First we live. Then we die. In between is just blood and noise

I've had this account for a while and have used it in the past to lurk around and look at posts following Marvel comics characters I enjoy reading about, in particular, about the living weapon the Soviet Union: Omega Red.

I honestly never thought I would do much more with this account, but as I found I've been using it more and more and have had a bit of a desire to post some more long, rambling thoughts about a character I enjoy reading (and writing) about (in a place besides Reddit, I've found there are some limits on how long posts can be there that are rather limiting on expressing thoughts and doing deep character examinations, and I really hate the arguments that can sometimes erupt on that site), I thought I would finally put some effort into making this space my own. I'm still getting used to how this all works, so it may take some time for me to get my bearings navigating a social media site like this. We will see how this all goes, and I hope that anyone who bumps into me here is patient as I try to figure all of this out.

Since Omega Red is the character that brought me to tumblr, and is the character that I want to talk about, this is going to be the place where I put a lot of those thoughts about Arkady down. At some point (likely in the near future as I reach the end of my first fanfiction project) I would like to put together a series of posts on here where I examine all of Arkady’s appearances in Marvel Comics in the past 30+ years of his existence. He is a fascinating character that I don't think gets a fair shake oftentimes in the comics, and certainly never anyone who ever tries to examine his character and his relationships and dynamics with other characters on a deeper level and dig into what makes him tick. I hope to do that here, and for anyone who takes the time to read, I hope you are able to find something here to enjoy. That is, when I finally get around to doing some serious posts.

Since this place will be for Omega Red, I don't think there is really a need to say much about who I am. I'm just someone who has a real passion for Arkady who wants to give some of his fans (I know you're out there! I've seen so many of your nice posts) a place where they can get some content on our favorite supersoldier (sorry, Captain America, you're a favorite too, but Arkady needs some love). If anyone ever has any questions about Omega Red, feel free to ask! I'll do my best to answer.

Edit: as of 2025, Omega Red has his own discord server for any fans of his 18 and older (due to the themes surrounding his character that are discussed on the server). Whether you are a die-hard fan of his or a casual wanting to know more about him, everyone is welcome!

To help visualize, this is how he looks blond:

This is his white hair look:

Less than one week to go for our second annual Omega Red Week!!! This is the final reminder before the event kicks off on Aug. 9, so get your fan works ready!

All you have to do the week of the event is tag your post(s) #Omega Red Week 2026 and I will reblog it here during the week.

To really understand Omega Red, these issues/story arcs would be the ones that I would pick as must-reads for anyone who is trying to understand him better as his own person and character. Of course, this is not all of his appearances, he has 130 now listed for him, which is not the worst reading list out there for a character. Eventually, a person can knock them all out and complete the list. If you want that full list to eventually tackle, here it is:

But there are many appearances of his within that list that don't really give him much material or a story arc that is easy to see and get information about him as a character. In many stories, he simply serves as an antagonist, or wallpaper, or has a small role to play that actually is an interesting tidbit to add to him, but isn't foundational knowledge. So this list will be about those stories that I think actually contain those elements that show best the kind of person that he is, and which give real insight into his thoughts, his worldview, his struggles, and his complicated past. Without further ado, here is my list!

X-men (1991) #4-7 (his first full appearance)

This one is pretty much a must for Omega Red fans. It serves as his introduction, giving a reader a look at how he was first brought into Marvel comics, relevant flashbacks to how his story ties into Wolverine and Sabretooth's lives, and sets up his quest for the Carbonadium Synthesizer and why he needs it. This is really the groundwork issue that sets everything up for Arkady moving forward.

X-men (1991) #18-19

This is the Soul Skinner arc. I personally really do enjoy this one because -- as awful as the Soul Skinner's assault on Arkady's mind is -- it gives us one of the very rare looks into the core of Omega Red's mind, with rich symbolism in the artwork showing us the things that Arkady fears the most. It's a very insightful battle, and for years it was one of the best glimpses we got into the man beneath the machine. A mild trigger warning for this one, just in case if anyone does struggle reading the mind assault since it does veer into an SA allegory.

Iron Man (1968) #295-297

This story arc is one that I always thought gave a good insight into another angle of Arkady's tortured existence -- one given to us from the perspective of Iron Man, who gives us a rather touching view on the struggle a person has to hold onto their humanity when so much of it has been taken away by being turned into a machine against your will. This also is a story that fleshes out more of Omega Red's background, giving us another piece to his earlier life before he was turned into Omega Red which adds to his complexity.

Cable (1993) #9-11

I really love this story. It not only gives us a flashback to Arkady and how he looked and was used by the Soviets after he was weaponized, but it also gives us a really good back-and-forth debate between Arkady and Cable about their different worldviews and how that shapes them, their actions, and how they both carry themselves as soldiers on the battlefield. The dialogue is very insightful, and shows the damage that Arkady has from his experiences of being made into a weapon, which warped his worldview.

