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| “ | Ayo, lesson here, Bey: You come at the king, you best not miss. | „ |
| ~ Omar's most famous quote, after killing Stinkum and wounding Wee Bey. |
| “ | I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase. It's all in the game though, right? | „ |
| ~ Omar's second most famous quote. |
Omar Devon Little is the tritagonist of the HBO series The Wire.
He is portrayed by the late Michael K. Williams, who also portrayed John Victor Bodine in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Allen in Life During Wartime.
Biography[]
Background[]
Omar was orphaned at a young age. He was raised by his grandmother Josephine, who is responsible for his strict code of ethics. He attended Edmondson-Westside High School in West Baltimore and enjoyed learning about Greek mythology in school. Omar received his facial scar before 1985.
In 1985, a nine-year-old Omar, his brother Anthony Little, and an unidentified older boy planned and executed the robbery of a man at a bus stop. Omar questioned the value of robbing the man and then forced the older boy at gunpoint to return the stolen money. Anthony expressed bemusement at Omar's actions. The unidentified boy told Anthony that Omar was not "cut out" for their line of work.
Omar began sticking up drug dealers in the early 1990s and started dating Brandon Wright around 2002. By the time the show starts, Omar is already a living legend in the streets.
Season 1[]
Omar, Brandon Wright, and John Bailey robbed a stash house belonging to Avon Barksdale. Soon after, Avon put a contract on the trio. Bailey was killed, and Brandon was tortured, mutilated, and killed for keeping silent on Omar's whereabouts. In response, Omar cooperated with Detectives McNulty and Moreland, providing key information leading to the arrest of Barksdale soldier Bird, and agreed to be a witness against him at his trial (though he was not an actual witness to the crime). While meeting with the police, he observed information which he used to exact further revenge against the Barksdale Organization, killing Stinkum and wounding Wee-Bey.
Omar even got a shot at Barksdale himself, by giving stolen drugs to East Side drug kingpin Proposition Joe for Avon's pager number. He tailed Avon to Orlando's strip club, paged him and waited for him to emerge into the open. Avon narrowly escaped when Wee-Bey arrived and shot Omar in the shoulder. Afterward, Stringer Bell offered Omar a truce, planning to kill him when he relaxed his guard. Omar realized Stringer's duplicity and left town, temporarily relocating to New York City.
Season 2[]
Omar returned to Baltimore with a new boyfriend, Dante, sometime between the seasons. He quickly returned to his old business, targeting the Barksdales exclusively, and connected with Tosha and Kimmy, stick-up artists who joined his crew.
Omar provided false testimony against Bird in open court as he had promised to do. Unabashed and unapologetic about who he was, he won over the jury with his wit; when Barksdale attorney Maurice Levy called him a parasite who thrived on the drug trade, Omar quickly pointed out that a crooked lawyer like Levy was essentially the same thing. In the end, the jury accepted Omar's testimony, and Bird was sent to prison for life. Assistant State's Attorney Ilene Nathan promised Omar a favor as a thank you for his testimony.
Around this time, Stringer Bell wanted to get rid of hitman Brother Mouzone. At a meeting arranged through Proposition Joe and Omar's adviser and confidant Butchie, Stringer told Omar that Mouzone was the one who tortured and murdered Brandon. Omar then tracked Mouzone down at a hotel and shot him in the abdomen. In the brief conversation that followed, Mouzone convinced Omar that they both shared the same type of moral code. Omar, realizing he had been duped, let Mouzone live, dialed 911, and provided them Mouzone's location.
Omar and Butchie later realized that the shooting with Mouzone was a set-up by Stringer. Omar vowed to get revenge.
Season 3[]
During a raid on a Barksdale house, Tosha was accidentally killed by Dante in the middle of a firefight, and Omar contemplated giving up his war against the Barksdale organization. Detective Bunk Moreland, investigating the deaths, made Omar feel further guilt over the incident ("Homecoming")
Omar Little visited Butchie to discuss Bunk's recent lecture about the loss of morality in their neighborhood. Revealing his increasing guilt, Butchie claimed that it was a ploy that Bunk was using against him. Despite Butchie's advice, Omar used Butchie's contacts to locate Officer Dozerman's weapon for Bunk.
Omar moved his crew to East Baltimore, where they have more success robbing dealers. On their return to the West Side, they noticed Hamsterdam. Omar, however, believe it was too good to be true and refused to consider it as a stickup target.
