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Historical context
While Sunnis regard Umar ibn al-Khattab in high esteem and respect his place as one of the "Four Righteously Guided Caliphs," Shi'a hold an opposing perspective of him. They do not view him as a legitimate leader of the Ummah and believe it to be factually provable that Umar and Abu Bakr conspired to usurp power from Ali. Shi'a believe that the Sunni view of Umar is an inaccurate one, created by the later Umayyad dynasty to honour the man that gave power to the first Umayyad ruler and third Sunni Caliph, Uthman. In this way, it gives legitimacy to Umar's consultation that started their own dynasty, a corrupt one in both Shi'a and Sunni view.
Shi'a believe that the Umayyad view was propagated with lethal force and heavy duress and as time went on, that view became predominant and eventually taken as truth, cemented by the works of Bukhari. However, Shi'a believe that despite the perceived white washing of Umar, bits of his true qualities can be found in all sources, including Sunni ones. They also believe that invented positive traits attributed to him do not hold a closer scrutiny.
Sources
Citations from the Qur'an are used in the following format: (Qur'an 2:124).
On occasion, Shi'as prefer to have their ideas sourced from Sunni sources. This manner of holding the opposing sides views make the Shi'as feel more convinced of their authenticity. To reflect this, Sunni sources are cited where Shi'a might do so. This practice is so widespread that a link might link to a Shi'a site quoting a Sunni source. Sunni's argue that this practice is counter-intuitive because Shi'as will use a source narrated by Umar, yet only if it is to negate his character. Any hadith that elevates his character is automatically shunned.
However, Shi'as also have their own sources and in most cases the critique towards Umar is much greater in those sources. Shi'as believe that most of the narrations critical to the Caliphs were purged during the Ummayyad dynasty. Some survived, but the most outspoken of them were eradicated. However a small minority group strove to keep alive those narrations, mainly through the descendants of the male Shi'as that survived the Battle of Karbala.
In contrast to Sunnis, Shi'a do not hold as authentic any narrations that depict Umar in a positive view, for example him being promised paradise, and hold as authentic some narrations that depict Umar in a negative view, for example some accusations regarding his sexuality. Besides this, the vast majority of narrations have a more neutral depiction of Umar, for example him questioning Muhammad's prophethood at the Treaty of Hudaybiya or scolding his daughter Hafsa. In these cases, Shi'a and Sunni have different views on the narrations. Many times Shi'as feel that Sunnis blatantly disregard narrations that even their own most respected scholars have authenticated. For example, a narration in Sahih Bukhari states explicitly that Ali and Zubair opposed Umar during the succession to Muhammad, or another narration that states that Umar was not invited to Fatima Zahra's secret funeral. According to Shia scholars Umar is also known to have said "I would much rather be a tree or a bird than be human as I would not have to face judgement, and would be free"
The Shi'a view of Umar differs from the Sunni view in mainly two areas. First, regarding his everyday character. The Sunni's claim he was wise and just while the Shi'as describe him as an ignorant usurper. Secondly, his attitudes and actions regarding the succession to Muhammad. The Sunnis argue that he acted in good faith to save the community whilst the Shi'as claim he seized the power in bad faith.
