The villian didn't really 'flicker'. He was just never in focus. It was a effect created by the DOP to give the feeling that he wasn't himself anymore. He was completely engulfed in the cabin fever that he suffered from or the Sun itself.

I don't think he had super powers, but it just seemed like he did because of the circumstances.

From Wikipedia:

The insane captain of Icarus I, the first ship that was sent to reignite the Sun. Pinbacker was inspired by the character of Sergeant Pinback from Dark Star.[18] The character's disfiguring burns were influenced by the injuries suffered by F1 driver Niki Lauda.[19] Boyle described the character of Pinbacker as a representation of fundamentalism.[20] The director also described the potentially unrealistic presence of Pinbacker as an example of something that breaks the pattern of realism, similar to his scene in Trainspotting (1996) in which Ewan McGregor's character dives into a toilet.

The villian didn't really 'flicker'. He was just never in focus. It was a effect created by the DOP to give the feeling that he wasn't himself anymore. He was completely engulfed in the cabin fever that he suffered from or the Sun itself.

I don't think he had super powers, but it just seemed like he did because of the circumstances.

From Wikipedia:

The insane captain of Icarus I, the first ship that was sent to reignite the Sun. Pinbacker was inspired by the character of Sergeant Pinback from Dark Star. The character's disfiguring burns were influenced by the injuries suffered by F1 driver Niki Lauda. Boyle described the character of Pinbacker as a representation of fundamentalism. The director also described the potentially unrealistic presence of Pinbacker as an example of something that breaks the pattern of realism, similar to his scene in Trainspotting (1996) in which Ewan McGregor's character dives into a toilet.