Invincible (comics)

Invincible (Mark Grayson) is an Image Comics Universe superhero. Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker and illustrated by artist Ryan Ottley, Invincible first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 (November 2002), before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as the premier title in Image's then-new superhero line.

Invincible
Cover of Invincible 52, art by Ryan Ottley
Publication information
PublisherSkybound Entertainment
(Image Comics)
First appearanceTech Jacket #1 (Nov. 2002)
(first preview in comics – 6 page "Invincible #1" preview. Pre-dates Savage Dragon #102 and Masters of the Universe #1)

Noble Causes: Family Secrets #3 (Nov. 2002)
(cameo appearance – in variant cover and in one panel)

Invincible #1 (Jan. 2003)
(full appearance in own title)
Created byRobert Kirkman
Cory Walker
Voiced byPatrick Cavanaugh
Steven Yeun
In-story information
Full nameMarkus Sebastian "Mark" Grayson
SpeciesHalf-Viltrumite/Half-Human
Place of originEarth
Team affiliationsThe Pact
Teen Team
Guardians of the Globe
AbilitiesHe possesses the same powers as his father Omni-Man (Super-strength, speed, invulnerability, flight, decelerated aging, enhanced healing factor, etc.)

Invincible is the son of Omni-Man, an extraterrestrial superhero of the Viltrumite race. Invincible inherited his father's superhuman strength and ability to fly and he has sworn to protect the Earth. As a teenager he had trouble adjusting to his newfound powers and coping with the reality of his origins.

Publication history
Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker at Lucca Comics & Games 2018

While Robert Kirkman has been the sole writer of the series, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley have contributed the art. Cory Walker co-created the book and provided art from #1 to #7, as well as #127–132. Ryan Ottley assumed art duties with issue #8 and has been pencilling since. Kirkman has provided back-up space for a few aspiring comic creators, most notably Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde. The book is notorious for being graphically violent despite its colorful nature and visuals.

In August 2016, Robert Kirkman announced that the series would end late in 2017 with issue #144, with Ryan Ottley "coming back to the book" for the final twelve-issue sequence.[1] Issue #144, which was twice the size of a standard issue, released 14 February 2018.[2]

Character biography and synopsis

Markus Sebastian Grayson is the son of novelist Nolan Grayson, who is the superhero Omni-Man, and Deborah Grayson. When Mark was seven years old, Nolan reveals that he is a member of a race of peaceful aliens called Viltrumites, that he had come to Earth to help mankind and that one day Mark would develop super powers.[3] Mark's powers manifest at the age of 17 while he is working at his part-time job.[4] His powers, which increase with use, are: super strength, speed, flight, some invulnerability and fast healing.

Mark meets a young superhero group, the Teen Team (Robot, Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, and Atom Eve), and realizes that he goes to school with Eve.[3] They discover that one of their teachers has been turning students into bombs and has also turned himself into a bomb; Mark flies him to Antarctica before he detonates.[5] Nolan asks Mark to fight a superpowered alien who visits Earth periodically, but Mark decides to talk to the alien, named Allen, who explains that his job is to assess the strength of planets' superpowered protectors. Mark explains to Allen that he had been coming to Earth by mistake for decades.[6]

While Mark and his friend William visit the university they plan to attend, it is attacked by a cyborg, which leads to William finding out about Mark's powers.[7] Shortly afterwards, the Guardians of the Globe are attacked and killed by Omni-Man[8] as part of the Viltrum plan to take over the Earth.

A new Guardians of the Globe is formed, but Mark declines membership; he begins dating Amber Bennett. Meanwhile, the Mauler Twins dig up and revive the Immortal, leader of the Guardians.[9] The Immortal attacks Omni-Man, who kills him again in Mark's presence.[10] Omni-Man reveals that the Viltrumites are actually a warrior race who conquer planets for their Empire, killing anyone who refuses to join. He was sent to Earth as an advance agent and killed the Guardians in preparation for the invasion. Mark, refusing his father's request to join the Viltrumites, tries to fight him[11] but is almost killed before Omni-Man flies off planet in tears.[12] Mark is rescued by the U.S. government and introduced to Cecil Steadman, who is in charge of protecting the planet. Cecil used to inform Omni-Man of potential threats and offers Mark the same deal while financially supporting both his education and family. Allen the Alien returns to tell Mark that Earth is going to be invaded by the Viltrumites.[13]

A man named Angstrom Levy has been traveling between dimensions recruiting his alternate dimension duplicates for a secret project, and enlists the help of the Mauler Twins.[14] Mark is sent to Mars with a group of astronauts to keep them safe, but they are captured and almost executed by native Martians, who are trying to keep a slave race of aliens called Sequids from rising up. The astronauts and Mark escape, but one of the astronauts, Rus Livingston, is left behind and replaced by a Martian shape-shifter.[15]

Eve retires from being a superhero and moves to Africa to make better use her powers, while Mark enrolls in college. The campus is attacked by another cyborg, which is revealed to be under the command of a student named D.A. Sinclair.[16] Sinclair tries to turn Mark and William's friend Rick into a cyborg called a Reaniman. Meanwhile, in order to get back together with Amber, Mark tells Amber that he is Invincible.[17] Allen returns to the Coalition of Planets and tells them about Mark, but is then brutally attacked by some Viltrumites.[18]

Angstrom Levy has built a machine to duplicate all of his alternate selves' memories and then transfer those memories into his own brain. When Mark arrives to stop this, the Mauler Twins bring several of their alternate selves to the lab to fight him. Angstrom attempts to stop the machine to save Mark, which leads to a huge explosion. Mark survives, but Angstrom is hideously deformed and driven insane; he blames Invincible and escapes to plan his revenge.[19]

Mark is contacted by an alien disguised as one of Mark's favorite comic book characters, Science Dog, and asked to help save his planet. Mark arrives and finds his father alive.[20] Nolan introduces Mark to his half-brother, whom he had with one of the insect-like native species.[21] When other Viltrumites attack the planet, Nolan and Mark unsuccessfully fight the Viltrumites, who have already killed most of the population;[22] Nolan is captured by the Viltrumites, sparing the planet. The Viltrumites tell Mark that he is in charge of readying Earth for invasion. Nolan tells Mark to read his novels.[23] After Mark helps repair the planet's cities, he returns to Earth with his newly found half-brother.[24] Mark's mother becomes attached to his new half-brother and agrees to raise him.[25]

Angstrom Levy arrives and holds Mark's mother and brother hostage, in order to begin his revenge on Mark.[26] When Mark arrives, Angstrom sends him through various dimensions (including the DC and Marvel Universe) in order to weaken him.[27][28] Mark manages to pull Angstrom into an alternate dimension. Enraged by Levy's treatment of his family, Mark seemingly beats Levy to death.[27] Now stranded on a barren alternate Earth, Mark is rescued by a group of Guardians from 15 years in the future. The future Eve tells him that she loves him and says to tell his Eve how he feels so she can move on.[29] Mark's tailor informs him that Nolan had written science fiction books early in his career. Mark realizes these books have information on how to beat the Viltrumites.[30]

Mark's roommate William tells him that their friend Rick (previously kidnapped by D.A. Sinclair) has gone missing. Several homeless people have disappeared from a park, so William dresses as a homeless person and sleeps on a bench with Mark watching, hoping this will lead them to Rick. When a Reaniman abducts William, Mark chases after but is attacked by three other Reanimen, including Rick.[31] As Sinclair begins operating on William, Mark and the Reanimen burst in. William gets Rick to attack the other Reanimen; Mark breaks Sinclair's jaw, but Cecil comes in and arrests them. Later, Cecil offers Sinclair a job with the government.[32] Mark goes to Africa to tell Eve how he feels, and they kiss.[33]

Mark is called to help fight a Sequid invasion.[34] Using a device built by Robot to stun the Sequids,[35] Mark successfully stops the invasion. He and Amber break up.[36] Mark goes to press conference to talk about his father and his intentions. He then discovers his half-brother, Oliver, can fly.[37] Mark considers quitting college and then meets with Allen to show him his father's books.

