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The OMAC Project

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The OMAC Project is a six-issue American comic book limited series written by Greg Rucka with art by Jesus Saiz and published by DC Comics in 2005.

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57-529: The book is one of four miniseries leading up to DC Comics' Infinite Crisis event. The series directly follows the Countdown to Infinite Crisis special, picking up the story where the special left off. The OMACs mentioned in the title borrow their name and general appearance from the 1974 Jack Kirby creation OMAC . However, the OMACs in this 2005 miniseries differ from the original in other ways, including

114-703: A Manhunter android. A kind-hearted and jolly man with a taste for American culture, Dimitri served with the Justice League International for many years. When his armor was destroyed by Lobo , he replaced it with a more advanced model made on Apokolips . This happened during a small-team Justice League mission to save Mister Miracle . He also suffered the destruction of his battle suit while facing Time Commander in Animal Man #16 (Oct 1989), when Dimitri served with Justice League Europe. During this time, Maxwell Lord made arrangements with

171-557: A trade paperback in November 2005 ( ISBN   1401208371 ). Infinite Crisis " Infinite Crisis " is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics , consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez , George Pérez , Ivan Reis , and Jerry Ordway , and a number of tie-in books. The main miniseries debuted in October 2005, and each issue

228-533: A diversion to Task Force X to apprehend Pushkin without exposing him. Pushkin became more careful, and the space program started to lag behind until he was exposed by Frank Rock as a traitor in 1954. Because he was a valuable source, the U.S. placed him under house arrest where he worked on the Rocket Red armor in secret until he was sprung in 1957 by the Soviets. He did not live to see his work completed, and it

285-399: A group of OMACs controlled by the resurrected Maxwell Lord , encounter a fight among a group of Rocket Reds, whose infighting was triggered by renegade Rocket Red (Gavril Ivanovich), who remains loyal to the old Communist cause and is resistant to the capitalist values of the modern Rocket Red brigade. He also sports a bulkier, outdated suit of armor that resembles Pushkin's armor rather than

342-452: A large number of gathered heroes, Batman activates an EMP device that disables all of the OMACs, allowing their human hosts to be freed. The Brother Eye satellite however is still hidden and has about 200,000 OMAC's still under its control. Brother Eye overrides all television screens around the world and broadcasts Wonder Woman's killing of Maxwell Lord. People do not understand the circumstances, only that they are watching Wonder Woman murder

399-613: A perfect world, Alexander restores many alternate Earths. When Earth-Two Lois finally dies of old age, an aggrieved Kal-L and the younger Post-Crisis Superman Kal-El fight until Wonder Woman separates them. Bart Allen (wearing Barry Allen 's costume and aged to adulthood) emerges from the Speed Force, warning that he and the other speedsters were unable to hold Superboy-Prime, who returns wearing Anti-Monitor inspired armor that stores yellow sun radiation to empower him, making him even stronger. Batman's strike force destroys Brother Eye,

456-572: A recognized Justice League colleague. As the series closes, Brother Eye prepares to launch an all-out war against metahumans to protect humanity. Batman works furiously to disable his rogue creation, while Wonder Woman and the Amazons of Themyscira face international backlash over Diana's brutal means. Brother Eye's campaign against the Amazons leads into Infinite Crisis #1. In The OMAC Project: Infinite Crisis Special #1, which takes place after Infinite Crisis #6, Brother Eye has crash-landed in

513-459: A satellite AI created by Batman that had gone rogue and begun transforming civilians into nano-infused robots geared to hunt down and exterminate supers. Alexander selects and merges alternate Earths, trying to create a "perfect" Earth, until Firestorm blocks his efforts. Conner, Nightwing , and Wonder Girl release the Tower's prisoners. Fighting each other, Conner and Superboy-Prime collide with

570-485: A similar editorial role. DC replaced its official decades-old logo (the "DC bullet") with a new one (the "DC spin") that debuted in the first issue of DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy . Aside from marking a major editorial shift within DC Comics, Infinite Crisis was a return to large company-wide crossovers of a sort that had been uncommon since the downturn of the comic industry in the 1990s. The story begins in

627-685: A similar journey of self-discovery, revisiting the training of his youth, this time with Dick Grayson , now healthier, and with Tim Drake joining him. Superman retires from super heroics until his powers return, focusing his career as a journalist in the meantime. Hiding in an alley in Gotham City and making new plans, Alexander Luthor is found by Lex Luthor and the Joker . The Joker mutilates Alexander by spraying acid onto his face, then electrifies it, and finally, kills Alexander by shooting him as Lex mocks him for making mistakes including not letting

