Ok so Invincible was by far one of the best superhero shows of last year.
At a time when Disney are often accused of playing their MCU shows too safe, Invincible
came along and completely knocked it out of the park.
The series was filled with over the top gore, amazing action scenes and also several twists
and turns throughout that made it a must watch.
At the heart of this was Omni-Man who's arguably the most memorable aspect of the entire show.
But why is he the perfect villain for the series?
Well throughout this video that's what we're gonna be going over.
Now because of this there will be some spoilers so if you haven't had a chance to check out
the full series then I highly recommend that you check out now.
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With that out the way, thanks for clicking this, now let's get into why Omni-Man is the
Perfect Villain.
Ok so Invincible Episode 1 introduced us to the titular character and his father Omni-Man.
Superheroes are a dime a dozen at this point and if you weren't familiar with the source
material then you might think that this was just another carbon copy of the Superman story.
Throughout the initial entry we learned as Mark came to grips with his power and also
learned some of his father's origin story.
We're told that he's a protector of peace and Justice who comes from the planet Viltrum.
This planet is supposed to be not too dissimilar to our own but those that live their have
abilities far beyond what we have.
Omni-Man tells Mark that Viltrum was somewhat a Utopia that had achieved perfection through
outlawing murder and war.
With no conflict to tackle the high council decreed that their society shouldn't become
complacent and their sent their people out into the stars in order to help the universe
achieve the perfection that they had.
Omni-Man or rather Nolan as he calls himself, says that he and several scientists travelled
throughout the cosmos, improving planets and the life forms on them.
He was given the job of helping Earth and it became his second home.
After he met a woman named Debbie, the pair settled down, had a kid and he's protected
the planet since then.
Now though he looks like Henry Cavill in Josstice League before the VFX work, the two couldn't
be more dissimilar and we learn that this is actually all a lie.
Come the finale of Omni-Man or Issue 11 in the comics we learn the truth and it goes
down worse than Joss Whedon at a feminist rally.
That's two Joss Whedon jokes back to back shabow.
Now this is one of the major things that makes Omni-Man so fascinating.
We live in a society where people are often propped up as heroes however overtime we learn
that the truth is more shadowy than that and they aren't all that they appear to be.
I think that the song Say It Aint So Joe by Murray head which has become somewhat a cultural
icon.
Written in the seventies prior to Richard Nixon's resignation the tune was based on
a documentary in which a presenter asked people in a small town what they thought of the stories
about him.
Even in the face of conclusive evidence and proof the people still showed support and
this was further likened to the story of Joe Jackson who's name appears in the title.
During the 1920s Joe was a baseball player that reportedly took a bribe to lose the final
of the World Series and people at the stadium chanted 'say it aint so joe.'
Our heroes are our heroes and sometimes it's difficult to see them any other way even if
they're shown not to be.
I think that Omni-Man perfectly symbolises this and come the end of the first episode
I saw people who were unaware of the twist still rallying for him.
In the post credits scene of issue one we watch him brutally massacre the Guardians
Of The Globe and upon it's release many people believed this was mind control, a clone or
something else.
Anything to save the hero and all that he stood for.
Come episode 8 we learn the truth and Mark very much has this reaction too.
It's difficult for us to see flaws in our parents and even when they do bad, I'd say
it's way easier to forgive them than it is to forgive a friend.
Throughout the finale we learn what Viltrum really stands for and that it actually forced
it's population to fight one another in order to weed out the weak.
This killed 50% of all Viltrumites and all that was left when the dust settled was the
best of the best of the best sir.
The high council then decided to send out the world Conquering committee and due to
their enhanced strength they took over several civilisations in order to build an empire.
Those that surrended became enslaved and their planets were picked dry of their resources.
Those that resisted were wiped out and the Viltrumite empire spanned the galaxy.
However overtime their forces were spread too thin and thus they had to devise a new
plan.
Rather than just attacking planets they'd send in a trojan horse who'd take the form
of a hero.
Now great villains are always great because you can see the positive aspects of their
plans.
Nolan doesn't really see himself as the bad guy and he also discusses the benefits that
come with Earth joining up with the Empire.
Though they'd pick the planet clean this would take thousands and thousands of years and
in that time humanity would prosper.
Viltrum would give us the advanced medical care that they'd developed, they'd end war
on the planet and everyone on Earth would live in peace and harmony until we became
extinct.
Nice I guess.
You can definitely see the benefits of it and Nolan in his mind was very much doing
right by us and right by his own people.
He started to slip into society and he picked a pet in Deborah who he decided to raise a
son with.
Because Viltrumite DNA is so pure it completely overrode the human aspects of him and Mark
gained the powers of the Viltrumites.
Nolans plan was to raise him to become as merciless as he was but humanity had other
ideas.
Now that kinda takes us to the battle between the pair which spans the planet.
It's bloody, brutal, has thousands of deaths in it and it's clear that Nolan completely
outmatches his son.
There's some absolutely unforgettable moments in this episode such as when Mark saves a
pilot and then Omni-Man crushes his head just to show how insignificant we are.
He also forces his s
He's impossible to beat on a physical level but what the series does perfectly is that
it allows him to be defeated on an emotional one.
Throughout the entry Nolan explains that as Viltrumites get older, they age more slowly
and that Mark's lifespan will last for thousands and thousands of years.
Everyone and everything he knows and loves will be gone so there's no point in resisting.
After pummeling his son to an inch of his life Nolan asks his son what he'll have in
thousands of years when everything is gone and he says he'll have you.
It completely breaks Nolan and we get a flashback to a time when he likely first saw the good
in humanity.
Watching the smile on his sons face as he plays baseball makes him see him as a person
instead of an object of war and it completely breaks the character.
Throughout his entire life he's been told that having emotions is weak and that the
weak must perish.
However for once he sees things from another point of view and this completely changes
his perspective.
Villains, like the best heroes are often that way because they're flawed and we can see
in them aspects of ourselves.
I'm sure many of us growing up have got caught up in an ideal and because of this we've been
jerks to people who don't agree with that.
Whether it's religion, lifestyle choices or just general attitudes we can often end up
seeing things only in black and white which ultimately leads to our values being questioned.
Sometimes we agree with the counter argument and change and often this is for better.
This is what Nolan very much represents and why he's the perfect villain.
He has a stance and takes it but he can also become weakened in that view point when the
right thing is presented to him.
However, that doesn't mean he changes completely and Nolan flies off into space leaving a single
tear drop behind.
He's clearly broken and if you've read the comics then you'll know the arc of redemption
that he somewhat goes on.
I don't wanna spoil it as I know you guys might still want some surprises but Omni-Man
is the perfect villain because of the change that we see in him.
He's very much a father figure that is set in his ways but after he sees the good in
his children he decides to change.
It's something that's been seen in Darth Vader and it's a motif that works over and over
again because it's always based on emotions rather than physical strength.
Omni-man is one of the most memorable superheroes to come out in the last twenty or so years
and he perfectly deconstructs what it would be like to have the power of a god that only
deals in absolutes.
He's questioned and then changes and this very much makes us wonder if we would be strong
enough to change our minds if we could do whatever we wanted to.
Omni-Man is fascinating and looking back at Invincible he's the perfect villain.
I hope you enjoyed the video and I'd of course love to hear your thoughts so make sure you
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect
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We break down the entire thing so it's definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll
see you next time.
Take care, Peace