Generation X (1994) #10-11

This one is one that I will preface with a trigger warning. This is another flashback story into Omega Red's past -- tying a part of his past to Banshee -- but the scenes of the flashbacks, especially at the very end, heavily involves themes of suicide, as Arkady attempts suicide by cop to try to avoid the fate he knows waits for him back home: being weaponized by the Soviets. It adds more to his background, and shows him both in the past and present as an antagonist, with a few further insights into the toll his powers take on his body and the unthinking bloodlust that he falls into if he is not allowed to release his death factor on someone else.

Maverick In the Shadow of Death #1

This issue is another addition to Arkady's expanding origins, with his past as a serial killer being properly cemented into his backstory, and what happened to him in order to make him into a supersoldier. It is an incredibly dark and gritty book -- probably the darkest book Omega Red has ever been written in. Literally. The art is very dark, and details can be a bit rough to make out on some panels because of the art style. But it also gives us some thrills and some of Arkady's real signature dark humor and the desperation of his hunt for the Carbonadium Synthesizer that's not really shown in other stories at the level this book goes with it. All the stops are pulled out for him on this wild hunt for the device, and looking back on it on its own merits of what it gives us on-page for him, it was an incredibly fun read.

Wolverine Origins (2006) #37-40

This story arc is another "Hunt for the C-Synthesizer" arc, but one that adds more layers and has Arkady's explanation for the absolute agony and madness that being constantly poisoned by the metal in his body is causing him. It also ties Arkady back more towards Logan as his rival, though it doesn't really end well for Arkady at the end of this run (don't worry, he gets better!)

Weapon X (2017) #17-20

This is the start of where things really start to change for Omega Red, where he is given a chance to be examined more as his own character and not purely as an antagonist to various Team X or X-men members. This story arc adds a crucial piece to Arkady's identity: his brother Vasily, and further details about what his life was really like for someone who actually was there to witness his darker turn. It also gives Arkady a pet baby tiger, and who doesn't love that???

Krakoa Era

I really can't go and say that there are only a few issues to read for Arkady here. No, the whole Krakoa era is his story arc, and it really is a hard but incredible journey that he goes on during the years he was on the island. I will give the reading order list for his appearances across the various series that Arkady appeared in, as it takes a person from his start here as the unfortunate servant of Dracula to betrayed by the X-men, and finally, redemption and a place to belong. Series involved in his story are Wolverine (2020), X-Force (2019) and X-Lives of Wolverine (2022).

--Wolverine (2020) #1

--Wolverine (2020) #4

--X-Force (2019) #12

--X-Force (2019) #15

--Wolverine (2020) #8

--Wolverine (2020) #11-12

--X-lives of Wolverine (2022) #1-5

--X-Force (2019) #27-33

--Wolverine (2020) #26-27

--X-Force (2019) #34-38

-- Wolverine (2020) #31

--X-Force (2019) #39-41

--Wolverine (2020) #35

--X-Force (2019) #43-50

--Wolverine (2020) #48-50

X-men From the Ashes Infinity Comic #10-12

This is hands-down the best Omega Red story in existence. It builds off of his Krakoa-era arc, but it takes him on his own journey without Wolverine, without the X-men, without anyone else standing in the way or telling his story for him. For the very first time, we get to see flashbacks to his childhood, we get to hear his inner monologue, and we get to understand the terrible weight of the life he has led and the many regrets he has about the choices he's made. Arkady gets to stand on his own two feet in this story, and the spotlight is entirely on him and the forces that shaped him into who he is and reveals what it is that he truly wants most, which is heartbreaking.

Part 12: Iron Man (1968) #296

Continuing on Omega Red's journey of revenge for wrongs committed against him in his past, we are now up to Iron Man (1968) #296. In the previous issue, we just got a one-page teaser that set Arkady on his hunt for Olinka Barankova, which will eventually put him on a collision course with Iron Man. In this issue, we will get to see the final pieces put in place to get these two on page together, while also getting a chance to actually see Arkady's intelligence shown in action. Let's jump in!

Before I truly dive into what Omega Red is doing in this issue, I'm going to take a little time to explain what Tony is up to in this story. Why am I doing this when this is an examination of Omega Red? Because even though I will be focusing on the character motivations and digging into how Arkady manages to interlope his way into an Iron Man comic book, Arkady's motivations are not actually what the themes of this comic are about, and it would be a real disservice to both Omega Red's journey here and the message of the story to not include this angle. To actually understand what the themes are and explain why Tony eventually acts the way that he does around Arkady once they are face-to-face, we need to briefly look at Tony Stark and what he was struggling with at the time and how that actually connects with a very real struggle Omega Red himself has because, despite appearances, Arkady and Tony actually have something in common: they are both medical cyborgs.

And not just medical cyborgs. The real crux of this story that gets hammered home by the end is about the struggle to retain one's humanity when you're a cyborg, and just what to define yourself as, with Omega Red, and eventually MODAM (we will get to her in a bit), both serving as parallels to Tony in different ways: how a person can give up their humanity entirely to be a machine (MODAM) or lash out with every little bit of humanity they have left because they are so desperate to remind themselves that they are still human despite what was done to them (Omega Red), and how Tony is trying to find his own balance and come to terms with what he is becoming.