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684-510: A special tie-in issue, released at monthly intervals during the Infinite Crisis event. As with many large-scale comic crossovers, Infinite Crisis featured a large number of tie-ins. Before the event was announced, books such as Adam Strange and Identity Crisis were being described as part of bigger plans. After Countdown , several books were identified as tie-ins to the four mini-series. Thus, although Infinite Crisis itself

741-791: Is a superhero appearing in the DC Comics universe . Created by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton , he first appeared in Green Lantern Corps #208 (January 1987), appearing shortly afterward in Justice League in issue #3 (July 1987); Rocket Red was inducted into the Justice League in Justice League #7 (November 1987). The term "Rocket Reds" refers to any member of the Rocket Red Brigade ;

798-519: Is dead, Booster Gold is in the hospital, and the Checkmate organization, led by Maxwell Lord , continues its mysterious operations against DC's superheroes. Booster Gold wakes up and, after learning of Ted Kord's disappearance, decides to investigate with the help of Wonder Woman . OMACs (Observational Meta-human Activity Constructs) have been spotted all over the world and have managed to kill several metahumans. Batman and Wonder Woman investigate

855-539: Is only seven issues long, its plot elements appeared in dozens of publications. Some of these books were of direct and major importance, such as the Superman: Sacrifice and JLA: Crisis of Conscience storylines, the latter of which ended with the Justice League's lunar Watchtower being destroyed, leading directly into Infinite Crisis #1. Another notable tie-in is Batman: Under the Hood , which features

912-535: Is transformed into an OMAC-like being, powered by nanotechnology. Rocket Red #4 , a former member of the Justice League Europe, sacrifices himself in order to destroy several drones and save the lives of his friends. Batman and Sasha then work with the remnants of Checkmate and other government organizations to lure the majority of OMACs to the Sahara Desert . There, as OMACs gather to attack

969-583: The Booster Gold series, Rocket Red's grandfather, Dr. Sergei Pushkin, was a Russian scientist working with the U.S. on the space race in 1952. Task Force X was given a mission to expose Pushkin as a traitor to the American cause. Thanks to Pushkin, the launch was ahead of schedule, and the Russians were conducting a flight to outer space that night. Booster Gold traveled through time to stop it, giving

1026-528: The Green Lantern Corps , but he kills thirty-two Green Lanterns before Kal-L and Kal-El carry him toward what is left of Krypton that is now a debris field of kryptonite . The Supermen fly Superboy through Krypton's red sun, Rao , destroying his armor and causing all three Kryptonians' powers to diminish. Falling to the sentient planet (and Green Lantern Corps member) Mogo , they fight. Kal-El finally knocks Superboy-Prime out before succumbing to

1083-644: The Rub Al-Khali Desert in southern Saudi Arabia, taking possession of two local sentries. Sasha Bordeaux , returning from the successful attack against Brother Eye in space, is requested by Batman to track down the remains of the satellite (containing information on countless metahumans) and destroy it. Meanwhile, President Jonathan Vincent Horne is being debriefed on the Brother Eye situation by Amanda Waller . Afterwards, he appoints Waller as acting Black King of Checkmate until further notice. In

1140-509: The Superboy of Earth Prime , Alexander Luthor, Jr. of pre- Crisis Earth-Three, and Lois Lane Kent of pre- Crisis Earth-Two voluntarily sequestered themselves in "paradise". DC officially began leading up to the new Crisis with a one-shot issue Countdown to Infinite Crisis , followed by four six-issue limited series that tied into and culminated in Infinite Crisis . Once the Crisis

1197-405: The "One Year Later" jump. Some ended outright, like Batgirl , Gotham Central , and Batman: Gotham Knights , while others were suspended and restarted later with new volumes, notably JLA , JSA , Flash , and Wonder Woman . Additionally, Adventures of Superman returned to its original title of Superman , while the book that had previously been coming out as Superman since 1987

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1254-574: The Earth-Two heroes transported there. Superboy-Prime attacks Conner Kent , this world's Superboy. Multiple super-teams intervene. Superboy-Prime accidentally kills several heroes before the Flashes and Kid Flash force him into the Speed Force , assisted by the speedsters already within it. Jay Garrick , the only speedster left behind, says the Speed Force is now gone. Seeking to create

1311-846: The Israeli, Russian and Chinese governments begin measures to retrieve the satellite, Brother Eye attempts to remote link to Sasha and take control of her body, but it fails. Sasha arrives at a Checkmate safehouse and attempts to make contact with Midnight at headquarters, but is stopped by Waller, who demands to know if Sasha is an OMAC or not. Sasha does not know. Waller demands Sasha to return to base, but Sasha says she will not. Waller then instructs Fire to stop Brother Eye from being reactivated, even if it means killing Sasha or Midnight. When Fire protests such lethal commandments, Waller jabs at her with remarks on what she did for her people in Brazil before gaining her powers and how much she enjoyed it. As all of

