Mark Grayson, also known as the superhero Invincible, has a large roster of villains, not only powerful but dangerous as well. Robert Kirkman, Corey Walker and Ryan Ottley did an incredible job creating the Invincible comic series’s characters and the villains are no exception to this, with many as colourful as they are deadly. The seven (or should that be eight?) listed here are Invincible’s greatest villains, having shown their prowess, created memorable moments within the story, and have had a demonstrable impact on Invincible.
Expect spoilers!
7. THE MAULER TWINS
The blue-skinned Mauler Twins are fan favourites, proving to be a thorn in Invincible’s side. Appearing in issue #2, they were amongst the first villains Invincible faced and helped set the tone for the title. ‘Which one is the real one’ became a running gag throughout the series, as one was a clone of the other, a result of the original building a cloning machine.
These two were no laughing matter though, as their brawn and their intellect made them a serious threat. Mauler and his clone had no scruples, as anything was on the table when in pursuit of their goals, including stealing Immortal’s head.
The pair might not have the power levels as some of the others on the list, but they deserve the inclusion because of the memorable impact they had on readers. Of course, their run in the story ended when they encountered Kid Omni Man. Oliver Grayson dispatched the two villains in cold-blood.
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6. OMNI-MAN
It might seem an odd choice to be on the list if you have read the whole series, but the twist in Invincible #7 where Omni-Man murders the Guardians of the Globe took readers by surprise. At that point, no one had suspected that Mark’s dad, Nolan, would be the vanguard of a Viltrumite invasion.
Omni-Man’s fight with Invincible was brutal, the collateral damage enormous, with Nolan almost killing his son before fleeing the planet. The two later reconciled as we know, but until that point, it was unthinkable as to how Mark might be able to stand up to his father’s might.
Omni-Man might not have been a villain for long but of all the storylines, Mark’s and Nolan’s confrontation is up there as one of the most memorable. Add in a striking mustache and costume design and you have one of the most recognisable characters in the series.
5. ROBOT/RUDOLPH CONNERS
For most of the series, Robot can be considered a hero, starting life as leader of the Teen Team, alongside Rex Splode and Atom Eve. He later joins the new Guardians of the Globe, briefly leading it before Immortal takes over.
Where things begin to really change for Robot is when he enlisted the help of the Mauler Twins to clone Rex Splode’s body. Robot’s mind is then transferred to this new body, in what looked like a long-term plan to woo Monster Girl, even working on a solution to her ageing problem. The two’s relationship goes through a lot as they get stuck in the Flaxan dimension for hundreds of years together, fighting wars and even each other. It is in this dimension you see flashes of how much Robot enjoys power as he rules over the Flaxans.
Still, it is not immediately apparent why Robot is on this list, as he fought alongside Invincible so often. However, this changed when they both travelled together to another dimension to take on Angstrom Levy. In this dimension, Robot effortlessly dispatched the other dimension’s Invincible before killing Angstrom. He tells Mark he has big plans for the future and that Invincible would get in the way of them. He leaves Mark stranded in that dimension.
It is from here that Robot is revealed as the story’s ultimate bad guy. He executed his grand plan, unleashing an army of drones, killing all who stand in his way, including brutally murdering Cecil and destroying Atom Eve’s leg. Despite returning to this dimension, Invincible was unable to defeat Robot and leaves Earth with Eve.
In the final showdown, Invincible does best Robot, destroying the body but keeping his brain intact. Mark acknowledged that Robot did do some positive things for the planet and his brain can contribute to a better future, without the dictatorship.
Robot is one of the greatest villains in the series as the clues to his downfall are there throughout, but easily overlooked at the time. His relationship with Mark and the other heroes, and even you the reader, give Robot’s role as a villain more depth than your average comic book bad guy.
4. DINOSAURUS
Another very popular villain is Dinosaurus. Incredibly powerful, intelligent, and he looks like a bright red t-rex. Few of the villains, or characters generally, have such a visual impact on readers. Dinosaurus looks like a villain from an 80s’ cartoon series, made by a cereal company, and has the name to go with it.
Dinosaurus has a human form, David Anders, who transforms into his scaly alter-ego when bored. One of Dinosaurus’s key traits is his passion for the environment and the world’s future, which directs all of his actions. One can’t help but think that Kirkman was saying if we were not all distracted by social media, television, and stupid lists, then perhaps we would all care as much about the planet as Dinosaurus.
Dinosaurus’s most memorable act was tricking Invincible. before blowing up Las Vegas and turning it into a glass desert. Despite this, they both build a friendship after Invincible broke him out of imprisonment. Mark thoughts that Dinosaurus could make a really positive contribution to the world, he had just been using the wrong methods up until now.
Like others on this list, Dinosaurus is not a villain consistently, with his storyline changing as his character develops. His storyline also affects Mark’s one deeply. Dinosaurus saved Mark’s life from Thragg but ultimately it is Mark who kills him. Dinosaurus took advantage of Mark recovering from injuries to detonate a bomb. Like before, Dinosaurus tricked Mark with a distraction and led Mark away from the real threat, a bomb in Greenland which flooded major cities across the world, killing thousands.
Dinosaurus deserves his spot on this list not just for his antics, but also for challenging Mark’s morals. Even asking Mark to kill him in the end is convincing Mark to go against his own convictions on killing.