You see, during this time in Iron Man comics, Tony was disabled, paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot way back in issue #243. He was really going through it at the time, and eventually worked out a system of remotely piloting LMDs through a neurological interface to interact with the world in order to be able to keep being both Iron Man and Tony Stark. But as the above page shows, the arrangement is taking its toll on him. He is living a good chunk of his life through the aid of machines and he is now at the point where he is questioning his own humanity because his existence requires so many mechanical parts in order to just be able to do the things that he used to do.

This internal struggle that Tony is going through right now is the real driving theme of this story arc, and what ends up making Tony much more sympathetic to Arkady's state of existence, as we will see in the next issue. I'm not going to get too ahead of myself here, but I did want to establish the base of what this story is leading to and the questions and themes this story brings up beyond just Arkady's motives for getting caught up into these events.

While Tony is struggling with trying to find and retain his humanity, we are also introduced to how he becomes involved with things to get him and Omega Red together in the first place. Tony finds out that Stark Enterprises sold all its holdings to nuclear materials, with most of them being sold to Advanced Idea Mechanics just because they put out a really good bid for it. As you can rightfully understand, Tony is very angry and frustrated by the idiots in his company selling that kind of power to a known terrorist organization that he's had to battle for years, so he decides to try to clean up the mess himself and fire the individuals responsible for the deal.

He first tries to send in his Tony LMD to negotiate with AIM, but AIM has a new trick up their sleeve: MODAM, their newest gross creation, essentially a female MODOK. Her identity of who she was before she became MODAM is quite important for this issue -- especially for Arkady's involvement in this whole affair -- and I will get into it in a little bit. She detects that the Tony that was sent to negotiate with AIM is an LMD and has him destroyed, causing Tony to bring in his remotely piloted Iron Man armor, which he begins using to attack AIM by force to get the nuclear materials back. While Tony is doing that, Omega Red finally begins his introduction into events. He made it to the same AIM island that Iron Man is now attacking, and he has a few things that he is looking for.

Before I move on from this page, I am going to take a few moments to admire Arkady's skills. Because what he just managed to pull off is no small feat and is a showcase of his intelligence in a way that I don't think gets highlighted often enough. Arkady is a military man. He is a soldier. He was a trained member of the Spetsnaz and further trained in brutal ways to become a supersoldier. He's not dumb and would have gotten quite a bit of knowledge and skills from that training which he can and will apply to combat, including what he is doing here. And I really like moments where we actually get to see Omega Red use those traits.

After getting his plane off-panel between issues, Omega Red was able to approach the island undetected and make his way across it to break into AIM's records to retrieve the final piece of information he needs to find Olinka Barankova. He doesn't use brute force. He sneaks in. He kills quietly. The sickening "SKRIPOP" sound when Arkady breaks the one guy's neck is such a gross sound for a neck to make, but it shows his brutal efficiency. He is not wasting time, making the kills he needs to as fast as possible to obtain his real objective. Arkady makes a few more silent kills without alerting the rest of AIM that something is wrong -- which is actually really impressive when you think about it -- before he makes his way to the computer to access the records.

Now, back when this story was made in the 90s, the technology jump that Arkady experienced is not something that was considered a big deal. Computers back then were still pretty analog compared to what a technology jump between now and 30 years ago is; and a lot of times Arkady's time jump of 30 years wasn't really considered a hurdle for him to overcome or thought about by writers as a flaw to give him. The more you read comics, the more you realize that one of the main differences between heroes and villains is how a hero has to struggle with these issues and gets page time to their struggles and how they learn to overcome them, while a villain is handwaved to be an expert in XYZ with no explanation. Once again, I will use the example of Steve Rogers here, because when he was originally thawed out in the pages of Avengers #4 in 1964, he experienced a comparable time jump (20 years according to that comic) to what Arkady would have had here for a time jump. And Steve was shown having to adjust to various things that were different, something that got more focus over time. However, villains are not given such page time to their struggles or learning curve. If they had an issue, they just somehow figured it out without fanfare.

But this issue of Iron Man is actually the first time we have seen Arkady actually using a computer in the comics, which is a moment that is a pretty big deal for him as a character, even though he is not shown to struggle with the technology. His ability to use it and use it quickly tells us a few things once we look beyond the issue of "the villain just knows this stuff." First of all, I have said it before that Omega Red is a fast learner. He adapts quickly to changes in his environment and remembers details from events that are quite impressive for him to be able to recall, like being able to remember people's names even from hearing it just once in the middle of combat. But even this doesn't truly explain how Omega Red knows his way around a computer system and can hack into it without alerting AIM. It just explains how he learns fast, not how he was taught.

I think the best explanation for how he knows how to operate a computer is thanks to the inclusion of the throwback X-men Legends series that would have taken place just before this. Before this story, Arkady was the property of Matsu'o Tsurayaba and then after him, the Russian government got their hands on him again. But it was revealed in the X-men Legends series that Arkady was using telephones and making connections for the Russian government for operations, which likely means they took a look at him -- and how he's 30+ years out of date on pretty much anything that would make him a useful supersoldier in the modern day -- and decided he needed a serious update with his training. Arkady was probably sat down in some form of classroom and given some real lessons on the new skills they expected him to be able to know in the modern world -- like they would do for any soldier being put back into active duty.

