OMEGA the UNKNOWN
OMEGA the UNKNOWN
Real Name: Model X3Z
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Protar)
artificial/bioengineered life form
Occupation: Adventurer, odd jobber;
former warrior
Group Membership: Sreneskian Warrior Caste
Affiliations: Foolkiller (Greg Salinger), "Gramps," Amber Grant, Teresa Mendez,
James-Michael Starling, Dian Wilkins; Freddie, Mamie; unidentified jewelry store owner
formerly Sreneskians alongside whom he battled and the elders of Srenesk (including Mentor)
Enemies: Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Blockbuster
(Bart Dietzel), Dibbuk,
Electro (Maxwell Dillon), el Gato (Luis
Anaya), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nitro (Robert Hunter), Ruby
Thursday
(Thursday Rubinstein), the Wrench
(Kurt Klemmer), Zarrko the Tomorrow Man; various unidentified Protar;
unidentified members of the Las Vegas Police Department; unidentified
group robbing Gramps' store
Sreneskians (entire race) slain by his power overload
Known Relatives: James-Michael Starling, three
other Protar models ("siblings")
Aliases: "Sam" (from Gramps, who also initially called him "Big Fella");
"My son," "warrior" (from Srenesk official); "Fancy-Pants," "Jack"
(from Electro); "curly hair" (from Hulk); "Charlie," "Creep," "Curly,"
"Sucker" (from Blockbuster); "handsome" (from Ruby Thursday)
technically, the comic title was Omega the Unknown, while he was just
Omega...however, subsequent resources and stories consistently refer to
him as Omega the Unknown
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
corpse allegedly incinerated in Earth's sun;
formerly Las Vegas, Nevada, USA;
formerly Hell's Kitchen,
Manhattan, New York, USA;
formerly the planet Srenesk;
created on the Planet Protaris, Regreb System, Milky Way galaxy;
Education: Srenesk warrior training
First Appearance: (Unidentified in-story) Omega the Unknown I#1 (March, 1976);
(identified in-story)
Omega the Unknown I#3 (July, 1976)
Powers/Abilities: Omega had superhuman strength, sufficient to lift at least 2
tons or stop on oncoming car,
leap from rooftop to rooftop (and sometimes apparently leaping city
blocks in a single bound), and leap several stories from a standing
position.
Omega 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 as sustained energy for at least several
seconds. In at least one case, a blast destroyed an entire automobile
hurled at him, leaving only small fragments on the ground. Other times,
a blast might stun or knock out a person without injuring them.
Using biospheric energy
beyond an unspecified level threated global destruction.
Additionally, his powers weakened when he was in areas devoid of life.
If he turned his power inward, he could self-destruct.
Omega also had limited psychokinetic abilities, enabling him to affect at least simple objects, such as dice, a roulette wheel and ball, and a slot machine’s functions. He could either manipulate cards or sense what cards were without seeing their faces.
He possessed a psionic rapport with other Protar organic creations and a direct psionic link to another secret Protar creation, James-Michael Starling. 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. He could also transfer power and knowledge to James-Michael, at least.
Omega was trained in multiple Sreneskian combat techniques and was exceptionally skilled at swiftly perceiving an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, apparently through a combination of observation, instinct, and intuition.
After arriving on Earth, he did not speak, largely due to his
Sreneskian warrior's vow of silence, and many believed him to be mute.
However, time on Earth led to further emotional development, and he
spoke as needed, but still found verbal communication and being around
large numbers of people distasteful. He would seek out peace and
solitude to regain his comfort.
He was able to swiftly determine how to pilot an apparently Srenesk spaceship and navigate to a distant planet (Earth). He may or may not have been trained to pilot such a ship as part of the Srenesk warrior caste, or he may have been able to do so via his intuition.
As he was never seen without his headband and costume, it possible that they were part of him. It is unrevealed what exactly differentiated him from a fully biological being (see comments).
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 220 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
History:
(Defenders
I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega)
- When 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...
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - ...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...
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - ...through bioengineering....
(Defenders
I#77 (fb) - BTS) - 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 though 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) - They constructed a number of prototypes of living, sentient beings, each more truly humanoid than the previous one,...
