Invincible S3 Ep 8 Review

If everyone thought that the Invincible War was the climax for Invincible’s third season, they were wrong. Angstrom Levy’s destructive act of revenge was only a warm-up for the real climax. Right as Invincible and the other heroes start picking up the pieces, another Viltrumite, Conquest, appears, demanding that Mark fall in line or die. However, after everything that’s happened over the last few days, Mark’s not in the mood to waste time arguing. All he wants to do is punch something as hard as he can, and Conquest just signed up. What follows isn’t just the bloodiest battle in the series to date, but a rematch that’s making The Walking Dead fans grin from ear-to-ear. The reason? Because Conquest is voiced by Negan!

A Brilliant Choice of Casting for Conquest

Fans of AMC’s adaptation of The Walking Dead know Negan all too well. Played to perfection by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Negan went down as one of the greatest antagonists in modern television. In his first encounter with Rick Grimes’ group, he proceeds to beat Glenn Rhee to death to establish his dominance over everyone. What makes moment so significant to Invincible, though, is Glenn’s actor, Steven Yeun, voices the titular character.

While there’s a chance it was purely unintentional, it’s likely the people working on Invincible purposefully chose Morgan to play Conquest. They effectively re-tooled one of the most famous fights in the comics into a spiritual rematch between Glenn and Negan. Fans have wholeheartedly embraced this clever bit of casting, with Glenn fans seeing this as downright cathartic to watch. And while some might see casting Morgan as Conquest as an easy way to exploit Negan’s notoriety at the expense of the acting, it isn’t. Morgan knew exactly what he was doing.

From the moment he appeared on-screen at the end of the last episode, Morgan knew how to play Conquest. His gruff and authoritative voice makes viewers want to listen to him, while his actions onscreen make us fear him. Over the course of his and Mark’s fight, Conquest demonstrates why he’s feared even by the other Viltrumites. He’s bloodthirsty, even by the Viltrumites standards! To paraphrase a quote from The Boondocks, “fighting is more important than eating food. It’s more important than drinking water.” And Conquest embodies this mindset, as the more he fights, the more he enjoys it, even while his opponents aren’t.

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He does show some vulnerability by admitting he hates being seen as a living wrecking ball, but not enough to make him stop what he’s doing.

To put it bluntly, and in keeping with the comparisons to the Saiyans from Dragon Ball, Conquest is an older version of Broly. He may not cause as much damage in comparison, but considering what Conquest does in this episode, that’s a moot point.

The Fight Fans Have Waited for Years to See!

There have been plenty of moments that Invincible fans have waited to see adapted, but Invincible vs Conquest was near the top. Thankfully, the show knew this because it managed to bring its a-game! Much like the fight with his father, the battle between Mark and Conquest rages across the entire planet. Mark does far better than in his previous fights with Viltrumites, managing to get plenty of good hits in. However, it’s clear to everybody that he’s fighting a losing battle, as Conquest tanks almost everything Mark throws at him. The older Viltrumite treats most of the fight like a big game, enjoying the feeling of getting his face battered and bloodied.

In addition, any hits the alien warrior gets, he gives back tenfold. At several points, he manages to shatter Mark’s bones to the point where they’re jutting out of his body. However, as horrific as those images are, they’re nothing compared to the two people who helped Mark fight him.

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At two separate points in the battle, both Oliver and Eve join the fight to give Mark some backup. However, Oliver does more harm than good, as he’s simply too weak to be of much help. Not only does the kid get his jaw punched in, but Conquest proceeds to try and tear him in half. Very slowly and very painfully! However, that’s nothing compared to what Atom Eve endures.

Atom Eve Just Survived Fighting a Viltrumite

After waking up from her coma and learning her boyfriend’s in danger, Eve doesn’t hesitate to rush to Mark’s aid. To her credit, she manages to give Conquest a run for his money, using her ability to manipulate matter very creatively. If she had more training and time, she could be one of the few Humans who could potentially beat a Viltrumite in full-on combat. However, what happens to her is one of the most frightening things in the entire show’s history.

