Line #32 ComicBook/OmegaTheUnknown


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6d34c1d1_1387_41be_9549_2498b2369fa5.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Ignore the guy with the cape and watch the kid instead.]]
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4	''Omega the Unknown'' was a short-lived yet influential comic published by Creator/MarvelComics, written by Creator/SteveGerber and Mary Skrenes. The series ran for 10 issues. Tired of annoyingly plucky [[KidSidekick boy sidekicks]], Gerber pitched it as a realistic portrayal of a young boy's life, but Creator/StanLee insisted on more supernatural elements and [[ExecutiveMeddling crossovers with in-universe heroes]]. However, Gerber ably worked around these restrictions, writing a fairly down-to-earth, emotionally-driven story about a young boy's difficult life. Sure he was [[OrphansOrdeal orphaned]] and had a PsychicLink with a [[HumanAliens Alien]]-type LastOfHisKind superhero, but for all that, it can be surprisingly touching.
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6	Gerber wrote about the kinds of small, difficult struggles which affect the average child, such as bullying, the death of a friend, getting along in a new place, and trying to understand the motivations of others. One of the unusual elements in the book was the realistic portrayal of Hell's Kitchen, complete with sex workers, drug addicts, the homeless, porno theaters, and roving muggers. These were sometimes played for humor, such as Bruce Banner lying in the gutter in his trademark torn purple pants while pedestrians step over him, disparaging him as a 'wino'.
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8	The first issue was released December 23, 1975.
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10	The series was canceled mid-way through when Gerber entered a struggle with the publisher over creator's rights. Omega was summarily given to another writer, who killed off most of the characters in the pages of ComicBook/TheDefenders. Gerber was eventually let go. Despite its short run, the comic proved influential and memorable amongst comic authors, who have praised Gerber as the forerunner to revolutionary authors like Creator/AlanMoore and Creator/NeilGaiman, who used comics to tackle serious issues, leading to the DarkerAndGrittier comics familiar to us today.
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12	One author influenced by Gerber was Creator/JonathanLethem, who rebooted the series in 2007. The new series also lasted for 10 issues (December, 2007-September, 2008). Lethem spent much of his run retelling Gerber's story, and then moved on to his own variations, thick with satire and hallucinogenic reality shifts.
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14	----
15	!!These works contain examples of:
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17	* ActionGirl: One of James-Michaels surrogate parents, Amber, who seeks out super battles so she can take pictures and sell them to J.J. Jameson, who she fights with over payment, drawing laughs from the compulsory Peter Parker cameo.
18	* AntiHero: The Mink. Genuine Badass, Huge Jerk, Shameless Shill.
19	* AuthorAvatar: Richard Rory, who first appeared in Gerber's ''Comicbook/ManThing''.
20	* BadassNormal: The Wrench was an ordinary handyman named Kurt Klemmer, who went insane after his mother died and decided to "fix" anyone else he could find by beating them to death with the large pipe wrench he carried.
21	* ChildProdigy: James-Michael, thanks to his unique home schooling.
22	* CreatingLife: Omega is an idealized {{Ubermensch}} created by aliens.
23	* DeathByOriginStory: James-Michael's parents.
24	* DeceasedParentsAreTheBest: Even if they are a bit ''unusual''.
25	* {{Delinquents}}: One of James Michael's biggest problems at school.
26	* FailureHero: Perhaps in response to Stan Lee's interference (see the Trivia page) Gerber depicted Omega as actually winning very few of his fights without some sort of outside interference. On a few occasions, Omega only managed to win after a HeroicBystander helped him out, and on at least one occasion James-Michael duplicated energy powers similar to Omega's and defeated the villain on his own. It was only when other writers took over that Omega began winning battles on his own.
27	* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: In trying to write a more realistic story, Gerber has [[spoiler: the protagonist's new chubby nerd friend beaten to an 'unrecognizable' pulp in the school bathroom for tattling on some bullies. He is treated at the hospital and returns to school, but while stooping to pick up a pencil, is kicked from behind, and falls, rupturing one of his recently-repaired organs and dying in the ambulance, which is struck in traffic]].
28	* FullyAbsorbedFinale: the final issue of Omega's title left a number of plot threads dangling. Some - but not all - of them were tied off in a two issue storyline in Defenders, published two years later, and killing off Omega and James-Michael for real.
29	* GlassCannon: Unlike his original incarnation, the 2007 Omega's only superpower lies in his ability to fire energy beams. Otherwise, he's just as vulnerable to regular injury and exhaustion as anyone else.
30	* HeroicBystander: Omega was assisted by several of these during his short career.
31	* HomeschooledKids: James-Michael, until coming to New York.
32	* HumanAliens: Omega.
33	* InnerCitySchool: And then some, one nerd is [[spoiler: beaten ''to death'']].
34	* LastOfHisKind: Omega (or is he?).
35	* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler:James Michael-Starling became the new Omega the Unknown in 2022.]]
36	* MechaMooks: The robot aliens hunting Omega throughout the series.
37	* NotSoStoic: James-Michael, after [[spoiler: a new friend is beaten to death by bullies]].
38	* OrphansOrdeal: James-Michael's life after the death of his parents as he tries to live with some unusual NYC residents.
39	* PsychicLink: James-Michael and Omega.
40	* TheQuietOne: Omega, who rarely speaks since he feels there is rarely anything of use to be said.
41	* RaisedByNatives: James-Michael leaves his isolated life in the mountains to live with New Yorkers in Hell's Kitchen.
42	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Doc. Barrow, the doctor who treats the protagonist [[spoiler: after the car accident that kills his "parents"]].
43	* RoboticReveal: [[spoiler: James-Michael's parents]].
44	* TheRunaway: in the last issue of the original series, James-Michael decides to escape from Hell's Kitchen and return to his home in the mountains of Pennsylvania after the [[spoiler: death of his nerd friend]]. Dian tags along.
45	* SadistTeacher: More out of anxiety than cruelty, but he does hit James-Michael for no apparent reason when he first walks into the classroom.
46	* SpacePolice: What the 2007 version of the character is a part of. James-Micheal [[spoiler:was being raised to join their ranks, but ultimately refuses.]]
47	* TheSpock: James-Michael, on account of being raised by [[spoiler: robots]].
48	* SpockSpeak: James-Michael, due to his unusual provenance.
49	* {{Tomboy}}: James-Michael's first school chum, Dian.
50	* TrustMeImAnX: The doctor who treats James-Michael, only to turn him into an experiment.
51	* {{Ubermensch}}: Omega is Gerber's literal take on Nietzsche's idea, where aliens try to create the perfect man of the future. Possibly a subversion in that, under Gerber's pen, Omega was actually a pretty crummy fighter.
52	* YouWillBeAssimilated: The primary goal and go-to tactic of the 2007 machines towards those it can't simply murder.

Context ComicBook / OmegaTheUnknown