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - ...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 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.
(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - The X3Z (Omega; translated from the Protarian alphabet and system of numbering) 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) - The X3Z model acclimated to planet Srenesk and joined its protective Warrior Caste, taking a vow of silence.
(Omega the Unknown I#2 (fb) - BTS) - At least per X3Z's perception, the Sreneskians approached perfection.
(Omega the Unknown I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Sreneskian society was much more ordered than humanity's, and their highly structured socialization process minimized emotional reactions.
(Omega the Unknown I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Funerals were apparently not part of Sreneskian society.
(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).
(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - All information from prior models was passed to model X3Z.
(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - Considered the pinnacle of his warrior caste, X3Z (his name on Srenesk has not been revealed) was chosen...
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - ...by the elders of Srenesk...
(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS) - ...for the honor of being the first of their people to receive the power of manipulating biospheric energy, tapped from Srenesk's life force.
(Defenders I#77 (fb)) - A Sreneskian official complimented X3Z as he maintained his vow of silence even with the honor they were going to bestow upon him. He noted his excitement at the miracles he would bring them.
(Defenders I#77 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14: Omega) - 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)) - The Srenesk completed their treatments, considering that X3Z would be the first of a new type of being. As a Sreneskian official, Mentor, prepared to test X3Z's new power, another Sreneskian rushed in, announcing that they were attacked by creatures from beyond (the Protar, who were mistaken for conquerors), who had suddenly cut through their defenses, and that they didn't have time to mobilize against them. Mentor resolved that their super-warrior would battle the invaders instead, and he instructed X3Z to use the force of the bio-sphere to bring their attackers down from the sky.
(Omega the Unknown I#1)
- X3Z battled the Protar on Srenesk in a "tumult raging about this last
of his superior breed," physically picking up and smashing some with
their own energy cannon. 
(Defenders I#77 (fb)) - As Omega readied his power, the alteration in the biosphere grew bolder, more disruptive, until chaos raged around the world, the force of the world being drawn into him, until the energy -- the creative force -- could no longer be disciplined, no longer held in check...
(Omega the Unknown I#1) - Ultimately, the energies within X3Z were released through omega-symbol-like energy patterns in his palms, "ravaging, mindless, uncontrollable."
(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 dropped to a knee, and he 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 - BTS) - At the same time, the 12-year-old James-Michael Starling was at home and 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.
(Omega the Unknown I#1 - BTS) - Starling was in a car accident where he discovered that the truth about his "parents" when the decapitated robotic head of his mother spoke to him before melting (both parent's forms melted, leaving no evidence of their presence). Distraught, Starling lapsed into a coma.
(Omega the Unknown I#1 / Defenders I#77 (fb)) - Awakening, X3Z heard the Protar noting that he was locked into his Srenesk identity, that X3Z believed they were the ones to have destroyed this world, and that his power had been passed to the final model.
(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, incinerating nearby Protar in the ship's plume.
(Omega the Unknown I#1 (fb) - BTS / Defenders I#77 (fb)) - Having learned the Protar intended to destroy him and James-Michael, now 12 years old, 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 woke up from a coma after one month.
(Omega the Unknown I#1 - BTS) - Intrigued with his lack of physical injuries and his analytical nature, Dr. Thomas Barrow and his nurse, Ruth Hart, arranged to place him under the care of Hart 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.
Before James-Michael's departure from the Barrow Clinic, one of the Protar broke into his room, analyzing him thusly "the correct target...yet it has altered its proportions...no matter. I shall kill it anyway."
(Omega
the Unknown I#1) - Having apparently 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, finding his own
excitation replaced by cold, calculated loathing (presumably from
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.
X3Z took the Protar and departed before Dr. Barrow arrived and found James-Michael's apparent burn wounds.
(Omega the Unknown I#2) - Still carrying the Protar, X3Z watched through a window as Dr. Barrow ran a battery of tests on James-Michael. As he walked away, X3Z was taunted and then shocked into unconsciousness by the criminal Electro, who carried away the Protar, seeking to use it for his own purposes.