When Russia had gotten him back from Matsu'o, they very likely thought they were going to be able to keep Omega Red for a while -- they didn't expect him to be unretrievable and for him to go completely rouge once he was dropped into the Hindu Kush. So it would have been a worthwhile investment in their eyes to teach him how to use modern technology so he wouldn't be bumbling around on an assignment because he can't figure out how to insert a thumb drive. That classroom had to have been an interesting place. The instructor was probably quite terrified. But the result is undeniable. Omega Red was given a knowledge update.

This next page, which does not have Omega Red on it, takes us back to Iron Man, and to the themes that this story arc is all about. Reading through Tony's inner monologue while he is getting his ass kicked by MODAM, you really do get the sense that Tony is really looking hard at how technology and its adaptation into a human body changes them in horrifying ways. There really is the question of choice when it comes to this subject, as MODAM serves as an example of someone who willingly volunteered to be changed into something that took away her humanity. Tony really struggles with the idea that someone can willingly throw their humanity away and actually prefer the result over what they once were, which is a conflict that makes sense, because Tony is struggling with that very same path: is it better for him to embrace his current state of living -- go further even -- or hold onto what humanity he has left? It's these questions that really make this comic arc a good read, even for someone like me who doesn't normally read Iron Man comics. It's a great theme to explore!

Alas, Iron Man is no match for MODAM here, who is able to interface with Tony's psychic connection he's using to control his armor to send a psionic blast back through the connection to him back at his home base. He's down, and MODAM is quite ready to keep going. But neither MODAM nor Iron Man are expecting the interloper of the story, who steps in right in the nick of time to stop MODAM from killing Tony: Omega Red is finally in play.

Arkady is now on the battlefield at long last, having found what he was searching for in AIM's files. What I find so incredibly interesting about this moment where Omega Red steps in to stop MODAM from killing Iron Man is the timing. Arkady doesn't actually know Tony. He doesn't seem to be aware of who Iron Man actually is (which we will see next issue) or who Tony Stark is, but he still doesn't sit around waiting for MODAM to finish with what she is doing. He actually stops her from killing Iron Man. He could have jumped in at any time, but he chose this moment to step in. Why?? Well, the out-of-universe reason is for the hero to be able to live. This is an Iron Man comic, after all. But what about in-universe?? What made Omega Red choose this moment to interfere?

Well, it's mainly because of what Omega Red's motives are for this story. He is here for revenge, and revenge has a way of narrowing a person's focus. He has been so patient, so careful during this whole process to get to this moment. A trait Arkady has that doesn't get talked about a lot is how his desire for revenge a lot of times makes him throw his brain out the window. He really stops thinking logically, because he is only interested in making someone else feel the way they made him feel once he can sense the moment for revenge is close. He can't contain his anger anymore, and this is a matter that has probably been driving Arkady mad for months now. He paid his dues. He got his information. He has been itching for this moment for so long that he can't wait anymore. He's not really concerned about Iron Man or thinking about him or how he just saved Tony's life. He just wants to tear MODAM apart. Why?? Well...

The files Arkady found point to MODAM being Olinka Barankova. She gave up her past and humanity and became this creature for AIM, but that did not erase her past or crimes for those who remember them. And Omega Red remembers -- it was all probably dredged up for him very painfully when the Soul Skinner assaulted him -- so the pains he recalls about those events he lived through are still very real to him. MODAM tries to dismiss Arkady's pain and calls his experiences a "petty vendetta" because she doesn't have the capacity to care about the things she did before. She gave all of that up to become MODAM, including her memories.

Omega Red doesn't take that as good enough. He came all this way for his revenge, and he is determined to get it. Everything for him has been building up to this moment and to just walk away after all of this is just unacceptable to him. He worked hard to get his pound of flesh for wrongs committed against him and he is not leaving until he gets it. Again, Arkady's way of communicating that he is angry or hurt about something is to try to make the person he was hurt by feel the same pains they caused him. MODAM may not remember, but Omega Red's method of vengeance will make her remember through pain. Everything that she did to him, she will now feel as it is reflected back onto her. Or, that is Arkady's hope. He didn't come all this way for anything less.

Now, next issue gives us a little more details about this betrayal than what is explained here, but Arkady's reason for harboring so much anger towards Olinka Barankova is because at some point in his past, she betrayed him. That betrayal left such a deep wound that Arkady not only remembers it, but this is also the first person he goes after for revenge. He says that he swore to kill her himself, which is a sign that Omega Red is really, really pissed. Just what is this betrayal that he is referring to?? It is not specified or fleshed out after this comic -- she is never mentioned again -- but next issue gives us a few details that allows me to make a few guesses, which I will save for the next examination.

Fluffy headcanons for my two super secretive, traumatized, self-sacrificial favorites who both desperately need a break!?!?! How fun!!! I have several!!!

I can see that eventually, Sage would have told Arkady her real name is Teresia Karisik. She constantly called Arkady by his real name to ground him in his humanity -- to remind him that he is a person -- and I think that eventually, Arkady would have turned the point around at her and asked who she really was beneath Tessa and Sage. He wants to know her as a human too. After she tells him her real name, Arkady adopts the diminutive of "Tereska," which he uses for her affectionately. Teresia would eventually start calling Arkady "Arkasha" in response to the new diminutive.

