Episode 4 of Invincible Season 4 was a bit of a detour from the main “Let’s destroy the Viltrum Empire” plot, as Mark took a trip to Hell (yes, literally). Mark was lured to the tomb of Ka-Hor by Riley so that the ancient Egyptian deity could possess his body and go out to explore the world. But Damien pulled Mark into the Underrealm, so Ka-Hor had to turn Riley into his vessel, even though he didn’t like women. Why did Damien need Mark? After being sent to Hell by Cecil, Damien and his family were locked in battle with Volcanikka, who had seized control of Hell from Satan. The Darkbloods were no match for Volcanikka, and Satan was too weak to do anything on his own. So, Damien planned on finding Satan’s lost crown and giving it back to him, thereby restoring some of his lost glory. Damien used Nolan’s blood to summon him, but since he wasn’t on the planet, and Mark was “Nolan’s blood,” he got roped into this mess. Mark didn’t have much of a choice but to help out the Darkbloods and Satan, and while he successfully pulled off the first half of this mission that had been thrust upon him, which was getting the crown, the second half was not as easy, because Volcanikka couldn’t be killed. Mark did manage to wear down Volcanikka and get her to admit defeat, but she promised to return to torment Mark and his kind. After Mark returned to the surface, he thought he’d get some downtime, but that’s when Nolan and Allen arrived to tell him that they needed him to join the Coalition of Planets’ fight against the Viltrum Empire. Well, did Mark “choose to accept” this mission? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Mark Doesn’t Want To Join The Coalition
When Mark met Nolan on Thraxa, he knew that Viltrumites aren’t allowed to mate with species that aren’t as powerful as them, and that they killed the Thraxans because they were much, much weaker than Viltrumites. It was kind of assumed that that was the reason why the Viltrumites wanted to come to Earth and destroy it because, evidently, humans weren’t as strong as Viltrumites. But, in Season 4 episode 5, Mark finally learns that the Viltrumites want to come to Earth not to destroy it, but to breed more half-Viltrumites. Mark’s existence is proof that the Viltrumites don’t have to resort to inbreeding, and they can bring their numbers back to what they were before Thaedus hit them with the Scourge Virus. Right now, there are about 50 pure-blooded Viltrumites out there. We have seen what 1 Viltrumite can do, so we can imagine what 50 of them can do if they go truly crazy. However, Nolan and the Coalition believe that if they use the anti-Viltrumite weapons that Nolan has collected over the years and combine the forces of some of the mightiest fighters in the galaxy, the Viltrumites can be defeated. Mark is hesitant about joining this mission because, after killing Rus, he is dealing with problems of his own; on top of that, Eve’s powers are not working, and Debbie is planning to move in with Paul. So, he wants to stay on Earth and let the Coalition take care of the Viltrumites.
Debbie Gives Nolan an Earful
I suppose Mark knows that he is needed in this fight, and he is aware of the fact that if the Viltrumites aren’t exterminated, they’ll come to Earth one day or the other and destroy everything that he is prioritizing currently again. He is just dragging his feet because of his understandably conflicted feelings about collaborating with his father, who famously betrayed him and the rest of the planet. Eventually though, Mark accepts the proposal to join this world-saving mission, but not before he takes care of some personal stuff. Since Nolan is on Earth, he decides to finally have that talk with Debbie, even though Mark, Eve, and even Allen say that that’s a bad idea. And, well, Nolan’s chat with Debbie goes as poorly as expected. From Nolan’s perspective, his apologies and his promise to dedicate the rest of his life to rectifying his mistakes might seem honest and heartfelt, but from everyone else’s perspective, especially Debbie’s, those words will undoubtedly sound hollow. Even though reprimanding Nolan for everything that he has done is pointless, because it won’t fix anything, Debbie gives him an earful and tells him to get the hell out of her house, and Nolan does so without uttering another word.
Oliver Wants To Join The Fight Against The Viltrumites
Mark arrives home to have a chat about Debbie’s conversation with Nolan and also break the news about his intention to join the Coalition’s fight against the Viltrumites. This is interrupted by Oliver, who, after learning about Mark’s plans, wants to go with him too. Mark and Debbie want Oliver to stay home and “protect Earth,” but Oliver refuses to do so because he thinks he has proven his worth by tackling Conquest and Mark’s evil clones, and he absolutely deserves to be on the team that’ll be fighting the Viltrumites. Mark and Debbie realize that they can’t keep Oliver from doing what he thinks is right, and they accept Oliver’s decision to risk his life along with the rest of the Coalition. Given how this might be the last time Debbie will get to hang out with her sons, she organizes a little dinner party before sending them off to war. After dinner, Eve and Mark have a chat about the future, but she leaves out her pregnancy from the conversation, because she assumes that it’ll overburden Mark’s mind. Meanwhile, Nolan goes off to have a chill-out with Art because he considers Art to be his friend. Art does a pretty good job of pretending that the friendly feeling is mutual, but as soon as the topic of “fixing” Nolan’s suit (which looks horrendous, by the way) comes up, Art says that he doesn’t do business with villains, just heroes. Nolan sees that as his cue to leave, and Art heaves a sigh of relief, because he was probably afraid that Nolan was going to kill him for rejecting his proposal.