Recovering, X3Z appreciated that he needed to be inconspicuous to avoid further trouble, and to do so, he needed to change his garb. He thus reluctantly broke into a pawn shop, only to find criminals already robbing the place. These men attacked him with chains and knives, against which he easily defended himself while finding himself disgusted by their guttural nature. As he choked an attacker, another shot him in the shoulder, and the pain of this wound was felt simultaneously by James-Michael in Ruth and Amber's apartment.
Having witnessed the costumed stranger fighting the robbers (and unaware that he had also broken in with the intent of theft), the pawn shop owner, "Gramps," thanked him and advised him to head out back as police sirens approached. After showing that the police the situation had already been resolved, Gramps was pleased to find X3Z had not departed, and he provided some first aid and bandaged his wound. Both needing someone to help out in his shop and enjoying the company, Gramps invited X3Z to work for him and then went to make some coffee while his new friend thought about it.
The next afternoon, a recovered X3Z worked outside Gramps' pawn shop, earning the attention of Amber as she passed by, though even James-Michael didn't recognize him in his jacket and hardhat.
Bruce Banner was subsequently accosted by a group of homeless people, pushing Banner into transforming into the Hulk and rampaging in the streets. Witnessing this as he took out trash for Gramps, X3Z shattered a newsstand hurled by the Hulk and subsequently confronted him. Shattering a chain on a car carrier, X3Z briefly buried the Hulk, earning the praise of local authorities and civilians before the Hulk broke free. However, seeking his aid in repairing the Protar he had claimed, Electro incapacitated X3Z with a blast and towed him away in an airship, stunning the Hulk with an electrical blast in the process.
(Omega the Unknown I#2 - BTS) - When Electro blasted X3Z, James-Michael collapsed as well.
(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - A Daily Bugle headline article, featuring a picture taken by Amber, identified X3Z as Omega.
(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Electro took Omega to his subway base and bound him in electrified chains, which sapped his strength.
(Omega the Unknown I#3) - After Omega revived, Electro told him the only way he could get the chains off was if he consented to restore the robot. In response to the threat and taunts, Omega kicked Electro back, knocking him into the Protar, which fell into the tracks, and electricity from the third rail reactivated the robot; Electro nailed Omega with an electrical blast before seeing the results of his actions and thanking him.
(Omega the Unknown I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Electro and the Protar made a deal, with Electro providing further power to revive the Protar for a limited time, with a promise to give him a stronger charge to maintain him longer and to let him take action against Omega; in exchange, the Protar was to first aid Electro in a mission.
(Omega the Unknown I#3) - After explaining their deal, Electro and the Protar left Omega in his chains.
(Omega the Unknown I#3 - BTS) - Electro and the Protar took over a telethon, with Electro demanding to take all of its donations for himself. Meanwhile, Omega focused past his pain to shatter his electrified manacles.
(Omega the Unknown I#3) - After Omega burst through a door, the Protar turned and charged him, but Omega hefted it into the air and hurled it into a large video camera, shattering its faceplate and incapacitating it. Omega subsequently took out Electro, as well.
(Omega the Unknown I#3 - BTS) - Either as a result of Omega's activities or just at the same time as them, James-Michael, who had had his first day at school and witnessed Omega's conflict on the television, began to feel a clarity, with the voices in his head speaking to him rather than just railing at him.
(Omega the Unknown I#4) - Pondering his purpose -- and considering that humanity's emotions were causing his own to develop further -- while observing the 59th Street Bridge, Omega spotted and then rescued Teresa Mendez, a woman who had leapt from the bridge, taking her to the dock and using his power to set aflame a stick and then start a fire in a trash can to help warm her. As she revived and thanked him, he asked her why she had attempted suicide.
(Omega the Unknown I#4 (fb) - BTS) - Omega took Teresa back to Gramps' apartment, where she slept for a time.
(Omega the Unknown I#4) - Omega listened silently to Gramps' stories of his previous wives and as Gramps noted how much he enjoyed his company and his help at the shop. Drawn by Teresa's screams as she awakened, Omega listened as she explained how she had been apparently cursed by the Brujo known as el Gato; as she broke down in tears, Gramps suggested Omega take a walk why he consoled the young woman.
