There are so many evil Superman archetypes in comics, but there are few that are as popular as Invincible's Omni-Man. First appearing as a member of the Guardians of the Globe, Omni-Man eventually betrayed Earth and murdered his friends - and yet the death that he suffers later might just be a bit too brutal for the former villain, as he suffers a major injury and then practically dies alone.

Omni-Man was the first villain in the Invincible comic and show, and he was an especially brutal foe. Omni-Man seemingly cemented himself as a villain when he nearly beat his own son to death after causing the collateral deaths of hundreds of human beings, which he didn't seem to care about in the slightest.

But Invincible is a very long story with well over a hundred issues, and over time, Omni-Man seemingly earned his redemption. While he started out as a monster, he didn't stay that way, which calls into question if he truly deserved his horrific death, as seen in the pages of Invincible #141 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley.

Omni-Man Nearly Had His Heart Torn Out in a Brutal Death Scene

Invincible #141 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Mark Morales, Nathan Fairbairn, and Rus Wooton

As vicious as Omni-Man was, he's nowhere near as violent as General Thragg, the leader of the Viltrumite Empire. During an attempted invasion of Earth, Omni-Man and Thragg come to blows, and unfortunately, Thragg is way stronger. Despite Invincible's best attempts at helping his father, Thragg still manages to nearly rip Omni-Man's heart out of his chest with his bare hands. As one might expect, this battle results in Omni-Man getting a pretty fatal wound, and he isn't able to survive for much longer after the battle finishes, which is understandable, considering he was practically torn in half.

While Viltrumites are incredibly durable, they're not unkillable. Invincible himself manages to survive in the center of a star, and while he's burnt to a crisp, he does still survive. This invulnerability might lead someone to think that being torn practically in half shouldn't be a problem for Omni-Man, but that's not the case. It turns out that Viltrumites need their hearts in order to regenerate. Without his heart working at full capacity, Omni-Man simply doesn't have enough energy to survive, and he eventually es away in front of his only son.

Omni-Man's Heart-Breaking Death Raises Key Questions about His Character

Is It The Death That He Deserved?

Omni-Man did initially survive the brutal wound from Thragg, but not for long. While Omni-Man survived long enough to see the battle against Thragg and the Viltrumite army won, Omni-Man eventually dies from his wounds. His final death scene wasn't some big grand farewell either. Omni-Man dies in a room with only Mark in attendance. No one else is around him; he doesn't even get to say goodbye to his wife. He simply tells Mark that he needs to become the leader of the Viltrumites, and then he dies.

Omni-Man had plenty of time to grow as a character, and he did.

If this was Omni-Man from the start of Invincible, a character who was without a doubt a vicious villain, then it's unlikely anyone would care about his death being both so brutal and so lonely, but Omni-Man changed a lot. Invincible ran for many years, and Omni-Man was a recurring character throughout the entire series. He had plenty of time to grow as a character, and he did. Instead of just being the Viltrumite warrior he was born to be, he managed to grow into someone who legitimately cared about humanity and his family.

Omni-Man's Death in Invincible Is Painfully Understated

One of the Best Scenes in the Long-Running Series

It would be one thing if Omni-Man died surrounded by his wife and family, but he practically died alone, just lying in a bed with only Mark, who was also badly disfigured, there to talk to him. Mark begs him to survive, and Omni-Man simply can't, dying after requesting that Mark take over the Viltrumite Empire for the betterment of the universe. It's a remarkably sad and underplayed death, especially after the gruesome wound that he just suffered at the hands of Thragg. While it's nice that he survived to see the end of the conflict, it's strange that he wasn't given a scene with more grandeur.

Not every character can have a glorious death that truly gives the character a send-off, but Omni-Man was in the comic from the very start. It seems that out of anyone, he deserved a death that was a little more complete. He didn't get to say goodbye to Debbie, and he and Mark didn't really get to resolve the issues that they had with each other. But that might just be the point of it: after everything they fought for, there isn't really a place for Omni-Man in this world anymore. He doesn't get the big warrior send-off - just Mark's realization that his dad isn't Invincible.

Invincible is available now from Image Comics!