Chapter Eighty-Four - Omni-Man: Blood, Lies, and Fatherhood

CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

Omni-Man: Blood, Lies, and Fatherhood

HE CAME FROM the stars. Stronger than a hundred men, faster than sound, and able to tear a planet in half. Omni-Man was Earth’s greatest hero. Its protector. Its Superman.

He was also a liar.

Nolan Grayson wasn’t here to save the planet. He was here to conquer it. A scout from the Viltrumite Empire, a civilization of eugenics and genocide, sent to soften Earth for takeover.

And for years, he played the role perfectly. He married a human. Had a son. Smiled for cameras. Fought fake battles to maintain the illusion. The mustache, the cape, the charm, all just camouflage.

Until Mark got his powers.

That’s when it all cracked. Because Omni-Man didn’t just love Earth. He loved his son. And Mark was the variable he couldn’t control. A half-human wildcard with a conscience.

So he tried to train him. Tried to break him. Tried to explain that human lives were meaningless statistics in the way of progress. But Mark wouldn’t budge, wouldn’t kneel, and wouldn’t kill.

That’s when Omni-Man lost it.

What followed was one of the most brutal beatdowns in comic history. Not just fists and blood, but ideology. Omni-Man wanted to teach his son the truth. That love was weakness. That emotion was a flaw. That the strong were meant to rule.

But when he looked into Mark’s face, shattered and bruised, and heard him say, “I’d still have you,” something snapped.

Omni-Man flew away. Not because he was defeated. But because for the first time in his life, he felt shame.

He was supposed to be a god. But gods don’t cry.