As Omega returned, however, Gramps informed him that the girl had been taken by men in the departing limousine. Leaping in front of and stopping the limo, Omega was then confronted by el Gato, who halted Omega's advance with a touch, weathered his punches unharmed, and then punched Omega down. Finding that el Gato clouded his perceptions that enabled him to analyze others, Omega nonetheless stunned him with a hurled trash can, leading el Gato to summon numerous cats that savagely scratched and bit him. After Gramps drove off the cats by using a wrench to open a fire hydrant, el Gato had the obviously hypnotized Teresa tell Omega that she was going with el Gato of her own accord. Unsure of how to respond, Omega stood by as el Gato departed with Teresa.
(Omega the Unknown I#5) - Omega followed el Gato's limousine to Gato's lair and, after el Gato brought Teresa inside, Omega entered through an upstairs window. However, when he glanced upon a lit candle atop a cat skull, tiny demonic cats appeared to leap on him, pull him into another dimension, and seemingly destroy himself when his energy blasts instead were turned within him.
Omega subsequently awakened just outside Gramps' pawn shop (hours after he went after he went after el Gato and Teresa), and Gramps showed him a number of arcane relics and briefly told him of magic. Omega then returned to el Gato's lair, bursting through a window just as el Gato prepared to perform the "Ritual of Purification" on Teresa, using a cat's head brand to trap any spiritual powers she might possess within her own form, as a precursor to their imminent wedding. El Gato then created monstrous versions of the four "hags" (elderly women) who served him, and these attacked Omega. He initially mistook them for illusions until one clawed him, but he eventually destroyed these forms, after which el Gato apparently transformed into an black jaguar-creature and assaulted Omega directly. Omega eventually swung the cat-man by its tail into a brick wall, stunning it long enough for Omega to summon his energy blasts, which caused el Gato to revert to his true form and collapse. Omega then watched as the vengeance-seeking Teresa rushed forward and used el Gato's brand on his forehead, trapping his powers within his own form.
(Omega the Unknown I#6 (fb) - BTS) - After three weeks of badgering, Omega agreed to Gramps' offer to accompany him to a bar.(Omega the Unknown I#6) - Omega sat quietly with Gramps and his lady friend Mamie, who considered "Sam" cute and pinched his cheek. Encouraged by Gramps, Omega took a shot of liquor, after which he followed Gramps as he walked Mamie home, enjoying the muting effects of the alcohol. However, after they watched her apartment light turn on, they head her cry out, and Omega leapt up to and through her window. However, his reflexes, balance, etc. slightly dulled, he was smashed by a large wrench by the addled Kurt Klemmer (who had killed Mamie in an effort to stop the sounds of his mother's crying in his head; he was apparently unaware that Mamie had been the friend of his mother, Ethel), who then escaped out the skylight or another window.
Trying to determine the reasons for Klemmer's madness, Omega watched him until he confronted James-Michael and Amber as they crossed a construction site. 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
again unleashed energy blasts from his hands, incapacitating Klemmer.
(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." After allowing James-Michael to return to Amber, Omega went back to Gramps' apartment where he consoled Gramps, who was distraught about Sadie's death.
The next morning, Sunday, as Gramps was still lamenting Sadie, Omega surprised him -- as Gramps had never heard him speak before and assumed he was mute -- by saying "I am sorry."
Almost immediately thereafter, Omega sensed danger as the criminal Blackbuster fought police after having robbed a bank. Apparently disintegrating a car Blockbuster threw at him, Omega was then physically battered by Blackbuster, who then fled. Having learned that Omega only wanted the paper money he had stolen, Omega considered letting him to to avoid further senseless conflict, and he ignored the jeers of the crowd as they urged him to go after him.
However, seeing James-Michael in the crowd and apparently sensing his
desire that Omega go after Blockbuster, Omega did so, engaging in a
back and forth battle in a construction site that ended when
Blockbuster hurled a girder that shattered the wood beneath their feet
and they both were stunned by the fall to the ground. When the
frustrated Blockbuster voiced that he was just trying to protect his
son, Omega turned and let him escape, again ignoring the insults from
the gathered crowd.
