Omni-Man Is Nothing Like Superman In Mortal Kombat 1

One of the big complaints with Mortal Kombat 1’s first wave of DLC is that two of the characters are extremely similar – Omni-Man and Homelander. They’re both riffs on the Superman archetype, twisting it into something far less optimistic and uplifting. In a way, it made sense to pair them, even if it seemed disappointing to get two versions of the same basic character type back to back. Luckily, Omni-Man is one-of-a-kind.

Superman is incredibly strong, which is a big part of how he plays in NetherRealm’s other flagship fighting game, Injustice. He’s also agile, fast, and has a variety of different abilities that allow him to stay on the offensive, getting up close and personal, while playing ranged characters at their own game – laser eyes and frost breath keep everyone on their toes

Omni-Man is more of a brute. He doesn’t have the same expansive breadth of abilities or skillful martial arts moves, instead relying on his overwhelming strength. We see this in special moves like Mega Clap, where he slams his hands together to unleash a thunderous wave that sends enemies flying. Since he’s more reliant on that ingrained power, he’s slower, ominously marching towards his enemies like Michael Myers in spandex.

He can, of course, be fast when needed thanks to his abilities. They let him instinctively dodge attacks, instantly dash forward, and fling his enemies into the ground from the sky at breakneck speed. But with moves reminiscent of Hulk’s most iconic action sequences and a lack of laser vision, it’s hard to place him in the same ballpark as Homelander or Superman. He’s a bruiser confident in his fighting prowess and strength, only using speed to get the jump on his enemies as he channels years of expertise with effortless bravado.

We haven’t seen Homelander yet, and don’t even know if he’ll be voiced by Antony Starr, who has been cryptic on the topic when asked. But based on how Omni-Man handles, I’m confident we don’t have a case of two copy-paste DLC characters on our hands. Homelander is strong, sure, but he’s unrivaled in his world and has never had to put effort into his fights. He’s always up against people who cannot feasibly beat him, burning innocent civilians with laser eyes and crushing heads against walls.

Homelander is the kid who’s good at football in his local town against six kids who’d much rather play basketball. Throw him on the pitch against Manchester City and he’ll end up crying in the corner. He’s inexperienced and will rely too much on his abilities to try to keep up with the big leagues. That means heat vision, flight, and his superhuman voice, likely staying ranged to avoid getting into an actual fistfight. If anything, Homelander’s the one that’s most likely to resemble Superman.

They might take inspiration from the same place, but Homelander and Omni-Man take that inspiration in opposite directions. By making Omni-Man this heavy beast of a fighter, NetherRealm has ensured they’re already in completely different brackets. Omni-Man is the heavyweight to Homelander’s featherweight, and I’ve no doubt we’ll feel that when it comes to playing as him next Spring.