Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Jesus Saiz
Publisher: DC Comics
Moments after murdering former JLA teammate Blue Beetle in the pages of Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Checkmate’s black king Maxwell Lord begins the cover up. His trusted knight Sasha Bordeaux, however, has seen the organization’s balance of power shift too far in Lord’s direction, and decides it’s time to level things out. She’ll have to be careful, though, because the watchful eyes of the OMAC satellite see all, and its creator is no longer in control of the machine.
Night and day. The tone of The OMAC Project and the 1980s incarnation of the Justice League that brought many of this book’s key players to the spotlight could not be more different. Yet much of the drama of OMAC, and Countdown before it, stems from the reader’s knowledge of these characters’ prior relationships and the roles they’ve played in each others’ lives. Max Lord is more than a good guy gone bad, or a shyster who’s given in to his darker urges; this is a man who ran the Justice League for years. He brought together Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, which, if not one of the most memorable pairings in comics history, is certainly one of the greatest friendships. Keeping that in mind, his instruction to Sasha to “clean it up” is bone-chilling. Max as bad guy has been done before, but Max as ruthless killing machine is a shock.
Batman’s interaction with his creation OMAC offers some strange and tantalizing clues to the titular character’s background. While everyone talks to his computer from time to time, Batman addresses OMAC as “brother,” and appears personally offended when he is denied information. A literal interpretation seems unlikely, but the true nature of their relationship should prove revealing.
Tying in to Infinite Crisis, which in turn ties in to nearly every DC book for the rest of the year, OMAC Project is bound to attract a good number of readers. But who will enjoy it? Written by Greg Rucka of Gotham Central fame, this reads like a Batman comic. Certainly, Batman will play a significant role, as will his ex-lady friend Sasha Bordeaux. But with the prominence of characters like Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Maxwell Lord, fans of the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire Justice League also have reason to take an interest, and they might not be happy with what they find. Beetle dead, Max a monster, and Booster just a loser, there just aren’t a lot of laughs to be had. The characters, though, are well-written and in-character, so the readers who might be most angered also have the most to gain by reading. All this makes The OMAC Project a tough book to pin, but it should be a wild summer.
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