(Omega the Unknown I#8) - Mistaking Omega for his enemy Captain Marvel, Nitro attacked him with an explosion. Realizing his mistaken upon seeing Omega's face, Nitro departed, noting he had wanted to kill Captain Marvel. Unwilling to let the murderer get away, Omega repeatedly tried to stop him, but was fought off and ultimately stunned when Nitro departed via exploding (and apparently allowing his particles to float somewhere before reforming).
Omega let watched James-Michael from a distant outside Ruth and Amber's apartment, catching his gaze and sharing their psychic rapport before hearing another explosion and departing to investigate. First encountering one police officer helping another injured by one of Nitro's explosions. Asking the standing officer what had happened, Omega then advised the officer to see to his friend's needs and get him quickly so safety.
While Nitro damaged Stark equipment, seeking to draw out Iron Man and through him locate Captain Marvel, Omega attacked again, blasting Nitro. Warning Omega that he was out of league, Nitro threw an exploding punch and then prepared to finish him off, only for Omega to clap his ears and fight back furiously. When Nitro rallied his power to blow up Omega and then entire warehouse, Omega grabbed a titanium steel cylinder (intended for NASA's space shuttle) and lowered it over Nitro, so that when he exploded, the steel floor forced the explosive force to be channeled upward, through the building's roof and to be scattered by the winds of the upper atmosphere.
The destroyed roof collapsed, knocking out Omega.
(Omega the Unknown I#8 - BTS) - Linked to Omega, James-Michael cried out, unsure of what had happened but feeling like the whole world was falling on him.
(Captain
Marvel I#54 (fb) - BTS) - Nitro's essence, scattered into the upper
atmosphere by Omega, remained there for a month before returning to
Earth.
(Omega the Unknown I#9) - Omega awoke in the building's ruins, trapped under metal and surrounded by flames; at the same time, James-Michael developed a fever and struggled to breathe. Struggling to lift the weight off of him, Omega ultimately blasted the debris off of him and leapt to safety (at which point James-Michael immediately returned to normal), landing awkwardly in the streets where he was again jeered by the crowd for endangering them and for being beaten by villains or letting them go. He then witnessed as a store owner got into a fight with a thief until both of them were disintegrated by an energy blast from a shadowy figure (Foolkiller) on a nearby roof. He was disturbed to find that Gramps had approved of this murder, as he considered the two men to have been similar to the man who had killed Mamie.
(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) - Back at Gramps' apartment, Omega abruptly asked Gramps for money, taking his entire $300 but refusing to explain his reasons, after which he departed. He apparently was considering purchasing an expensive men's suit from the store Squire's, when Blockbuster burst out of another store...
(Omega the Unknown I#10 (fb) - BTS) (a jewelry store)...
(Omega the Unknown I#9) - ...he had robbed. Omega intended to ignore Blockbuster until the store owner offered a thousand dollars to anyone who stopped the thief. Omega tackled Blockbuster and asked him to surrender the stolen goods, but Blockbuster punched him away, knocking him into the streets in front of bus that struck him and briefly knocked him out. He revived and went after Blockbuster again, but was kicked back into a statue and again rendered unconscious.
After recovering, Omega again found Blockbuster, this time as he was preparing to kill Gramps who had happened across him, so the man couldn't alert the police. After blasting a heavy piece of machinery Blockbuster hurled at him, Omega was exhausted and dropped to his knees. Blockbuster rushed forward and began to choke him, only to be incinerated by a blast from the Foolkiller, who then warned Omega and Gramps that he was watching them, and they they had the choice of living a poem, or dying a fool.
(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 the suit from Squire's. He used the remainder of the reward money to purchase two tickets to Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Omega
the Unknown I#10 (fb) - BTS) - Omega instructed Gramps to back his bags, as they were going on a trip.
(Omega
the Unknown I#10) - In
a cemetery in the Bronx and wearing his new suit (but still with his
costume underneath and his headband visible, but also with a pair of
glasses), Omega attended the funeral of James-Michael's friend John
Nedley, who had died from trauma initially suffered during a beating
from bullies.