Eve learns that Mark broke up with Amber, and asks Mark if they can now date.[38] However, when Mark Mark tells Eve what her future self told him, she becomes upset and leaves. Anissa, a female Viltrumite arrives at that point for an update on Mark's progress in preparing Earth for invasion. When Mark refuses to join the Viltrumites, Anissa attacks him[39] and informs him that a replacement will come soon to take over Earth.[40] Mark begins preparing for the invasion.

Mark flies to Africa to talk with Eve, when Cecil pages him that Doc Seismic is holding all of Earth's superheroes captive. Mark destroys Seismic and many of the monsters, but passes out from exhaustion. Cecil sends Sinclair's Reaniman and Darkwing II (a former superhero turned killer) to rescue the heroes. Mark, enraged that two killers are working for the government, attacks Darkwing, but is stopped by the heroes, who are unaware of Darkwing's criminal activities due to Cecil's coverup. Cecil, thinking Mark is becoming evil, uses the Reanimen to attack him; Mark defeats them but discovers that Cecil has placed something in him to upset his equilibrium. After getting Robot to block the frequency, Mark destroys almost all of the Reanimen. Cecil fires him, and Mark says to stay away from his family. He goes home and tells the story to his mom, brother, and Eve. Eve and Mark go into the backyard, and he tells her that when he thought he was going to die, all he could think of was her; they kiss.

Mark, now a free agent, begins teaching Oliver how to use his powers. Oliver insisting on being called Kid Omni-Man. They fight two super villains, and Oliver makes many rookie mistakes, but Mark forgives him. Back home, Mark hangs out with Eve, and they kiss again, only to be watched by a floating camera sent by the presumed-dead Angstrom Levy.

The Mauler Twins have a new weapon and appear to have taken out the new Guardians of the Globe. They become frustrated while fighting Mark and launch a nuclear missile. Oliver arrives, and Mark takes off after the missile; while he is in space, Oliver kills the Twins. Mark and Oliver argue over the right to kill, with Mark trying to convince Oliver that human life is precious. Mark tells Oliver he is too much like their dad. Oliver asks Mark if he ever thought their father was right, and Mark replies discreetly: sometimes.

Mark is disturbed at what Oliver has done and leaves his date with Eve early, returning home and arguing with Oliver. While on patrol, Mark comes across Titan and says he has not forgiven him for taking over Machine Head's corporation. They fight until a huge dragon attacks Mark. Titan escapes and we see that he is going to start a war with Mr. Liu (the dragon's host) and his gang, which also consists of Multi-Paul (Dupli-Kate's brother). Mark comes across Eve in the sky and tells her he will meet her later. He returns home to talk to Oliver, and he forgives him. Oliver notices an orb in the tree.

Mark and Eve realize they love each other, and sleep together for the first time. Meanwhile, Allen the Alien is in a Viltrumite prison, where Nolan is scheduled to be executed. Allen has become good friends with Nolan and breaks them out of their cells along with Battlebeast. Allen, Nolan, and Battlebeast fight the Viltrumites and eventually escape after Nolan reveals that there are only 50 pure blooded Viltrumites left.

Mark receives a call from Amber and goes to see her. She says her father has died and her new boyfriend Gary is physically abusive. Meanwhile, Oliver is patrolling the city when he comes across a giant robot destroying the city; he is being followed by one of Angstrom Levy's floating orbs. Mark holds Gary over a building by his leg and threatens to kill him if he hurts Amber again. Mark goes to help Oliver, who says that the human inside the suit just wants to get out, and Mark says that they'll talk about it later. Amber, who is happy about what Mark did, tells him she is giving Gary another chance. Later, Mark apologizes to Oliver about not teaching him things. Oliver sees a reflection in the trees and Mark tries to get the orb, but it blows up in his hand. He realizes someone was watching them. He asks Cecil if it is him; Cecil says it was not, but asks if he can help track down a fugitive, Wolf-Man.

Angstrom Levy finally makes his move. Flashbacks show that Mark had not actually killed Angstrom, who had just enough energy to make one last portal to a dimension where a group of aliens heal him of his wounds. After he recovers, he travels to other dimensions and gathers over a dozen evil versions of Invincible. The evil Invincibles launch a massive assault on Earth with the intent on not just causing damage but also ruining Invincible's reputation. Many major cities are destroyed, and Rex-Splode dies when he explodes his own skeleton in order to defeat an evil Invincible. The surviving evil Invincibles revolt against Angstrom, who uses his power to strand them in another dimension. An enraged Mark is ready to kill him, but Angstrom escapes with the loss his arm and returns to the beings that had healed him; due to his failure, however, they inform him he now works for them.

Invincible visits Eve in the hospital while the rest of the super-powered community cleans up after the war. Invincible joins in but blames himself for much of the death and destruction. Cecil invites Invincible, Robot, Brit, Black Samson and Donald (a cyborg) to join the new Guardians of the Globe, with Invincible as the leader, but Mark, still not trusting him, leaves. A Viltrumite named Conquest arrives to remind Invincible of his job of taking over earth. Invincible refuses and the two of them engage in a vicious battle, but Conquest is better trained and dominates the fight. Oliver tries to help but is nearly killed; a still recovering Eve rushes to help, but is killed by Conquest. Mark continues to fight, but is badly injured. Eve's powers somehow restore her to life, and she burns Conquest's skin off. Mark then headbutts the alien repeatedly until he crushes his skull; Mark then collapses.

Invincible awakens in the Pentagon hospital some time later with Eve by his side. He joins the other heroes at Rex's funeral and afterwards visits Oliver in the hospital. Mark then reveals a shocking revelation he had during his fight with Conquest: in order to truly protect Earth, he must kill every villain he encounters from now on.

Allen and Nolan, having escaped from the Viltrumite prison, search the universe for things that can hurt the Viltrumites. It is revealed that a virus produced by rebels of the Viltrumite empire was successful in killing over 99.9% of the Viltrumites. Their reason for attacking Earth is that human DNA is compatible with Viltrumite; they want to use Earth as a breeding colony. A character from Nolan's novels, the Space Racer, is revealed to be alive; he is found by Nolan and Allen, who convince him to join the upcoming war.

Back on Earth, Invincible and the rest of the superheroes finish reconstructing the cities of the world. Invincible is attacked by a new villain called Dinosaurus, whom he is about to kill when he is interrupted by the Guardians. Later at Eve's house, he explains what happened; after an awkward dinner with her parents, Mark and Eve talk about their new business providing superhero services to prisons. Oliver arrives in his new costume; due to his rapid aging he now looks like a teenager and calls himself Young Omni-Man. While this is happening, Conquest, who was secretly kept alive by the government, escapes and flies into space. That night Eve finds out she is pregnant with Mark's child.

The Sequids, who have been hiding in the sewers, commence their attack, led by Rus Livingston. At the same time a nuclear power plant is attacked by an alien woman named Universa. Mark answers the call from the nuclear plant before his mother can tell him about the Sequids. Universa tells Mark she is on Earth for the planet's energy and will not leave until she gets it. After a difficult fight, Invincible manages to get her staff, but Atom Eve sucker punches her. Cecil tells Invincible the Sequids are back; the battle against them seems hopeless, leaving Invincible no option but to kill Rus. Afterward, he returns to his house to tell Eve what he did and how bad he feels. Later, Invincible helps Titan battle his old master, but almost kills Titan in the process.

