If Sunspot is on the Night Table, then he is NOT Omega-level potential after all

[Grey]

Being Omega is not inherently conducive to character growth and development. If anything, it's the opposite.

Good answer! After all, technically speaking, geniuses are considered “abnormal” due to their % of the population.omegas are even more rare so I can see them struggling

Also OP, spoilers in title =\

[sunofdarkchild]

People are taking the OP way too seriously.

[Grey]

People are taking the OP way too seriously.

Hey hey how, let them feel how they feel. I need content to read at 2am. And who’s to say what is “too serious”, anyway? Kinda subjective.

For what it’s worth, I have no idea what is going on because I haven’t been reading. But I’m intrigued now.

[king of hybrids]

Considering how A) they have to keep contriving ways to not have Omegas lose fights on-screen (looking at you Storm), B) evidently does nothing to stop the hot pink kill bots, and C) seems mostly to be used when a writer wants to mark a mutant as superior to a non-mutant character with a similar skill set (Ewing making Forge an Omega was not subtle considering his disdain for Stark and Reed); maybe Omega status is counterproductive?

[Mr. White]

I really don't get the obsession in general X-fans have with feats and power levels and shit like that. I don't give a shit how powerful my favorite characters are, I care if they get deep character exploration. Power can play a role in that (The Dark Phoenix Saga, for example) but that's power for character exploration's sake, not power for feats' sake.

You, my friend, win my award for best post of the week.

(This goes beyond just X-Fans too).

[MechaJeanix]

It appears to be the nature of nerd/geek fandom to obsess over stats and things like that. It comes with the territory. I do agree there is more to X-men or any superhero/sci-fi product than powers and feats. I think most X-fans even those that appreciate stats/power feats realize that even though they are often derided.

Just my two cents, I think the omega distinction can be interesting. It worked in Planet Sized X-men. Duggan did great with the concept and showing how the omegas can work together. The problem is mostly with us and how we think that omega mutants can resolve any threat or could always save the day, never lose, etc.

I do think that when there is big threats against the mutants we should see more omega circuits or "omega protocols" but the concept of being omega definitely works for Magneto and Storm. It also works for Iceman, Jean, and the reality warpers.

The good thing that Hickman and Co did was define omega but also gave these characters limits - limited it to only one power and being about a single power classification. Sure they are very powerful, but they still have limits and that is important.

As far as Sunspot he's a great character. He's powerful but some of his "power" comes from his smarts - we love to see how he gets himself in and out of situations.

[WallStreeter]

Honestly it doesn't matter if he is an Omega or not to me. I actually prefer that he doesn't become an Omega as I want him to rely on his planning and smarts to save the day as opposed to being able to blink everything out of existence or whatever.

I’m with you. It’s childish for people to think every character they like must be made Omega. I mean in tricking Isca he revealed a major flaw in her power and laid how vulnerable she truly is.

Isca, I bet you won’t get shot but these high power guns/weapons designed by Iron Man. Isca, I bet you will live after Storm strikes you with lightening. Isca, I bet you can beat those demons Maddie sicced on you.

[Alan2099]

I really don't get the obsession in general X-fans have with feats and power levels and shit like that. I don't give a shit how powerful my favorite characters are, I care if they get deep character exploration. Power can play a role in that (The Dark Phoenix Saga, for example) but that's power for character exploration's sake, not power for feats' sake.

I get that, but this is comics so you want to have your character development but you also want to have your cool fight scenes too.

The problem is Omega level powers make it even hard to have cool fight scenes. If you character can throw fireballs hotter than the sun and turn a person's ribcage into spicy guacamole by thinking about it then it's hard to show them being challenged. You can't make Jean or Storm struggle for a win the same way you can make Wolverine or Colossus struggle. Because of that they don't feel like they've really earned their wins.

[gonnagiveittoya]

Here's a secret: pretty much every character can become Omega level whatever-the-fuck-they-are when the plot demands it.

[Sutekh]

You, my friend, win my award for best post of the week.

(This goes beyond just X-Fans too).

And yes to this. I remember Lord of the Rings fans annoyed at how 'weak' Gandalf was compared to a D&D wizard chucking fireballs and lightning bolts around (or even compared to Tim the Enchanter, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail), or how 'weak' Luke Skywalker's force powers were compared to the sort of 'psychic' displays we saw in movies like Scanners, Carrie and Firestarter way back in the 70s and 80s, so it's something that goes around all sorts of fandoms, and feels kind of toxic, as if 'more power' is somehow tied to 'better character,' when that's explicitly not the case, and if it was, characters like the Sentry or Sersi or Blue Marvel with *amazing* power levels would sell tons of books, and 'weaker' characters like Daredevil and Punisher and Captain America would never get a movie or TV series, let alone a solo book.