Returning to Gramps' apartment, Omega only told Gramps that they leaving to seek their fortunes and to perform an act of mercy.
(Omega the Unknown I#10) - When they arrived at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Pops was excited to try a slot machine, and Omega coached him on how to get in tune with the machine, presumably manipulating it himself so Pops won hundreds of nickels on his first pull.
After they got to their hotel room, Omega instructed Pops that they would wait for the proper time. Desiring solitude after being around people and forced to converse more that day than he had since his arrival on Earth, Omega went out to the desert. He was suddenly confronted by the monstrous Dibbuk, who was physically overpowering him when Omega blasted him; Dibbuk vanished, seemingly disintegrated. Having found the experience distasteful and considering the location tainted, Omega headed back to the hotel.
That evening (9:47 PM, Pacific time), traveling from casino to casino,
Omega (wearing his Squire's suit) and Gramps won $55,000 dollars via
Omega's ability to manipulate the equipment and/or sense cards; they
allowed themselves to lose occasionally to avoid raising
suspicions. 
(Omega the Unknown I#10 (fb) - BTS / Defenders I#76 (fb) - BTS) - The cyborg Ruby Thursday (presumably while appearing as a normal woman) observed the success of Omega and Gramps, and she plotted to steal their money.
(Omega the Unknown I#10) - Back in their room at 3:52 AM, Omega and Gramps were celebrating their winnings when Omega answered a knock on the door to find a beautiful woman with a bottle of champagne who noted she had seen their performance and wanted to held them celebrate. However, the woman was Ruby, and she then extended tendrils from her forehead and strangled them into unconsciousnesss.
(Fantastic Four I#405 (fb) - BTS) - At the moment Ruby
attacked, Omega was pulled from time by Earth-6297's Zarrko the
Tomorrow Man as he was firing a blast at Ruby (see comments).
After she summoned Dibbuk (presumably having escaped destruction via teleportation) and departed with him out the window, Omega awakened and was furious to find their money gone. After confirming Gramps was still alive, Omega went after the woman, spotting her convertible car as she drove away, and leaping into its back seat. Grabbing the wheel, Omega angrily grabbed the steering wheel, forcing the car to crash into a lamp post. As he dragged her out of the car, noting the money wasn't in the car and asking where it was, she initially feigned ignorance, and as the police arrived, she warned him to ease up. Assuming him to be a felon assaulting an innocent woman, the police tried to pull him off of her, and as he hurled them away, they considered him to be dangerous, and they fired, shooting him repeatedly through the chest.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8: Omega) - Omega died approximately two months after his arrival on 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#75) - In the Las Vegas city morgue, Gramps was called in to identify the corpse of Omega. Gramps confirmed this to be "Sam," the last friend he had in the world.
(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - <A week after James-Michael's disappearance> - Joined by Ruth Hart and the Wasp, who piloted an Avengers quinjet at Hellcat's request to help the search, 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) - Pretending to be a police officer associated with the pathologist, Ruby Thursday gained entrance into the morgue. She then summoned Dibbuk, who carried away Omega's body with her, during which time Ruby reviewed her plot 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 - BTS) - A group of Protar tracking Omega instead located James-Michael in his parents' house in the Pennsylvania Appalachians, and they confronted and battled him there. Having investigated the site of the car crash that destroyed James-Michael's parents, the contingent aboard the quinjet spotted the Protar ship, followed it to James-Michael's home, and joined the fight against the Protar. Moondragon subsequently arrived as well, but as James-Michael became increasingly distraught, he was enveloped in a flash of light.
(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.
(Defenders I#76 - BTS) - Sensing the absence of the energy they had tracked was no longer present, the Protar departed.
(Defenders I#76) - 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 - BTS) - Tracking James-Michael's energies, the Protar located and confronted him, while the Defenders followed the Protar and became involved in the subsequent conflict with Ruby and Dibbuk. James-Michael's power escalated as he destroyed the Protar ships, but Moondragon stopped him from killing the last Protar, and she telepathically revealed Omega and James-Michael's origins to James-Michael. Overwhelmed, James-Michael threatened to destroy the whole planet, but when he realized he would be killing Dian, too, he -- unable to not release the power he had summoned -- turned it back on himself, killing him.