The Viltrumite War

Omni-Man returns to Earth with Allen the Alien and tells Mark that war is upon them. Mark is forced to leave with his father, Oliver and Tech Jacket to fight the Viltrumite Empire. During the first skirmish of the war, Invincible is nearly disemboweled by Conquest, but manages to strangle him. Mark's injuries require an extended ten-month recovery, during which time the Viltrumite Empire regroups for their last stand. After a heated fight, in which Oliver is grievously injured and the Viltrumite home-planet destroyed, Mark falls into a two weeks coma. When he awakes, he is informed that the surviving Viltrumites have completely disappeared; Mark deduces that they have gone to Earth. The Viltrumites, realizing that a direct conflict could potentially kill off their race, bargain a truce with Invincible and Omni-Man. Instead of fighting, they will hide on Earth as neutral observers, holding off any attempt at conquest and restoration of their Empire for at least a thousand years. During this time, they will breed with humans and raise the Human/Viltrumite hybrids in secret. Despite the danger this poses, Invincible and Omni-Man realize this plan is safer than fighting a bloody war on Earth, and they accept the truce, ending the Viltrumite War.

Post Viltrumite War

Omni-man and Mrs. Grayson decide to visit Oliver and attempt to fix their broken marriage. They leave the house in Mark's hands for six months, during which time Eve moves in and Mark returns to his superhero role. Eve reveals that she had an abortion while Mark was fighting off-world.[41] The two embrace, seemingly moving on with their lives. Soon, Dinosaurus emerges again, planting a bomb in Las Vegas; when Invincible arrives to disable the bomb, Dinosaurus reveals that there are multiple charges placed in the city. The bombs detonate, destroying the city, leaving it as a sheet of glass.[42]

Strongly affected by the Las Vegas incident, Invincible starts to change his outlook on how he helps people. He is attacked by Powerplex, but instead of fighting, he convinces Powerplex to end their pointless conflict. Mark tries this new strategy with Universa: he gets to know her, gives her the energy her planet needs, and sets her free. Cecil brings Mark to the white room, showing him the alternate reality Invincible Reanimen. Mark admits that they can help for the greater good.

Mark later sees the good the government is doing by using the glassed Vegas as a source of solar energy. He realizes that Dinosaurus was right about his Las Vegas plan. With this, Mark visits Eve and asks her to trust him and to love him no matter what. Invincible frees Dinosaurus in hopes of becoming partners and of helping the world for the greater good, while curtailing Dinosaurus' violent methods. In doing so, Mark is tagged by Cecil as an enemy of the state.

While Allen and Kid Omniman are en route to earth to deliver the Scourge Virus into Earth's atmosphere, Dinosaurus and Invincible lead coordinated plans to help fix the world. During a brief argument with Eve about his new methods, Mark is informed by Cecil of Allen the Alien's return. Oliver and Allen reveal their plan to Mark, who, angry that they do not care that it endangers human life, disavows their plan and attacks them. During the scuffle, Viltrumite Regent Thragg enters the scene, vowing to help Invincible against his assailants. A standoff is reached until the Guardians of the Globe attack, leading Oliver to take the Scourge Virus to Earth and release it. When Mark tries to stop him, the virus is released on Mark point blank; infected, Mark is taken to Thragg's ship on the Moon to be treated. It is revealed by Thragg's scientists that Mark and Nolan are part of the original bloodline of the Viltrumite King. Knowing he could never have a traitor taking over his role, Thragg decides to secretly kill Mark; however, Dinosaurus steps in and fights him, almost getting killed in the process, and uses timed explosions to escape with Mark to his secret base on Earth.

Mark soon learns that he has lost his powers (temporarily). In the meantime, Robot, has taken the name "Rex", reflects on the centuries he spent with Monster Girl in an alien dimension. Previously, it was believed that they had only been gone a decade when in fact time, relative to our dimension, moved much faster there. Robot and Monster Girl orchestrated a revolution on the alien world in that dimension that had been periodically invading Earth in the hopes of changing their society.

The effects of living in the alternate dimension has changed them greatly. Using their punishment of rebuilding their fallen capital, Robot and Monster Girl were to be able to gain the respect of the people and possible rebels, and use their time there effectively. Slow amassing power and influence, Robot and Monster Girl were able to gain control and become the leader of the planet. With power struggles constantly fighting back, Robot becomes a vicious tyrant who wants to eliminate the Zaxal Royal Family. Monster Girl (in male Monster form) has a brief affair with one of the princesses, and Robot is overthrown and banished for a brief time. When he is finally freed, Monster Girl tells him of her infidelity, and they decide it is best to return home.

Following them, a Flaxan invasion force attacks. Robot says this is impossible, as their legacy insured there would be no more invasions. As Mark sits helplessly without his powers, the Guardians of the Globe must defeat a more advanced invasion from the Flaxans. It is revealed the leader of the Flaxan invasion force is none other than Monster Girl's illegitimate child, who was born and raised after they returned to Earth. Monster Girl's son seeks revenge on the parents who abandoned him. Robot is able to get control of the situation and quell the invasion, and Monster Girl defeats her son and has him imprisoned, swearing she did not know he survived.

Dinosaurus's new plan is revealed when Mark is finished healing and is now unable to stop him. Dinosaurus has placed strange devices all over the world, and the Guardians of the Globe assume they are explosives. It is revealed that the devices are seismic in nature, and cause massive earthquakes in order to raise the water level and kill millions of people. Dinosaurus believes the only way to save the planet is to cut down on the population, so that all natural resources are used up much more slowly. While Robot and the Guardians of the Globe rescue survivors and build an artificial moon to fix the tides, Invincible fights Dinosaurus on television and is killed. It is revealed to be a very lifelike clone, and the real Dinosaurus offers Mark the chance to now work under the guise of being killed. Invincible is able to convince Dinosaurus that he could have been wrong, and maybe they could have found another way. Dinosaurus accepts this, and says Invincible must kill him before he tries to do something like this again, which Invincible does. As penance, Invincible is not given jail time for his compliance, but must now work for Cecil again.

Robot is outraged by the leniency of Mark's punishment, and is working on several hidden projects that he has built in the new moon base that corrects Earth's new tides. At a restaurant, he chews out a waiter and reveals to Monster Girl that he is having trouble re-adjusting to civilian life, since he was a ruler in the Flaxan universe.

Nolan and Debbie have moved out of their Earth home and are set up on a moon base, so that Nolan can keep an eye on the Viltrumites. He is also not allowed on Earth because of his past crimes. Thragg attacks Nolan outright, trying to kill him on the moon. The Viltrimites overhear Thragg talking about killing the rightful heir to the Viltrum empire, because Thragg believes he has earned the right to be ruler. The Viltrimites stop Thragg and are about to execute him, but Nolan stops them and has him imprisoned instead.

Meanwhile, Angstrom Levy discovers that Invincible is alive, and that the footage he saw earlier was fake. Planning instant revenge, he targets a pregnant Eve at the Grayson residence, while building a crib. A recent superhero doctor has informed them that Eve cannot use her powers while pregnant, or else they will sap the baby's atoms first and kill it. Angstrom talks about his sweet revenge, until Eve tells him that she doesn't wish harm upon her enemies and it works out for her because she never holds grudges or seeks revenge.

Invincible arrives and Angstrom teleports him to the barren world, where the alternate Invincibles have resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. A demented Invincible clone realizes Mark is not a hallucination, and attempts to kill and eat him. The mohawk wearing Invincible teams up with Mark in order to kill the deranged Invincible, and go back to Earth when Angstrom is convinced that Mark is not responsible for his damaged state.

Angstrom makes peace with Mark and Eve, and offers the last remaining Invincible a trip to his world. The mohawk Invincible tackles Angstrom and kidnaps him. Mark is still distressed by this, as he wants a guarantee that Levy is gone, and will not try to attack Eve again. Getting help from Robot, they are able to copy the same frequency and enter the alternate Earth.

Nolan meets with Thragg and lets him go. Nolan chooses exile, and says he wants Thragg to live to see how Nolan and the Viltrumites will peacefully co-exist with the humans. Thragg leaves, but Allen summons Battle Beast and sends him on a mission to kill Thragg.

