Nolan Grayson

Omni-Man is the former premier superhero in Image Comics' Invincible.

Profile
Based on Superman, Omni-Man is a member of Viltrumite race, a species of extraterrestrial origin who possess superhuman strength, speed, senses, and the ability to fly.

History
Omni-Man arrived on Earth in the 1980's, where he eventually adopted the secret identity of a best-selling author named Nolan Grayson. He married a woman whose life he had saved, name Debbie, and the two of them produced a son, Mark Grayson. In Invincible issue 11, it was revealed that Nolan was sent to Earth as a conqueror for the Viltumite Empire, a revelation that was in stark contrast to his previous claims that his presence was to advance human technology and protect the Earth from extraterrestrial dangers. In a confrontation shortly there after, Omni-Man beat Mark to within an inch of his life and then fled the planet.

It was further revealed in issue #25 that Nolan had found a new planet over which to rule, in the hopes offsetting some of the consequences of his earthly failure. Nolan's rise to power, however, was entirely peaceful. The custom of the native inhabitants (an insectoid people who live entirely within a nine month span) was to simply choose the oldest among them to act as their leader. Also, as on Earth, Nolan has taken yet another native wife and sired a second son. The genetic differences between Viltrumites and the mantis-people were more apparent, though, than they were with humans. This caused the child to age much more slowly than his mother's species.

In issue 29, Omni-Man's attempts to appease the Viltrumite Empire ended in failure with his defeat and capture at the hands of his own people. His current status is unknown, but he is presumed to be living as a prisoner. His parting words to Mark were "Read my books, Mark. My books..." In a conversation with his tailor Art Rosenbaum, Mark learns that the books Nolan referred to were not his well-known travel books, but a series of failed science fiction "novels". While Arthur suspected that the stories were Viltrumite folklore, Mark quickly realized that they were in fact first-person accounts of Nolan's own missions to destroy potential threats to the Viltrumite Empire, which could provide the secrets to defeating the Viltrumites.