I knew that this moment was coming, but to see it actually play out was horrifying! The only reason she survives is because her powers rebuilt her body as a last resort. She had to pull off an actual deus ex machina to survive. However, the sight of her dying in his arms is enough to finally make Mark snap.

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This moment is a very grim callback to the finale of the last season. The main difference is that, whereas last time he didn’t mean to go that far, here Mark fully intended to kill Conquest. And we can’t blame him. Nor can we blame Walking Dead fans for reveling in the fact that Glenn got his revenge on Negan through Mark.

And now, the world can truly begin to heal.

Picking up the Pieces

The world suffered greatly during the Invincible War, and even more people died during the fight with Conquest. However, thanks to Invincible, Kid Omni-Man, and Atom Eve, Conquest was defeated…but not killed.

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Despite looking like Mark killed him, Conquest survived his fight with the hero. Now Cecil has him trapped in a custom vault in the hopes of interrogating him to learn more about the Viltrumite Empire. However, everyone knows this is beyond stupid in terms of ideas. Mark could barely stop him with help; keeping him alive is like keeping a nuke in one’s garage and not expecting it to go off. It’s not something any rational person should do! No doubt we will hear from Conquest once more, as the Glenn-Negan feud will continue.

As for the rest of the world, they try and pick up the pieces from the War…and mourn the dead. The funeral for Rexsplode is a very somber affair, with everyone present barely able to keep it together. Raw can’t even bring herself to stand with the other heroes; Eve laments how she didn’t see him changing until it was too late. And Rudy is so moved by Rex’s heroism that he changes his name to Rex. Which, considering how his body was cloned from him, is rather creepy.

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As for the Graysons and Eve, they try to move on with their lives. However, Mark has changed.

Mark Decides to Stop Pulling his Punches

For more than two seasons, Invincible struggled with the idea of taking another person’s life. He started out viewing killing much like heroes from Marvel or DC would. Time and again, though, his beliefs on killing have been tested to their breaking point. What Angstrom Levy did pushed him even further, but fighting against Conquest was the last straw. From now on, if an enemy comes after Mark or his family, he won’t hesitate to use lethal force.

Good. Killing people is not something that should be taken lightly, and one needs to be ready to face the consequences for it. That’s why many religions don’t approve of killing. However, there are always going to be situations where people have to kill to survive. And with how big of a threat Conquest was, Mark was right to try and put him down for good.

One of the best Episodes of the Decade

Sweet mercy, this episode was good. It managed to take a fight fans have wanted see adapted into animation for almost two decades and knocked it out of the park. The choice of casting alone was brilliant, as it gave Glenn fans catharsis for his death at the hands of Negan. Jeffrey Morgan milked his role as the sociopathic Conquest for all it was worth, somehow making him worse than he was in the comics. Everything about this was flawless.

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And the violence! Invincble has always had high levels of violence, but this time, it got to the point where I felt uncomfortable watching things. I have a high tolerance for blood and gore thanks to years of desensitization, so that’s an impressive feat.

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This was, by far, the best episode of Invincible, to date. So much so, that people have given the episode a perfect score. People on Twitter even put it on the same level as the legendary “Ozymandias” from Breaking Bad, making it one of the best episodes in television history. Considering the stigma animation gets in the world of entertainment, that’s a big win.

Sadly, this marks the end of the show’s third season. Given how things ended, though, this was a very satisfying conclusion. And this is only the beginning. The next season will likely focus on the coming war against the Viltrumite Empire, which means that Mark will inevitably reunite with his father and Allen. In addition, the mid-credits teaser hinted at an original storyline not found in the comics. Any additional content for Invincible is a welcome addition, as it’s becoming one of the best shows of the decade.

#Glennsrevenge #InvincibleavengedGlenn #Glennbeatnegan #Neganlost

I Give “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up” a 5/5

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