Arkady is the one who introduced Sage to the idea of drinking tea to shift her away from drinking alcohol. He learned several different ways to make tea from Anastasia and her mother -- who practiced Russian folk medicine -- when he was a child, and makes these special brews for her depending on how Sage is feeling.

Unlike the life energy that Arkady can sense from other people -- which fluctuates depending on a person's health and vitality -- Sage's life force is consistent. It does not fluctuate (unless she is very hurt) because Sage possesses perfect control over her body and its functions. Arkady finds this steady, unwavering presence to be a real anchor for his senses -- not to mention, attractive. For a man who has had his own health -- and the circumstances of his life -- fluctuate wildly from one extreme to another for years, finding something he can sense in his environment that is actually unchanging is incredibly rare and appealing.

Arkady and Sage can talk for hours about books. They both love reading, and they both enjoy classical stories. They can talk for hours about the themes in these stories and will also take turns reading to each other when they are cuddling together. With Sage's ability to speak and read multiple languages, they are not limited to just English and Russian literature choices.

Russian is their love language. Sage speaks it like a native, which allows them both to communicate without any barrier/chance of misunderstandings -- especially from Arkady's end. If they are communicating on their special commlink in Russian, it is 100% meant to be a private conversation.

They use their commlink all the time when they are apart to talk about the most mundane, ordinary and human subjects that come to mind. It anchors them both.

The two of them can be absolute schemers with each other. Sage brings the data, the odds, and her own experiences and skills (book smarts), but Arkady brings the real-world experiences and years of knowledge and skills from what he learned in combat and life in a much more analog world (street smarts). It creates an unholy mix when it comes to them applying strategies to real-life scenarios and battle planning. There are times where they will just sit together and talk strategy, seeing if either one of them can beat the other in a battle of wits and intelligence. This includes board games like Risk and Chess.

Branching off this, they absolutely can and will tag-team to hide things where no one else will ever be able to find them. They have secret caches everywhere that they refuse to tell anyone else about. Some of their caches they keep secret from each other purely as a mental challenge to see if the other can find the stash. It's a game meant for intellectual stimulation.

Sage is a lot more emotional around Arkady, while Arkady is much more gentle when he is around Sage. They both feel as if they can let down their guards around each other in a way they can't with other people. This includes sleeping. Neither one of them has anything to fear by sleeping in the same space or nearby.

They enjoy watching movies together, but they can both be quite picky about their movie choices. Neither one of them enjoys "filler" movies that are all flash and no substance. They need deeper themes or they both get bored and start picking the plot and character actions apart. They can really get savage with their nitpicks too, and when they get going, their energy feeds into each other on the subject.

Sage often can't focus on just one movie at a time, so she will have a tablet open with an earpiece in one ear to allow her to watch two movies or shows at the same time while sharing the main movie with Arkady. If Arkady isn't liking the main movie, he will often start peering over Sage's shoulder to watch what she is watching on her tablet. If it looks appealing, they will put that one on the main screen to share together instead.

Neither one of them knows how to cook really well. Sage possess the knowledge to, but the way their lives have been, neither one of them really has been able to set aside time to actually sit down and learn hands-on how to properly cook homemade meals. They are learning together.

Sage can absolutely get Arkady to wear things he won't normally wear. If it is cold out, she can actually get him to wear a coat. Summer comes, she can get him to wear shorts. She has the right brand of stubborn to get Arkady to step out of his comfort zone to try new things that aren't so militaristic.

They are both very private and introverted, so public displays of affection are usually a no-go. At home, they love cuddles and kisses and oftentimes, that is enough for both of them to be happy with each other.

Sage watches the weather to be able to know when barometric pressure drops. She knows Arkady's many struggles with his implants and helps him with maintaining them and helping him manage his chronic symptoms.

Arkady watches Sage to make sure she doesn't overwork herself. And he will absolutely play "guard dog" to get people who are bothering her to leave her alone. He does this so they can get alone time as well. Sage is quite aware of this behavior and lets him do it anyway.

Sage likes getting things for Arkady that are about introducing comfort in his life. She has even gotten him a weighted blanket to help him sleep at night. Arkady likes making Sage gifts using his own two hands. He also enjoys giving her flowers, following Russian traditions and symbolism.

They make an effort to take time away every week to do something together that grounds their humanity. It can be as simple as taking a walk together or doing a crafting project. They both enjoy hands-on hobbies.

I made a blank one too in case anyone else felt the urge to make their own Omega Red version of the "I sleep/I wake" meme:

While we haven't seen Arkady in a romantic relationship per se (shipping aside), we have seen evidence of the kind of man that he would be in a relationship. There are a few traits that he possesses that would be a big part of how he acts, but something to keep in mind about this answer too is that Omega Red is very much a sponge. If you give him a partner that respects him and treats him well, he will return that. If you are a partner who is toxic as hell, it is going to be an awful relationship -- but not in the way you are probably thinking. Who he is with will shape him a lot. Let's dive in!

