00:11With the MCU expected to go all in on mutants after Secret Wars, I really hope some of that
00:16spotlight lands on Omega Red.
00:19We technically already saw him in Deadpool 2, where Dakota Shepley made a brief cameo
00:24as the character while imprisoned in the mutant facility known as the Icebox.
00:28But let's be honest, that appearance was little more than an easter egg and didn't
00:33do justice to one of the X-Men's most dangerous villains.
00:37Thankfully, that could change in the future with a much bigger role or even a standalone
00:41project.
00:42And the idea isn't as far-fetched as it sounds either, because before Disney acquired Fox,
00:4820th Century Fox was reportedly developing an Omega Red movie of its own.
00:52Omega Red isn't just another mutant, he's someone who can give even the strongest X-Men
00:58a serious run for their money.
01:00His mutant abilities include superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes,
01:08along with his terrifying death spores, toxic pheromones that can kill ordinary humans within
01:13seconds.
01:13He also wields deadly carbonadium coils extending from his wrists, which he uses both as weapons
01:20and to drain the life force from his enemies.
01:23On top of all that, Omega Red is a highly trained hand-to-hand fighter and brilliant military
01:29tactician, having mastered countless forms of combat through his time with the Soviet government
01:33and various criminal organizations in Russia and Japan.
01:38He's also incredibly intelligent, making him just as dangerous for his strategic mind
01:43as he is for his overwhelming physical power.
01:47But I wouldn't be surprised if you don't know exactly who Omega Red is, so here's a quick
01:51rundown.
01:52Omega Red first appeared in X-Men number 4 in 1992 and was created by Jim Lee and John Byrne.
01:59His real name is Arkady Rosevich, and while his origin has changed over the years, every
02:06version paints him as a ruthless and dangerous man.
02:09In one telling, he was a serial killer from Soviet Russia who was captured by Interpol agent
02:15Sean Cassidy and handed over to the KGB, which used him in an experiment to create a super
02:21soldier similar to Captain America.
02:23Another version says he was a Soviet soldier stationed in Siberia whose murders were eventually
02:29uncovered by his fellow troops.
02:31They executed him with a gunshot to the back of the head, but he somehow survived, astonishing
02:37his superiors and earning a place in the brutal super soldier program.
02:42Following the experiments, Arkady became an operative for Soviet intelligence and the KGB,
02:48setting him on his path to becoming the terrifying mutant known as Omega Red.
02:53Omega Red's body was turned into a deadly weapon by the Soviet government, which implanted retractable
02:59carbonadium coils into both of his arms.
03:02Carbonadium was basically the Soviets' version of adamantium, but it was softer and more flexible.
03:07Those coils let Omega Red wrap around his enemies and literally drain their life force.
03:13The catch is that this ability isn't just an attack, it's how he stays alive.
03:18The carbonadium inside his body slowly poisons him, so he has to keep absorbing life energy
03:24to survive.
03:25The only real solution is the carbonadium synthesizer, a device stolen decades earlier by Wolverine,
03:32Maverick and Sabretooth during one of their final Team X missions in the 1960s.
03:37At some point, the Soviet government decided Omega Red was far too dangerous and impossible
03:43to control, so they put him into suspended animation.
03:47Years later, after the Soviet Union collapsed, he was brought back by Matsuo Tsurayaba, the
03:53leader of the hand.
03:54Tsurayaba convinced Omega Red that Wolverine knew where the carbonadium synthesizer was hidden,
04:00sending him on a relentless hunt for both the mutant and the device that could finally
04:04stabilize his condition.
04:07Eventually, SHIELD captured Omega Red, but the Red Room secured his release because they
04:12wanted to use him for their own plans.
04:14Not long after breaking free from their control, he ran into Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler,
04:20leading to another brutal fight.
04:22Thanks to Red Room experiments that boosted his healing abilities, Omega Red could shrug
04:27off most of Wolverine's claw attacks.
04:30The battle finally ended when Nightcrawler stepped in, knocked him unconscious, and allowed
04:35SHIELD to take him back into custody.
04:38Omega Red's story takes another wild turn when Wolverine kills him by stabbing him straight
04:43through the heart.
04:44But that doesn't keep him down for long.
