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OMEGA: THE
UNKNOWN #10
cover by
Farel Dalrymple |
By Tim Stevens
Rex Kansur, best known to New Yorkers and the world as the Unparalleled Mink, was slain yesterday by his own hand, enlarged and given sentience by tiny nanobots. It is a tragedy, of this there can be no doubt, but I urge all of Rex's friends, family, and fans not to dwell on it because he certainly would not.
Rex was the quintessential American success story. As anyone who got close to him knows, he never spoke of his past, instead choosing to focus entirely on his present. And, oh, what a present it was. Starting off a simple everyday super hero in a city overrun by them, he quickly established the Mink as the one hero who New York could always trust. Yes,
Spider-Man will always become enmeshed in some sort of police investigation and yes, the
Fantastic Four will always seem to be off-planet when we need them most. But that
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Preview art by
Farel Dalrymple |
was okay, because there was the Unparalleled Mink, his van, and his support team, boldly striving into chaos and ending it with a few well-placed jabs to the chin.
However, being a trustworthy hero was not enough for Rex. He saw tremendous opportunities to help the population in other ways, to bring them joy and employment. Thus came the line of fast food restaurants with fries so good they could put a clown to shame and hamburgers so tasty they'd make a red-haired pigtailed girl rethink her career choice. Then, there was the Saturday Morning TV show. Then, the toy line. Then, the reality show. And of course, there was always the comic. Rex, as the Mink, became the heart of the Big Apple, making sure we ate well, had comics to pass the time on the subway, TV shows to wow us, and that our kids had cartoons and toys to keep them occupied. He built a business based on selflessness.
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Preview art by
Farel Dalrymple |
It was that selflessness, I suppose, that ultimately did him in. For weeks, he had been pursuing the strange costumed individual the press has dubbed "Omega" to ensure that the man was not a danger to this fair city. They had clashed once or twice and it seemed clear to Rex and others, including myself, that this Omega was not a welcome addition to New York's vast tapestry of transplanted travelers. However, Rex did not hesitate to enter into battle alongside Omega to battle a larger threat. As always, he put his personal feelings aside to ensure the safety of New York City.
And that is how I will always remember him…battling his own disembodied giant hand alongside the man who might have become his nemesis to ensure that you, I, and everyone else on this island called Manhattan would live another day.
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Preview art by
Farel Dalrymple |
Celebrate the heroic sacrifice of the Mink by picking up OMEGA: THE UNKNOWN #10, the conclusion to the epic limited series by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple, on July 16. And scope out the original Omega on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
