Spoilers for Invincible ahead. In Invincible, we see Omni-Man as a Superman-like figure. Given his flying abilities, caped costume, super strength, and other abilities, it’s easy to see that Invincible wants us to draw a parallel between the two fictional heroes. However, unlike Superman, Omni-Man isn’t a hero. Towards the end of season one, we get to see Omni-Man for who he truly is, but as season two goes on, we have to ask ourselves who is genuinely at fault for Omni-Man’s beliefs, and is he really a villain?
Omni-Man
The character, voiced by J.K Simmons, is first shown to us in a positive light. In season one, we watch as Omni-Man, whose alter ego is named Nolan, balances a civilian and superhero life. He has his wife, Debbie, and his son, Mark, the perfect doting husband and father. He alsodons a cape and spandex, going out to save people whenever needed. Nolan is a Viltrumite from the planet Viltrum and has abilities that make him far superior to the human race. Not only can he fly and have super strength, but he is also nearly invincible. Very little can harm Nolan, which is primarily suitable for him as a hero.
In the people’s eyes, he is reliable and gives them a sigh with relief when they see him come to save the day because they know he will prevail no matter how long it takes. However, those positive feelings only work because they see Omni-Man as a hero, which he presents himself as. Towards the end of the very first episode of Invincible, we see him brutally murder his entire superhero team, people who trusted him and were his friends. As the audience, we only know the reason for this at the very end of the season.
Many fans who hadn’t read the comics wondered if Nolan had somehow been mind-controlled to do what he did, only to discover that he’d had ulterior motives on Earth the whole time. His goal was to father a child and raise them to conquer the planet eventually. By killing his team, the Guardians of The Globe, he ambushed and eliminated anyone who could have potentially stopped his plan. Once, the time came for him to tell Mark the truth about Viltrumites, his planet, and what he was doing on Earth. This causes an incredible fight between father and son that results in Nolan almost killing Mark and eventually fleeing Earth.
Omni-Man vs. Superman
Omni-Man is modeled after Superman. As a matter of fact, much of the world of Invincible seems to be modeled after DC characters in general. The Guardians of The Globe are obviously a nod to the Justice League, as are many characters. There is one that resembles Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and more.
If we compare Omni-Man to Superman, their stories are similar. They come from different planets, even though Clark came to Earth as a baby and Nolan came as an adult. They both have identical abilities and represent hope to those who adore them and see them as heroes. Of course, one of the main differences is that Omni-Man is not really a good guy. He could be classified as a villain for most of his life, while Superman has always been good and remains so. Omni-Man, in part, represents an idea about Superman that has been discussed among fans and even in DC canon: What would happen if Superman turned evil?
This concept hasn’t only been spoken about, but it’s also been explored in the media. Brightburn, Homelander, and Omni-Man dive deep into what it would look like when the strongest is the one you need to fight. Not someone who seems like they’re the strongest, but in reality, there is a more muscular hero, but the actual strongest. What if Superman abused his power? Could we stop him? All of these characters answer this question with a firm no. However, in the case of Omni-Man, we begin to understand that while we can’t stop them, they can stop themselves.
A Hero and an Anti-Hero
With the popularity of characters like Deadpool, Harley Quinn, and Red Hood, people have been saying “anti-hero” recently. Some categorize villains as anti-heroes or vice versa or consider an anti-hero a hero in full. An anti-hero is generally a good person who will typically do the right thing but doesn’t have the same ideals and methods as a hero.
Deadpool versus Captain America would be a good example. Both are good-hearted, both do hero work, and want to do the right thing, but Captain America has strong ideals of what it means to be good and what it means to be a hero. He has lines he wouldn’t cross and things he wouldn’t do, even for the greater good. Deadpool doesn’t possess those qualities. He’ll do the right thing, but it may be at the expense of others, and employing less-than-ideal methods could be better.
When asking if Omni-Man is an anti-hero, we must ask if he’s done anything good. Saving people on Earth was good, even if he did it as a means to an end. We can see the regret and remorse he struggles with in season two of Invincible, which shows he’s capable of those concepts, meaning he isn’t wholly unredeemable. We also know from the comics that he eventually finds a path toward doing the right thing. But does that make him an anti-hero? Possibly. Certainly not in the traditional sense, but what else would you call a former villain now trying to save the people he once tried to harm?
Final Thoughts
Omni-Man isn’t a hero, and he’s done evil things. But when discussing him as a villain, you must consider his conditioning as a Viltrumite to believe his actions were proper. He was conditioned to think that Viltrum was superior and that other planets and races didn’t matter. Once he began unpacking that conditioning and considering what it cost him, his friends, his wife, and his child, he began to make different decisions. Omni-Man is too complex for one-word labels and one-dimensional views of the past and choices.
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