OMAC was created by writer-artistJack Kirby towards the end of his contract with the publisher following the cancellation of hisNew 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 byCaptain America, but lives in the future, an idea Kirby had conceived years earlier while atMarvel Comics but had never realized.[3]
Set in the near future ("The World That's Coming"),[4] OMAC is a corporate nobody namedBuddy Blank who is changed via a "computer-hormonal operation done by remote control" by an A.I. satellite called "Brother Eye" into the super-poweredOne-Man Army Corps (OMAC).[5]
OMAC works for theGlobal 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 originalOMAC 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 actuality Kirby was already gone and DC editorial hastily pasted an abrupt ending panel. ) InKamandi #50 (May 1977), by other creators, OMAC is revealed to be Kamandi's grandfather.[8] An "OMAC" back-up feature byJim Starlin began in issue #59 (October 1978), butKamandi was cancelled after its first appearance. The story was later printed inWarlord, and led to a new OMAC back-up series in that title (#37–39, 42–47). OMAC appeared withSuperman inDC Comics Presents #61.[9]
In 1991OMAC was featured in a four-issue prestige formatlimited series by writer/artistJohn Byrne that was independent of the previous series. ( it did resolve prior plot points however including a quick resolution to the cliffhanger from the first series.) Byrne later reused OMAC inSuperman & Batman: Generations 3, anElseworlds limited series.
A contemporary incarnation of Buddy Blank appears inCountdown to Final Crisis.[10][11][12][13][14] Following the release of theMorticoccus 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 grantssuperhuman 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 werereimagined for theInfinite Crisis storyline. OMACs are portrayed as humans whose bodies have been corrupted by a nano-virus. Theacronym has multiple meanings throughout the series: "Observational Meta-human Activity Construct",[16] "One-Man Army Corps",[17] and "Omni Mind and Community".[18]
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016).The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 222.ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "1970s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 161.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.InOMAC'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.
^abKirby, Jack (w), Kirby, Jack (p), Royer, Mike (i). "Brother Eye and Buddy Blank" OMAC, no. 1 (October 1974).
^Dini, Paul:Bedard, Tony (w), Barrionuevo, Al (p), Thibert, Art (i). "Now, Forager" Countdown to Final Crisis, no. 28 (December 2007 (October 17, 2007)).
^Dini, Paul; McKeever, Sean (w), Magno, Carlos (p), Ramos, Rodney (i). "Disasters Great & Otherwise" Countdown to Final Crisis, no. 29 (December 2007 (October 24, 2007)).
^"OMAC Voice -Batman: The Brave and the Bold (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. RetrievedApril 27, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