As soon as Robot and Invincible arrive in the alternate universe, an alternate Conquest takes them to the throne room, where Mohawk Invincible greets them. He takes them to the dungeon, and shows Angstrom Levy upside down and tortured. Mohawk Invincible wants to harness Levy's power and use it to conquer other realities. Robot then murders the Mohawk Invincible with a bomb that works its way down the throat, and decapitates Angstrom Levy. Robot leaves Mark stranded in this alternate Earth, stating that he wants to take over the current Earth and become its new ruler. He wanted Mark to rule alongside him, but saw how easily one Invincible can conquer an entire planet. Mark is left in the basement dungeon with the dead bodies. While left in dismay that Robot betrayed him, Invincible proceeds to think of a plan before anyone arrives. General Kragg is approaching the door and Invincible using his superhuman speed to make it seem as if the alternate reality Invincible didn't die. He rips off parts of his hair and switches costumes with alternate Invincible's body.

Pretending to be Mohawk Invincible, Mark is able to blame Angstrom Levy's death as an attack from the alternate versions of Robot and himself. After allaying all suspicions, Mark finds that universe's deformed version of Robot underneath a bridge, and is able to convince him to help. Robot explains that he can find the same dimensions signal, but he wants something in return. Mark must track down the alternate Mauler twins, and discovers they are enemies with Mohawk Invincible. Convincing him that he has changed, Mark gets the remaining alternate Mauler Twin to build a machine to clone Mark's body, and transfer the deformed Robot into it so he can be the new emperor of that universe. The Viltrumites get suspicious, but Mark is able to complete the transfer and escape the dimension.

After finding his own dimension, Eve breaks up with Mark. She simply says that their baby cannot live in such a chaotic world, with the baby's father being so unreliable. At this point, Mark has been gone for five months and Rex (Robot) has told everyone that Invincible was killed.

Before Mark can get to Globe HQ, Anissa attacks him and intends to mate with him. She refuses to mate with any of the Earthlings, and after a struggle she rapes Mark by force. A bit shaken, Mark is given clothes by a passing farmer and continues.

Back at the Globe HQ, Mark tells Cecil about everything, and Rex simply denies it all. When Cecil says he will look into it, Rex makes his move. He slits Cecil's throat and kills him on the spot, and sends out his newly powered drones to kill all who would oppose him. Mark has trouble fighting the new drones, as when they are hit they emit a sound frequency which hurts Viltrumites. After a vicious killing spree, Rex kills several supporting heroes and villains and goes after Eve. During a fight in Mark's house, one of the drones rips Eve's leg off. Mark takes her to his father to save her life.

Rex reveals his plan to Monster Girl. He would rather beg for forgiveness than permission, and a paranoid superhero tries to take Rex's life. When Monster Girl tips her hand and realizes Monax was right about Rex's megalomania, Rex reveals that he tried to kill the Zaxal that Monster Girl was with. Rex then has his drones throw Monster Girl out into space to die.

Brit and the remaining heroes are gathered to regroup and plan, but Bulletproof has betrayed them and they are taken prisoner. Eve has given birth to a baby girl, and is given a prosthetic leg. She forgives Mark and they get back together.

On the moon, Nolan hears out Rex's plan via one of his drones. He intends to turn Earth into a utopia, and doesn't want to clash with the Viltrumites. The ensuing battle would lead to a loss of life, and Rex is able to sway Nolan into not fighting back. Rex also goes to the President in person and has earned favour with the administration.

Mark finds Rex at his lair, but Rex has too many drones. He begs Mark not to fight back, as he does not want to kill him. Mark decides he can't do it, and flies home to Eve. Mark states that Rex has won, as Rex reminisces about the old times, and realizes he is truly alone in his ambitious endeavours.

Leaving Earth

Mark heads to William and Rick's dorm, and William tells Mark all the good things that have been happening since Rex's takeover. After, Mark takes Eve to her parents' house and they have dinner and introduce them to their daughter. The next day, Mark and Eve go to funerals of Black Samson, Knock-Out and Kid Thor, and Cecil's. Mark flies in the sky, only to be interrupted by the Immortal. The Immortal asks for Mark's help in stopping Rex. Mark goes on to say that Rex is doing the right thing, logically, no matter how evil it may seem. The Immortal points out that the world doesn't make sense, it never has, and it needs to stay that way. Touched by his word, Mark asks his father for help again. Nolan refuses again. Mark looks behind him and notices that Anissa is there. He grabs her throat and tells her to back off. Anissa tells him that she is enjoying this and says that it makes her want to “speed up their next encounter.”

Mark lets her go and goes back to his house. Mark starts to daydream, but Eve gets his attention. He realizes that he won't be able stand aside and let Rex take over, but also takes into account that he is a father now. He suggests that they leave Earth instead so their child won't lose their father.[109] Mark heads to the comic stores and buys some comics for the last time. He notices Amber Bennett, happy with another man. He smiles and leaves to find Rampage attacking. He saves the people in the vicinity and Rex's drones intervene. Rex attempts to reason with Mark and asks him to work with him. Mark flies off and meets D.A. Sinclair unexpectedly. Sinclair tells Mark that Rex isn't popular with the Global Defense Agency, and they might be able to fight Rex.

Mark heads to see The Immortal and Dupli-Kate at a safe-house. Believing Mark and Eve were aiding them, The Immortal gets into an argument with Mark. Mark and Eve leave to go see a movie with William and Rick. That night, Eve attempts to seduce Mark, but Mark refuses, still guilty over what happened with Anissa. The next day, Mark goes to eat with Art and Nolan. Afterwards, Mark says his goodbye to Nolan and goes to the moon to see his mother. Mark says his goodbye to his mother, and goes with Eve to the transport ship. Upon seeing Earth while departing it, Eve decides to give their daughter a name, Terra (Latin for Earth). Mark agrees to it, saying it's a beautiful name, making another step to fatherhood.

Parenthood

Mark, Eve, and Terra arrive in Talescria. The trio is greeted by Allen, with two bodyguards beside him. Allen gets a closer look at Terra, commenting that she is cute. Terra punches Allen's eye and his bodyguards attempt to intervene. Eve puts up a force-field, but Allen stops his men from attacking first. Allen remembers that he has duty to attend to, and that someone else wants to meet them. Oliver arrives on the scene with a new appearance, and being much older. Oliver offers to cook dinner with his girlfriend. Allen leads Eve and Mark to their new house, and then leaves to resume his duties. While Eve changes Terra's diaper, Mark goes to ask Eve where to put her clothes. Afterwards, the two fall asleep with Terra. Eve wakes up to put Terra in her crib and attempts to get intimate with Mark. Mark panics and flies into a wall. Eve asks Mark if there's something wrong, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Oliver and his girlfriend, Haluma. They bring groceries in to cook dinner.

Mark and Oliver go to talk about Haluma. Oliver comments to Mark that her lobster-like appearance may seem strange, but that's what he's attracted to. Mark comments that he's happy for him. The four sit down for dinner and Oliver asks Mark to try the food. Mark takes a bite, surprised at how much he enjoys it. After dinner, an exhausted Mark falls asleep on the couch. The next morning, Mark goes to the bathroom to defecate what he ate. Eve knocks on the door and asks him if he's okay. Mark attempts to flush, but to no avail. Eve arrives with Mark, believing he broke something. Eve finds a button on the side and flushes it down. Mark heads to a window and Eve follows him. She holds his hand and they kiss. As they get intimate, Mark begins to cry, and a worried Eve wonders what's wrong again. Mark sits down and, with enough persistence from Eve, finally reveals that Anissa raped him. Mark goes on to say that it happened after Eve broke up with him.

Eve attempts to comfort him but Mark pushes her away. Mark goes on to say that he refused her, and him holding back may have allowed it to happen. Mark ponders on the question and Eve begins to cry and leaves to Terra's room. Eve notices that Terra has stopped breathing. Mark and Eve rush her to a nearby hospital. They arrive and are asked to sign paperwork. The doctor arrives and scans Terra, asking what species she is. Eve tells her that she is a Human/Viltrumite hybrid, which makes the doctor want to refuse her treatment. Mark demands that he does it anyway, and the scared doctor complies. They ask to go with him, but the doctor insists that they'll only be in the way. They wait in the lobby and Oliver arrives with Haluma.

