In Image Comics’ Invincible, Mark Grayson was shocked to discover his dad, the evil Nolan, had left Earth to atone for his sins. He ended up on Thraxa and had another son, Oliver, but as the Viltrumites attacked, he left his child for Mark to take care of.
While it was tension-filled at first, Nolan’s Earth-wife, Deborah, decided to embrace Oliver like her own, and he quickly became infatuated with fighting criminals like his half-brother. Mark would realize that with his burgeoning powers, he could be a useful sidekick, but unfortunately, Oliver botched his first mission in Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley’s Invincible #52…in brutal fashion.
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Oliver was totally exuberant about following in Mark’s footsteps, training as Kid Omni-Man, not just to live up to Mark’s reputation as Invincible, but also to erase the war crimes of his dad. Mark remained patient, but it all went downhill when the Mauler twins took over a nuclear facility in Washington.
Mark sped over, but Oliver arrived soon after, hearing the news from his mom and opting to participate without a green-light. Mark reluctantly accepted the aid, but when the hero chased a nuclear missile launched into the air, little did he know Oliver would lose control.
Oliver punched the first twin through the gut, smashing his insides apart. He found it slightly amusing, though, as he underestimated his strength, and shockingly, when the other surrendered out of fear, Oliver decided to become judge, jury and executioner. He landed an uppercut that literally punched the enemy’s brains out, showing the first glimpse of Oliver’s dark side.
The leader of the Guardians, the Immortal, was left petrified in the rubble, realizing he was staring at another potential Nolan. Oliver chalked it up to him basking in his powers too much and forgetting how strong he was, which drew Cecil and the government in. They saw Kid Omni-Man as a powerful potential enemy especially if he followed in his father’s footsteps, but before anything further could happen, an irate Mark whisked him away.
They argued about Oliver messing up things in bloody fashion, but the young Kid Omni-Man believed he did the right thing. Villains needed to die or else they’d keep killing, he reasoned. Mark equated his reasoning to that of their father, which left him feeling like a failure as a mentor. Oddly enough, Mark reluctantly agreed when he considered how monstrous the citizens of Earth could be. Still, Oliver exposed their lethal potential to Cecil and the Guardians, breeding distrust and leaving the other heroes skeptical of their allegiance to Earth.
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