasion of Hellfire Base--Master of Kung Fu II#2
• OMEGA TEAM of Earth-93060 - team of three ultra-assassins payed to kill Hardcase--Hardcase#3
• OMEGATRON - magic/science construct - Defenders foe--Marvel Feature I#1
• OMEGA WHITE - clone creation of the Omega Clan--Uncanny X-Force I#25
• KID OMEGA (Quintavius Quire) - omega level mutant telepath, Xavier Institute student, former leader of the Omega Gang-X-Men II#122
• PARADISE OMEGA - the Goddess' headquarters in space - created from debris of Counter-Earth and later destroyed by Thanos--Infinity Crusade#1
• PRESTER OMEGA of Earth-11127- guardian of the Concordance Engine--Defenders IV#2
• WEAPON OMEGA  - an identity used by Kyle Gibney (Wild Child) of Omega Flight--Alpha Flight I#102
• UNKNOWN – see LURKING UNKNOWN--Thor I#136
• UNKNOWN LAND of the Hyborian era - precursor of Australia; former base of Serpent Men--Savage Sword of Conan#190
• STARLING (Tiana Toomes) - granddaughter of Vulture, given winged suit by him, friend and romantic interest of Spider-Man (Miles Morales)--Miles Morales: Spider-Man#5
• STARLING of "Earth-6871" - agent of Eagle/Red Skull--Captain America: The Great Gold Steal 
• STARLING, agent CLARICE – FBI--Silence of the Lambs, Spider-Man: Secret of the Sinister Six
• or any other "Omega" characters, teams, items, races, places, etc.
• or any other "Omega,"  "Unknown," or "Starling" characters
  

images: (without ads)
Omega the Unknown I#1, pg. 17, panel. 6-7 (outstretching hands & firing blasts);
       pg. 18, panel 6 (omega symbols on hands);
    #2, pg. 1 (staring at scars on hands);
       pg. 6, panel 4 (full, distant; street clothes)
    #6, cover (head partially covered by Omega's head in inset box);
        pg.. 17, panel 4-5 (blasting Wrench and then collapsing);
    #10, pg. 1 (full body, distant, suit);
       pg. 3, panel 6 (with Dian);
Defenders I#76, pg. 5, panel 6-7 (mind racing; holding head);
    #77, pg. 12, panel 7 (Moondragon linking JM's mind with Protar);
        pg. 13, panel 4 (Protar showing five models on screen);
        pg. 17, panel 3 (full body glow);
            panel 5 (with energy, realizing Dian is nearby);
            panel 6 (turning energy in on himself);
        pg. 18, panel 1 (Dian with ashes)
    #78, pg. 5, panel 6 (space coffin);
The Darkhold: Omega#1, pg. 14 (energy bursting Chthon's hand apart);
       pg. 15, panel 4 (blasting back possessed Blade);
       pg, 17, panel 1 (exhausted, confronted by Chthon);
       pg. 27, panel 1 (full Omega);
          panel 3 (Omega hands);
          panel 4 (head and upper body costume detail);

Appearances:
Omega the Unknown I#1 (March, 1976) – Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes (writers), Jim Mooney (art), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#2 (May, 1976)  – Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes (writers), Jim Mooney (art), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#3 (July, 1976) – Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes (writers), Jim Mooney (art), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#4 (September, 1976) – Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes (writers), Jim Mooney, Pablo Markus (art), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#5 (November, 1976) – Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes (writers), Jim Mooney (art), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#6 (January, 1977) – Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes (writers), Jim Mooney, Mike Esposito (art), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#7 (March, 1977) – Scott Edelman (writer), Jim Mooney (art), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Howard the Duck I#10 (March, 1977) – Steve Gerber (writer, editor), Gene Colan (penciler), Steve Leialoha (inker)
Omega the Unknown I#8 (May, 1977) – Roger Stern (writer), Lee Elias (penciler), Jim Mooney (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Omega the Unknown I#9 (July, 1977) – Steve Gerber (writer, editor), Mary Skrenes (writer), Jim Mooney (art)
Omega the Unknown I#10 (October, 1977) – Steve Gerber (writer, editor), Mary Skrenes (writer), Jim Mooney (art)
Captain Marvel I#54 (January, 1978) –  Scott Edelman (writer), Georges Tuska (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Defenders I#75 (September, 1979) – Ed Hannigan (writer), Herb Trimpe (penciler), Mike Esposito (inker), Allen Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#76 (October, 1979) – Steven Grant (writer), Herb Trimpe (penciler), S. Mitchell (inker), Allen Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#77 (November, 1979) – Steven Grant (writer), Herb Trimpe (penciler), Milgrom, Mitchell, Stone (inkers), Allen Milgrom (editor)
Defenders I#78 (December, 1979) – Ed Hannigan (writer), Herb Trimpe (penciler), Mike Esposito (inker), Allen Milgrom (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14 (March, 1984)  – Mark Gruenwald (head writer, editor, designer), Eliot R. Brown (typesetter, technical writer), Peter Sanderson, Mark Lerer, Dan Fingeroth (writers), Kirk Lassiter (Omega penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker, embellisher)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition I#19 (December, 1987) - Peter Sanderson (writer, researcher), Wayne Boring (Omega entry penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition I#15 (February, 1992) - Len Kaminski, Peter Sanderson, Glenn Herdling, Murray Ward (writers), Keith Pollard (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Mark Gruenwald (editor)

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8 (July, 2009) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator), Stuart Vandal, Mike Fichera & Madison Carter (coordination assistants), Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin, Stuart Vandal, Ronald Byrd, David Wiltfong, Madison Carter, Mike Fichera, Chad Anderson, Chris Biggs, Eric J. Moreels, Mark O'English, Al Sjoerdsma, Jacob Rougemont, Gabriel Shechter, Anthony Flamini, Rich Green, Markus Raymond, Andrew Goletz, Rob London, Mike O'Sullivan & Jeph York (writers), Wayne Boring (Omega artist), Brian Overton (copy editor), Alex Starbuck (editorial assistant), John Denning & Cory Levine (assistant editors), Mark D. Beazley (editor, special projects), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald (editors)

First Posted: 09/30/2026
Last updated: 09/27/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

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