Mark begins blaming Haluma's food. After a heated discussion as to the source of Terra's illness, Mark began crying in grief over the thought of losing her. Eve comes back from the emergency room to tell Mark that Terra is fine. The doctor tells them that the food she ingested caused her to be oxidized and since Viltrumites can hold their breath a long time, she didn't need to breathe. However, the doctor said that her not breathing caused the oxygen to not rush to her brain. Mark goes to Allen's office, who asks him if his superhero duties are over. Mark says yes, but Allen says that he must make some form of payments, since it exhausts Coalition funds. Allen remarks that he would let him stay here free of charge, were it up to him. Allen offers him a job as a spy for the Coalition. Mark is hesitant, but accepts. He arrives home and finds Eve cooking. Eve tells him that she must eat Geledarian food in order for Terra to be healthy, since the similarities are close to human food. After cleaning and eating, Eve finally talks to Mark about the Anissa situation. Eve asks that Mark doesn't blame himself about it and that they'll work through it together. Eve attempts to kiss Mark, but Mark backs away. They hear a knock on the door and Allen reveals that he doesn't think Battle Beast (who has been battling Thragg for several days) will win and asks Mark to finish Thragg off while he's weakened.

Mark and Oliver examine the aftermath of the battle between Thragg and Battle Beast on Thraxa. They cannot find either of them, but a local informs them that the flesh of Battle Beast was burned in a massive celebration. They return to their ship and later find Thresha, Battle Beast's girlfriend, and Space Racer floating around in a debris field in space. The two are given medical attention. Thresha breaks out of her stasis field and attacks the members on the ship, in a fit of rage over Battle Beast's death, but is eventually subdued. Mark returns home where he discusses the recent events with Eve. As the two get ready for bed, Eve claims that she wants to do more than just go to bed. She tells him that it's okay if he doesn't want to, but Mark says he wants to try.

Mark is awoken by Terra crying, and he goes to care for her. They spend a lot of time together, with Mark doing fatherly things like feeding her, getting thrown up on, playing with her, and reading to her. Mark tells him how much he cares for her, and that she is the best thing that has ever happened to him. He also tells her that if she comes home drunk, or destroys their vehicle that he will scold her, because that's his job. Eve wakes up to see Mark and Terra having some father-daughter time. Mark suggests they go out to eat and see the world. While walking in the park they see a young alien girl trying to get her "cotha" out of a tree. Mark saves the cotha, and the girl eats it alive. Mark tells himself and Eve that it's an alien planet, and Eve says that it won't let them forget. Mark hopes that Thragg got sucked into a black hole, unknowing of Thragg's actual condition.

Over the next few weeks, Mark spends time with Eve and Terra as they adjust to life on Talescria. Mark and Oliver go on a job for the Coalition and find an illegal Kanslok farm. They fight a creature known as a Rynax. After defeating it, they report back to Allen, who tells them that Thragg has probably killed Space Racer. Mark, Oliver, and the Coalition decide to move in on Space Racer's last known location. When they arrive however, Thragg was gone. They start searching the planet. Mark enters a cave where he finds a creature emitting a blue light. Upon touching it, a flash of light blinds him, and the next thing he realizeds is he was sitting on the toilet, reading Science Dog, the same way he was before he had his powers.

Reboot? (#124 to #126)

Mark progresses through the day that he gained his powers with knowledge of everything that would happen. He approaches Atom Eve and asks her about the Teen Team. She hadn't met him before and was shocked that he knew her secret identity. She drags him to meet with the others. They are all in disbelief that he knew so much about them, yet they had never met him before. Over the next week, he tells them how to win all of their future battles with David Hiles, the invading Flaxans, and the Mauler Twins.

Soon, Nolan notices that Mark seems depressed. He asks Mark what is going on. Mark takes him outside and reveals that he has his powers. Nolan is elated. However, Mark tells him he needs to promise that he truly loved him. Nolan says he does, of course. Then Mark asks him not to turn evil and invade Earth as he was secretly planning to. Nolan becomes angry and immediately attacks Mark. Mark leads him to Utah where he tricks Nolan into smashing into the Guardians of the Globe headquarters. He reveals Nolan's plans to the Guardians and they subdue Nolan before he can kill them. Cecil Stedman soon arrives and brings Nolan back to the Pentagon to restrain him. However, upon waking up, Nolan pleads that he was sorry, and that he felt regret for what he had done.

Later, Mark continues to save countless lives by knowing when the bad guys would strike and how. He saves Eve several times, but has to keep his distance as she is still dating Rex in the present timeline. One night Mark is once again approached by the mysterious entity. It offers him a chance to stay there and save lives, or return home. He decides to return home, as he can't bear to be away from his daughter. The entity is confused that he would trade countless lives for one, but Mark confirms his decision. Mark is brought back to his original timeline.

The New Status Quo

Mark learns that five years have passed since he experienced the "reboot". He flies back to Talescria, and discovers that Terra is now a small child instead of a toddler. Mark begins to weep about having lost precious time with his daughter, and asks for her forgiveness. She forgives him and they embrace. A sad Eve embraces him too. After putting Terra to bed, Mark and Eve discuss what happened during Mark's venture in time. He cries as he says that the many lives he saved are lost due to him choosing his daughter over them. Eve comforts him. They take Terra to school, and later they go to meet Allen. Allen embraces Mark and is joyous to see him. Mark asks about Oliver, and Allen says that he is fine. Allen asks for Mark's help again to stop Thragg and Mark blatantly refuses. At a party at Allen's house Mark watches the sky while others are mingling. Oliver asks how he is doing with Mark not recognizing him at first. Mark starts to cry and Oliver comforts him. The next day, Mark and Eve go on vacation with Mark being happy to have his family back. They arrive and Eve reveals that she was seeing someone while Mark was gone.

On Talescria Allen thwarts an assassination attempt, but is injured in the process.

While talking with Eve about it, he says that he understands. Later, he tries to take Terra flying, but she gets scared. Mark later reads Terra a story. After they relax throughout the day, Mark and Eve think about what's happening on Earth since they haven't heard from Nolan in a while. They later visit Allen in the hospital after his attempted assassination. Later, Mark, Eve, and Terra visit Nolan and Debbie on the Moon, where Mark learns that Nolan and Rex have become friends. Anissa, having heard that Mark is back, tries to talk with him, but gets attacked by Eve and sent away by Nolan. Mark tells Eve later that he doesn't want his parents to know what she did to him.

Mark briefly goes to Earth where he and his father meet up with Rex. Rex tells Mark all the good he has accomplished in the last five years, and how everyone but Monster Girl and Monax are on his side. Rex has even managed to sway some villains, such as the Mauler Twins, by just giving them what they want, if their desires are reasonable enough. Mark talks to his father privately in outer space, where he says that he still cannot trust Rex after everything he's done. Nolan tries to convince Mark that Rex's leadership is a good thing, but to no avail. After saying goodbye to his parents on the Moon, Mark and his family leave. Mark reflects on how strange his life has been, which Eve misinterprets as him passing judgement on her affair with Kubian. Mark apologizes, even though Eve says that she should apologize because she was the one who did something wrong. When they get back to their new home planet, Mark asks Eve if she wouldn't mind hiding out there forever.

Mark and his family are then attacked by Onaan and Ursaal, two of Thragg's new Thraxan-Viltrumite children and the only documented pair of Viltrumite twins. Onaan threatens Terra, so Mark attacks him, while Eve takes off with their daughter. Mark then sees them being attacked by Ursaal, so he quickly takes down Onaan and flies to punch out the sister. Eve convinces Mark to take Terra as he can fly faster. Mark asks Terra to be brave while they fly very fast to get away from Onaan. Terra starts to have trouble breathing, so Mark is forced to slow down and fight Onaan. Onaan manages to get Terra away from Mark and drops her. Terra discovers she can fly.

