Invincible Comic Book Ending Explained: What Happens To Mark Grayson?

"Invincible" kicked off its incredible 144 issue run in 2003. The series, published by Image Comics, was created by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Cory Walker with, for the majority of its existence, Ryan Ottley. The comic shares some similarities with Kirkman's other famous creation, "The Walking Dead," but "Invincible" is a superhero story through and through.

In some ways, "Invincible" reads like a love letter to the superhero books that came before. In others, "Invincible" is a critique. One of the most unique features of Kirkman's creation is that "Invincible" has real weight where other mainstream comic books often do not. "Invincible" gets compared to "The Boys" because Kirkman's story isn't afraid to get dark and violent. Events in the comic have lasting consequences. Characters die, worlds are destroyed, and lives are permanently altered in ways that both Marvel and DC tend to avoid.

Because the book's world feels so tactile, it's only natural that "Invincible" features a real ending. "Invincible" readers were shocked to learn that the book's final issue would hit shelves in 2018. Issue #144 brought the book's incredible 15 year run to a close, and since then, the "Invincible" TV show has introduced some changes that reinvigorated the fan base. Whether you're a comic reader looking for a refresher, or a TV series fan who's trying to peek ahead, we're here to cover everything that happened at the end of this legendary comic series. 

As you might imagine, a lot happened during the 15 years that Robert Kirkman was creating "Invincible." Luckily, you don't need an encyclopedic knowledge of all 144 issues to understand the ending. As long as you remember some of the comic's biggest plot arcs, you'll be able to grasp the wrap-up with no problem. 

"Invincible" starts with a teenaged Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun in the series), son of the extraterrestrial superhero known as Omni-Man (voiced by J.K. Simmons), discovering that he has superpowers. Mark's parents Debbie (Sandra Oh) and Nolan (Omni-Man when he's at home) are ecstatic, but the development soon takes a dark turn. 

Omni-Man kills the superhero team he was part of, the Guardians of the Globe, and later, Mark learns that his dad actually came to Earth to eventually take over the planet on behalf of the alien Viltrumite empire. Mark and his dad fight, destroying cities in the process. In the end, Nolan leaves the planet. 

Mark, as Invincible, starts playing a bigger role in defending the Earth. Along the way, he learns about a galactic coalition of planets trying to fight back against the Viltrumites. Eventually, Mark gets called out into deep space, where he finds his dad living on an alien world with a new wife and son. 

Mark and his dad begin to heal their bond, but it takes time and epic Viltrumite fights for Nolan to fully change his ways. Omni-Man ultimately comes back to Earth, reunites with his family, and begins helping to defend the planet from the coming Viltrumite invasion. 

"Invincible" spent years building up to the Viltrumite invasion of Earth. While prepping for the war, Mark strikes up a relationship with fellow superhero Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs, in the series). He also earns himself a new nemesis, the multiversal villain Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown), who shows up time and time again to torment Mark. When the war finally arrives, Mark, his dad, and all the Earth's other heroes fight back against the Viltrumites.

When the dust settles, Earth is the victor. The empire is decimated, but Earth faces some serious losses. Nolan dies from injuries he sustained during the battle, and Mark is named the new emperor of Viltrum. While Mark's responsibilities pull his focus out into space, a new power rises on Earth. 

Former Guardians of the Globe member Robot (Zachary Quinto) kills Cecil (Walton Goggins), a major character who's been working to protect the planet since before the start of the series. With Cecil and the other defenders out of the way, Robot seizes control of the planet. He convinces Mark that he has Earth's best interests at heart, and Invincible reluctantly lets him remain in power.

Mark transforms Viltrum into a force for good, and in the process, dissolves the Coalition of Planets. Much later, Mark goes back to Earth and ends Robot's reign, leaving the planet in the hands of the Immortal (Ross Marquand). Atom Eve dies of old age, but her powers restore her life and vitality. Eve and Mark get to live together forever, and 500 years later, Mark has a happy life in a peaceful galaxy. Those are the broad strokes. Now for a little more detail.

At the end of "Invincible," the galaxy is in a very safe place. The Viltrumites have become defenders of good, and the planets in the Coalition no longer need to fear them. Earth is well-defended and Mark's family is healthy and happy. The ending is almost unambiguously happy, but the comic's villains are still out there.

