Adapted from Robert Kirkman’s Invincible comics, the animated Prime Video superhero saga has been praised for its faithfulness to the source material, but it also differs in several respects. One of the most notable divergences is the characters’ power scale. Although the two versions of the story are similar, the TV show shakes things up a little. Invincible Season 4 has now come and gone, and the brutal Viltrumite War it delivered reshuffled the show’s power hierarchy more than any single season before it, making this the perfect time for an updated run-down of who really stacks up against whom.
It should be noted that the word “powerful” can mean a few different things in Invincible. For instance, Walton Goggins’ Cecil Stedman holds a great deal of influence over Earth’s superpowered figures, but he has no actual abilities of his own that would make him a worthy opponent to them. So, a character’s physical strength or the potency of their powers is what’s being addressed here, rather than power in the more general sense, and only characters who have actually appeared on the screen are eligible; comic-only figures don’t count no matter how strong they are on the page.
The Immortal
Voiced by: Ross Marquand
There’s no denying that the Immortal is one of the most powerful characters on Earth, but in Invincible‘s larger universe, he pales in comparison. While it’s almost impossible to defeat him permanently, his most notable showdowns don’t give him a very impressive win/loss ratio. Still, calling him a weak character would be misleading and just generally false. His brute strength and thousands of years’ worth of combat experience often serve him well, but the number of people who can defeat him is too high for him to deserve a higher power ranking.
Invincible: A.K.A. Mark Grayson
Voiced by: Steven Yeun
Being the title character doesn’t necessarily make someone the most powerful figure in the show. In fact, it would be pretty boring if that were the case. Part of the thrill of Invincible is watching Mark’s journey from underdog beginner to one of Earth’s most reliable defenders. That said, his victories over those who would see his home world enslaved are always very close calls. There’s always an outside factor that gives Mark the edge in these moments, so it’s not always his sheer power alone that earns him the win. He does, of course, have more than his fair share of triumphs brought about by the hammering of his fists. If his human DNA hadn’t been diluting his Viltrumite genes, maybe he’d have been stronger from the start.
Atom Eve: Samantha Eve Wilkins
Voiced by: Gillian Jacobs
Eve is a tricky Invincible character to rank by her power. If her general potential is taken into account, then she’s easily near the top of this list. As it stands, she’s struggled against many opponents who aren’t significantly weaker than she is. Like Mark, her most notable victories have been through team-ups. However, the Season 3 finale set Eve up to quickly climb the ladder, with the subconscious block that keeps her from using her powers to their fullest extent no longer as much of an issue. Season 4 didn’t make that climb a straight line, complicating her powers in new ways, but it also confirmed she has a far higher ceiling than she’s shown so far.
Anissa
Voiced by: Shantel VanSanten
Viltrumites tend to come near the top of the pile when it comes to Invincible‘s strongest characters. There aren’t many who can believably oppose members of the godlike alien race, and even fewer who can emerge with their lives, let alone a victory. Given how easily she defeated Mark, it was clear that the show’s title character was simply no match for her. If she hadn’t decided to spare him, then he’d likely have been dead when she left Earth’s atmosphere. That would have been a pretty abrupt end to the show, though.
Omni-Man: A.K.A. Nolan Grayson
Voiced by: J.K. Simmons
Originally believed to be the most powerful Invincible character, Omni-Man has since been dethroned. While he can still give most opponents an incredibly challenging fight, the odds of his victory aren’t as high as they once were. Besides, the loss of the ruthless streak that defined him in Season 1 has also contributed to his decline in the power rankings. What he does have on his side is that Viltrumites only get stronger as they age, and Season 4 backed that up, with Omni-Man fighting alongside Mark and the Coalition through the brutal Viltrumite War and reclaiming some of the ruthlessness that once made him so feared.
Allen the Alien
Voiced by: Seth Rogen
While Allen would once have never even been considered for a list of Invincible‘s strongest characters, his extensive upgrades after his apparent death made him one of the most powerful figures in the entire show. Allen’s immunity to even the deadliest weapons makes him surprisingly terrifying, especially given his lighthearted demeanor. His ability to withstand a beating from Anissa and feign defeat is one of the biggest signifiers of his newfound durability, and Invincible still hasn’t shown him at his strongest.
Battle Beast
Voiced by: Michael Dorn
Battle Beast is the only Invincible character whose primary motivation is seeking out worthy opponents to beat to a pulp. Other characters do this regularly, but they often have an underlying motivation. Battle Beast is notorious for simply wanting to fight, and this ongoing desire is backed up by the fact that he’s very, very good at it. His durability and raw strength are matched by almost nobody. He’d only had a handful of episodes by the time this list was first written, but Season 4 delivered on that promise, pulling him into the fight against the Viltrumites alongside Allen and the rest of the Coalition.
Conquest
Voiced by: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
It might seem strange to give a top spot to a character who spends most of his screen time severely injured, but it would be disingenuous to place Conquest much lower. His entire battle with Mark (and his allies) in the Invincible Season 3 finale showed him to be nowhere near full strength, as he toyed with anyone who took him on. Still, those trying to take Conquest down were giving it their all and constantly coming up short. When he finally felt like fighting back, it became clear just how little chance anyone had against him. If Eve hadn’t been able to tap into the power she wasn’t supposed to access, maybe he’d be a spot or two lower.
Conquest’s reign near the top of this list was ultimately cut short in Season 4. After escaping custody, he fled to Grand Regent Thragg, kneeling before him in open fear, a telling sign of just how far above Conquest the show’s real apex predator sits. A rematch with Mark later in the season left Conquest disemboweled and, this time, dead for good. Even so, his Season 3 showing against Eve, Mark, and the rest of the coalition remains one of the most dominant fighters the show has produced.
Thragg
Voiced by: Lee Pace
Thragg is the Grand Regent of the Viltrumite Empire, bred and trained from birth to be the strongest Viltrumite who ever lived, and Season 4 lives up to that reputation almost immediately. He appears sparingly for most of the season, but once he finally steps onto the battlefield, he dismantles the show’s entire power hierarchy in the span of a few episodes.
Thragg doesn’t just defeat Omni-Man and Mark; he does it with ease. Even Conquest, who spent most of his life conquering worlds in Thragg’s name, kneels before him in fear. By the Season 4 finale, Mark is forced to accept that Thragg is effectively unbeatable in a straight fight, striking a reluctant truce rather than risk Earth’s destruction. An easy choice to top off the list.
- Release Date
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March 26, 2021
- Network
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Amazon Prime Video