So, first and foremost, let's look at the kind of man he is. Now, I'm not talking about what Arkady does or how he behaves in combat. I'm talking about the way he acts in quieter moments, when things are calm. When he is not in survival mode, and where he is with someone he already has a positive dynamic with. Arkady's love language is acts of service. His emotions are very hard for him to understand and process (he often uses anger to express frustration because that was all he was allowed to express for years), but something he does know how to give is his body. His time. We will see moments where he throws himself into danger or otherwise goes out of his way to protect people who give him kindness, even if it nearly kills him:

It is kind of a sad thing to realize, but Omega Red has long believed that the only value he brings to any place he goes is what he can physically provide. The Soviet Union where he grew up made him believe that his only value and worth as a person was to serve the state. Almost every person he has interacted with in the years that followed only ever wanted to use him because of his physical prowess. Matsu'o, the Russian government, Sabretooth, Romulus, Dracula, even the X-men have all done this to him to some degree. Arkady has long been told through his interactions with other people that the only worth he has is his body. Who he is as a person and the things he likes and enjoys doesn't actually matter. So the person that he is tends to get buried. Because for Arkady, he has learned no one wants the person. The only way he will ever get even a taste of the things that he wants -- for his human desires to be fulfilled -- is through his body. That's all he thinks he can offer, because at least that means he is wanted for something. I'll touch more on the negative side of this in a bit.

In a positive way, this trait of his translates to loyalty and acts of service. He very much has the capacity to be gentle beneath the Omega Red exterior that he tends to default to, and we see that side of him poke through on occasion. When he was a boy, Arkady was a softie, a boy who was unsure of himself, filled with self-loathing for what his mutant powers were, and who relied heavily on external guides to boost his self-confidence and encourage him in positive directions or give him hope. He enjoys normal, non-violent things when he's with someone else in these circumstances. Those traits are still inside Arkady, and the right conditions do bring those traits out. He benefits greatly from not being in "survival mode." If he is given security, has his basic needs provided for, and doesn't have to worry about being taken away to be experimented on or the needs of his powers/body, that allows these other aspects of himself to begin peeking through. It's like taking care of a starving and abused dog. Eventually their real personality comes out, and we see that with Arkady.

Despite what some people may think, Arkady cares and cares deeply. He is a very emotional man and the things that happens to him do hurt him a lot. He tries not to show his own vulnerability a lot of the time because he has learned that all people tend to do is hurt that side of him if they are made aware of it. So, he blocks it off unless he feels safe to start expressing himself. Or, again, if he has a strong tie to someone. Then he acts softer. He puts in long hours to do something for them. He guards. It may be a bit rough, because his experiences with being able to express love are rare, but he will match the love he is given in the best way that he knows how and how he understands his partner's needs and wants.

We see instances where he is very devoted. I wouldn't necessarily call him a hopeless romantic, but he is very much a "I love you very deeply" kind of guy for people he cares about, even if he struggles to actually say the words out loud. When he went back home after decades away, he found out his childhood best friend Anastasia died. He didn't move on right away. He mourned and paid respects at her home where she was killed, even though the last time he saw her was when he was still a teenager. Years of separation, and he still holds the torch for her because he loved her. He talks to people in the village politely and offers condolences for their own losses. There is even a moment where he is fully ready to get up and leave when it is expressed that Arkady isn't wanted around.

Omega Red is very much what a person would call a people-pleaser. He wants a place to belong. A home. To be loved and cared for. He is starved for positive attention, especially after decades of all the abuse and trauma he has been put through. Kindness towards him affects him deeply, and makes him very willing to follow a person around like a big puppy dog until they give him the positive interactions he is so starved for. Once a dynamic is formed, Arkady often puts his own desires aside to make the people he is with happy. This is where the negative, toxic side lies and why it is so important that Arkady ends up with someone who nurtures and encourages his own human side and encourages him to speak up about the things that he himself wants in a relationship. Because Arkady has long been taught, again, that his own happiness doesn't matter. Who he is as a person doesn't matter. Only what he can provide matters.

This opens him up to emotional and even physical abuse -- a repeat of the cycle that he was trapped in by the long list of people who have exploited him over the years. Arkady will grin and bear terrible situations in silence if it means he is getting positive attention. He will do things that cause him harm if he believes that is what is needed and wanted from him. The wrong kind of person can very easily make Arkady do things that he wouldn't normally do because Arkady's experiences have taught him that he can only be loved and valued if he does what they want. And the wrong kind of person can very easily manipulate him into staying in a toxic relationship that is harmful to him. A person says the right kinds of things -- even when they're taking Arkady for all that he's worth -- and Arkady will literally go through hell if he thinks it means that he is wanted.

But deceptions like this don't last forever. Eventually, there does come a breaking point where Arkady "wakes up" and the wool can't be pulled over his eyes anymore. Arkady only tolerates so much abuse before he eventually realizes that he actually isn't happy anymore and is just being used the way his handlers always used him. That is when he snaps. And he can snap very violently:

Again, Arkady is a very emotional man. When he is hurt deeply by someone, his response can become very extreme because he was never taught how to properly handle or express any emotion besides anger. Anger was the trait that the Soviets wanted. That was what they drove into him until that was his default response. Arkady's understanding of his other emotions tends to be more muted.