04:46Members of the Church of St. Mitrofan recover his body and perform a mystical ritual to bring
04:52him back to life.
04:53The resurrection isn't perfect, though, and he's left on the verge of dying again until
04:58the Russian Mafia use magic's powers to fully restore him.
05:01Later, Omega Red shows up at Krakoa badly injured and asks for asylum.
05:07Wolverine immediately objects, warning Magneto that Omega Red is far too dangerous to have
05:13living on the island, especially with families and children around.
05:17Meanwhile, Wolverine investigates rumors of a secret vampire community in Paris but ends
05:22up getting captured by Vlad Dracula, who has made himself younger by drinking Wolverine's
05:28blood.
05:29As part of a deal between them, Dracula gives Omega Red the carbonadium synthesizer he's
05:34been searching for, but there's a catch.
05:36It secretly contains a bomb.
05:39In return, Omega Red agrees to work as Dracula's spy and keep tabs on the mutants while helping
05:45advance the hidden plans of the vampire nation.
05:48Back on Krakoa, Jean Grey psychically interrogates Omega Red while he's being held captive, confirming
05:55that Dracula has manipulated him into becoming a sleeper agent in exchange for the synthesizer.
06:01X-Force and Beast come up with a plan to create a fake version of the device loaded with tracking
06:07and surveillance technology.
06:09Before they can put everything into action, the original synthesizer's hidden explosive goes
06:13off, killing Omega Red once again.
06:16Fortunately for him, the Five resurrect him on Krakoa.
06:20Even better for X-Force, he comes back with no memory of his death or revival, allowing the
06:26mutant team to secretly use him as a double agent the next time he works with Dracula.
06:31That should give you a pretty good idea of who Omega Red is and what makes him such a dangerous
06:36character.
06:37Of course, there are also plenty of alternate versions of him across Marvel's different
06:41universes.
06:42In Age of Apocalypse, he's portrayed as a businessman with connections to the mutant underground
06:48and the black market.
06:49In Age of Revelation, the X-Virus affects him in a way that causes his own powers to hurt
06:55him.
06:55Over in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Omega Red becomes one of Spider-Man's enemies and
07:01uses organic tentacles instead of his usual carbonadium coils.
07:05And in the newer Ultimate Universe, he rises to become one of the leaders of the Eurasian Republic
07:11before eventually being killed by Wolverine.
07:13Speaking of Wolverine, there's another reason to be excited because Omega Red is officially
07:19set to appear as a major villain in Insomniac Games' Marvel's Wolverine.
07:24The trailers have already teased his role, showing off the game's brutal combat and action-packed
07:29story ahead of its PS5 release.
07:32From what we know so far, Omega Red will be one of the biggest threats Logan has to face.
07:37His appearance also suggests the game will explore Wolverine's mysterious past, especially
07:43his time with the covert Black Ops team known as Team X.
07:47A big part of the story revolves around the hunt for the carbonadium synthesizer, a device
07:52that can keep Omega Red alive and one that he's desperate to get his hands on.
07:57And Omega Red won't be the only familiar face causing trouble.
08:00Well, Insomniac has also confirmed that Mystique, Sabertooth, Callisto, Jean Grey, and Leech will
08:07appear in Marvel's Wolverine, giving Logan plenty of dangerous allies and enemies to deal
08:12with throughout the story.
08:14One name you might not be familiar with is Leech.
08:17He's actually a pretty interesting X-Men character.
08:21He first appeared in Uncanny X-Men as one of the Morlocks, a community of mutants who live
08:26beneath the streets of Manhattan because their unusual appearances make it difficult for them
08:31to fit into normal society.
08:33Leech is usually shown as a young boy, around 12 years old, although his real name and exact
08:39age have never been revealed.
08:41One of his most useful abilities is the power to suppress or completely shut down the superhuman
08:47abilities of anyone within roughly 50 feet of him.
08:50Anyways, back to Omega Red.
08:52Now that you know more about his backstory, powers, and history with Wolverine, I'm curious
08:57to hear what you think.
08:59Would you like to see him show up in a live-action movie, or do you think he deserves a
09:03stand-alone
09:04project of his own?
09:05Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
09:08And as always, don't forget to subscribe, because we've got plenty more Marvel updates,
09:13character breakdowns.
09:14Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.
