Omega Kids #1: The Children Will Doom Our Future

X Years Later, the X-Virus has devastated the Earth, humanity is on the brink of extinction, the X-Men have all but fractured, but the children shall forever remain our future. 

Quentin Quire is a complicated character, that’s usually the case when it comes to Grant Morrison characters. Themes on top of metaphors beaten through similes. Over the decades, those rougher edges have been sanded down from anachronistic alt-right stand-in, to lovable a-hole. X Years Later the boy famous for starting a “Riot at Xaviers” and the “Schism” is now a man in charge of training Revelation’s greatest rebel hunters, a group of psychic children. 

It’s a bit of an odd transition given the character’s history, but not completely out of left field. Quentin is many things: abrasive, rude, arrogant, but he has always been a believer in mutant autonomy. His methods before joining the X-Men were definitely close to irredeemable, but he never faltered in his belief that mutants had a right to live so his joining Revelation makes sense. He has even seemed to have mellowed out in his old age, even caring for the kids under his care, similar to Wolverine did for him when Quentin was part of the Jean Grey School. 

However, as the issue wears on, there is definitely something brewing under the surface, once that even manages to slip past Quentin’s own Omega abilities. 

Tony Fleecs does a great job introducing us to Quentin’s new status quo in this dystopian world as well as the darkness that takes place within it. He’s essentially a watchdog, using his abilities to train his psychic students (Curtis, Nell, Ayla, and Bailey) to hunt down and kill any rebels that try to attack Revelation. He’s clearly not on the right side of history here, but that’s almost never mattered to Quentin. We are also introduced to the concept of “The Babeled”, essentially people who have been stripped of all means of communication by Quentin’s squad for even THINKING about dissension. It’s a frightening thing to see as anyone no matter their sex or age can be stripped of their functions to live. 

As for the kids, each of them have their own little quirks but they don’t get very interesting until the final pages of the issue. The biggest thing that stands out about them is their young age coupled with what they actually do, but Fleecs addresses that handedly in this opening issue. 

Andre’s Genolet’s art helps the story flow very well, with Fernando Sifeuntes’ colors making things equal parts depressing and dreary. If given room to breathe, this team can really make this book standout.