Similarly, mutants like Wolverine, who is barely a spark compared to the raging mutant bonfire of someone like Exodus or Vulcan, is vastly more successful, because 'more powerful' rarely if ever means 'more interesting.' (Indeed, a more powerful character has a *smaller* range of stories and challenges and foes they can face, or has to be written pretty badly to be 'challenged' by something that is an appropriate challenge for their allies, and ends up looking like a moron for not resolving the challenge of the day with a Flex, something that happens to Storm pretty much constantly, being chumped out so that the rest of the people around her get to do something.)

I like that Sunspot, and the various other New Mutants, were introduced with limitations, and weren't 'Omegas' out of the box, and would be absolutely fine with them never reaching that status.

[Ra-El]

My favorite marvel character is Cyclops, to me is not about how powerful or cool he is, but how competent. Unfortunately the compentent and effective Scott is getting more and more rare this days, he is supposed to be a tactical and strategic genius, but he barely does more than yell "Let's go" to his teammates; he trained more than half of his life in hand-to-hand, but all he does is shoot his optic blasts until he gets hit by something he should be able to dodge and worst of all, his supposedly lethal optic blasts are little more than long ranged punchs that baseline humans can often tank.

Roberto on the other hand is enjoying a really good time as far as his compentence is portrayed. He is actually show to be a tactical and strategic genius, he isn't overly reliant on his own powers, and when he uses it, they are impressive.

[Steroid]

My favorite marvel character is Cyclops, to me is not about how powerful or cool he is, but how competent. Unfortunately the compentent and effective Scott is getting more and more rare this days, he is supposed to be a tactical and strategic genius, but he barely does more than yell "Let's go" to his teammates; he trained more than half of his life in hand-to-hand, but all he does is shoot his optic blasts until he gets hit by something he should be able to dodge and worst of all, his supposedly lethal optic blasts are little more than long ranged punchs that baseline humans can often tank.

Roberto on the other hand is enjoying a really good time as far as his compentence is portrayed. He is actually show to be a tactical and strategic genius, he isn't overly reliant on his on powers, and when he uses it, they are impressive.

Yes!! This is what I am loving about Sunspot ever since Hickman and Ewing started him down this path. His opposition shouldn't be concerned when he is using his powers but they damn sure better be worried when he is not using them. That is when he is at his best and most dangerous. He's the mutant Batman with prep time level of competent and I am all for it.

[The Cool Thatguy]

While power doesn't automatically equal development, I would argue that being Omega level could in fact help Sunspot.

Writers keep devolving characters backwards. I mean, jesus, look at the New Mutant cast!

A power boost could keep him from backsliding, the same way Richard Rider hasn't been bounced back to the New Warriors

[Omega Alpha]

My favorite marvel character is Cyclops, to me is not about how powerful or cool he is, but how competent. Unfortunately the compentent and effective Scott is getting more and more rare this days, he is supposed to be a tactical and strategic genius, but he barely does more than yell "Let's go" to his teammates; he trained more than half of his life in hand-to-hand, but all he does is shoot his optic blasts until he gets hit by something he should be able to dodge and worst of all, his supposedly lethal optic blasts are little more than long ranged punchs that baseline humans can often tank.

Roberto on the other hand is enjoying a really good time as far as his compentence is portrayed. He is actually show to be a tactical and strategic genius, he isn't overly reliant on his on powers, and when he uses it, they are impressive.

To be fair, we did see more strategic/long term planner Cyclops already in Krakoa... but that was with Gillen, who's not his regular writer, and managed that in only a couple of pages in Immortal X-men. Unfortunately, Duggan doesn't seem to have an interest in that, or anything more than villain of the month stories, that don't lend themselves to this sort of thing. And Hickman's big plans for Cyclops were clearly aborted by leaving early, and in that way left in a somewhat regressive state- which suits Marvel editorial fine, since they're still butthurt by looking like idiots in the Schism/Utopia era.

[Ra-El]

Yes!! This is what I am loving about Sunspot ever since Hickman and Ewing started him down this path. His opposition shouldn't be concerned when he is using his powers but they damn sure better be worried when he is not using them. That is when he is at his best and most dangerous. He's the mutant Batman with prep time level of competent and I am all for it.

Once upon a time, Cyclops was the closest thing to a mutant Batman, back when he would make plans that involved him dying on Breakworld, flew with jetpacks and was prison breaking with Magneto and Magik helping. Now he sits around telling dad jokes. But it's the nature of team franchises, currently the writers running the show are Emma, Storm and Magneto enthusiasts, maybe in the 10 years Cyclops will be back.