The Viltrumites Attack The Venture
Allen goes to recruit Tech Jacket into the Coalition of Planets after she’s done defeating the Walking Dread and gives Zoe (that’s Tech Jacket’s real name) and her father, Edward, the lowdown on the plan to defeat the Viltrumites. Surprisingly enough, Zoe immediately agrees to join their cause, and Edward signs off on that decision too; all this makes Allen emotional, and he gives them a big hug. The following day, Debbie, Eve, and Paul bid goodbye to Mark and Oliver, and they take to the skies to get to the Venture, where Nolan, Allen, and the rest of the crew of the ship are impatiently waiting for them. When the brothers reach the ship, Nolan expresses his displeasure over the plan to involve only one of his half-Viltrumite sons, not both. But Oliver shuts down Nolan, and given how Nolan is on his humiliation ritual arc, he reluctantly accepts Oliver’s entry onto the team. Once that whole family drama comes to an end, Tech Jacket also shows up, who is understandably shocked that Nolan is on the team because she has seen what he did to her planet. With everyone aboard, Telia gives her crew the green signal to fly off to Talescria. Once they are gone, Cecil states that, for the first time in a very long time, the planet is completely Viltrumite-free. Donald wonders if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, and Cecil says that that’s something only time can tell. Going back to the Venture, with the exception of Nolan, everyone seems to be getting along with everyone pretty well. But the overall positive atmosphere suddenly turns dark when the Venture is attacked by Viltrumites, which prompts Mark, Allen, Tech Jacket, Oliver, and Nolan to exit the ship and fight the Viltrumites and their enslaved minions so that the crew of the Venture can get away.
Mark and Conquest Have a Rematch
After getting severely injured at the hands of Conquest, Oliver heads to a nearby planet to rest up and breathe (he is half-Thraxan, so he can’t hold his breath for very long periods of time like Viltrumites and other half-Viltrumites can). Conquest goes after him because he knows that, currently, Oliver is Mark and Nolan’s weak spot. Conquest almost swats Oliver like a fly, but Mark tackles him and saves Oliver. Since Conquest didn’t have the dignity to let Oliver catch his breath, Mark grabs Conquest’s neck and states that he’s not going to let him breathe again. I thought that there’s no way that Mark would be able to strangle Conquest to death because Conquest is going to loosen Mark’s grip, and then Mark has to try again and again until Conquest finally gives up and dies. I can’t express how shocked I was when I saw Mark not letting go of Conquest’s neck even once. Conquest disemboweled Mark, and he still kept strangling that monster until he ran out of oxygen. This was one of the most spine-chilling and horrifying moments in the show, and even though it almost made me puke, it fleshed out what Mark and Conquest were made of. In those gut-wrenching moments, we learned that Conquest will keep coming at you until his dying breath, and Mark will go through unimaginable amounts of pain just to make sure that his loved ones aren’t touched by monsters like Conquest. Also, I appreciate the fact that the makers of Invincible aren’t allowing us to get desensitized to violence. I mean, take a pause and think about everything that has happened in this show. Not a lot of time seems to have passed between Mark and Conquest’s last fight and this one, and I assumed that this rematch wouldn’t be as impactful as the first one. Well, I stand corrected, because I was absolutely horrified watching this entire sequence, and Steven Yeun’s gut-wrenching screams are going to ring in my ears for quite some time now.
Conquest Is Finally Dead
In episode 5’s ending, Nolan senses that both Mark and Conquest have been away from the battlefield for quite a while and heads to the planet where they have been fighting with Oliver. They find the mangled body of Mark and the dead body of Conquest. Yeah, I think Conquest is gone for good, but Mark is going to make a return. I mean, the show bears his superhero name. If he dies so soon, what’s going to be the point? The bigger question here is, will he make a full recovery before the Coalition formally goes to war with the Viltrumites? Right now, the surviving crew members are running away to Talescria. As shown in the mid-credits scene, Tech Jacket and Allen are hiding on the Viltrumite ship to avoid getting attacked by the Viltrumites and are probably headed to Viltrum. If they don’t sneak away from the ship without setting off any alarm bells, those two will find themselves getting pummelled to death by Viltrumites on their home planet. As for Mark, Nolan, and Oliver, well, they are stuck on that planet. They are too far away from Earth and Talescria. So, unless there’s life on that planet and those living beings on that planet are civilized enough to have a hospital, then Nolan and Oliver have to resort to some DIY methods to fix Mark, or they have to find some planet nearby that has medical facilities on it. Without Mark, Nolan, Oliver, Tech Jacket, and Allen on his team, I have a feeling that Thaedus will feel compelled to reuse the Scourge Virus and destroy whatever’s left of the Viltrum Empire. What do you think? Let me know in the comments section below.
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