Fictional character biography
In their early history, the Legion of Super-Heroes defeated a renegade Controller, and as a reward were gifted with a Miracle Machine, a "simple" (to the Controllers) device that turned thoughts into reality. At the time, Brainiac 5 cautioned that it was dangerous, as if someone rashly wished to be dead for a second, they would be. The Legion locked the machine inside a solid block of Inertron and hid it in their vault.
Some years later, Legion member Brainiac 5 went insane (originally due to stress, a later retcon suggested it was induced by Glorith). Feeling he had never been sufficiently compensated for the many times he had saved the cosmos, in his insanity he decided to destroy it as payment. Retrieving the miracle machine, he could have easily destroyed the earth, perhaps even the galaxy, but not the entire cosmos. As he put it, he couldn't "dream a death that large", but he could dream up a being that could.
Thus, Omega was born, created by the Miracle Machine as a physical manifestation of all the hate in the cosmos. A huge fiery humanoid figure, he appeared at the edge of the galaxy and started walking towards Earth at a tremendous speed. At this point, no one in the Legion knew his origin, only that he set off an alarm. Superboy and Mon-El were dispatched to investigate. After shrugging off a punch from Mon-El (a Daxamite with Kryptonian-class abilities), Omega knocked out Mon-El with a single punch.
By this time, Chameleon Boy had figured out that Brainiac 5 was up to something. Brainiac 5 neutralized Cham, but not before he got a message to Wildfire, who accused Brainiac 5 in front of the group. Dropping the charade, Brainiac 5 took credit, claiming revenge in the moment the universe would be destroyed. The Legion dispatched squads to stop Omega, all to no avail, as were the attempts by the United Planets to stop his progress. Dream Girl had a vision of Wildfire standing alone at the headquarters, facing Omega, then "the world seemed to explode".
While the attempts to stop Omega were proving futile, Princess Projectra and Saturn Girl finally got through to Brainiac 5, who offered them a choice: if they let him rule the universe, he would destroy Omega. Facing either this or the risk of using the Miracle Machine as a last-ditch attempt to save the universe, they told Brainiac 5 he could rule the universe. He immediately dispatched a ship to retrieve retired Legionnaire Matter-Eater Lad from his homeworld, a hero whose only ability was his ability to eat any form of matter.
In an effort to buy more time, Wildfire faced Omega alone where Dream Girl had seen him in her vision, and opened his containment suit, releasing all of his anti-energy at once at Omega. This destroyed the Legion headquarters but did not even knock down Omega.
Nearby, Brainiac 5 instructed Matter-Eater Lad to eat the supposedly indestructible Miracle Machine. He somehow succeeded, though the alien energies contained in the machine drove Matter-Eater Lad into an insane catatonic state. As soon as the machine was destroyed, Omega dissipated back into the multitude of hatreds throughout the cosmos.
This done, Brainiac 5 was locked up in an asylum. Omega has never again gained substance.
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Comics Universe, and first appears in Adventure Comics #247.
Lar Gand, known mainly as Mon-El, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superboy, and Superman. The character has been reinterpreted over the years, but in all versions, he serves as a hero with abilities similar to those of Superman, sometimes serving as a substitute for him.
Brainiac is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, the character debuted in Action Comics #242 in July 1958. He is usually depicted as an extraterrestrial android or cyborg who serves as one of Superman's greatest enemies and a frequent adversary of the Justice League. Brainiac is known for shrinking and stealing Kandor, the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton, and is even responsible for Krypton's destruction in some continuities.
Brainiac 5 is a fictional superhero character who exists in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. He is from the planet Colu and is a long-standing member of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Matter-Eater Lad is a superhero in the DC Universe. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and possesses the power to eat matter in all forms, as do all natives of his home planet, Bismoll. He first appears in Adventure Comics #303.
Ultra Boy is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in DC Comics. He is a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries of the DC Universe. Ultra Boy gained his powers when the vehicle he was flying through outer space was swallowed by an ultra-energy beast, exposing him to radiation while inside. His real name is derived from the biblical figure Jonah who also survived being swallowed by a "large fish".
Wildfire is a fictional DC Comics superhero. Created by Cary Bates and Dave Cockrum, the character debuted in a Legion of Super-Heroes backup story in Superboy #195. The story is set in a fictional universe's 30th and 31st centuries.
Legion Lost is the name of two superhero titles published by DC Comics, both starring the Legion of Super-Heroes. The first series was a 12-issue comic book limited series co-written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, often collectively referred to and interviewed as "DnA", penciled primarily by Oliver Coipel, with Pascal Alixe filling in for some issues, inked by Lanning and colored by Tom McCraw. The second series was created as part of DC's New 52 relaunch.
The Fatal Five is a supervillain team of the 30th century in the DC Comics universe. They were created by Jim Shooter and first appeared in Adventure Comics #352 (1967) as enemies of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain and an alternate version of Superman. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 and was created by Elliot S! Maggin and Curt Swan.
"Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" is a 2007 comic book DC Comics story arc written by Geoff Johns, illustrated by Gary Frank, which features the character Superman and the return of the pre-"Crisis on Infinite Earths" Legion of Super-Heroes. It ran in Action Comics #858–863, this arc marked Geoff Johns' debut as a solo writer on Action, having previously written alongside Kurt Busiek and Richard Donner.
The Miracle Machine is a fictitious device in the DC Comics universe. The machine first appeared in Adventure Comics #367.
"The Great Darkness Saga" is a five-issue American comic book story arc featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. It was written by Paul Levitz, with art by Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt. Published by DC Comics in 1982, the arc first appears in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #290–294. It is notable for featuring appearances by virtually every living past and present Legionnaire as of 1982, as well as most of the team's 30th-century allies, including the Legion of Substitute Heroes, the Wanderers, the Heroes of Lallor, and the 20th-century Kryptonian refugee Dev-Em. The heroes battle an immensely powerful being shrouded in darkness, ultimately revealed to be the ancient ruler of Apokolips, Darkseid.
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds is a five-issue 2008 limited series produced by DC Comics. The series is a tie-in to Final Crisis. It is scripted by Geoff Johns, and drawn by George Pérez.
The 1958 version of the Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 31st century of the DC Comics Universe. The team is the first incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and was followed by the 1994 and 2004 rebooted versions. It first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.
The Pantheon of Heroes is a 30th-century superhero team based on the Legion of Super-Heroes and introduced in Big Bang Comics.
"The Greatest Hero of Them All" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in Superman vol. 2, #8, Action Comics #591, and Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3, #37–38 from August through September 1987. It was written by Paul Levitz and John Byrne, and pencilled by Byrne, Greg LaRocque and Mike DeCarlo. The story arc was DC’s first attempt to correct the inconsistencies in Legion history created when the original Superboy was removed from mainstream DC continuity in the Man of Steel limited series.
"The Adult Legion" is a story arc that was published by DC Comics, and presented in Adventure Comics #354-355. It was written by Jim Shooter, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. The story arc features one of Superman's encounters with the Legion of Super-Heroes as adults, and foreshadows several plot twists which occur in the years that follow.
"Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton" is a 2010 crossover story arc in the various Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. It follows the events from World of New Krypton and leads directly into War of the Supermen.
