The Philosophy of Owlman

Analysis of an absolute moral nihilist.

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MUSIC:
Epidemic Sound

tags: owlman, dc owlman, batman vs owlman, owlman vs batman, owlman vs,justice league crisis on two earths, Thomas Wayne jr, owlman - nothing matters, the philosophy of owlman, owlman nihilism, dc multiverse owlman, owlman dc, owlman dc comics, owlman it doesn't matter, owlman nothing matters, nothing matters owlman

[omniviewer]

Here's the thing about Owlman and his philosophy: it doesn't really hold up to scrutiny.

For starters, he suffers from a severe case of confirmation bias. Think about it: he never explains how he determined that what he calls Earth Prime actually is Earth Prime. There are infinite worlds, each one supposedly spawned from difference choices made, but we never learn how he follows all of the branches back to this single one. Without hard evidence, it is just as likely that Owlman chose this particular Earth as Earth Prime because it fits with his personal philosophy of absolute nihilism.

Even if we can definitely say it is Earth Prime - like, say the writers affirm it or something - what would destroying it actually do? For all intents and purposes, it has already been destroyed, yet the multiverse lives on. Owlman is literally surrounded by evidence that his "ultimate act of free will" is all for naught, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge it, instead sticking to his belief as though it is absolutely true.

He also doesn't seem to acknowledge that his plan contradicts his philosophy. Consider how he wants to destroy the multiverse - literally all of reality and all potential realities - by specifically destroying Earth...as if Earth is, in fact, the center of the universe. Now, what Owlman calls Earth Prime is clearly not the Earth we occupy (unless there was an apocalypse that I somehow missed when the movie released), so that implies that universe in which Earth Prime exists - Universe Prime - must also contain Mars Prime, Krypton Prime, Oa Prime, and so on. If Owlman is right and his plan has a chance at working, then that places Earth in a position of importance greater than anything else in the universe, as literally all of reality hinges on its existence. That seems to line up quite a bit with the ideas that form humanism, anthropocentrism, and even geocentrism. Do any of those really mesh with absolute moral nihilism? Would the people of those other planets have anything to say about it?

Let us also not forget that, as seen in the clip, Owlman is not open to debate. When Batman tries talking him, Owlman cuts him off before he can say anything that might challenge what he has already decided is The Truth. This is the mindset of a fanatic, not a philosopher. If Owlman truly had a point, he would engage Batman in a debate; See the Justice League animated series for an example of how that would go. Instead, Owlman refuses to be challenged at all. Batman is right to call him insane when he realizes this.


Of course, Batman does expose Owlman for what he truly is right before delivering his final blow. Quote, "We both stared into the abyss, but when it stared back, you blinked." Both Batman and Owlman have seen darkness beyond what most people can fathom. Batman did not allow that darkness to shake him, but Owlman gave into it completely. Given which of these two is the hero and which is the villain, who do you suppose is meant to be correct?

Analyzing where Owlman's philosophy comes from is interesting, of course, but let us never forget why he loses at the end.

[WestGarbage]

I feel like Owlman's final "It doesn't matter" has a much bigger impact than on the surface level, It feels more like him realizing that his efforts were in vain the whole time, even though Batman won in this fight, there's another universe where he didn't, and Owlman's plan succeeded, but if that were true, it would've meant that despite earth prime being destroyed, the multiverse stayed alive regardless, meaning he never could've truly won in the first place, none of it mattered.

[fuggled.santiago]

"There are alternate versions of me that you would find quite charming."

Holy fucking shit.

[jpreyes]

"you are talking about killing"
"Everyone who ever lived, who ever will live"

You gotta admit, he's a badass at least

[Deathtizity]

Its funny cause ownlman said that any choice will create a new universe meaning earth prime if it even exist will always protect itself because there will be two earth primes one that got destroyed and another one that didnt owlman was doomed to never reach earth prime once they arrived there imo.

[Arionid]

if empathy is an evolutionary survival advantage one could argue what we commonly know as "good morality" to be a survival advantage, but whether it is moral or not for a species to propagate or be driven extinct, that depends on the observers subjective view

[KniarDneK]

The irony of Owlman's plan is that his plan wouldn't work. Even if we assume he correctly deduced that this specific Earth was Earth-Prime, and that destroying Earth-Prime would actually cause a chain reaction across the Multiverse, it still wouldn't work.

As soon as he connected Earth-3 to Earth-Prime, he reintroduced human choice to Earth-Prime. As soon as he phased himself and his bomb onto that dustball, Earth-Prime branches knto Earth-Prime2, and destroying that Earth doesn't further his goals. At best, it destroys an exact copy of the Multiverse that branched off of Earth-Prime2, leaving the primary Multiverse completely untouched.

[sergioescobar]

It dawned on me that Owlman discovered what's wrong with modern storytelling in each major comic book franchise and the media they inspired. The rampant obsession and oversaturation of the multiverse trope has devalued the original stories that they spawned from. How is it possible to be invested in one hero's journey when that journey has already split off into a hundred different branches devoid of meaning and consequence from one another? How can anyone keep track of all this garbage that keeps getting pumped out with no end in sight?

[sangdrako]

What I just kinda realized is that Owlman is functionally making the original comics philosophy the bad guy. I love it

[valentinapierre]

Nice work on intertwining these topics. Looking forward to more content!

[Nyghtking]

I'd say he's right in that morality is a construct that we have mutually agreed to follow and can vary from person to person,
I would counter with it also doesn't matter, as morality, laws, and ethics are the nets that keep us from becoming amoral monsters and the worst version of ourselves.
If we embrace his philosophy we must also discard anything beyond hedonism and self-interest, in turn destroying any potential future for the sake of the here and now, as there is no future in his philosophy.
First humanity establishes morals, it does this for it's own survival, it's own self-interst, then humanity establishes Ethics to guide our morality further, then it establishes Laws to build upon morality, and through this build society,
there is no unity in a purely self-interested ideology ad thus no future as there is nothing to build upon and nothing to raise up.

[maromalul]

Most brilliant DC "Villain" of all time.

[TotalTech.]

Joker: I am the craziest supervillain ever *NO* *ONE* can match me
Owlman: I am crazier
Joker: How so?
Owlman: I had Wonder Woman as a girlfriend and *STILL* wanted to destroy the omniverse.
Joker: Please teach me senpai

[junkionproductions]

“It don’t mattuh. None of this mattuhs.”

- Carl Brutananadilewski

[CosmicTornado]

This video is such a great opening to a video essay. I wish you went further in with it

[maximillianomartinez]

finally a comic book analysis that is actually respectful of the viewers time, thank you for not making this the monetizable 10 minutes nor self indulgent 39 minutes

[luisgonzalez]

I can't believe you lured me in with a comic! Never heard of Owlman. Nice work on the video.

[tysondennis]

Owlman’s last words being “It doesn’t matter” when faced with his imminent demise stays true to his character, as Batman but with Joker’s nihilism. He works better as a combination of the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime than the Mary Sue that is the Batman Who Laughs.

[SarangJogi]

*Nothing is true, everything is permitted, thus everything that could be permitted cannot be true making the distinction that anything could be true*

[getrektboy]

i love his voice so much. it's so soothing