After Terra falls out of sight, Mark manages to break away from Onaan and finds Eve fighting Ursaal. Mark knocks her into the ground, and Eve tells Mark that she thinks Terra is still alive. They manage to capture Onaan and find Terra next to Oliver's dead body and Thragg, who has just murdered Oliver. Mark asks Thragg to let her go, and Thragg calls his bluff, saying heroes don't kill. Mark surprises Thragg by killing Onaan instantly, and in a blind fury Thragg rips Mark in half. Ursaal returns to severely injure Eve, before Thragg tells his daughter to let them die slowly. Once the two fly away, Eve uses her powers to heal both herself and Mark. Mark sees Oliver's dead body and changes his mind, saying he wants to defeat Thragg once and for all, and Eve agrees with him.

Supporting cast

Non-superpowered
  • Debbie Grayson: Mark's mother, adopted mother of Oliver Grayson.
  • Amber Justine Bennett: Mark's ex-girlfriend.
  • William Francis Clockwell: Mark's roommate and best friend.
  • Cecil Stedman: Government liaison and head of the clandestine Global Defense Agency.
  • Donald Ferguson: Cecil's assistant, Guardians of the Globe contact, and android.
  • Art Rosenbaum: Tailor of superhero costumes and family friend of the Graysons.
  • Rick Sheridan: Mark and William's classmate at Upstate University, turned into one of the Reanimen.
  • B.N. Winslow: Mark and William's principal at Reginald Vel Johnson High School, and later dean at Upstate College.

Superheroes
  • Mark Grayson: A 17-year-old high school student who becomes the superhero Invincible.
  • Lord Argall- The former king of the Viltrumites prior to his death and the father of Omni-Man and grand father of Invincible and Oliver Grayson.
  • Omni-Man: Mark's father Nolan, formerly the greatest super-hero of Earth.
  • Oliver Grayson: Mark's alien half-brother. The result of a relationship between Nolan and a member of an alien race who have short life spans, growing at a rapidly increased rate compared to humans, though his father's DNA is slowing his aging over time. Although his mother is an insect-like humanoid, he resembles a Viltrumite/human with purple skin (later fades to pink). Taking first the sobriquet of Kid Omni-Man and then Young Omni-Man, he attempts to rehabilitate Omni-Man memories in the general public.
  • Terra Grayson- The daughter of Atom Eve and Mark Grayson who would go on to become the third Invincible.
  • Marcus Murphy- Also known as Marky, he is the son of Mark and Anissa after the latter raped the former. He would go to become Kid Invincible.
  • Thaedus- A peaceful member of the Viltrumites killed by Thragg.
  • Atom Eve: Samantha Eve Wilkins, former classmate of Mark's and member of the Teen Team. Eve was created as a result of a government experiment to create super-beings. Can manipulate all matter, although a mental block has previously stopped her from creating and manipulating living things.
  • Allen the Alien: Previously a Champion Evaluation Officer who worked for the Coalition of Planets. He traveled on a tight schedule and tested the skills of various powered heroes on each planet in order to determine if there is a suitable "champion" to defend that planet. Currently promoted to leader of the Coalition of Planets.
  • The Guardians of the Globe
    • The Immortal: Apparently unkillable leader of the Guardians of the Globe. Currently is married to Dupli-Kate. It's suggested in flashbacks that one of his past identities was in fact Abraham Lincoln. In the present storyline is alive. Revealed to rule the world in the far future, where he is finally killed by Invincible at his own behest.
    • Black Samson: Lost his powers (and with them, his Guardian status) for a while before recovering them very abruptly.
    • Rex Splode: Former member of the Teen Team and the Guardians of the Globe. Sacrificed himself to kill a hostile alternate-dimension Invincible.
    • Dupli-Kate: Former Member of the Teen Team and the Guardians of the Globe. Creates an army of duplicates of herself.
    • Bulletproof: Initially turned down of membership in the Guardians of the Globe, Bulletproof did later join the team and is currently a member. (In a related note, Bulletproof was one of the proposed names for the title character before the series saw print.)
    • Shrinking Ray: Former member of the Guardians of the Globe, now dead.
    • Monster Girl: A girl who was cursed by a gypsy, now able to turn into a large troll like being with super-strength. A side effect is that with each change into Monster-girl, her normal self becomes younger physically. Her boyfriend, Robot, however found a cure for the curse, allowing her to develop normally.
    • The Shapesmith: A Martian, disguised as human astronaut Rus Livingston, who uses his metamorphic powers to change his shape.
    • Darkwing: Formerly Night Boy, the original Darkwing's sidekick. He continued Darkwing's legacy but snapped and started killing criminals until Invincible apprehended him. A reformed Darkwing joined the Guardians of the Globe. He can teleport himself and others via the Shadow-verse using any shadow large enough to envelop him. Dragged by one of the extra-dimensional Invincibles into the Shadow-verse, this new Darkwing is later revealed to be alive and aged from the experience.
  • Fightmaster and Drop Kick: Two time-travelling martial arts masters who stole the Declaration of Independence. From the same era as the future insane Immortal.

Enemies
  • David Hiles: A weapons engineer for a military sanctioned research firm. His son committed suicide which also resulted him getting divorced from his wife. He also shortly thereafter lost his job. He joined the staff of "Reginald Vel Johnson High School", where one of his students was Mark Grayson, the teenage superhero called Invincible.
  • Robot: Former leader of the Teen Team and leader of the Guardians of the Globe until replaced by the Immortal. Not an actual robot, but a drone body controlled by a malformed human living in life-support tank, he cloned a new human body for himself using Rex Splode's DNA with the help of the Mauler twins. Recently became romantically involved with Monster Girl. He later becomes a villain and one of the main antagonists of the series.
  • Mauler Twins: An evil super-strong scientist and his clone, whom both continuously argue as to which is the original. After the original was definitely killed, making them both clones, they switched to arguing which is the original clone. Recently both Mauler twins were killed by Kid Omni-Man; with no one alive to clone them it is uncertain if they will come back.
  • Angstrom Levy: A disfigured genius with the ability to leap across dimensions.
  • The Viltrumite Empire: Invincible and Omni-Man's people.
    • Conquest: An elderly, battle-scarred member of the Viltrumite Empire and Invincible's most powerful enemy. A psychopath who loves to fight and kill.
    • Thragg: A rogue Viltrumite member that seeks vengeance on Omni-man and his family. Arguably one of his archenemies and one of the main antagonists of the series.
    • Anissa: A female Viltrumite that was infatuate with Invincble to the point that she raped him and gave birth to their son Marky.
    • Onnan- One of Thragg's children killed by Invincible.
    • Ursaal- The daughter of Thragg.
    • General Kregg- One of the many members of the Viltrumites
    • Thula- a female member of the Viltrumites.
    • Lucan- A male member of the Viltrumites.
    • Alternative Mark Graysons- Alternative versions of Mark Grayson who are evil
    • Thragg's children: The many children of Thragg.
  • Titan: Titan can encase his body in super-strong, nearly invulnerable rock. Titan first appeared in Capes. Titan was a member of the organized crime group The Order, until Mister Liu revoked his membership.
  • Battle Beast: One of Machine Head's several henchman, a catlike alien. He is later released from imprisonment on the Viltrumite Prison Warship where Allen the Alien and Omni-Man were held, and Allen the Alien used his insatiable lust for battles to coax him into helping in their jailbreak.
  • The Flaxans: Aliens from another dimension, in which time passes at a dramatically faster pace.
  • Machine Head: A crime boss with a robotic head.
  • D.A. Sinclair: A young and reclusive scientist at Upstate University, is the creator of the "Reanimen", robotic zombies intended to be "the soldiers of the future". Was last seen working on building reanimen using the corpses of the extra-dimensional Invincibles.
  • Doc Seismic: A villain with special gauntlets that enable him to induce earthquakes. Also controls an army of lava men and other subterranean monsters.
  • Rus Livingston: An astronaut accidentally left on Mars, he's been attacked and made a host of the psychic Sequids.
  • The Lizard League: A group of lizard-themed terrorists, they are parodies of fictional reptile based villain groups The Serpent Society, HYDRA and Cobra. The Lizard League consisted of King Lizard, Komodo Dragon, Salamander, and Iguana, along with an army of human followers; their secret headquarters lies in the Florida Everglades and bears a striking resemblance to a Cobra Terror Drome. King Lizard is the only member of the Lizard League to currently be alive.
  • Furnace: A villain with a massive steam-powered iron suit armed with dual flame-throwers and jets. He is actually a man made entirely of liquid heat from which the suit earns its power.
  • Magnattack: A villain for hire with the ability to apparently push metal objects away from him, hence his massive armor plated suit.
  • Kursk: A Russian villain for hire who can electrify single targets at a time. He was hired by Machine Head to deal with Titan, but was quickly defeated by the Guardians of the Globe.
  • Tether Tyrant: A freelance villain with a vest which houses elastic appendages which can pull and throw victims around. Later merged with the sentient alien vest.
  • Magmaniac: A freelance villain who is part lava.
  • Master Mind: A criminal with the ability to mentally control the bodies of large groups of people. Previously seen in the pages of Brit.
  • Bi-Plane: An age-old villain who believes in using old-fashioned technology for his attacks. Dead.
  • The Elephant: A small-time supervillain that has been described in-story as a "lame Rhino rip-off".
  • Isotope: A teleporting criminal, Titan's lieutenant.
  • Giant: An eight-year-old boy who was pulled into another dimension where he transformed by a sorcerer into gigantic orange-red cyclops. He became a king in the other dimension until he was teleported back by one of his enemies.
  • Multi-Paul: Dupli-Kate's Brother, and a member of the criminal organization called the Order. He shares Kate's self-duplicating power.
  • Mister Liu: Mister Liu is an elderly Asian cyborg and high-ranking member of the criminal organization called the Order. He can project his soul out of his body; which takes the form of a giant oriental dragon.
  • Dinosaurus- A mutant Dinosaur man
Several of Kirkman's superheroes.
Cover art by Ryan Ottley.

