Invincible season 4 creates new parallels with James Gunn's Superman

[Ed. note: This article contains major spoilers for the Invincible season 4 premiere and 2025's Superman] Omni-Man’s origins have long been shaped by Superman tropes — creator Robert Kirkman even considered the name Supra-Man before worrying about legal trouble — and the season 4 premiere, which adapts the Viltrumite War arc, leans into those parallels in a new way.

The episode reveals motives and backstory that now echo the twist James Gunn used in his Superman story. Across the series Omni-Man has given different explanations for why Viltrumites send envoys to other worlds. He first claimed they protect less advanced civilizations and earned a place among the Guardians of the Globe.

At the end of season 1, however, he admitted he came to weaken Earth for Viltrumite conquest and killed the Guardians. Season 4 expands that origin: a Scourge Virus nearly wiped out Viltrumites, leaving so few survivors that they sought genetically compatible species to ensure their future.

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