Nolan Grayson/ Omni-Man is a fictional superhero/supervillain who appears in the Image Universe, which is under the banner of Image Comics. Created by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, the character is an expansion of a concept by Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse. A member of the Viltrumite race, who are of extraterrestrial origin and possess immense powers Omni-Man secretly works as a superhero on Earth under the alias of Nolan Grayson, who is a bestselling author. He marries Debbie and they have a son Mark, who becomes the superhero Invincible.
Omni-Man is known for spotting a large moustache, which is customary to all the males of his species. The character appears in the plotlines Supreme, Invincible, Noble Causes and Dynamo 5. Omni-Man’s latest appearance is in the TV series Invincible, where the character is voiced by J.K. Simmons.
Who Are The Guardians?
The Guardians of the Globe are a superhero team in the Image universe, who have the tag of the world’s greatest superheroes. They appear primarily in the comic book plotline of Invincible, and are parodically based on the Justice League of America.
The original team included Darkwing (based on Batman), Immortal (based on Superman), War Woman (based on Wonder Woman), Green Ghost (based on Green Lantern), Aquarius, the king of Atlantis (based on Aquaman), Red Rush (based on Flash), and Martian Man (based on Martian Manhunter). Although Omni-Man (who is also based on Superman) was never an official member of the team, he was a close and trusted associate of the Guardians, and knew the password and had access to the Guardians’ secret headquarters in Utah.
Why Did Omni-Man Kill The Guardians?
Omni-Man does the shocking act of killing the Guardians towards the ending of the first episode in Season 1. All the members of the team get a priority warning to gather at their headquarters, but upon reaching, they find that neither of them were the one who sounded the alarm. As they begin to get wary, Omni-Man rushes at them and starts killing each and every one of the members, following which he collapses to the ground.
As the murder was out of context and sudden, unless the viewers have read the comics before, they didn’t quite understand the motive of Omni-Man’s actions until Episode 8.
As the story continued, Omni-Man was in the midst of saving a carnival from a monster attack when Immortal, who he had killed previously, attacked him and demanded to know why he killed the Guardians. When Invincible encounters both of them fighting, he quickly goes to the aid of his father and fights immortal. The battle ends with Omni-Man impaling Immortal and cutting him in half. It is then that Omni-Man confides in Mark his true Viltrumite origins and his reason for killing the Guardians.
The Viltrumites are a feared alien race of warriors, who conquered planets as a way of expanding their empire. They were notorious for their actions throughout the galaxy. When a virus wipes out half their population, the remaining Viltrumites decide to send each of their strongest officers to different planets so as to destabilize their defences and eventually conquer them. Omni-Man was sent to Earth and started a family, but it was with the ulterior motive of getting to know the planet’s defence and weaken it. By masquerading as Earth’s greatest hero, Omni-Man was actually preparing to take over Earth, which began with the killing of the Guardians.
Therefore Omni-Man killed the Guardians because they were in his way of taking over Earth for his fellow Viltrumites race.
Revealing His Intentions
As Nolan reveals his true intentions, he asks his son to join his force and carry out the plan of Earth’s takeover. But Mark is shaken on hearing his father’s words and refuses to join his side. This frustrates Nolan, and to add fuel to the fire, he says that while he still loves Debbie, she is more of a pet to him. This infuriates Mark and the two of them battle. Towards the end of the battle, which was mostly one sided, Nolan is about to kill Mark when he suddenly remembers cheering for his son during a baseball game in Mark’s childhood. Overcome with emotion, he lets go of Mark and leaves the planet.
Aftermath
As Mark recovers from almost being killed, a new Guardians of the Globe unites to protect the planet, especially after watching the father-son duo in battle. Nolan’s death is faked as caused by a gas leak accident so as to hide his identity as Omni-Man and to protect Mark and Debbie.
Mark soon comes to know that an unknown figure is approaching Earth. Fearing that his father has returned, Invincible flies off to space, but encounters Allen the Alien, who came to inform Invincible that a Viltrumite is living on Earth. Mark then tells him the whole story.
Allen the Alien then says that it is quite odd for a Viltrumite to leave his post, and that more of the alien race is bound to come to Earth, making a battle inevitable. Mark replies that he is ready, which culminates the first season.