Many of the biggest bad guys in "Invincible" get defeated before the comic's final issue. The Viltrumite named Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) died long before the book's final plot arc. Angstrom Levy also doesn't live to see the end of the story, and neither did all the evil Mark Grayson variants. Other villains, like the Mauler Twins (Kevin Michael Richardson), got converted into useful members of society by the Robot regime. Essentially, all of the villains that fans met while reading "Invincible" are defeated or turned into good guys by the end of the comic.

Notice that we said the finale is almost perfectly happy. The real beauty of the ending is the way it implies a thousand more stories. Mark transforms Viltrum and becomes a hero for the ages, but that doesn't mean the galaxy is forever safe. There are always new villains rising and new heroes coming into power to fight them. The ending of "Invincible" implies a whole new era of stories that are to be fought by the next generation.

"Invincible" proved repeatedly that it is more willing than most superhero comics to explore dark stories. More than a handful of beloved characters died over the course of the comic's 144 issues. Fans also read about numerous global-scale disasters with stomach-churning casualty counts. With all that dark history, it's surprising how comparatively bloodless the ending of "Invincible" really is.

We've already touched on some of the major deaths that happen near the end of the book. Nolan doesn't survive the war with the Viltrumites. Mark eventually stops Robot from ruling over the Earth, but Robot does get to survive as a brain in a jar advising the Immortal. Debbie, along with all of the other mortal characters, doesn't survive the 500 year time skip that comes in the final pages of the story. Fortunately, she does get to live out her natural life and enjoy years of being a grandma to Mark's children.

That's all for the obituaries at the end of "Invincible." Mark, of course, survives, as do his children. Atom Eve faces the last moments of old age in the final issue, only to discover that her biokinetic powers also activate at the moment of death, allowing her to live with Mark for the entirety of his Viltrumite lifespan.

Robot is one of the most complicated, but also the most competent, characters in "Invincible." Throughout the comic's timeline, the Guardians of the Globe goes through several incarnations, but Robot is almost always working for the group or leading them. Mark and Robot don't always agree on strategy, but they are always working together to keep the Earth safe. That changes near the end of the comic series.

In issue #111 Robot seemingly turns on everyone. He attacks Mark and Eve, and he kills Cecil Stedman, the main coordinator of the Guardians of the Globe. Robot hasn't actually been secretly evil all along, though. Instead, he's an authoritarian who thinks that, by taking extreme measures, he'll be able to do what's best for Earth. Robot takes control of the planet, but his contingencies for dealing with Mark and Nolan only go so far. In the end, Robot has to convince Invincible to be on his side.

Laying out the logic of his actions and his ultimate plan, Robot convinces Mark not to keep fighting against him. For a while, Mark leaves the planet in Robot's hands so he can focus on other, even bigger problems out in the galaxy. By the end of the story, though, Mark comes back to remove Robot from power. Logic can only go so far, and Mark's sense of morality is what wins the day in the end.

"Invincible" readers first learn about the Viltrum empire through the eyes of a very young Mark Grayson. While Mark was growing up, his dad told him all about their homeworld. Nolan explained that the Viltrumites are defenders of the galaxy, using all of their superpowers to look out for the weak. That noble story is a big part of what inspires Mark to become a superhero. It's also a lie.

In actuality, Viltrum is a brutal society that believes in the supremacy of the strong over the weak. The Viltrumites culled their own population via death matches so that only the strongest would remain alive. Then they set out into the galaxy to dominate other planets and species. Nolan's time on Earth helps to break him out of the Viltrumite mindset and teaches him empathy, but his people are still out there looking for violence.

Eventually, the Viltrumites come to Earth and battle against Mark, Nolan, and other heroes. Incredibly, the Viltrumites lose, and Mark becomes their new ruler. He's committed to reshaping the empire, and the ending of "Invincible" reveals that he achieved his goal. By the end of the story, Mark has transformed Viltrum and its people. The Viltrumites, under Mark's rule, finally match the stories Nolan told him as a kid. The redemption of this society is arguably Mark's biggest accomplishment in the entire series.

"Invincible" is darker than most comic books, and that's something fans love about it. However, there's one "Invincible" storyline that may have gone too far for some readers. We're talking about what happened between Mark and a Viltrumite named Anissa (voiced by Shantel VanSanten).