Now, this does not mean that if someone drops a teacup that Arkady will go into a flying rage over it. Arkady is still a grin and bear kind of person. He will more likely blame himself for issues in a relationship than anything else. He will take abuse. He will accept mistakes. His anger only would come out at a breaking point, and that can be a sign of abuse, of a partner taking Arkady's love for granted and using him, a betrayal, or of poor communication in a relationship.

The dynamic between Arkady and a potential partner needs to be an equal exchange. Omega Red needs to be in a relationship that allows him to not only express his love and softer side to a partner, but where he gets his needs fulfilled in turn. But something to remember is that Arkady is so conditioned to not ask for things that his partner would have to establish that communication dynamic first. To remind him that he has the right and ability to ask for the things that he wants in a relationship too. That his partner makes sure to find out if Arkady is actually doing something they ask because he actually wants to do it, or if he is forcing himself to suffer through something he hates because he thinks it will make his partner happy. Which is again why who Arkady ends up with is so important. He needs someone who will care about the person inside him and encourage that person to grow.

Which leads to the final part: what happens if someone is in a relationship with Arkady but breaks up with him? He would be devastated. Arkady has very big problems with maintaining positive self-worth, and since he is so tied to the belief that his worth only matters because of the use he can provide, rejection will just make those feelings worse. He will feel that he wasn't good enough. That the love that he had been given in the relationship wasn't even something he deserved in the first place. There is a very real risk that he would shut down. He wouldn't go and try to pursue to prove his worth to a former partner because his self-esteem is so low, he will think that the person he had been with probably had a point and was completely justified in leaving him. Which leaves him vulnerable to another person to use and exploit him. The danger Arkady has to falling into a toxic relationship is very real. Because he is so starved for positive attention and believes that his only worth is tied to what he can provide, that he will chop out and bury parts to himself -- settle with the worst -- if it means that he will get even a small tase of the one thing he yearns for the most.

Remember this thing?

This little device, which plagued Omega Red's life for decades in comics is such an interesting little thing. It had such a stranglehold on him as a character in the comics for almost 30 years and is pretty much his go-to villain plot whenever writers want to have him battle Wolverine. I got to thinking about the Carbonadium Synthesizer (C-Synthesizer or C-Synth for short) after Arkady's appearance in Episode 5 of the X-Men 97 cartoon. Because there is something that I have noticed about his appearances there and in the original show that is different than the comics, which is having an interesting impact on his character, and I wanted to talk about it. And it all boils down to this little device.

So, for those who do not know what this little device is or why it is so important for Omega Red, the C-Synthesizer was created by the people behind the Soviet Supersoldier Program which made Omega Red in the first place. When he was made into a weapon, Arkady had carbonadium implanted into his body, which is most obviously shown by the two coils that come from his wrists made of the same material. While working for Team X -- the CIA's black ops hit squad that ran around committing war crimes in the name of United States interests -- Wolverine, Maverick, Sabretooth and John Wraith stole the device, with Wolverine and Maverick going the extra mile to hide the device away, and later on played a very, very, very long game of keep-away with Omega Red when he was revived in the modern day to prevent him from having it.

Why does Omega Red want it so badly? Well, carbonadium is radioactive. It is constantly poisoning Arkady to the point that the only thing keeping him alive is his mutant powers. Omega Red needs to kill constantly -- draining other living beings of their life force -- to sustain his own immune system in order to heal his body being poisoned by the toxic metal. It is an agonizing situation for Arkady, who is affected both physically and mentally by the toll of the poison in his body. The only cure is the C-Synthesizer, and as such, he is constantly on the hunt for it, taking any job from any person who offers to give him what he needs to live.

If you read my blog posts, I'm sure many of you are familiar with the story by now, and you are probably also aware of how this plot was finally resolved several years ago now during the Krakoa era of comics, where Arkady first got the C-Synthesizer from Dracula in a lousy deal that forced him to work for the vampire, then got murdered when the X-men found out about it, before finally being revived with an unaltered C-Synthesizer and given a second chance at life.

Now, this plot has dragged on for so long in the comics that I am incredibly thankful that it is finally over. Omega Red is cured at long last. But there is a side to this story that I haven't really dove into before and how -- even though it felt like a curse -- having this plot run for three decades probably changed Arkady's trajectory as a character in a way that not only secured him a shot at redemption in the comics, but also is showing how different of a person he could have been without this plot. Because unlike the comics -- which took 30 years to give Omega Red a cure -- the TAS/X-men 97 cartoon took a completely different approach to Arkady. They eliminated the C-Synthesizer as a plot for him entirely.

His biggest, most important villain plot and his main drive as a character for hundreds of issues of comics, is suddenly, not a thing.

How does that change him??

Well, it changes quite a lot actually.

