Marvel Comics Presents (Vol. 2) #6 (Story 4)

Background

Omega Flight was formed to combat the steady stream of super villains entering Canada during the madness of Civil War. Made up of U.S.Agent, Sasquatch, Arachne, and Guardian, they protect Canada from such threats as Tentakill and Raptore.

The new Guardian, Michael Pointer, is having trouble controlling his powers. They seem incredibly unreliable which might have something to do with his unpredictable emotions. After the collective mutant powers of all the de-powered mutants on Earth entered him, he destroyed his home town in Alaska, killing everyone he ever knew. Now in the Guardian suit and being forced to pay for his crimes, the Canadian government is doing their best to help him through his psychological issues. USAgent, the resident jerk on the team, doesn't like the situation very much and is being kept in the dark by Agent Brown.

Story 'Weapon Omega (Part 6)'

Well, we're back. With Arachne missing until now, there hasn't been any reason to review this story. However, this installment marks her triumphant return.

Oddly enough, not much has happened in the last few months. Things open up with Iron Man meeting USAgent in a small cave behind Niagara Falls. USAgent gives Iron Man all the info he's gathered, that is; something is up with Pointer. USAgent also asks about a few of the clowns they sent packing a short while ago. Oddly, Iron Man hesitates with his reply and as he flies away Arachne pops out with The Shroud who have been observing the whole time. They theorize that the captured villains aren't making it back to the U.S. USAgent and Arachne discuss what to do next and USAgent thinks getting closer to Pointer through Arachne's daughter might work. Thanks to his tact, the fragile trust building between them may be on unsteady ground.

Meanwhile, Pointer talks to a psychiatrist who is casually manipulated by Agent Brown. Apparently the voices that assaulted Pointer last night have some connection to his Guardian suit. Also, Agent Brown continues to become the type of manipulative secret agent you'd expect out of Department H, not someone working for C.S.I.S.

This installment ends with Arachne's daughter knocking on Pointer's door as he screams while in the fetal position. He screams at her to leave and she walks off oddly in a trance.

General Comments

As a Canadian, I'll try to put aside the obvious misunderstanding of government agencies. I'll also forgive the absence of ANY of the Canadian members of the premiere Canadian super-hero team. What I can't ignore is the fact that this story is moving far too slowly. Yes, it's an anthology delivering a large story in bite-sized pieces, but at the end of the day, it feels like a four issue mini-series being stretched out to a whole year. Considering the page count, that'd be right on the money too. The main benefit of anthologies is that they provide you with a large, satisfying amount of material. Not every story needs to be the usual twenty two pages, but these eight page installments provide little in the way of story development, and that makes it that much harder to remember what's going on, or to even care.

Now, as for the story itself. Here's what looks like is going on: the voices in Pointer's head are coming from the suit due to the people having their energy sucked out of them to power it, or power him, or some variation on that theme. Treating this like a mystery is a bit insulting. And the evil government agent angle is tiresome. Agent Brown has gone from the seemingly slow witted liaison of Omega Flight to the secretive schemer who treats them like lab rats. While I can't say I knew much about him to begin with, I'd rather he were revealed to be less of a cliché. Things can certainly change, but we're halfway through, and it's not looking good.

The only bright spot is Andrea Divito's art. It's clean and sharp and gives the characters a nice distinct look. I really wish there was more of it to look at, but considering the strength of the narrative, that may not be such a big loss.

Overall Rating

If sales are any indication, a lack-lustre Omega Flight story was a poor choice for one of this new anthology's anchors.