While there are many versions of 'Evil Superman' in pop culture, some are more terrifying than others, and cosplayer and actor Jennings Brower's cosplay of Invincible's premier alien-hero-turned-antagonist Omni-Man exudes power and menace.
The stern father of the franchise's titular teenage superhero Invincible, Nolan Grayson (Nowl-Ahn) aka Omni-Man earned a reputation as one of the planet Earth's greatest defenders, before gradually developing into one of its greatest threats. A member of the feared Viltrumites, Nolan left his native planet for Earth in order to conquer it. The human life Nowl-Ahn had taken decades to build with wife Debbie and son Mark was simply a ploy for the Viltrumite empire's eventual takeover. Following his betrayal of the human race, Omni-Man would face off with his son on multiple occasions, with each battle being bloodier and more personal than the last.
Brower's Omni-Man cosplay not only remains faithful to the comic book accuracy of the costume but the murkiness of the character, with Omni-Man's suit covered in the blood of his latest victims (which may or may not be his own son). Within the post caption, Brower opts for an infamous Omni-Man quote made particularly famous by the critically acclaimed Invincible animated television series adaptation from Amazon Prime, in which Omni-Man is voiced by Academy Award-winning actor J. K. Simmons. "You want to die for this planet? Fine. What's 17 more years? I can always start again... make another kid." Delivered during Invincible and Omni-Man's climatic fight scene, the quote is a cold reminder of exactly how loyal Nolan remains to his Viltrumite lineage, even above his own family on Earth. With Jennings' cosplay portraits captured by digital creator and photographer Benjamin Farren, Omni-Man is clearly an icon gone very, very wrong.
Omni-Man is not an easy character to cosplay, especially in the day and age of live-action superheroic characters constantly in the spotlight thanks to the DCEU and MCU. His design is clearly meant to evoke existing ideas of caped, patriarchal protectors, and it's simple in that sense. However, it's once Omni-Man's facade drops that he becomes unique, with his barely contained rage and the viscera of his one-sided combat adding a totally new context. Brower & Farren nail this aspect of the character, with a two-layered depiction that exposes the lie right beneath the surface of Omni-Man's heroism.
Omni-Man is now a cultural icon, having brought a truly unstoppable edge to the Evil Superman archetype, and successfully explored the idea of what it would be like for Earth's unbeatable protector to suddenly turn on the planet. It would have been easy for an Omni-Man cosplay to come off like any other superhero, but these talented creators truly get to the heart of what makes Invincible's most shocking villain so special.
Source: Jennings Brower
