Omni-Man Vs. Bardock: Facts or Cap? - Part 1 (Intro + Weapons, Armor and Skills)

The Future Isn't Yours 

Disclaimer

In conjuction with a more long-term project of mine, I'll be working on a side series: "Facts or Cap?". Basically, these are condensed versions of Slayed by Sunset™️examining past matchups on Death Battle (and maybe other vs shows). We'll be cutting out the thematics and story synopses (if you want those, just watch the episodes) and strictly see if the verdicts hold up.

To be clear, this is not focused on debunking the original episodes and their reasoning. I'm doing this to offer my own perspective first and foremost. I won't be talking about whether an episode's internal logic is right or not, but certain arguments made within will be addressed if deemed neccessary.

Da Rules

As a recap, here are my rules for Slayed by Sunset:

1. These fights won't necessarily be to-the-death. Aside from trying to win the fight, combatants will be entirely in-character. Thus, incapacitation is on-the-table as well (including BFR). Obviously, death is still a viable way to win.

2. Each combatant will already know the initial appearance of their competition. Aside from this, no prior knowledge and prep-time will be allowed unless specified before the rundowns.

3. The arena will be a neutral setting where both combatants can utilize all of their abilities in some fashion. When necessary, elaboration on specifics will be given after both rundowns are complete.

4. Combatants will be taken at their physical primes unless otherwise specified before the rundowns. However, those with transformations will start the fight in whatever their base form is.

5. Combatants will start 20 feet apart unless otherwise specified before the rundowns.

Since I'm covering a Death Battle and its accuracy, some of these rules will be altered.

For one, all characters will be going for the kill; victory's only decided when one character is dead. That's how it is on Death Battle, so this rule should be pretty straight-forward.

Trickier to discuss is the matter of range. Death Battle has never established how far apart characters start (for some reason), so an arbitrary distance is hard to justify. For this reason, I will instead assume all characters start within arm's reach of the other fighters. This will allow each character a chance to attack the other in some form while still keeping things vague in the style of Death Battle. I much prefer a clear starting distance, but again, it wouldn't really be in spirit of the show.

Regarding what media is being used, I'll be operating with Death Battle's third rule in mind here. This means secondary sources - even those not in continuity with the main narrative - can be used so long as the information within isn't contradictory to the original source. This shouldn't differ too much to my usual approach, but does allow a bit more leniency for what gets included. 

Note that this does not mean the sources I examine will be the same as Death Battle's. My opinions on what sources are contradictory differ quite a bit from theirs, as you'll see later. The specifics of what's included for each character will be mentioned in their respective sections.

Lastly, as this is a re-examination of an original episode, information released after its release will be excluded. Using media inaccessible to the original creators for my argument is outside the scope of this series.

Omni-Man

This planet has...changed me. And there's no going back from that, son. Without you...I don't know what it would have taken...what I would have done...for me to realize that.

Material Used

I'll be using the Invincible comics and their associated media, the first two seasons of the show, and any other Image comics clearly in the same setting. Crossover comics with Supreme and The Tick will not be included: per-executive of Image Comics Erik Larson, these would be alternate versions of the characters (Supreme's power level also canonically flucuates depending on who he's fighting, so you really can't read much into that fight anyway).

Intelligence and Experience

(Couldn't find the original source)

Living on Planet Viltrum, Nolan (pronounced Nowl-ahn in Viltrumite...even though they speak English) was born into a society that embodied Social Darwinism: only those who lived by strength were deemed fit to survive. Just to survive childhood, he had to undergo brutal combat training and kill his own kind, who would have been doing the same. By adulthood, he was ready to conquer planets for the Empire. Considering he later led his own division of soldiers and was labelled "The Great Nolan", planetary conquest seemed to be his strong suite. Not surprising, considering he took over hundreds of planets solo. When planets didn't willingly accept Viltrumite rule, their civilizations were destroyed; all inhabitants murdered along with them.

