| OMAC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | OMAC #1 (October 1974) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Buddy Blank |
| Team affiliations | Global Peace Agency |
| Notable aliases | One-Man Army Corps |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, speed, durability and explosive energy generation provided by Brother Eye |
OMAC (Buddy Blank) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. [1]
OMAC was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby towards the end of his contract with the publisher following the cancellation of his New Gods series; it was reportedly developed due to Kirby needing to fill his contractual quota of 15 pages a week. [2] [3] The character is inspired by Captain America, but lives in the future, an idea Kirby had conceived years earlier while at Marvel Comics but had never realized. [3]
Set in the near future ("The World That's Coming"), [4] OMAC is a corporate nobody named Buddy Blank who is changed via a "computer-hormonal operation done by remote control" by an A.I. satellite called "Brother Eye" into the super-powered One-Man Army Corps (OMAC). [5]
OMAC works for the Global Peace Agency (GPA), a group of faceless people who police the world using pacifistic weapons. [6] The world balance is too dangerous for large armies, so OMAC is used as the main field enforcement agent for the GPA. The character initially uses his abilities to save a female coworker at the Pseudo-People factory (manufacturers of androids initially intended as companions but later developed as assassins). The coworker is revealed to be in actuality a bomb, and Blank is left in the employ of the GPA, sacrificing his identity in their relentless war, with faux parents his only consolation and companions. [5]
The original OMAC series ended with its eighth issue (December 1975), [7] canceled before the last storyline could be completed, and Kirby wrote an abrupt ending to the series. In Kamandi #50 (May 1977), by other creators, OMAC is revealed to be Kamandi's grandfather. [8] An "OMAC" back-up feature by Jim Starlin began in issue #59 (October 1978), but Kamandi was cancelled after its first appearance. The story was later printed in Warlord , and led to a new OMAC back-up series in that title (#37–39, 42–47). OMAC appeared with Superman in DC Comics Presents #61. [9]
In 1991 OMAC was featured in a four-issue prestige format limited series by writer/artist John Byrne that was independent of the previous series. Byrne later reused OMAC in Superman & Batman: Generations 3 , an Elseworlds limited series.
A contemporary incarnation of Buddy Blank appears in Countdown to Final Crisis . [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] Following the release of the Morticoccus virus, Blank and his grandson flee to the scientific facility Command D, where Brother Eye rescues them and transforms Blank into a prototype OMAC. [15]
As OMAC, Buddy Blank possesses various abilities derived from Brother Eye. For example, an increase in his density grants superhuman strength and enhanced durability, and a decrease in his density allows flight and super-speed. Brother Eye could provide other abilities as well, such as self-repair functions and energy generation.
The character and the Brother Eye satellite were reimagined for the Infinite Crisis storyline. OMACs are portrayed as humans whose bodies have been corrupted by a nano-virus. The acronym has multiple meanings throughout the series: "Observational Meta-human Activity Construct", [16] "One-Man Army Corps", [17] and "Omni Mind and Community". [18]
A contemporary version of Buddy Blank / OMAC appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold , voiced by Jeff Bennett. [26]
Buddy Blank / OMAC appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . [27]
In OMAC's first issue, editor/writer/artist Jack Kirby warned readers of "The World That's Coming!", a future world containing wild concepts that are almost frighteningly real today.