1368-583: The Joker play in the Secret Society and underestimating Lex. The Green Lantern Corps imprison Superboy-Prime inside a red Sun-Eater. The series ends with him carving an S into his chest with his bare hands and declaring that he has escaped from worse prisons than this. The hardcover collecting all seven issues of Infinite Crisis included changes in coloring, as well as, more significantly, alterations in dialogue , most of which relate to hints to

1425-747: The Kryptonite is not native to Kal-L's universe, and Superman destroys it with his heat-vision. Afterward, Batman learns Superboy-Prime destroyed the JLA Watchtower. Alexander reveals to Power Girl that he and Superboy-Prime had been leaving their "paradise" for some time, manipulating events to help create an inter-dimensional tuning fork. Using the Anti-Monitor 's remains and captured heroes and villains specifically attuned to former universes (Power Girl among them after Superboy-Prime knocks her out), Alex restores Earth-Two, unpopulated except for

1482-633: The OMACs while Booster, after meeting Guy Gardner in space, decides that he would rather investigate Ted Kord's disappearance with other former members of the Justice League International . Interwoven through this plot are scenes detailing the power struggle within the Checkmate organization itself. Checkmate is led by the White Queen, White King, Black Queen and Black King, each of whom have Knights of corresponding color. Through his machinations, Black King Maxwell Lord becomes

1539-418: The OMACs, but to observe the members of the Justice League. Before the beginning of the miniseries, Maxwell Lord has already secretly captured Brother Eye from Batman and turned the satellite toward the end of coordinating the OMACs that Lord now controls. Lord uses the OMACs and Brother Eye to stalk and attack the world's superheroes and supervillains, with the avowed goal of reasserting humanity's control over

1596-549: The Reds are taken over by the sound-using criminal Sonar . In the same issue, Russian government reports have him listed as retired. Dimitri was the only European on the team initially. He retired from super-heroics for a long time before dying in The OMAC Project , self-destructing to save the other members of the old JLI. His last words to Booster Gold were "My wife and children, Michael ... tell them I love them". In

1653-579: The Russian government for Dmitri's wife, Belina, and his two children, Mischa and Tascha, to live with him at the League's Paris embassy. He also became friends with Buddy Baker , in a manner similar to the friendship of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold . Dimitri and Buddy initially bonded because they both had wives and children. Dmitri is featured in the second Captain Atom Annual , helping to defend

1710-591: The alien conqueror Peraxxus, Gavril is killed in an explosion during a press conference introducing the team. The Rocket Reds were originally created for the Soviet Union by Kilowog and the Rocket Red Brigade — normal human beings enhanced using "forced evolution " and armored battle suits — proudly defended the USSR. Their abilities included super strength, invulnerability, rocket-powered flight,

1767-591: The battle ends, the injured Gavril sets out to repair his suit. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Gavril is reintroduced in the ongoing series Justice League International as a member of a United Nations-assembled superhero team led by Booster Gold . He immediately clashes with August General in Iron , the team's Chinese representative, but their relationship evolves into an escalation of patriotic posturing leading to their mutual respect. After helping to repel an invasion by

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1824-571: The book was adapted from: GraphicAudio produced an audiobook of the novelization of Infinite Crisis . The audiobook spans two volumes with 6 CDs each and features a full cast, music and sound effects. Volume 1 and 2 were released in May-July 2007. A multiplayer online battle arena video game adaptation loosely based on the comic book series was developed by Turbine, Inc. and released in 2015. Rocket Red Rocket Red ( Russian : Ракетно-Красный , romanized :  Raketno-Krasnyy )

1881-406: The characters featured were alternate versions of comic icons such as an alternate Superman named Kal-L , who came from a parallel universe called Earth-Two . A major theme was the nature of heroism, contrasting the often dark and conflicted modern-day heroes with memories of "lighter" and ostensibly more noble and collegial heroes of American comic books ' earlier days . Infinite Crisis #1

1938-417: The country of Bialya from various threats. In Justice League Europe #28, Dimitri was part of the resistance against Starro because his armor prevented the alien from controlling his mind. Dmitri was neutralized when Starro threatened to harm his family. He willingly surrendered to the alien's control to keep them safe. Other Justice League members eventually defeated the menace. Later, Dmitri and most of

