Robert Kirkman’s Invincible ended its acclaimed run with Issue #144 in 2018, with an epilogue that the series’ vaunted creator described as a rejection of a superhero cliche, the genre’s traditional endless narratives. Invincible‘s conclusion managed to be definitive, while also being open-ended. Rich with echoes from the series’ past, the issue took its characters five-hundred years into the future, answering a core question asked early in the series.
“What will you have after five hundred years?” The question was first posed to Mark Grayson, the hero Invincible, early in the series, during a brutal confrontation with his father Omni-Man.
While the question was asked derisively, meant to make Mark despair, as the series ended, it turned out the answer was: everything Mark ever wanted, and then some.
Robert Kirkman’s Invincible Ending Mined The Series’ Long History
When Mark Grayson learned the truth behind his father’s purpose on Earth, and their shared alien Viltrumite heritage – that their people were conquerors, and his father Omni-Man was the advanced guard for the invasion and subjugation of the planet – their ensuing fight turned into one of the most intense, heartwrenching scenes of Invincible’s run. Omni-Man delivered a merciless beating to his son, ranting the entire time about Viltrumite biology. “The older we get, the slower we age. You will outlast every fragile being on this planet,” Omni-Man told his son, trying to get him to forsake his ties to humanity.
Mark Grayson’s Final Triumph Comes In Answering A Rhetorical Question
By Invincible #144, the series double-sized final issue, Omni-Man had died as he lived – that is, violently. Mark, by contrast, ended the series with the entire universe at his fingertips. He assumed leadership of the Viltrumite Empire, proceeding to demilitarize their civilization. He brought an era of interstellar peace. Far more crucially, he had a family, their own Viltrumite aging process keeping them as young-looking, glorious, and powerful as he was. Omni-Man’s question, “What will you have after five hundred years?” guided the entire finale, as Kirkman maneuvered everything into place for the most satisfying answer the series could provide.
What made the ending of Invincible so satisfying is that it delivered pay-off to Omni-Man’s question, something readers may not have realized they wanted. The question was posed rhetorically, derisively, spat in the face of Invincible amidst a betrayal by the person he thought he could trust most. The decision to center this moment to bring the series to a close was an insightful creative note by Kirkman, resulting in a satisfying epilogue. It remains to be seen whether the TV series will arrive at the same conclusion. The series adaptation of Omni-Man’s “think, Mark” rant has spawned a meme, while the scene, like its comic counterpart, may have set up Invincible’s endgame.