In 2003 and 2004, Image and Robert Kirkman published several other superhero series: Tech Jacket pencilled in a manga style by E. J. Su (cancelled at #6), the 3-issue Capes Inc. series drawn by Mark Englert and three oneshots starring Brit, the first two with artwork from Tony Moore and the third with artwork by Cliff Rathburn.

In 2007, Brit was launched as an ongoing full-color series written by Bruce Brown, with artwork by Cliff Rathburn. The series is overseen and edited by Robert Kirkman. In late 2007, a two issue mini-series starring Atom Eve was released.

Tech Jacket was first collected as a digest-sized, black and white graphic novel and later reissued in regular sized, full color and a cover scheme similar to Kirkman's other trade paper backs. Capes was collected as a trade paperback in summer 2007, and the three Brit one-shots were colored by Val Staples and published as a collection in 2007, as well.

At first shown to barely coexist in the same universe, the characters have since been integrated into Invincible's book. Tech Jacket was an ongoing series that tied into Invincible #27, and the character has been seen in the background of various battles during the series. The characters from Capes have also been supporting characters seen mainly in large superhero battles Invincible participates in, and the series ran as a back-up in the Invincible book starting with #27. Brit has had an even less substantial role, appearing a couple of times in the aforementioned brawls (understandable considering that after the last book Brit was somewhat-retired). In The Astounding Wolf-Man, Art, Invincible's tailor, appeared, designing the title character's costume. Wolf-man has also appeared in Invincible #48 & 49.

Continuity

Invincible, along with Firebreather and other new Image superhero characters, debuted in an issue of The Savage Dragon, and has since appeared with several of the characters in The Pact mini-series. Robert Kirkman wrote a miniseries, Savage Dragon: God War and two Superpatriot mini-series, establishing the friendship between Superpatriot's wife Claire and Invincible's mother in the pages of Invincible #13 and later. The Savage Dragon connection is mostly downplayed and Invincible follows its own continuity, tied mainly with previously mentioned satellite Kirkman characters. Invincible also appeared in the fourth issue of Jay Faerber's Noble Causes, and was seen at the funeral for Captain Dynamo, father of the characters in Faerber's Dynamo 5. Similarly, Invincible #48 features cameo appearances from several Savage Dragon characters, as well as both Dynamo 5, and many of Kirkman's own creations, while an earlier issue featured a funeral for the Guardians of the Globe, at which many Image characters, including Savage Dragon and Jack Staff, were in attendance.

Invincible #60 is a "done-in-one crossover event" with characters such as Spawn and Witchblade making appearances. During the invasion of Invincible's evil counterparts from alternate dimensions, the reader saw all Image heroes, like Spawn, Savage Dragon, Witchblade, Darkness, Firebreather, and Pitt fighting invaders alongside Invincible, the Guardians of the Globe, Brit, and Wolf-Man.[43]

In December 2009, the Image website announced an Image United tie-in one-shot called Image United: Interlude. Shipping in March 2010, Invincible is prominently featured on the teaser cover of the first issue in front of a group of silhouetted characters covered in a classified information label. The website claims, "This March the effects of IMAGE UNITED go global with a glimpse of the crossover's impact on INVINCIBLE and many other Image Comics favorites..."

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

With the exception of volumes 14, 18, 22, 24, and 25, every volume of the Invincible trade paperbacks is named after a television sitcom.

TitleISBNRelease DateCollected Material
Invincible Vol. 1: Family Matters Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-320-1 11/2/03 Invincible #1–4
Invincible Vol. 2: Eight Is Enough Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-347-3 04/28/04 Invincible #5–8
Invincible Vol. 3: Perfect Strangers Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-391-0 12/1/04 Invincible #9–13
Invincible Vol. 4: Head of the Class Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-440-2 04/20/05 Invincible #14–19; Image Comics Summer Special
Invincible Vol. 5: The Facts of Life Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-554-9 11/16/05 Invincible #0, 20–24, 25 (origin stories from the back only)
Invincible Vol. 6: A Different World Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-579-4 06/05/06 Invincible #25–30
Invincible Vol. 7: Three's Company Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-656-1 12/20/06 Invincible #31–35; The Pact #4
Invincible Vol. 8: My Favorite Martian Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-683-9 07/19/07 Invincible #36–41
Invincible Vol. 9: Out of This World Paperback: ISBN 1-58240-827-0 06/18/08 Invincible #42–47
Invincible Vol. 10: Who's the Boss? Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-013-2 05/20/09 Invincible #48–53
Invincible Vol. 11: Happy Days Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-062-0 08/24/09 Invincible #54–59; The Astounding Wolf-Man #11
Invincible Vol. 12: Still Standing Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-166-X 05/26/10 Invincible #60–65
Invincible Vol. 13: Growing Pains Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-251-8 08/25/10 Invincible #66–70; Invincible Returns #1
Invincible Vol. 14: The Viltrumite War Paperback: ISBN 1607063670 04/25/11 Invincible #71–78
Invincible Vol. 15: Get Smart Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-498-7 01/11/12 Invincible #79–84
Invincible Vol. 16: Family Ties Paperback: ISBN 978-1-60706-579-1 07/5/12 Invincible #85–90
Invincible Vol. 17: What's Happening? Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-662-9 01/23/13 Invincible #91–96
Invincible Vol. 18: The Death of Everyone Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-762-5 08/13/13 Invincible #97–102
Invincible Vol. 19: The War at Home Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-856-7 03/11/14 Invincible #103–108
Invincible Vol. 20: Friends Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-856-7 11/12/14 Invincible #109–114
Invincible Vol. 21: Modern Family Paperback: ISBN 1-63215-318-1 06/24/15 Invincible #115–120
Invincible Vol. 22: Reboot? Paperback: ISBN 1-63215-626-1 02/25/16 Invincible #121–126
Invincible Vol. 23: Full House Paperback: ISBN 1-63215-888-4 04/04/17 Invincible #127–132
Invincible Vol. 24: The End of All Things, Part 1 Paperback: ISBN 978-1534303225 09/26/17 Invincible #133–138
Invincible Vol. 25: The End of All Things, Part 2 Paperback: ISBN 978-1534305038 03/27/18 Invincible #139–144
Invincible Compendium Vol. 1 ISBN 1-60706-411-1 08/17/11 Collects #1–47, #0, Invincible story from the Image Comics Summer Special, The Pact #4
Invincible Compendium Vol. 2 ISBN 1-60706-772-2 08/27/13 Collects #48–96, Invincible Returns #1, Astounding Wolf-Man #11
Invincible Compendium Vol. 3 ISBN 1-53430-686-2 07/24/18 Collects #97–144
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve & Rex Splode, Vol. 1 Paperback: ISBN 1-60706-255-0 06/14/10 Invincible Presents: Atom Eve #1–2; Invincible Presents: Atom Eve & Rex Splode #1–3