Once the Viltrumite population went down to 50, the Empire played their imperial ambitions "safe", switching to covet usurpation over 5 centuries in an attempt to save and bolster numbers. Nolan was sent to Earth, where he'd become "Nolan Grayson" and the "superhero" Omni-Man. All to gain the trust of Earth's highly-advanced governments and superheroes. It's not that he didn't pull-off legitimate heroics during his 2 decades (or so) there. Quite the contrary: he became Earth's greatest defender, facing mutants, more extraterrestial threats, giant monsters and even gods. Along with his time spent among the stars, Earth allowed him to become a successful "science-fiction" author with his "secret identity".

Once his son Mark developed powers, the jig was up. Omni-Man murdered the Guardians of the Globe, Earth's greatest heroes and former friends. Well, mostly. The Immortal was both not permanently dead  and a Celtic warrior over 3,000 years-old. He'd spent the millennia honing his combat skill and even becoming Abraham Lincoln (yes, really)...and none of it was enough. That has more to do with the difference in their powers, sure, but Nolan could certainly hold his own in-terms of martial prowess.

After turning his back on the Empire in an attempt to redeem himself, Nolan defeated and killed numerous Viltrumites in combat. Perhaps most impressively, he battled Grand Regent Thragg, the most deadly and skilled Viltrumite of them all. This guy was educated in every form of combat, and Nolan actually made him bleed in a 1v1! Add in the fact that Nolan's over 2,000 years old, and you get the picture. Hero, villain, or neither, he's one of the most dangerous fighters in the universe.

Equipment

Earpiece

Upon joining the Coalition of Planets - an alliance fighting against the Viltrum Empire - Nolan got this handy do-dad, letting him send telepathic messages to others and recieve them.

Abilities

Viltrumite Physiology

While seemingly identical to humans, Viltrumites are quite different. They all possess superhuman strength, speed, durability, senses, stamina, endurance and regeneration. They're highly resilient to biological attacks, radiation, and the vaccum of space; the same is true of extreme temperatures, whether its "near absolute-zero or as hot as the surface of a star". Viltrumite DNA agressively self-replicates, bolstering their abilities and overwriting the DNA of compatible species. Omni-Man has showcased all these traits.

He fought a giant fire-breathing dragon for 10 hours straight, then dealt with an enchanted flood while saving civillians. Later, he won a one-man war against the highly-advanced Flaxan civilization, devastating their planet. He can fight unimpeded while heavily bleeding - even with his eye popped out the skull - and ages slower the older he gets. This is what lets him live for millennia, all while actually getting stronger with the extra miles. Nolan can also hold his breath and appetite for 2 weeks straight. Even getting a broken forearm and being stabbed through the chest so hard his guts were hanging out didn't kill him; Nolan fully healed in roughly a week-and-a half. He even implied that with an undamaged heart, he could have healed from near-bisection.

Smart Atoms

Aside from the powers listed above, Viltrumites have a few other inherent abilities. According to The Official Handbook of the Invincible Universe, these are due to an innate control over "Smart Atoms". I'll spare you the book's butchering of subatomic physics and just say that these are a special type of atom which can adapt to changes in the environment. Continuous stress pushes Viltrumites past their normal physical limits, and they can collect the nigh-limitless background energy from subatomic space. This essentially renders it impossible for them to get fatigued or run out of energy in the conventional sense.

Spaceflight

Viltrumites can fly, even through the vaccum of space. Once again, the totally-not ridiculous Handbook gives us information on this...with a theory. Yeah, not even hard confirmation.

It speculates that Viltrumites manipulates subatomic gravitional particles to negate gravity's effect on them. There's nothing weighing them down in these intervals, allowing for free levitation in any direction. This doesn't eliminate friction, but would allow for faster flight than those of otherwise similar speed. When combined with Smart Atoms, Viltrumites constantly jump through Subspace for continous increases in velocity.