Moondragon departed, intending to bury the remains of both James-Michael and Omega among the stars.
(Defenders I#78) - In space, from her ship, Moondragon sent Omega's and James-Michael's glass coffins on a trajectory into the sun.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8: Omega) - Their bodies were apparently incinerated in the sun (see comments).
(Amazing Spider-Man I#225 - BTS) - Foolkiller recalled his
disintegration of Blockbuster, thinking he had saved Omega from the
pathetic Blockbuster.
(Foolkiller I#2 - BTS) - While the former Foolkiller was being interviewed, he was asked about his killing of Blockbuster and he told the interviewer that he did not recall Omega's name.
(Incredible Hulk II#444 - BTS) - A photo of the face of Omega was used on a calendar that referred to him only as "the Unknown."
(Vision II#11 - BTS) - A movie was
made about Omega the Unknown starring Simon Williams, and movie posters
were put up to promote the film.
Comments:
Created by Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes and Jim Mooney.
There is information on the creation of Omega by Gerber in Omega the
Unknown I#1, with the notation that the name "Omega the Unknown" was
created by Stan Lee. Mary Skrenes detailed her involvement in a text
feature in Omega the Unknown I#2.
Omega's appearance in
Fantastic Four I#405 presents an odd continuity or possible art error.
Invisible Woman confirms in that issue that the characters pulled from
time are the real deal and certainly, some pains were taken with
Omega's dialogue to fit his appearance into an exact point in his
history. When he shows up (in his full costume), he yells as if he's
attacking Ruby Thursday, which lines up with his encounter with Ruby
Thursday in Omega the Unknown I#10.
The only thing though is that Omega
encountered Ruby while wearing normal clothes over his costume (he's
still wearing his gauntlets & headband) when Ruby Thursday attacked
him in Omega#10 and that moment is the only point in Omega's history
that he could have been pulled from in which he might have been
attacking Ruby.
In Omega#10, he is never seen blasting Ruby
and he is not in his full costume (or at least if he is, it's covered
by normal clothing). So the best I could determine is that him firing a
blast at Ruby occurred seconds in between when Ruby extends her
tentacles towards Omega but before she wraps the tentacles around his
neck to strangle him. He must've fired a blast right as he was pulled
from time, depositing him in the modern era, at which point the blast
succeeds in projecting from his hand.
Since he yells at Ruby, it's
clear he was not intentionally firing the blast at Ant-Man but then he
disappears almost as quickly as he appeared, returned to his proper time
period. I can only assume that perhaps Omega was pulled through time
without his civilian clothing and when he was returned, he must've been
returned at the exact moment he left, his blast never seen projected or
connecting with Ruby before she strangled him into unconsciousness.
--Proto-Man
Also noteworthy that Omega had no knowledge of who was ambushing him,
as she only identified herself after she had knocked him out. And that
he never referred to himself as Omega...and certainly no one in-story
every called him "Omega the Unknown" (or just "Omega the"). I consider
it artistic license, to specifically identify the character for those
who might need help recognizing him, and to identify the moment in
which he was dispatched. In fact, it makes good sense that he might
have been transported away at that second, as being choked takes a
while to cause someone to pass out and stop struggling, and Ruby seemed
to take out Omega in seconds. Perhaps he was transported through time
and exhausted his energies, making him fall before Ruby all the
quicker.
--Snood
Furthermore, Omega
tells that Ruby TUESDAY is finished (the character is Ruby Thursday).
Maybe Omega just couldn’t stand Ruby Tuesday’s all you can eat salad
bar. --Proto-Man
...or, maybe he was listening to the Rolling Stones song, and it had just ended....--Snood.
In Howard
the Duck I#10, Howard the
Duck experienced a vision, in part of which he met Omega the
Unknown in a cottage, where he asked Omega the meaning of life. They
then both appeared on a boat that suddenly fell to Earth from the upper
atmosphere.
