Owen left the field unscathed and playing a full 90 minutes as he ended Newcastle's sad statistic of having gone 646 minutes at home without a league goal.
He now looks certain to start for England in their European Championship game with Israel at Wembley next Saturday.
The Latics didn't help their own cause when Kevin Kilbane was sent off in the first minute of the second half for two bookable offences in the space of four minutes.
Sam Allardyce was called upon to make his first major selection decisions since arriving at St James' Park and he went for Owen at the expense of £10million striker Obafemi Martins and chose to leave out fit-again keeper Shay Given, giving the nod to Steve Harper.
Allardyce's decision to give Owen his first Premier League start of the season was well and truly vindicated.
After just eight minutes Owen latched onto a Mark Viduka flick and broke on the left and with just Chris Kirkland to beat he went for the far corner, only to see the keeper turn his effort narrowly wide.
Owen then had an effort disallowed for offside as Newcastle saw plenty of the ball against a Wigan side looking for a fourth successive league win.
The visitors were then denied the lead by a stunning Harper save after 19 minutes as the keeper went full length to keep out a Jason Koumas free-kick
Then from the corner kick, Harper was called into action again to keep out a close-range header from United old boy Antoine Sibierski.
Titus Bramble, clearly handled the ball from a Viduka flick after 22 minutes, but referee Steve Bennett brushed aside all penalty claims.
Watched by billionaire owner Mike Ashley for the third time in six days, he saw Owen waste a gilt-edged chance to open the scoring just before the half-hour mark.
Andreas Granqvist lost his footing and the ball dropped invitingly for Owen who with just Kirkland to beat lobbed his effort over the bar.
There was then a mad four minutes for Kilbane when he saw red. He was yellow-carded after 42 minutes for an ugly challenge on Steven Taylor and then within seconds of the second-half resumption, the former Everton man was sent off after harshly picking up another yellow for a challenge on Alan Smith.
In between Taylor had headed a Geremi corner against the bar.
Viduka failed to appear after the break because of a hamstring strain and his replacement, Shola Ameobi curled an early effort wide.
Bramble then made a last-ditch tackle to disposes Owen as he was about to pull the trigger and then Bramble inadvertently played in Nicky Butt, who fired over from eight yards.
Newcastle were finally rewarded four minutes from time when Owen finished off a flowing move.
Taylor picked up a wayward Bramble pass, spreading the ball wide to substitute Martins, whose cross was headed in by Owen who lost Wigan substitute Emmerson Boyce.