Warning: This article reports on social media posts containing graphic imagery and objectionable language.
Comic book fans have been arguing over who would win in anInvinciblevs.Supermanbrawl for over two decades now, but now, artist Ryan Ottley has offered a definitive, and definitely gory take on who would win this heavyweight superhero smackdown, and itisn’t pretty for the Man of Steel.
Posting on X, Ottley shared an illustrationofInvincible punching his way through Superman’s chest, the iconic S-symbol on the DC legend’s costume sticking to the younger hero’s fist.
It is a brutal image, one that makes clear which hero is more powerful, at least in Ottley’s mind; given that Ryan Ottley was the artist for much of theInvinciblecomic’s run, many fans will be inclined to trust his judgement when it comes to this question of who would emerge victorious, Invincible or Superman.
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Ryan Ottley’s post came in response to a fan who posted a meme criticizing the idea thatInvincible’sOmni-Man, the eponymous hero’s alien father, could defeat Superman in 1-v-1 combat. Ottley shifted the conversation to Invincible himself, and his bloody answer is in line with the violent sensibilities and dark humor. The graphic depiction framesInvincible at the top of the illustration, soaring forward soaked in viscera, entrails flying around him, mouth open in an adrenaline-fueled battle-cry, all while the Man of Steel is left behind, at the bottom of the image, with a massive hole through his mid-section.
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This last detail is what makes Ottley’s artistic rendering of this moment legitimately disturbing; the look of anguish on Superman’s face makes it clear this has all gone down so fast that he can only use his last few seconds alive to process what happened, and ask how it could have happened. It is a gnarly answer to the fan question of “Invincible vs. Superman,” one in which artist Ryan Ottley is unafraid to make his bias clear; of course, as one ofInvincible’sco-creators, there’s no hiding his dog in this fight.
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The “Who Wins” Debate Doesn’t End Here
Of course, definitive as it might seem, Ottley’s true motive is to further the conversation, which elevates Invincible to the status of the hero that inspired him in the first place. Thepremise of Robert Kirkman’sInvincibleis overtly modeled on Superman, both in terms of his hero’s power-set, and his extraterrestrial origins. Though the Man of Steel’s character and mythos were only jumping off points for Mark Grayson andInvincible, which would routinelysubvert and satirize superhero story clichésthroughout its run,the parallels between the two make theories about a potential match-up even more exciting.
Superman remains the prototypical superhero in the average person’s mind, but there are many contenders for that role in the future, including Invincible.
So, while Ryan Ottley’s illustration ofInvincible easily killing Supermanwill settle the debate for some fans, and stir further rebuttals from others, the comparisons between the two heroes will continue. That is becauseInvincible, as a franchise, and Invincible as a character, have taken on further prominence in the upper echelon of mainstream superheroes, thanks to the Amazon adaptation of the comic. Nearly a century after his first appearance, Superman remains the prototypical superhero in the average person’s mind, but there are many contenders for that role in the future, includingInvincible.