Omega was also pictured on page 4 of Howard the Duck
I#16 in an article by Steve Gerber about writers.
Omega the Unknown#7's letter page had a letter from Kurt Busiek.
Courtesy of Grendel Prime, here's an image of John Romita's original design for Omega, featured in the Omega the Unknown trade paperback.
Omega had a few profiles in the OHOTMU, including Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14, Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe: Deluxe Edition I#19, Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe: Master Edition I#15, Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe: Book of the Dead 2004, and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8.
Omega OHotMU errata:
Official
Handbook of the Marvel
Universe I#14: Omega entry notes that the Protar were organic metal,
like Colossus, when they were actually both living and mechanical.
Whether their metal was organic is unrevealed.
It also notes that Moondragon buried Omega and
James-Michael "somewhere in outer space." While that's not actually
wrong, she specifically was between Earth and its moon, and she
launched them on trajectory into Earth's sun.
As far as I could tell, the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition I#19: Omega entry was a reprint, spread out over two pages and with added images, of the entry from OHotMU I#14.
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.
Official
Handbook of the Marvel
Universe: Book of the Dead 2004: Omega entry spells his name "Omega the
Unkown." I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally typed
"unkown," seen it and shook my head at how none of us caught that in
the proofing stage. I kow...how embarrassing...
The Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8: Omega entry
specifically spells his original name as X-3Z, which is how it is first
spelled when spoken by the Protar in Defenders I#76. It is next used in
the flashback in Defenders
I#77, where it is consistently "X3Z." Previously handbooks, including
the hardcover's predecessor in Official Handbook of the Marvel
Universe: Book of the Dead 2004, called him "X3Z."
Additionally, that 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.
Thanks to Proto-Man, Loki, and Roger Ott for providing digital images for me when I expanded this profile from the original version submitted.
Thanks to Ron Fredricks for some of the cleaned up images.
This profile was completed 9/25/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.
Profile by Julien Vivé and Snood (including most comments).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Omega (the Unknown) has no KNOWN connections to:
images: (without ads)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe hardcover#8, Omega main
entry art (Omega, main image);
Omega the Unknown I#1 cover - battling Protar over James-Michael) - art by Ed Hannigan (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker);
pg. 3, panel 1-4 (omegas forming on hands);
panel 5 (blasting Protar; power overload hinted at);
#3, p10, pan2 (Omega, headshot, raging);
p15, pan6 (Omega vs. Electro);
#7, pg. 10 (blasting car);
#10, last page, last 2 panels (shot);
Defenders I#77, pg. 13, panel 4 (Protar showing five models on screen);
pg. 15, panel 1 (Omega empowered);
panel 6 (power overload revealed);
#78, pg. 5, panel 6 (space coffin);
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#14, p9, Omega main entry art
(Omega, standing with fists clenched);
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition I#15, Omega
main entry art (frontal; profile; posterior images);
Fantastic Four I#405, pg. 17, panel 1 (summoned by Tomorrow Man);
Incredible Hulk II#444, pg. 8, panel 8 ("The Unknown" calendar);
Vision III#11, story pg. 3, panel 1 (Omega the Unknown movie)
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)
Foolkiller I#2 (November, 1990) - Steve Gerber (writer), Joe Brozowski
(penciler), Tony DeZuniga (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Fantastic Four I#405 (October, 1995) - Tom DeFalco (scripter, plotter),
Paul Ryan (plotter, penciler), Dan Bulanadi (inker), Nel Yomtov (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#444 (August, 1996) - Peter David (writer), Angel
Medina (penciler), Robin Riggs (inker), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Official
Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#8 (2011) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer/coordinator),
Stuart Vandal, Mike
Fichera, & Madison Carter (coordination assistants); Sean McQuaid, Michael Hoskin,
Ronald Byrd, David Wiltfong, Chad Anderson, Chris Bigs, 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), Jeff Youngquist &
Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Vision III#11 (November, 2016) - Tom King (writer), Gabriel Hernandez
Walta (art), Wil Moss (editor)
First Posted: 09/30/2021
Last updated: 08/26/2022
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
hnb