Under orders from Stringer Bell, two of Avon's soldiers attacked Omar while taking his grandmother to church. Omar forced her into a taxi, but she lost her best hat in the gunfire. This blatant violation of the longstanding "Sunday truce" between rival gangs led Omar to re-dedicate himself to war with the Barksdales, though Kimmy opted out. Avon, outraged at Stringer, ordered the men responsible for the attack to buy Omar's grandmother a new hat.
Meanwhile, Brother Mouzone captured and forced Dante to reveal Omar's location. Mouzone suggested an alliance against Stringer. Together, Omar and Mouzone ambushed Stringer during a meeting with a property developer and executed both Stringer and his bodyguard. After Mouzone set Dante free, Omar threw his shotgun and Mouzone's pistol into Inner Harbor.
Season 4[]
Omar felt dissatisfied with how easy work had become and worried that pursuing easy thefts would make him soft, so he and new boyfriend Renaldo pull a robbery of one of Marlo Stanfield's dealers, Old Face Andre who ran a westside corner store that was in actuality a drug front. At Proposition Joe's suggestion, they proceeded to rob a card game, not knowing that it was held by Marlo Stanfield; Marlo vowed to get revenge. Chris Partlow framed Omar for the murder of an innocent woman at Old Face Andre's convenience store, and Omar was jailed. During the arrest, he is initially robbed by Officer Walker and questioned by Officer McNulty who is puzzled as to why a murder warrant is present for Omar murdering a citizen. When imprisoned in Baltimore City's Central Booking, Omar recognized many of the inmates as people he'd robbed previously and correctly surmised they may try to kill him. In retaliation for an attempt on his life, he brutally stabbed his attacker in the rectum as a means of warning the other inmates not to attack him.
Omar was able to convince Detective Moreland that he would never kill a "citizen". After having Omar transferred to a safer prison (calling in the favor from Ilene Nathan), Bunk managed to prove Old Face Andre's lies. The charge against Omar was dropped and Bunk transported him out of Harford County with a warning - no more murders of anyone. The unsolved murders at his hands that Bunk knows about, such as Stringer Bell or Tosha, will be brought up if Omar is caught killing anyone else.
Omar found out that Marlo framed him, and was the one he robbed at the card game. Omar demanded that Proposition Joe help him rob Marlo, and Joe agrees to alert Omar when Cheese is dropping off Marlo's package. Omar orchestrates an elaborate and successful hijacking of Joe's entire shipment of heroin as it enters port. As he had no wish to sell drugs on the street, he sold the heroin back to Proposition Joe. As of the end of the season, he has made a lot of money, but has all of the dealers ready to put a contract on his head.
Season 5[]
Omar retired with Renaldo following the heist and moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Marlo Stanfield had Butchie tortured and killed by Partlow and Snoop, seeking revenge on Omar and to draw him out of hiding. Upon learning, Omar returned to Baltimore to punish those responsible. Omar ambushed Slim Charles and confronts him. Omar knows that Slim Charles' employer Proposition Joe knew of his connection to Butchie and believes Stewart may have been responsible. Slim Charles is able to convince Omar of Stewart's innocence and Omar targets Stanfield. Along with Butchie's friend Donnie, Omar decides to go after Stanfield's people as Stanfield himself has gone into hiding and Omar targets Monk.
Stanfield's soldiers spot Omar outside of Monk's apartment building and bait Omar and Donnie into an ambush. Once inside they are attacked by Chris Partlow, Snoop, Michael Lee, and O-Dog. During the shootout, O-Dog is wounded in the leg and Donnie killed by a gunshot to the head. Out of bullets, Omar is forced to jump from the fourth-story balcony, severely injuring his leg in the process.
Omar hid in the maintenance room of Monk's apartment building and bandaged what appeared to be a seriously injured right leg. He fashions a crutch from a broom and limped out of the building in obvious pain. Omar waits for Fat-Face Rick at Boots Bail Bonds and used a glass bottle to hold up the kingpin. Rick offered Omar anything he wanted. Omar took Rick’s gun and told Rick he just wanted to deliver a message: Marlo is weak and will not face Omar alone. After Omar freed Rick, he asked if Omar was responsible for killing Hungry Man or Proposition Joe. Omar laughed, confirming Rick's suspicions that the two were murdered on Marlo's orders. Omar waited outside a row house for a Stanfield pick up. He shot one man in the leg with his shotgun and drove the rest of the Stanfield dealers away with a few shots at their parked SUV. Omar destroyed the money they collected by blowing up the SUV. Omar instructed the wounded dealer that his injury should convince Marlo of the truth to his story. He instructed the wounded man to tell Marlo that he destroyed the money and that Marlo is not man enough to face him directly.
