Prime Video/Image ComicsInvincible Season 3 Episode 8 pits Mark against Conquest, his most dangerous foe yet – and if the show follows the comics, it won’t be the last we’ve seen of him.
When Invincible met Anissa in Season 2, she warned him: “Soon another will come, and if he finds you still resistant to your destiny, he will demonstrate the error of your ways and this whole planet will pay the price.”
He arrived at the end of Episode 7. “Stand ready for my arrival, worm,” Conquest told Mark as his shadow loomed over him, and their in-air collision teed up the show’s greatest fight to date in the Season 3 finale.
It’s a bloody, destructive bout, arguably even better (and worse) than Mark’s brawl against Omni-Man. And, if you loved Conquest, we’ll (probably) see him again. Huge spoilers to follow!
What happens to Conquest in the Invincible comics?
Image ComicsAfter losing against Mark, Conquest doesn’t die. Instead, Cecil keeps him alive and locked inside a 400-ton block of solid tempered steel.
“He so much as twitches and this place implodes… and as soon as his head heals enough for him to regain consciousness, he’s going to tell me everything about the Viltrum Empire and the threat it poses toward the planet.”
Oh, Cecil, you idiot. Obviously, this doesn’t go to plan. In Issue #68, Conquest wakes up, immediately breaks out of the block (after all, he’s one of Invincible’s strongest characters) and flies into space. We don’t see him again until Issue #70.5 (also known as Invincible Returns), where he reports his failure to Thragg, the grand regent of the empire.
Image ComicsThragg is most displeased with Conquest, given his only purpose is to be an “animal, only content with blood on your teeth… an animal is only useful when it obeys his master.”
However, Thragg gives him another chance; specifically, he orders him to stop Nolan, Allen the Alien, and Mark from assisting the Coalition of Planets against the Viltrum empire.
Conquest & Invincible have a rematch in the comics
Image ComicsThis effectively kickstarts the Viltrumite War arc, with Mark and Oliver leaving Earth for a… considerable time to fight the empire. At the end of Issue #71, their ship is ripped in half by a mysterious projectile – it’s Conquest, Lucan, and another Viltrumite soldier. “Oh, Mark. It’s so good to see you again,” he says.
“Putting it all on the table, my orders are simple: slaughter you and everyone with you. I’m so happy to get another shot at you. I’ll admit I underestimated you the first time. I trust you left the girl at home this time?”
Everyone starts to fight in outer space, with Conquest fighting off Nolan and Oliver as he dukes it out with Mark. “I woke up encased in steel, deep under your planet’s surface. Someone was stupid enough to think they could contain me,” he explains.
Obviously, Mark is furious with Cecil. But he doesn’t have any time to be angry at Cecil – he needs to focus his efforts on Conquest. When Oliver starts to run out of air, he flees to a nearby planet… so Conquest ignores Mark to pursue him.
Does Conquest die?
Image ComicsConquest dies in Invincible Issue #72, although he briefly shows up again later in the comics.
Before Conquest can get to Oliver, Invincible tackles Conquest into the planet’s surface, causing an enormous shockwave on the ground. Conquest takes flight as Mark grips his neck, and he refuses to let go, even as Conquest pummels his torso – to the point his hand goes straight through, just like he did with Atom Eve in Issue #64.
Mark still doesn’t let go, and he chokes Conquest to death. When Nolan and Oliver arrive, Mark is barely alive, whimpering with his innards drooped across Conquest’s corpse.
As Mark recovers, Nolan buries Conquest. “Although he lost his way in his later years, Conquest was the greatest of Viltrumite warriors,” he tells Oliver.
“That demands a certain level of respect, despite his actions. He deserved a proper burial… everything he’s done was in service to the Viltrumite empire. In a way, that made him a greater man than I.”
Don’t worry, Conquest is properly dead. However, he makes a surprise appearance in Issue #108 when Invincible and Robot travel to an alternate dimension to find Angstrom Levy. He asks them to accompany him to the citadel, and that’s pretty much it.
With Season 3 over, check out our breakdown of the show’s soundtrack. You can also find out why Mark’s blue suit is so important, what happens to Powerplex, and if you want to look further ahead, you can read the Invincible comics for free.
In our interview with Robert Kirkman, he also explained why Spawn couldn’t appear in the Invincible War and why there may not be a Rex Splode special anytime soon.
