When it comes to mutants and power levels in the Marvel Universe, Omega-level is just about as powerful as it gets. Mutants getting the Omega classification are the strongest of them all when it comes to their specific powers, making them formidable threats. It’s a classification that has been around since the “Days of Future Past” story in 1986 when Rachel Summers was given the designation that her “upper limit” of power hadn’t been determined. Since then, the concept has undergone some refinement and the roster of who qualifies as “Omega-level” has seen some changes, too.
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Those changes included Rachel Summers losing her Omega-level designation during the Krakoan Age, something that hasn’t exactly sat quite right with X-Men fans. Now, however, Marvel seems to be correcting the record and restoring Rachel’s status — and while it’s about time there’s respect put back on Rachel’s name, we have some questions.
Quentin Quire Acknowledges Rachel Summers is Stronger Than He Is
In Omega Kids #3, Quentin Quire is dealing with a pretty big issue. The Omega Kids he’s been training have psychically paralyzed him and have begun running a telepathic protocol to kill any and every mutant that has ever had a single negative thought about Revelation, functionally carrying out a mutant genocide. Rachel essentially has to rescue him from their efforts so that the kids can be shut down, but when they get ready to go take on the Omega Kids, Quentin tells Rachel that she can’t go.
Rachel protests being told that she can’t go to stop the Omega Kids with him, but Quentin tells her that if what they’re going to try doesn’t work, “somebody stronger’s gonna need to come in and clean up my mess”. The implication in what he’s saying is that Rachel is stronger than he is and that’s significant. The Krakoa Era of X0Men saw Quentin classified as Omega-level, but saw Rachel stripped of that power level. It would follow, then, that if Quentin is now noting that Rachel is the someone stronger than he is that would need to come in and clean up his mess, that would make her Omega-level, too.
Are the X-Men’s Power Ratings Even Relevant Anymore?
However, with Rachel seemingly restored to Omega-level thanks to Quentin acknowledging her power, there’s a bigger question we need to consider beyond what it means for Rachel’s actual classification. That question is whether the power ratings even matter at all. The reality is that Marvel isn’t particularly consistent with who is or is not Omega-level — and they don’t necessarily do a very good job of establishing exactly what that is. X-Men #13 earlier this year saw Charles Xavier declare himself to also be Omega-level and then redefine what it means, including that there is no limit to that level of power before coming up with some complicated concepts of “other variables” to determine how two mutants of arguably equal power would fight each other.
With the concept of Omega-level growing every more complex and the list of who is and who is not at that seemingly arbitrary level (because, let’s be honest, there are several mutants who are almost stupidly powerful that for some reason aren’t formally Omega-level), we have to wonder if it even matters. At the end of the day, many of the battles between mutants and other characters in the Marvel Universe comes down to variables well beyond their power sets — and if there are other ways of measuring the real strengths of any character, does it really matter who is Omega-level and who isn’t? Omega Kids #3 seems to make it clear that even the most powerful of mutants can do some pretty dumb things, after all.
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