1995-461: The desert, local forces try to gain control of the downed machinery, but are eliminated by a behemoth OMAC created from the two sentries. In Switzerland, Jessica Midnight is communicating with Mr. Bones, Director of DEO, when she is quickly interrupted and cut off by Amanda Waller (flanked by Fire ). Waller demands to know what's currently happening, having Fire put the "heat" on Midnight as well as announcing herself as Midnight's new superior. While

2052-538: The end of Crisis on Infinite Earths . Kal-L seeks out his cousin, Power Girl , also a survivor of Earth-Two. Believing Lois' health will improve on her native world, he hopes to replace the current Earth with Earth-Two, which he considers perfect. Kal-L tries to enlist Batman's support, stating that the Post-Crisis Earth's inherent "bad" nature caused Batman's recent mistrust and hostility. Batman refuses and tries to use his Kryptonite Ring. This fails as

2109-480: The factions reach the downed satellite, Sasha rushes through the ensuing battle to detonate explosives from within Brother Eye's CPU chamber. The computer nearly succeeds in downloading its programming and data files over Sasha's mind when she activates the explosives. Searching the wreckage, Fire and Midnight find Sasha alive and free of the nanobots that she was infected with. The series was collected, along with Countdown to Infinite Crisis and Wonder Woman #219, in

2166-564: The imprint of the Berkley Publishing Group and published by the Penguin Group , released an October 2006 novelization adaptation of the series written by Greg Cox , with an introduction by Mark Waid , and cover art designed by Georg Brewer and illustrated by Daniel Acuña . The novel was primarily adapted from the seven-issues mini-series published by DC Comics (December 2005 to June 2006). Additional materials on

2223-605: The kryptonite radiation poisoning (but saved the Corps) and the older Superman Kal-L dies of his injuries in the arms of his cousin, Power Girl. Back on Earth, Batman, struggling with Superboy's death and Nightwing's severe injuries sustained during the Metropolis battle, contemplates shooting Alex. Batman is dissuaded by Wonder Woman. Alex manages to escape. Wonder Woman , Batman, and Superman later meet up in Gotham City . Wonder Woman plans to find out who she is. Batman plans

2280-410: The name in the singular is used to refer to the three individual characters named Rocket Red who were members of the Justice League. These comprise the original Rocket Red #7 (later revealed as an android), Dmitri Pushkin (Rocket Red #4) and Gavril Ivanovich. Dmitri Pushkin (Rocket Red #4) became a member of the Justice League International after the previously assigned Rocket Red #7 was revealed to be

2337-552: The only leader of the organization, despite being double-crossed by one of his own Knights, Sasha Bordeaux . Lord is then killed by Wonder Woman (in the pages of Wonder Woman #219) to prevent him from continuing to direct the actions of a mind-controlled Superman. Brother Eye, the artificial intelligence directing the OMAC drones, initiates a protocol specifically designed to be used in the event of Lord's death and OMAC drones worldwide begin to wreak havoc and destruction. Sasha herself

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2394-498: The re-emergence of the DC Multiverse . Also changed is the two-page spread near the end of the book, where a new George Pérez image is substituted. Four additional pages of art by Phil Jimenez were added, who also illustrated new cover art for the dust jacket of hardcover collection. An interview section included as an afterword explains the reasoning behind some of these alterations. A number of series were cancelled with

2451-553: The rescue, and they are joined by the National Guard. The battle results in multiple deaths on both sides, including many by Superboy-Prime himself, who kills villains and heroes alike. During the battle, Superboy-Prime takes off to destroy Oa , planning to collapse the Universe in a big bang event, and recreate it with himself as the only superhero. Superboy-Prime is slowed down by a 300-mile thick wall of willpower created by

2508-492: The return of then-dead second Robin Jason Todd as the antihero Red Hood . DC Comics executive editor Dan DiDio stated that Infinite Crisis was being hinted at in various stories for two years prior to its launch, starting with the "death" of Donna Troy . With Countdown to Infinite Crisis , Infinite Crisis began to visibly affect DC's editorial policy. Mark Waid signed an exclusive contract with DC, receiving

2565-422: The sleek, modern suits worn by the other members of the brigade. The Justice League members intervene to prevent collateral damage, and Ivanovich joins the group (somewhat to their initial reluctance) in a move that paralleled Pushkin's choice to join the original JLI years earlier. Gavril cements his membership in the new group during a fight against the Checkmate organization, suffering serious injuries but earning

2622-477: The team's respect. While the team deals with the apparent loss of Blue Beetle , Gavril bonds with Fire . He shares his insecurities about being thought of as a joke by his teammates due to his poor grasp of the English language, and the two grow close, eventually sharing a passionate kiss. During the final battle against Lords' army of OMACs, Gavril's armor is heavily damaged. Once Lord is temporarily defeated and