Omar Little trapped former Barksdale and current Stanfield enforcer Savino Bratton, who assured Omar that he wasn't there when Chris Partlow and Snoop tortured and killed Butchie. Omar responded that he would have helped if he was there. After a brief moment, he shot Savino in the head. The next day, Omar limped on a crutch to Michael's corner. He instructed Michael to tell Marlo that he murdered Savino, and intends to kill all of Marlo's enforcers until Marlo faces him.
A young boy from Michael's crew, Kenard, followed Omar to a convenience store, where he shot Omar in the side of the head, killing him. News of Omar's death is received with mild amusement and indifference by various characters. Bunk Moreland initially shows some sympathy, which he brushes aside when he learns Omar was once again "on the hunt". McNulty and Freamon react with mere curious interest and instead focus on a lead in their case found on Omar's body. The newspaper staff drop any mention of the incident for lack of printing space. In his final appearance, an employee at the morgue realizes the identification tag on Omar's body has been accidentally switched with that of the white deceased male on the neighbouring table and corrects the error by swapping the tags. The scenes signal the unceremonious transition of Omar from a mythical figure into a crime statistic in the course of one day. However, various people in the street were shown to incorrectly exaggerate the details of his shooting in order to glorify his death.
Personality[]
Omar lived by a moral code he avoided breaking. He used to steal from drug dealers and crime bosses for his own benefit, however, always avoiding civilian casualties. He respected most street codes, including church Sundays where shootings were prohibited.
However, when those he loved were hurt, Omar would go to any lengths to get revenge. For example, when his boyfriend Brandon was killed by the Barksdale gang, Omar declared them enemies until those responsible were killed. In the process, his respect for street law and gangsters was disregarded, as he became an informant for the police department only to hurt the Barksdale operation. It took many years, but he finally discovered that the order for Brandon's death had been given by Stringer Bell. Omar did not hesitate to kill him, denying receiving money from Bell.
Acting like an outlaw, Omar initially had a simplistic view of life. To him, the game was the game, and he was just a man trying to make money. He had a low opinion of corporate lawyers. To him, lawyers like Maurice Levy were as bad as street thugs, as they always found a way to corrupt the system.
Despite murdering and stealing, Omar could feel guilty about his actions. When confronted by Detective Bunk, Omar realized how much his actions hurt others, and tried to help him to clear his conscience.
In a city tethered to a corrupt system, Omar made his own rules, codes, and ways. He didn't mind getting his hands dirty so long as his opponent deserved it.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Supreme Gunmanship: Omar's skill with guns is superior to most. He kills several enemies with a gun in hand and rarely hesitates to pull the trigger.
- Fighting Skills: Omar is a capable fighter in hand-to-hand combat. He is able to disarm an armed prisoner in jail and easily defeat him during an exchange.
- Expert Strategist: Omar constructs the best plan possible before taking action during robberies and acts of murder.
- Intelligence: Omar is shown to be very intelligent. His intelligence carries through his actions in various situations.
Victims[]
- Stinkum - Shot to death by Omar.
- Stringer Bell's Bodyguard - Shot to death by Omar.
- Russell "Stringer" Bell - Shot to death by Omar.
- Manny - Shot to death by Omar.
- Savino Bratton - Shot to death by Omar.
Quotes[]
| “ | Bunk: (sarcastically) A man must have a code. Omar: (completely serious) Oh, no doubt |
„ |
| ~ Omar explains his philosophy to Bunk Moreland. |
| “ | Levy: You are amoral, are you not? You are feeding off the violence and despair of the drug trade! You are stealing from those who are themselves stealing the life blood from our city! You are a parasite who leeches off the culture of drugs— Omar: Just like you, man. Levy: ...Excuse me? What? Omar: I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It's all in the game though, right? |
„ |
| ~ Omar outwitting Maurice Levy during his testimony. |
Trivia[]
- Omar's conspicuous facial scar is real. Michael K. Williams received it in a bar fight.
- Omar is based on real-world Baltimore stick-up men Shorty Boyd, Donnie Andrews, Ferdinand Harvin, Billy Outlaw, and Anthony Hollie, all of whom targeted drug dealers.
External Links[]
- Omar Little on Wikipedia
- Omar Little on The Wire Wiki
- Omar Little on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
[]
| The Wire Villains | ||
|
The Barksdale Organization The Stanfield Organization The New Day Co-Op The Greeks Others | ||