Omar Hood

Omar "the terror" appears mysteriously for the first few appearances in "The Wire," before he is even named formally. When he is named, Omar appears to be more of a neutral entity in the drug war. Like a certain English hero, this man attacks and robs the drug dealers and brings it back to his home. While a normal, everyday thief might keep the stolen money and drugs to himself, Omar instead appears to be spreading some of the money to neighbors, for instance the neighbor woman coming in for help, who appear to need it more. This action of stealing from "the rich" crime lords to give it to the poor and needy offers a great link to Robin Hood, the English hero, but Omar offers more comparisons to this end as well. Omar also indicates a close comradeship with his gang of "merry men," which is a stark contrast to the rigid hierarchical system he is up against, one which places a large bounty on his head in order to remove him from the picture. This offers a more similar story between the two "heroes of the common people." The large "empire" with an "evil" leader that offers a large reward for the capture or death of the one who steals from them to give to the poor, common people. This provides even more detail in the comparison between the medieval hero Robin Hood and the modern hero Omar.