In all fairness, this theory does make sense given a particular weakness of Viltrumites. Negating gravity means they must rely on extremely precise equilibrium, which can be disrupted by extremely high-pitched sonic frequencies (the kind inaudible to most lifeforms). The enhanced senses Viltrumites have meant this could cripple or even kill them.

 Bardock

It's up to me...I'm...I'm going to change the future!

Like the Death Battle, the original version of Bardock from Dragon Ball Z will be involved. Aside from that, things differ greatly.

According to Omni-Man Vs. Bardock, Death Battle prioritized the Bardock from Dragon Ball Minus and Dragon Ball Super...despite their scaling almost entirely focusing on the Z version. Furthermore, they incorporated Episode of Bardock, a what-if scenario for the original Bardock that takes place in Dragon Ball's video games (which also had footage used).

Excluding Episode of Bardock and the video games is an easy call. The former is a what-if scenario for Z; the latter are either retellings that don't add anything of substance or directly contradict the original story. This includes Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. While series creator Akira Toriyama was involved in its production, there are too many major differences from the original manga and anime for it to be viable. These directly impact Bardock's scaling, like having him actually put up a fight against Dodoria and even Freeza (which if you know how those "battles" actually went, doesn't add up).

As for Minus and Super, they will also be ignored. That might seem weird given the Bardock contained within was actually written by Toriyama (at least, originally), and you could certainly argue they should take precdence for that reason. However, their version of the character contradicts his appearance in the original manga and anime. This is a problem given Minus was made for said anime and Super contains numerous other massive discrepancies with both works. As such, Dragon Ball Minus and Super will not be included.

Also the new Bardock fucking sucks

Putting it all together, my analysis will be limited to...

• The Dragon Ball anime and manga (deferring to the anime in areas of contradiction)
• The Dragon Ball Z anime and movies
• Dragon Ball GT (for being Z's sequel)
• Associated guidebooks and creator statements (which, spoiler alert, will also be used for everyone else so long as they ain't bullshit)

Intelligence and Experience

Like all Saiyans, Bardock is naturally inclined to combat. Growing up in a society revolving around it, he would have been exiled to another planet at birth. Why? To conquer the entire thing, killing its populace so it can be sold to the highest bidder. Though this has more to do with the powers of Saiyans then combat skill - and Bardock would have been sent to a planet deemed weak, given he himself was given that designation of "low-class" - its made clear that he was embroiled in violence for a decent amount of time. After all, most low-class babies sent to dominate planets died as failures, and Saiyan children seriously fight each other as their equivalent of playtime.

Leading a squad of 4 other low-class Saiyans, he conquered the planet Kanassa, exterminating its native people in just a few days. Said planet had been a bounty for months, despite the intergalactic Freeza Army usually conquering planets with little issue. One of Freeza's top soldiers, Dodoria, claimed an elite squadron would have had a harder time than Bardock's group. Granted, the Saiyans' unique Great Ape forms were used on the final day of their invasion.

Upon forseeing Freeza's imminent genocide of the Saiyans, Bardock battled Dodoria's elite guard, sent to kill him after their boss murdered Bardock's comrades. Despite being outnumbered 4-to-1, Bardock dominated the battle and murdered his opponents in quick succession, both with brute force and cunning.

Left for dead after a fight with Dodoria, a delirious, heavily bleeding Bardock managed to kill hundreds of Freeza's soldiers while flying to face the mad tyrant. While those minions weren't anywhere near Bardock's power, he continued to demonstrate quick-thinking and on-the-spot reactions when swarmed by opponents. It's no wonder series creator Akira Toriyama stated he was among the strongest low-class warriors.

Equipment

Outfit

Bardock's combat-purpose equipment consists of 2 Saiyan mainstays (well, before Freeza blew them up): a Battle Jacket and Scouter. The former acts as armor, stretching to fit nicely even in Bardock's multi-story tall Great Ape form. The chestplate, shoulder straps and hip guards helped protect him from Dodoria's mouth blast, though he still nearly died.