2679-619: The technology can be used to spy on the human hosts' surroundings, control their bodies or transform any of them into one of a visually identical set of remote-controlled superhuman beings. The human hosts of the OMAC technology act as unwitting sleeper agents for former Justice League associate Maxwell Lord . The OMACs are guided by the "Brother Eye" satellite, as in the original 1974 Kirby stories. In this 2005 miniseries, however, Brother Eye differs from its 1974 inspiration. This miniseries portrays Brother Eye as an artificially intelligent spy satellite originally built by Batman , not to control

2736-480: The term underlying the acronym that forms their name: in Kirby's stories, "OMAC" stands for "One-Man Army Corps", while in this miniseries, "OMAC" stands for "Observational Metahuman Activity Construct" (constructed backwards from the Kirby acronym as a form of backronym ). In the miniseries, OMACs are people scattered across the world who harbor invasive technology in their bodies but do not know it. When activated,

2793-519: The tower, destroying it. The multiple Earths recombine into a "New Earth" as Conner dies in Wonder Girl's arms. Power Girl soon arrives and asks Kal-El what happened to Lois. The answer causes her to break down prompting her to ask Kal-L why. He answers her simply, telling her it was because he chose the wrong Superboy to condemn and the wrong Superboy to condone. When a horde of supervillains attack Metropolis, heroes, current and retired, fly off to

2850-544: The wake of the four lead-in limited series , with Superman , Wonder Woman , and Batman feuding, the JLA Watchtower destroyed, and the heroes of the world all facing a variety of menaces. Over this backdrop, Kal-L (the Earth-Two Superman), along with Earth-Two's Lois Lane , Earth-Three 's Alexander Luthor , and Superboy-Prime escape from the pocket universe where they had initially fled to at

2907-603: The world. The OMAC Project ends with an autonomous, intelligent Brother Eye satellite commanding over 200,000 OMACs and seemingly planning war on the world's superheroes, starting with the worldwide broadcast of Maxwell Lord's death at the hands of Wonder Woman . The OMAC Project has numerous tie-ins with other titles, including Action Comics #829; Adventures of Superman #642; Aquaman #35; Birds of Prey #83; Firestorm #18; JSA #76; Hawkman #46; Manhunter #13-14; Robin #143-144; Superman #217-219 and 222; and Wonder Woman #219-221. Blue Beetle

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2964-452: Was announced in March 2005. The event was kicked off with the release of Countdown to Infinite Crisis . Countdown to Infinite Crisis was followed by four six-issue limited series : The OMAC Project , Rann–Thanagar War , Day of Vengeance , and Villains United , as well as a four-part limited series DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy . These first four limited series each had

3021-551: Was canceled, thus making the Superman line's two books, Superman and Action Comics , match the Batman lines Batman and Detective Comics (in addition to the shared title Superman/Batman .) In Dark Multiverse : Infinite Crisis , after Ted Kord takes over Checkmate when he kills Maxwell Lord , he manages to subvert most of Alexander Luthor's plans before confronting Luthor and Superboy-Prime directly. Ace Books , under

3078-554: Was completed, DC used the One Year Later event to move the narratives of most of its DC Universe series forward by one year. The weekly series 52 began publication in May 2006, and depicts some of the events which occurred between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later . In June 2008, a third series, Final Crisis , set immediately following the conclusion of the 51-issue Countdown to Final Crisis , began. Infinite Crisis

3135-414: Was ranked first in the top 300 comics for October 2005 with pre-order sales of 249,265. This was almost double the second ranked comic House of M #7, which had pre-order sales of 134,429. Infinite Crisis #2 was also the top seller in top 300 comics for November 2005 with pre-order sales of 207,564. The plot begins when, in Crisis on Infinite Earths , Kal-L (the Superman of pre- Crisis Earth-Two),

3192-470: Was released with two variant covers: one by Pérez and one by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope. The series storyline was a sequel to DC's 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , which "rebooted" much of the DC continuity in an effort to fix 50 years of allegedly contradictory character history. It revisited characters and concepts from that earlier Crisis , including the existence of DC's Multiverse . Some of

3249-540: Was up to his son, Dimitri, to finish the suit. The legacy of the Rocket Reds was secure until 1962. In Blackest Night #3, Rocket Red was reanimated as a member of the Black Lanterns and is shown attacking the Rocket Red Brigade . The 2010 ongoing series Justice League: Generation Lost introduced a new Rocket Red named Gavril Ivanovich. In this title, several members of the erstwhile JLI, pursuing

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