Warning: Spoilers for Power Girl #14!The latest edition of Power Girl wants fans to think the story killed off a member of Superman Family, but I think otherwise. The Superman Family is very similar to Batman’s Bat Family, as it has as many affiliates as direct members. There are mainstays like Superman, Supergirl and Power Girl and then there are those that are familiar by association like Power Girl’s best friend Omen.
Power Girl #14 by Leah Williams, Adriana Melo, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Becca Carey presents the apparent death of former Teen Titan Omen. I say “apparent” because I’m conflicted about whether Omen is actually dead. Then again, let’s be honest, no one truly stays dead in comics. A character may die, but eventually they always get better. However, that’s the thing about Omen’s death – it doesn’t even feel like a real death. Something feels…off, to say the least.
I’m not so much speculating that Omen will return from this death, but rather suggesting that Omen didn’t die first, despite the scene depicting his fight against the new “hero” Ejecta, who appears to have a grudge against Omen. Steel can say that Omen is “not breathing”, but things just can’t be that simple. After all, these are comics.
The apparent death of a member of Superman’s family comes to the hands of a suspicious new “hero”
Does Omen die… or does she die?
For readers who aren’t keeping up with the latest news Power Girl ongoing series, let me explain who your best friend is for a second. Omen is Lilith Clay, part of Power Girl’s supporting cast. Created by Dan Jurgens for 1996 Teen Titans #1, she has since revealed herself to be an all-powerful telepath. Now, Lilith has established herself as the roommate of frequent superhero partner and roommate Paige Stetler. New girl fan. She proves a formidable ally of the Superman Familyeven saving Superman’s life in Power Girl #4 by Williams and Eduardo Pansica.
Lilith effectively served as a background companion, letting Power Girl lead the show in her comics. But Lillith suddenly takes center stage with the introduction of Ejecta, which debuts on Power Girl #13 with dark powers that not even Superman would like. Omen and Natasha “Steel” Irons attend a civic meet-and-greet event together. There, a mysterious man frames Omen as if she were attacking the galatriggering an encounter by the mysterious hero, Ejecta.
Ejecta defeats a near-lifeless Omen using super-strength cybernetic enhancements. While fighting her, Ejecta claims to be a precog, seeing a future where Omen kills countless peopleand Omen reads his mind to confirm. The traumatic beating and the implication that she is a danger to everyone sends Omen into an agoraphobic depression, which is reflected in the next issue. Natasha and Paige investigate the “hero” who is a celebrity influencer, provoking a fight that Ejecta uses as a mind trap against Omen. Lilith falls to her apparent death, unable to breathe, while Ejecta retreats to her master, Symbio’s return.
What really happened to Omen if she’s not really dead?
I really don’t believe in this key Power Girl The hero is gone forever
It’s the nature of the “death” in Omen quotes that makes me skeptical. Now, Steel checking her breathing as she hits the ground, confirming that she’s not breathing, should be all the confirmation we need, but it doesn’t help that it’s not entirely clear what happens between her and Ejecta. And I don’t mean that as a flaw in the story itself; I love this Power Girl series. I’d say the lack of clarity is a combination of intentionality on the part of the creative team, adding mystery to the next issue, and because Ejecta’s own powers are still unclear.
What exactly did Does Ejecta do for Omen?
Ejecta said he had precognitive abilities, but Mariposa – an employee of Daily Planet editor-in-chief Lois Lane and an ally of Power Girl – tries to refute that in this issue, theorizing that Ejecta could be using some type of AI to predict the future. This theory appears to be confirmed with the reintroduction of Symbio, the rogue Kryptonian AI that was part of Power Girl’s original rocket. So if Ejecta has no real powers other than super strength and super speed afforded to her through cybernetic enhancements, then what exactly happened? she did with Omen?
Is it possible that Power Girl’s best friend omen is actually in a coma?
Does it make sense for a telepath to suffer from a mental coma?
I feel too If Omen had actually died, his death would likely have ended the issueas usually happens when the death of an important character happens in a comic book. Imagine the death of every great hero you can think of in comics. The shocking death is usually big enough to justify being the final panel of that comic, right? So why would Omen, Power Girl’s main supporting character, be the exception? Why instead end with the reveal of a supervillain we haven’t seen in ten issues, as if that’s bigger than the death of Power Girl’s companion?
Because, I’m claiming, Omen is not actually dead, despite Ejecta’s statement that she is “as good as dead.” In the same way that Omen’s telepathic abilities are not visible in her mind, neither is the mental trap that Ejecta set for her. In theory, everything Ejecta did to Omen could only be in Omen’s mind. Your mind may be stuck somewhere in a mindscape, while Omen she herself just seems dead in the physical world, like a coma. Whatever the case, I sincerely doubt that any Superman Family member will die on panel without the pomp and circumstance it deserves.
Power Girl #14 is now available from DC Comics.