The Viltrumites occasionally send emissaries to Earth, either to order Mark to take control of the planet on behalf of the empire or to taunt him about the upcoming war. Anissa is one of those emissaries, and she took a twisted interest in Mark. In issue #110, Anissa seeks Mark out and starts a fight. After physically overpowering Mark, Anissa rapes him. To the credit of "Invincible" and the book's creative team, the disturbing incident is given appropriately serious gravity in the story. Mark emotionally struggles with what happened, and eventually he goes to Eve for support.

Then, in issue #129, the incident takes another turn when Mark discovers that Anissa had their child: Markus Murphy, often called Marky. He later becomes a hero styled after Invincible himself, but the book doesn't give him much time to really come into his own as a character. 

Years later, fans still complain that Marky's story got cut short by the sudden ending of "Invincible." Marky represents how the worst of the Viltrumite empire can still become a force for positivity and change, but the story didn't have enough time to let those ideas play out. Meanwhile, the animated series seems poised to revise this subplot without the controversial assault.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Leading up to the ending of "Invincible," creator Robert Kirkman had some complicated feelings. For many years, Kirkman expressed hopes that "Invincible" would essentially run forever. Originally his hopes were to see the series move on to new writers and artists, allowing him to read his book as a fan, with all the opinions that implies. That's how Kirkman would know the book had really "made it," but, of course, that's not how things turned out.

"It wasn't until recently that I realized that [hope] goes against everything 'Invincible,' as a series, has stood for since the very beginning," Kirkman wrote in a statement announcing the end of the book (via Paste Magazine). Kirkman went on to explain that because "Invincible" had always approached superheroes through a semi-realistic lens, it didn't make sense for the series to continue forever, fated to never really progress. "More and more as I thought about it," Kirkman wrote, "I realized ending the series was the right thing to do."

The timing of the "Invincible" ending also had plenty to do with Kirkman's schedule, and with longtime series artist Ryan Ottley being ready to draw new comics. The facts of the ending, however, had been solidified in Kirkman's mind for a while. Kirkman has said that he has plenty of ideas for other "Invincible" storylines, but ending the book at issue #144 gave the story the conclusion it deserved.

Fans of "Invincible" have mixed feelings about the ending of the comic. In general, fans like where Mark and all of the other characters ended up by the conclusion, but they also felt like the ending itself was rushed. There's been plenty of speculation online about how Amazon's "Invincible" series will handle the ending. For the most part, fans think the show will stay true to the book, but many of them expect to see the show flesh out some of the dangling threads from the original version.

Fans are probably right on the money with their assumptions. Robert Kirkman has talked about this approach to adapting "Invincible" and has specifically addressed his thoughts on differentiating the show from the comic. "When I write an episode, I always go through the comic and think about how I can make things more interesting," Kirkman said in an interview with Variety after the well-reviewed third season of "Invincible." He went on to say, "If I'm going to write the same thing a second time, I need to make it interesting for me and hopefully make it better for the audience."

Kirkman wants to keep himself entertained while writing, and he likes to throw surprises out for comic fans. The creator has never expressed regret about the original "Invincible" ending, so don't expect major changes. Still, it's safe to assume things won't play out exactly like they did in the comic.

Comic book fans aren't used to superhero stories having firm endings. Characters like Batman and Spider-Man have been fighting villains for decades with no end in sight. Naturally, "Invincible" fans would love to see more of their favorite characters from the comic, and some of them wonder if "Invincible" could make a comeback, or maybe even keep on running as Kirkman once hoped. 

To be fair to those fans, Kirkman has laid the basic groundwork for more "Invincible" comics. "Writing the last issue of 'Invincible,' I came up with, like, at least 50 more issues worth of stories," Kirkman said in an interview about the ending (via Mashable). The writer also said that he specifically introduced new story threads and plotlines in the comic's final issue, "Just to give the readers a sense that this is a world that continues existing, even though you're not going to see it." 

Thus, there are dozens more "Invincible" stories out there, even if their existence is only implied. Now that "Invincible" has become one of the best animated superhero shows of all time, Kirkman has a chance to revisit some of those stories he never wrote. It still seems unlikely that there will be an "Invincible" comic book revival, but stranger things have happened.