Hardcovers
Title ISBN Release Date Collected Material
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 1 ISBN 1-58240-500-X 08/3/05 Collects #1–13, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 2 ISBN 1-58240-594-8 06/20/06 Collects #14–24, #0, Free Comic Book Day 2004 story, parts of #25, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 3 ISBN 1-58240-763-0 11/7/07 Collects #25–35, The Pact #4, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 4 ISBN 1-58240-989-7 04/29/09 Collects #36–47, plus extras
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 5 ISBN 1-60706-116-3 01/13/10 Collects #48–59, The Astounding Wolf-Man #11.
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 6 ISBN 1-60706-360-3 04/05/11 Collects #60–70, Invincible Returns #1
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 7 ISBN 1-60706-509-6 02/15/12 Collects #71–84
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 8 ISBN 1-60706-680-7 05/01/13 Collects #85–96
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 9 ISBN 1-63215-032-8 08/19/14 Collects #97–108
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 10 ISBN 1-63215-494-3 12/10/15 Collects #109–120
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 11 ISBN 1-53430-045-7 05/23/17 Collects #121–132
Invincible Ultimate Collection Hardcover Vol. 12 ISBN 1-53430-658-7 05/22/18 Collects #133–144
The Complete Invincible Library Vol.1 ISBN 1-58240-718-5 03/28/07 Collects #1–24, #0, Free Comic Book Day 2004 story, parts of #25, plus extras
The Complete Invincible Library Vol.2 ISBN 1-60706-112-0 11/25/09 Collects #25–47
The Complete Invincible Library Vol.3 ISBN 1-60706-421-9 11/30/11 Collects #48–70

Other collections
  • Invincible also appeared in Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3 #14, which was collected in Marvel Team-Up Volume 3: League of Losers ISBN 0-7851-1946-9. This story occurs "between the pages" of Invincible #33.
  • In November 2006, the Official Handbook to the Invincible Universe was released. This two-issue series told the origins of all of the characters seen in the series so far, and was done in the style of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, including similar covers. The series was collected into a trade paperback in November, 2007.

In other media

Motion comics

The comic has been turned into a motion comic by Gain Enterprises using the Bomb-xx process, and is broadcast on MTV2[44] and downloadable to mobile phones, from iTunes,[45][46] and Amazon.[47]

Cast

Web series
Main article: Invincible (TV series)

On April 4, 2017, it was announced that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg would write, direct and co-produce a film adaptation of the comic for Universal Pictures. It was to be produced by Point Grey Pictures and Skybound Entertainment. Series creator Robert Kirkman was also set to produce the movie, alongside David Alpert and Bryan and Sean Furst.[48]

On June 19, 2018, Amazon Studios announced they had greenlit an adult animated adaptation of the comic series, set to consist of eight hour-long episodes with creator Robert Kirkman to executive produce the series.[49] On January 31, 2019, a full cast list was revealed featuring Steven Yeun and J. K. Simmons as Invincible and Omni-Man respectively, with Rogen ended up being involved as a part of the cast, but he and Goldberg are not set to direct/write/produce the series.[50]

  • In the King of the Hill episode "Behind Closed Doors", Bobby is seen reading a comic entitled Unvincible, whose title and cover art is similar to the first issue of Invincible. Also, in the 13th-season episode "Earthly Girls are Easy", Buck Strickland plays with an Invincible action figure when planning his entrance at the benefit concert.
  • In the film Paul, Simon Pegg can be seen wearing an Invincible shirt, and issues of the comic appear in a comic book shop. According to Robert Kirkman, he, along with Invincible co-creator Cory Walker and current Invincible artist Ryan Ottley, had a cameo in the film as The Big Guy's henchmen.[51]
  • On the 8th episode of Season 6 of The Walking Dead, during the first scene, four Minimates action figures of the characters Invincible, Allen the Alien, Atom Eve and Omni-Man are shown in Sam Anderson's room. Carl and the other kids in Alexandrea periodically read Invincible comic books as well.[52] Robert Kirkman, co-creator of Invincible, is the co-creator of The Walking Dead comic book series that originated the TV series, also acting as executive producer for the show.
gollark: < PotatOS Hypercycle™
gollark: * intriguing
gollark: Also, check out the PotatOS Development Centre.
gollark: Also, it's scalded.
gollark: No, although there is some random dust around the trackpad's edge.

References
  1. Kirkman, Robert (2016-08-17). "Robert Kirkman Brings Invincible To An End". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  2. "This Week's Comics: Invincible #144 & Slots #5 - Skybound". Skybound. 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  3. Invincible #2
  4. Invincible #1
  5. Invincible #4
  6. Invincible #5
  7. Invincible #6
  8. Invincible #7
  9. Invincible #9
  10. Invincible #10
  11. Invincible #11
  12. Invincible #12
  13. Invincible #13
  14. Invincible #16
  15. Invincible #18
  16. Invincible #20
  17. Invincible #22
  18. Invincible #23
  19. Invincible #24
  20. Invincible #25
  21. Invincible #26
  22. Invincible #28
  23. Invincible #29
  24. Invincible #30
  25. Invincible #31
  26. Invincible #32
  27. Invincible #33
  28. Marvel Team-Up #14
  29. Invincible #34
  30. Invincible #35
  31. Invincible #36
  32. Invincible #37
  33. Invincible #38
  34. Invincible #39
  35. Invincible #40
  36. Invincible #41
  37. Invincible #42
  38. Invincible #43
  39. Invincible #44
  40. Invincible #45
  41. Invincible #79
  42. Invincible #80
  43. "Invincible's Done-in-One Crossover". Comic Book Resources. 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  44. mtv (2008-08-27). "Episode 1". MTV. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  45. George Gene Gustines (2008-07-14). "A Comic Book Superhero Is Headed to Small Screens – NYTimes.com". NYTimes/com. Retrieved 2015-05-03.
  46. Archived November 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  47. "Amazon.com: Invincible Season 1". www.amazon.com.
  48. Kit, Borys (4 April 2017). "Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg to Adapt Robert Kirkman Comic 'Invincible' for Universal (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  49. Andreeva, Nellie (June 19, 2018). "Amazon Greenlights 'Invincible' Superhero Animated Series From Robert Kirkman". Deadline. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  50. Petski, Denise (2019-01-31). "'Invincible': Steven Yeun & J.K. Simmons Top Loaded Voice Cast For Robert Kirkman's Animated Amazon Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  51. Kirkman, Robert (August 9, 2009). "Flying out tomorrow to New Mexico..." Twitter (via Echofon). Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  52. Pehanick, Maggie (November 30, 2015). "If You Blinked, You Missed This Easter Egg From The Walking Dead's Winter Finale". Popsugar. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
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