More unique is the Scouter. Invented by the Tsufruians and further modified by the Freeza Army, these monocle-looking things allow users to tell the time and communicate with each other across intergalactic distances. More relevant for this battle is their mechanic of detecting the location of Ki, the combination of one's body, mind and spirit. Scouters can precisely measure its power output through unknown means. 

Bardock's is an older model, meaning it will explode upon trying to measure a power level of over 24,000. Lowering one's energy output or rapidly increasing it can fool a scouter, but both come with obvious risks in combat.

But really, Bardock's best apparel is that sick bandana. Stained with the blood of his trusted comrade Tora, he's called Dragon Ball's Rambo for a reason.

Attack Ball

The personal vehicle of every Saiyan. Travelling faster than light, Attack Balls fly straight into targeted planets, creating huge craters and allowing the pilots to gain early momentum. Some have additional capabilities, but these have only been showcased by higher-class Saiyans long after Bardock's time.

Abilites

Saiyan Physiology

As a Saiyan, Bardock is naturally one of the most dangerous beings in the universe. His strength, speed, durability, eyesight and smell are all superhuman. Additionally, Saiyans stay in their physical prime and live without oxygen for far longer than humans. They can even withstand the vaccum of space for a while (Debatable, See Before the Verdict). But the most obvious difference between you and a Saiyan is their prehensile tail. While useful for everyday life, specific training is required to prevent restraining or damaging the tail effectively crippling a Saiyan. This is something even characters far weaker than the Saiyan in-question can accomplish. Given more experienced and well-trained Saiyans didn't overcome this weakness, it's a big weak spot for Bardock. If cut off, it will eventually grow back, but this can take years, even decades.

...Truth be told, that might just make him more dangerous. Genetically inclined for combat, Saiyans have a latent potential to continously break their limits. Their strength, speed, and durability can increase mid-fight, albeit not at a rate sufficient to supplant notable fatigue. More notably, healing from an injury that almost kills them will grant an exponential boost to these stats. After one such wound, Bardock's power level grew from less than 1,200 to nearly 10,000, just below King Vegeta himself.

Great Ape

Remember Bardock's tail? Yeah, to call it a weakness is pretty misleading. Under the light of a full moon, Saiyans with tails become giant...monkeys. Not apes, despite what the name would suggest. Maybe the Saiyans just didn't know zoology that well? In any case, becoming this building-sized behemoth increases Bardock's power and durability tenfold. Additionally, Bardock's velocity increases to cancel out the larger size slowing his movements. 

Turnt savage by the transformation, Bardock goes on a bestial rampage only vaguely targeting his original opponents. On the plus side, he gets to shoot building-sized energy beams out of his mouth. Cutting off Bardock's tail or destroying the moon will undo the transformation, leaving him comatose for a brief time.

Ki

No need to explain what it is again, but how does Bardock use this stuff? Well, those who can consciously control Ki are superhuman compared to the norm in strength, speed, and durability. Put that and a Saiyan's natural abilities together, and you've got some of the strongest fighters in the universe.

Aside from just amplifying his body, Bardock can outwardly project Ki as a glowing energy. This can take the form of an energy aura to further enhance his physique, create shockwaves or rapid-fire energy blasts (which can be hot enough to set opponents on fire). Perhaps most useful is that, with enough skill, one can straight-up fly using Ki. However, it is a limited resource, one quickly drained by usage, fatigue and damage.

Divination

Granted by the last surviving Kanassan, Toolo, Bardock occasionally recieves visions of the future, typically concerning those closest to him. These extended up to Goku's eventual battle with Freeza 25 years later, and that was after Bardock's death.

If this sounds really useful...trust me, it isn't. These glimpses into the future are entirely random, and Bardock can hardly defend himself while they're happening. Crucially, despite vowing to prevent Planet Vegeta's destruction and his own death, Bardock utterly failed at both. The events played out exactly as he foresaw, so Bardock can't change the future of whatever he sees.

Useless-ass psychic powers. Probably what messed up the formatting here.