The impact of the C-Synthesizer

First, I am going to start by explaining how the hunt for the C-Synthesizer affected Arkady's growth -- or, lack thereof -- in the comics. From his very first appearance, Omega Red was introduced with this device as part of his lore. He needed it, and his first conflict with the X-men and Wolverine was about Matsu'o Tsurayaba -- who had bought and owned Omega Red -- and his allies trying to find the device so they could use Omega Red as their weapon for their rich man's games. The X-men stopped this from happening of course, and Logan dug up the device and handed it off to Maverick which is the start of the very long chase that Arkady goes on in the decades after that. Unlike what Maverick says here, the C-Synthesizer is not used appropriately. It's not used at all besides as the magic MacGuffin needed to get Omega Red involved in plots.

This is where Omega Red's character gets put into the bind that really determines his path. Because there are a couple times where it seems like writers would like to try to take Omega Red on a different path in the comics and give him other ties or things to do in order to advance him as a "big bad." But the problem?? The people who have the C-Synthesizer are Wolverine and Maverick. Logan was already a hot character then -- being pushed everywhere in the 90s -- and Maverick was the new character that had all the hallmarks of what made a popular character at the time: edgy anti-hero type with military background and GUNS. The popularity of these two and the role that they played in stories cannot be understated. Because this determined one very important thing that shaped the entire conflict with Omega Red:

They couldn't lose.

To lose the C-Synthesizer would have been seen as a blow to the ego and mythos of these bad boy archetypes. They couldn't be allowed to lose to the "bad guy," which meant the plot with Omega Red could never evolve beyond the chase. Which.... if this was any other type of MacGuffin, it might not have stifled Arkady's growth like it did. But this is a life-saving medical device. Arkady literally cannot function as a normal person without it. He can't make any long-term plans because he always has to worry about just surviving until tomorrow. Just being able to wake up the next morning. Figure out who his next victim will be and make the kill. He can't really hold onto anything, let alone build anything of value. So what happens?

Progression stagnates.

It becomes a vicious circle. A writer wants to use Omega Red. He gets used for maybe an issue or two where the device or his hunt for it doesn't get mentioned. But then the writers remember that it's an unresolved thing and kinda a pretty big deal for him to get his hands on in order to be able to continue to be used, otherwise he -- you know -- dies. So off he goes to chase it again, only for him to hit the wall of Wolverine and Maverick and their "I can't lose" plot armor, keeping Arkady trapped without a cure and killing more people to keep himself alive. And repeat. For 30 years.

But, this eventually caused an interesting change. Omega Red was defined by the hunt, but where he initially started out much more driven, anti-authoritarian, and rebellious, over time, Arkady began to become much more disillusioned, tired, and desperate. The chase was wearing him down, and between all the trips to prison, the continued tortures and experimentations, the backstabbing, the lies, and the manipulation he faced, Arkady started to change as a character in response to the man we see in comics now. Now, those better traits of his were always there -- he was doing good deeds every once in a while even in the 90s -- but the direction of Omega Red being a major supervillain who had plans for world domination and to unleash his own agenda onto the world was not something that was ever realized. The presence of the C-Synthesizer, and the never-ending chase that kept him locked into a plot that was never allowed to be resolved or progress in any way, completely changed his trajectory as a character and whatever plans writers may have originally intended for him.

What is he like without it?

This is where something like X-men 97 is interesting. Because when the original TAS came out, Omega Red was a new character. The C-Synthesizer was introduced in the comics, and got one flashback reference in Logan's memories in the show, but it had absolutely no bearing on Omega Red's story in the cartoon. It was never mentioned as a problem. Arkady has never once demanded Logan tell him where it is, even though they have shared quite a bit of screen time between both the original show and now. It's not an issue for him here (that we have seen, anyway), which suddenly takes all of the problems that Comic Arkady struggled with for decades and throws them out the window.

For the first time, we get to see what Omega Red fully realized as a villain could be like.

His limits are gone. He doesn't have to worry about trying to combat the poison in his body and dedicating every second of every day to just staying alive and trying to hunt for his cure. He can put his focus towards other things -- the things that drove him when he was a weapon, the philosophies that shaped him during his years as a government experiment. And the things that led him to breaking from their control and making everyone fear him.

So when a person sees Omega Red saying things about having plans to dominate the world and starts thinking: "Huh? Where the hell is this coming from??" It's coming from the fact that Omega Red in this cartoon does not have the things that happened in the comics shaping who he becomes. He does not have the C-Synthesizer plot forcing him to live day to day, selling himself to anyone willing to pay him the device in return for his work. He hasn't been worn down by years of continued torture, experiments, and betrayals that led to him changing as a character in response. We haven't gotten an Omega Red who has been humbled. He hasn't realized that the armor and fearsome persona that he uses to strike fear into people's hearts and protect the damaged core of his humanity doesn't protect him from the things he hates the most.

The Wolverine/Jean of it all doesn't interest me, but what does interest me is that Omega Red gets a few new shots in this trailer, and what sounds like a line of his??? I am no good at doing clips of video, but here are a few screenshots I took. Omega Red appeared in two moments: one where he throws what looks like a car at Logan, and another scene where he has Logan caught and looks like he's draining the life out of him using his death factor:

I will note that you can see his red eyes, and his coils light up here. It's an effect I first saw getting used in Marvel Contest of Champions, then he got them in the comics. I think it's a feature that is here to stay, which, I don't mind. I am also noticing the little red sparkles, that is Arkady's death factor I assume.