A favorite pastime of superhero fanatics is pitting various characters against each other. It’s hard not to when there are so many potential matchups to play through. And that’s only in one comic book universe. Once cross-universe battles start, things get really interesting. Without question, the most popular superhero to bring into the conversation is Superman. He is, after all, the base for so many others.
Gifted with the classic flying brick powerset when he arrived on Earth, Superman has become an archetype that has defined comics for decades. Numerous other superheroes in various comic book universes are based on him. That includes Omni-Man, an alien hero on Earth as well as the father of Invincible. Superman and Omni-Man have a lot in common. Only one of them can win a fight between them and it’s exactly who you think it is.
What’s the same between them
Like Superman, Omni-Man is an alien who made Earth his home. Superman’s secret identity is Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet. Oddly enough, Omni-Man is also a writer. He took on the identity of a best-selling author named Nolan Grayson. It’s also worth noting that being mild-mannered wasn’t part of the equation for Omni-Man. His alter-ego is incredibly well known.
Superman’s powerset is famous, to say the least. A Kryptonian by birth, he derives his fantastic abilities from the Earth’s yellow Sun. He can fly, is invulnerable to pretty much everything except Kryptonite and magic, and is generally regarded as one of the strongest beings on the planet. Additionally, Superman is fast, has enhanced senses, and also has access to an array of other odd assorted powers such as freeze breath and heat vision.
As another alien on Earth, Omni-Man is a Viltrumite. That comes with its own inherent abilities. But even for a Viltrumite, Omni-Man is incredibly powerful. He has comparable abilities to Superman, including strength, speed, invulnerability, and more. All of that being said, he does have one thing that Superman doesn’t and that’s an absolutely stunning mustache.
What’s different between them
On the surface, Omni-Man and Superman seem like they might be virtually identical. These are both aliens who arrived on Earth and used their fantastic powers to protect it from innumerable threats. They even both maintain secret identities as writers. All of that is absolutely true. At the same time, there are more than a few big differences between the two heroes.
First and foremost, age is a huge difference. Omni-Man is approximately 2000 years old and has hundreds of years of combat experience under his belt. He fought numerous battles on behalf of the Viltrumite people long before he arrived on Earth. Superman arrived on Earth as a baby and was raised by people, knowing little or nothing about the history of his own race.
Omni-Man is also a lot more violent and arrogant than Superman. He definitely believes in himself, though his confidence in his son is often questionable at best. Superman is a much more humble and noble superhero. He actually honors his adopted home planet. Omni-Man often doesn’t seem to think as highly of Earth and the human race.
Superman wins the fight
From purely the perspective of raw power and abilities, Superman and Omni-Man are more or less evenly matched. They are virtually even in their power sets as well as their competency with them. As such, a fight between them would likely be a draw. But that’s assuming that you’re only looking at it from the perspective of power and abilities. There’s more to this equation than that.
As mentioned previously, Omni-Man is impressively arrogant. It’s something that other opponents have taken advantage of in battle in the past. And it’s something that Superman would definitely take advantage of again. Despite his formidable abilities, the Man of Steel has taken on more than a few enemies above his weight class over the years. He always uses their own arrogance against them and would do so again with Omni-Man.
At the same time, Superman would be well advised to not take Omni-Man lightly. Their powers might be comparable but Omni-Man has a lot more experience with his abilities. This makes him incredibly dangerous, even to someone like Superman. But that won’t stop Superman from fighting him. He has faced stiffer odds before and come out on top. Just ask Darkseid.
