Invincible season 2 might sow the seeds for an Omni-Man redemption story, according to its showrunner.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly (EW), Robert Kirkman, the creator of Invincible's graphic novel series and co-showrunner on Prime Video's TV adaptation, teased what fans can expect from the show's highly anticipated next installment.
As part of that chat, Kirkman highlighted the importance of Omni-Man to Earth, and how his – spoiler alert – desertion of the planet will be explored in "terrifying" detail in Invincible season 2 and the series' future installments.
Viewers will remember that, in Invincible's season 1 finale, Omni-Man tearfully left Earth after he realized he couldn't kill his son, aka Mark Grayson/Invincible. That was after Mark had learned why his dad had crash-landed on Earth in the first place: Omni-Man had been sent as an infiltrator of the Viltrum Empire, which planned to conquer the planet when the time was right.
This seems a bit optimistic pic.twitter.com/2HiHBR4qKOJuly 27, 2023
With Omni-Man gone and Earth's Mightiest Heroes – the adult version of the Guardians of the Globe – all dead at Omni-Man's hands (apart from the Immortal), the likes of Invincible and other teenage heroes are the only things standing in the Viltrumites' way. And that, as Kirkman suggests, is a horrifying prospect as we head into season 2 of the hugely popular Amazon show.
"Omni-Man is gone and he could not be more essential to the survival of Earth," Kirkman explained. "I think that, if anything, people should be aware of the fact that not only did Omni-Man become a threat at the end of the first season, but he also revealed a larger threat in the Viltrumites themselves. That threat is going to come into play in season 2, and Omni-Man is not there to defend the Earth, especially from his own people. That ends up being a terrifying prospect that hangs over the series for a good long time."
A chance to make amends
Okay, Kirkman doesn't explicitly state that Omni-Man will be on a quest for redemption in the R-rated animated series' next season. However, considering that he decided not to kill Mark and summon the Viltrum Empire to conquer Earth in the season 1 finale, he's not completely evil. Think of him as a morally complex individual who's strayed from the path of good, along the lines of Star Wars' Darth Vader, and you'll get a better idea of the kind of character he is.
Now, we're not going to spoil anything from the graphic novels here, so you won't find out where Omni-Man has gone, or how the rest of his series-spanning journey goes in this article. Rest assured, though, we'll see more of Mark's dad in one of the best Prime Video shows again soon. The first official trailer for Invincible season 2 teased Omni-Man's return, after all. And, with the second season set to debut on Friday, November 3, it'll be part of Prime Video's late 2023 lineup that's convinced me to cancel my Netflix subscription.
That's not all we've learned about season 2 over the last nine months. Another great Walking Dead star joined Invincible's cast in January, plus the Invincible franchise celebrated its 20th birthday with a perfect, teaser trailer-based birthday present. Oh, and, for anyone suffering from Invincible withdrawal symptoms, a one-off special focused on key character Atom Eve is now available to stream on Prime Video, aka one of the world's best streaming services.
