Note: The following story contains spoilers from “Invincible” Season 3 Episode 8.
Conquest’s arrival on “Invincible” was one of the most hotly anticipated moments from fans of the comic book series and it didn’t disappoint.
Season 3 of the Prime Video animated series put Mark Grayson aka Invincible (Steven Yeun) through the ringer and the final episodes were the most brutal. Clean-up from the aptly named Invincible War – where Earth was beset by a multiversal army of morally questionable Invincibles – had barely begun before Conquest showed up. His arrival was teased at the end of Season 2 and comic fans knew to expect one of the bloodiest fights of the show when he did.
That’s exactly what we got.
Below, Invincible and Conquest’s brutal fight is broken down and those final teases for Season 4 are explained.
Invincible vs. Conquest
“Stand ready for my arrival, worm.”
Mark barely had time to catch his breath after dealing with an army of multiversal hims before Earth was visited by another Viltrumite – the brutal Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Fans of the comic book had been nervously waiting for this match-up for years and it was as bloody as expected.
The majority of the episode takes place as Invincible and Conquest duke it out across the planet while leaving destruction in their wake. Despite a decent showing out of the gate, Invincible quickly learned Conquest was playing with him. Once the gloves came off, Mark took a beating unlike any he’s experienced since he fought his dad in Season 1.
Oliver (Christian Convery) watches his brother in over his head and when he says he’s going to help the situation is so dire that Debbie (Sandra Oh) allows it. Once Oliver shows up it’s clear he’s barely a distraction to Conquest and Mark knows it. He tries to keep his brother out of the fight but gets beaten back long enough for Conquest to lay a bloody beating on young Oliver.
This triggers Invincible – just like his opponent hoped – and he rallies, beating Conquest out into a more remote area before his leg is hit with enough force to snap his femur. Luckily, with Mark injured Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs) shows up to the fight despite already being injured from battling in The Invincible War days earlier.
Eve uses her power of matter manipulation to to slow Conquest down but his strength tires her out and he lands two fatal blows. A first punch rips half her face off and a second punches clear through center mass. Eve falls to the ground with entrails trailing behind her as an injured Mark screams out and flies to her.
He’s with her as she dies before turning back to Conquest and continuing the fight in a blind rage. While things continue to go downhill for Mark, Eve’s true power kicks in. When she was a child, there were blocks put on her matter manipulation powers that stopped her from consciously messing with humans but with her body beaten to near death those blocks were overridden and she unconsciously built herself a new one.
Seeing Eve’s new power, Mark gets a second wind against Conquest. He finally gets the upperhand against the Viltrumite and brings the brute to the ground. Unfortunately, both of Mark’s arms and legs are broken so to finish Conquest off Mark has to brutally and repeatedly slam his head against Conquest’s until the invader is dead.
He pulls himself over to Eve to make sure she’s alright before passing out.
Return of the Sequids
While Invincible’s fight with Conquest claimed most of the episode, there were a few teases. The first revealed that the sequids from Mars were still thriving in the sewers of the city. Where there originally was only one – attached to mind-controlled host Rus Livingston – now there are a number of them thriving with hosts of their own.
The sequids are world destroying parasites so it’s likely only a matter of time before they set their sights topside and make a move against Earth – and hopefully find themselves some more powerful hosts.
Conquest’s Fate
After Invincible and Conquest’s battle, Mark, Oliver, and the planet as a whole need to recover. During the recovery, Mark asks Cecil (Walton Goggins) to see Conquest’s body. Cecil obliges and after again confirming Conquest’s defeat he tells Cecil to burn the body because given enough time and if not properly disposed of Viltrumites can regenerate.
Most of Season 3 saw Mark and Cecil at extreme odds with one another but the pair seemed to land on a semi-truce following Conquest and The Invincible War. Unfortunetly it’s not likely to last, because in Cecil’s endless pursuit of knowledge to protect Earth from bigger threats he decided to encase Conquest’s body in a shocking amount of titanium and let him regenerate.
His plan: Eventually question the Viltrumite about his people’s plan for the planet. No chance that goes poorly.
