Prime VideoDamien Darkblood just returned in Invincible Season 3 Episode 8, marking a big change from the comics – and Robert Kirkman teased it years ago.
I don’t blame you if you forget Damien Darkblood. That said, he was a key figure in Invincible Season 1, tasked with investigating the murders of the Guardians of the Globe – and quickly becoming suspicious of Omni-Man.
And yet, despite the fact he was right, Cecil sent him back to Hell using a reconstructed version of the Demonius Ex-Mortum; in short, he was banished. Cecil explained that he knew Nolan was responsible, but he needed more time to figure out why he killed them. “I say I’d see you in Hell, but there’s a worse place waiting for you,” Darkblood vowed.
He hasn’t been seen in the show since… until now. He shows up in Season 3 Episode 8’s post-credits scene, setting up a long-awaited storyline – at least in Kirkman’s eyes.
What happens to Damien Darkblood in the comics?
Prime VideoDamien Darkblood isn’t sent back to Hell in the Invincible comics. He’s just… written out of the story after Issue #16.
He’s less of a character in the comics and more a parody of Watchmen’s Rorschach. In Issue #16, he turns up at the Pentagon to talk to Cecil about Omni-Man, and Cecil’s secretary tells him: “Huh? Everyone knows Omni-Man did it. That’s over and done with. You haven’t been watching the news much, have you?”
Prime VideoHe grumbles and walks away, and he’s never seen again – well, that’s not exactly true.
He appears in a tiny panel in Issue #100, reacting to… something (no spoilers, but you can go read it for yourself if you really want to know). He also shows up in three issues of The Astounding Wolf Man and Issue #5 of Guarding the Globe (Cecil asks Brit to fill gaps in the team, Black Samson asks Darkblood, and he says no).
Basically, he doesn’t have another meaningful appearance in the Invincible comics.
Why Robert Kirkman brought Damien Darkblood back
Prime VideoDamien Darkblood’s return (alongside the introduction of a demon looking to reclaim the “infernal throne) is setting up a storyline where Invincible and other characters go to Hell.
In 2020, Robert Kirkman told Cartoonist Kayfabe: “One thing I really regret is I never had an adventure where the superheroes went to Hell. There’s been so many superhero comics where they gotta go fight Mephisto or something, and I just never got around to that.
“The Damien Darkblood character in Invincible was there so I could eventually do a story like that, and I never got around to it.”
Shortly after Season 1’s release, Kirkman also spoke about Darkblood in an interview with Grace Randolph. “I’m really excited about doing new things,” he teased.
“Along the way, I really like the idea of bringing in different storylines that maybe I considered doing in the comics… there’s a really cool Damien Darkblood plot that I had. I’ve always loved the superhero trope of superheroes going to Hell, it happens in Marvel and DC comics all the time.
“We never got round to doing it in Invincible but I’d always planned for there to be some adventure where Invincible has to go to Hell to do something with Damien Darkblood, and we’re hopefully going to be able to do it in the show.”
For more comics spoilers, you can learn what happens to Powerplex, discover Angstrom Levy’s fate, find out if Oliver dies, and if you want to look further ahead, you can read the Invincible comics for free.
You can also keep tabs on the show’s soundtrack and find out why Mark’s blue suit is so important. 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.
