Omega Flight #4

Background

Super villains are flooding into Canada after the Registration Act was passed in the U.S. and the Canadian government decides to create a new Flight team. Attempting to stop the Wrecking Crew on his own, Sasquatch is captured leaving Talisman, USAgent, Arachne, and the new Guardian, Michael Pointer to rescue him. The Wrecking Crew surfaces in Toronto where they make contact with a weird creature somehow linked to Beta Ray Bill. It powers up the Wrecking Crew and Bill makes his move to fight them by his lonesome. Hearing of the problem, what remains of Omega Flight leaves C.S.I.S. headquarters in Ottawa to join the fight.

Story 'Alpha to Omega'

The issue opens with Michael Pointer sitting in his cell. Apparently too dangerous to be let out just yet, Arachne's daughter pleads for him to help her mother. She opens his cell which is conveniently unlocked and Pointer responds to her pleas by crying. Is it me or does this guy cry an awful lot?

While flying towards Toronto in the usual aircraft of C.S.I.S, a helicopter covered in maple leafs, what makes up the small group of Omega Flight is attacked by demons. USAgent kicks in the teeth of one while barking orders and Arachne does her best to create a psionic web to catch them. Everyone escapes unharmed, but USAgent tosses an insult to Agent Brown just for good measure. At least, I think he thinks calling a Canadian a "Canuck" is something insulting. Maybe he's just saying it contemptuously.

Trapped in the remains of the Royal Ontario Museum, a battered Sasquatch is overcome with power that gives him the strength to leap out of the rubble. Only heard by Omega Flight, they turn their attention to the more immediate threat of Beta Ray Bill racing through the sky. USAgent decides they should get people to safety first. Not fairing too well against the entire Wrecking Crew, Beta Ray Bill is aided by the sudden arrival of Talisman. She absorbs the magic fuelling Piledriver's punch and fires it right back at him. She and Bill decide to work together but are interrupted by the sudden appearance of a red furred Sasquatch. Looking more like Tanaraq then Sasquatch, he attacks Talisman growling like a beast. This gives Thunderball an opening to nail Beta Ray Bill as he double teams him with Piledriver.

As she's evacuating people into a truck, Arachne is confronted by a charging Bulldozer. She dispatches him easily enough be using a psionic web to toss him into the sky shouting "Sorry...Canadians only!". It seems like this mini-series likes to have little moments like this. That's all well and good for a mini-series, but if this does get made into a series I'd like to see a little less pandering. Just a little though.

Back in the main battle, Talisman does her best to protect the people from Sasquatch while USAgent pointlessly tries to fight him. After a quick rescue, USAgent meets Beta Ray Bill as they plunge into a horde of demons. The battle continues to rage as Omega Flight is slowly overwhelmed by the demons and Talisman looks like she's in some serious trouble as an angry Sasquatch lumbers towards her. Suddenly the scene shifts to the perspective of someone flying in at high speed through the mass of demons. Talisman pleads with Sasquatch, not wanting to hurt him, when Michael Pointer lands on top of him. Even though he's wearing the suit, it still feels a bit odd to be calling him Guardian just yet. Still containing quite a bit of power, Pointer blows away the demons and Wrecking Crew as Talisman informs him that Walter is possessed by the great beasts. I'm guessing that means Tanaraq. While he's distracted, Sasquatch grabs Pointer's and slaps away Talisman. Pointer begins to power up to free himself, but remembering what happened with the original Alpha Flight, he sheds a tear and vows to never kill again. His words fall on indifferent ears as Sasquatch tells him that he will.

General Comments

So, this issue was just a really long fight. Being a fan of long drawn out fights, I wasn't bothered by the minimal plot advancement as sometimes you just need to see some demons get blown up. Or are these the aliens that attacked Beta Ray Bill's home planet? I'm not too sure and this issue didn't help explain it that much. And what does it have to do with Sasquatch being all Tanaraqy? A lot of questions for the last issue to answer. Other then a few mucky lines and some art that occasionally disappoints, Oeming and Kolins are doing just as good a job as they have been for the previous 3 issues. That's a good thing and bad thing.

One of my biggest concerns is how often Pointer seems to cry. He needs to get through the next issue without shedding a single tear just to break even. . I'm glad it wasn't on the cover this time though. It's also too bad for those demons he vaporized before he realized he didn't want to kill anymore. Maybe I'm just being a little rough on him, but he still has yet to earn the costume he's wearing, and he has to do a little more then kick some ass to be truly worthy. Come to think of, Pointer isn't even the only member of his team to be an imitation of a more beloved original. USAgent is no Captain America, Beta Ray Bill is no Thor, Arachne is no Spider Woman, and Talisman is no Shaman. Omega Flight's whole deal seems to be character who are like other ones, but not quite as popular. I guess the next arc in what looks like a likely ongoing title can be called "We're cool too!". It's a decent commentary on Omega Flight but if it gets tied to Alpha Flight, or even worse Canada, my next review might be a little less nice.

Overall Rating

Really, everything I said about the last issue's quality can be applied to this one. It's going on at a steady level, but I'd really like to see some improvement. I'm hoping the next issue can turn things up a notch.