Omega Flight is the name used by four teams of fictional characters with superpowers appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Omega Flight is one of the few Canadian teams published by an American comic book company. Omega Flight first appeared in the pages of Alpha Flight as a supervillain team. Some later incarnations have been composed of heroes.
Publication history
The Omega Flight team assembled by Jerome Jaxon first appeared in Alpha Flight #11–13 (June–August 1984).
The team assembled by the Master first appeared in Alpha Flight #110–112 (July–September 1992).
The next team known as Omega Flight was a group of heroes. The team made their first appearance in the one-shot Civil War: The Initiative (April 2007) and moved on to their own series, Omega Flight #1–5.
The most recent team was a group of heroes assembled by Department H, who have only appeared in Avengers vol. 5, #9–10 (June 2013).
Fictional team biography
Jerry Jaxon's team
The name of Omega Flight is originally used by a group of super-villains assembled with the specific purpose of killing the original Alpha Flight, particularly its founder, the original Guardian.
Delphine Courtney, the robotic assistant to Jerry Jaxon, recruited superhuman operatives to join Omega Flight as part of Jaxon's revenge scheme against James McDonald Hudson. Jaxon had been Hudson's boss and blamed Hudson for his dismissal. All of Courtney's recruits had been members of the then disbanded Beta and Gamma Flights. It included:
Delphine Courtney (MX39147) - Courtney is a robot with superhuman strength and durability, along with enhanced sight and hearing. She is destroyed by Madison Jeffries. Diamond Lil (Lillian Crawley) – Diamond Lil is a mutant with a bio-aura force field, giving her superhuman durability. She is killed in Selene's attack on Utopia. Flashback (Gardner Monroe) – Flashback is a mutant with the ability to bring future versions of himself into the present. Jerry Jaxon – Jaxon is a human who controls the Box robot as a member of the team. He is killed by feedback when Vindicator overloads the robot. Smart Alec (Alexander Thorne) – Smart Alec is a super-genius. He is killed when he looks into Shaman's pouch, destroying his mind. Wild Child (Kyle Gibney) – Wild Child is a mutant with superhuman speed, agility, reflexes and senses. He also has a healing factor, retractable claws and limited ability to communicate with animals. He is killed when Omega Red throws him into molten steel.
Master of the World's team
The second incarnation is organized by the Master of the World. Once again, the purpose of the team's creation is to destroy Alpha Flight. The membership includes:
Bile (Tom Preston) – Bile has the ability to secrete viruses, giving him a deadly touch. Brain Drain (Werner Schmidt) – Brain Drain is a human that uses alien technology to control the minds of others. Miss Mass (Gillian Pritikin) – Miss Mass possesses superhuman strength and density. Sinew (William Knox) – Sinew has an appearance that resembles an animal, including a tail. He has enhanced physical abilities. Strongarm (Steve Caidin) – Strongarm is a human with cybernetically enhanced right arm, granting him superhuman strength. Tech-Noir (Gale Cameron) – Tech-Noir is a cyborg with the power of flight and rocket launchers in her wrists.
Initiative team
This team emerges from the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover storyline. The lineup includes elements of the original Canadian super-team Alpha Flight as well as other superheroes, mostly American superheroes on loan from S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Iron Man and the Initiative. The team roster was meant to include Arachne, Michael Pointer as the new Guardian, Sasquatch, U.S. Agent, Beta Ray Bill and Talisman, but changes to the story after Omega Flight was reduced to a limited series meant that the final two never actually joined the team.