3. ANISSA
Anissa first met Mark when she travelled to Earth to convince him to support the Viltrumite invasion. Compared with the Vlitrumite Conquest’s visit, this was quite a diplomatic approach. Anissa even helps Mark to defeat a monster attacking a ship, slaying it with ease. This failed to convince Mark and she leaves frustrated.
Anissa drops in and out of the story as the Viltrumites got more involved with Earth. She even lived amongst humans for a while, but refused to procreate with any, despite how this would have helped the Viltrumite cause. A brief encounter with Invincible though saw Anissa kiss Mark, much to his dismay.
Invincible and Anissa’s next meeting is the most controversial moment in the series. In issue 110 Anissa raped Mark. This obviously caused a huge amount of distress and emotional damage to Mark, who took a long time to recover, affecting his relationship with Eve.
We learn later that Anissa gave birth to Mark’s son, Marky, and settled down with a human on Earth. She died a hero’s death in the end, defending Earth, and even protecting Eve, but while she admitted she was wrong to rape Mark, she does not regret it.
Anissa’s inclusion on this list is down to the emotional damage she did to Mark. Others may have left physical damage, but the scars from Anissa took a lot longer for Invincible to heal.
2. ANGSTROM LEVY
Invincible’s first meeting with Angstrom Levy saw Levy left horrifically scarred. Things had gone south when the Mauler Twins, who had been helping Angstrom with his portal machine, battled with Invincible. Angstrom stopped the device, causing an explosion that leaves him injured and with memory loss. He swore revenge on Invincible, thinking the explosion was Mark’s fault.
Angstrom took Deborah and Oliver hostage at Mark’s family home. Their battle had Angstrom send Invincible through multiple dimensions. Whilst Mark was kept busy trying to get back to the right dimension, Angstrom breaks Deborah’s arm when she tried to fight back.
Enraged by the attack on his family, Invincible ended up beating Angstrom to death (or so he thought). This was a pivotal moment in Mark’s development as a character and it was the first time he killed anyone.
Even more disfigured than before, but still alive, Angstrom unleashed 16 alternate Invincibles onto Earth, telling them to destroy cities. Earth’s heroes struggled to contain this onslaught as the Invincibles cause devastation across the world. The real Mark finally catches up to Angstrom to stop the invasion but Angstrom managed to just escape, although he lost an arm as a portal closed on it.
Like so many of the villains in the series, Angstrom is not a clear-cut villain, despite all that he had done. He had an encounter with Eve who managed to persuade him that Mark was not responsible for the explosion that left him disfigured and that revenge was not the best path. He apologised for his actions and perhaps might have been on his way to a full redemption arc, had Robot not ended up decapitating him in another dimension later on.
Angstrom does deserve to be on this list as the Invincible War was the probably the most damaging event to happen to the planet, with him as the architect. His persistent targeting of Mark’s loved ones showed that he would sink to depths others would not to get his misplaced revenge.
1. THRAGG
In the final spot, it could only be Thragg, the Grand Regent of the Viltrumites. For a lot of the series, Thragg was a building threat. He sent others like Conquest and Anissa on missions, including to Earth. This speaks volumes about his own physical power that he had domain over them and the rest of the Viltrumites.
Thragg’s strength was demonstrated in his first match-up with Mark in the Viltrumite War, as Invincible’s punch did nothing, before Thragg ripped Oliver’s arm off and almost killed him. Thragg continues to show Mark how strong he is until Invincible, Thadeus and Nolan destroy Viltrum. Thragg swore revenge, killing Thadeus, before he mauled Nolan and Mark, but holding back from killing them.
After the Viltrumite War, Mark and Thragg agreed to an uneasy truce, with Viltrumites taking residence on Earth. There was a failed attempt to unleash the scourge virus on the planet, the virus that could wipe out Viltrumites, but only Mark was infected. Whilst being treated, Thragg attempted to kill Mark before Dinosaurus interrupted, defending and rescuing Mark. The other Viltrumites turned on Thragg, before imprisoning him and Nolan sentenced him to exile.
In exile, Thragg left for Thraxa where he created an army of Viltrumite-Thraxan offspring. Like Oliver, they would develop incredibly quickly, providing Thragg with an army to attack Mark, the rest of the Viltrumites, and Earth. In the build-up to the final confrontation, this army conquered a number of planets for this new Viltrumite Empire, and Thragg killed Oliver who was acting as a double-agent.
In the final battle, the End of all Things, Thragg ripped Nolan’s heart out, mortally wounding him. A furious Invincible launched himself at Thragg, leading Thragg to the sun, where they had their ultimate fight. With support from Robot, Mark is able to protect himself from some of the sun’s damage, but Thragg still brokeboth his arms. In response Mark rips his throat out with his teeth, killing Thragg.
Thragg is the ultimate villain in the series and for Mark, as he is the greatest threat. It was only with support from his friends and allies that Invincible was able to best Thragg; he was unable to match his strength or ferocity. Thragg was a threat not only to his life, the life of his family and friends, but also all of humanity and the wider galaxy. No villain could come close to the type of threat Thragg represented.
Who was missed? Let me know below why Elephant should be number 1!
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