Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Invincible season 3, episodes 1-4, and the Invincible comic series.The Immortal has been one of the most divisive characters throughout Invincible's third season, but his fate in episode 4's future timeline adds a layer of tragedy to his story. Prime Video's hit superhero show has had a fairly dark return, as there has been plenty of conflict among Invincible's central characters, including the Guardians of the Globe. While The Immortal has often come across as the polarizing veteran of the team ever since its new iteration, he has arguably been even worse this time around, especially with Cecil taking the role of Invincible season 3's villain.
Despite the GDA leader having an understandable reason behind his conflict with Mark, most of the Guardians took Invincible's side, whereas The Immortal believed the protagonist deserved his harsh treatment. As a result, regardless of which side fans are on in the Mark vs. Cecil debate, The Immortal has been the biggest loser among viewers who feel his behavior is completely unjustified. However, rather than diving deeper into The Immortal's Invincible origins, episode 4 gave a glimpse into the hero's future, and his dark fate makes his character even more tragic while creating questions about what really happened to him.
How Far Into The Future Is Invincible Season 3's Dystopian Timeline
Episode 4's Dystopian Timeline Takes Place Centuries After The Main Story
Although Invincible doesn't explain exactly how far into the future Mark goes during season 3, episode 4, Dropkick and Fightmaster reveal that The Immortal was made ruler of Earth centuries ago, suggesting the timeline takes place several hundred years after the show's current events. Given The Immortal has already been around for thousands of years, it makes sense that he'd outlive even Invincible's most powerful characters due to his immortality. Mark is also confirmed to be alive in the dystopian timeline, but Viltrumites have incredibly long lifecycles, hence the protagonist surviving for so long.
With most other central characters seemingly dead, The Immortal's comments about Kate further confirm how far into the future the timeline goes. Mark mentions Kate, cautiously asking if The Immortal's actions are about his fiancé, before questioning if she's dead. Heartbreakingly, Invincible's mad king doesn't remember her, telling Mark he has had hundreds of wives, suggesting he'd probably married several times after her death. Therefore, even without an exact date, it can be assumed that The Immortal's reign started sometime after Invincible's main timeline, and has lasted hundreds of years, explaining why Earth has changed so drastically.
Why Immortal Turned Bad In Invincible's Future Timeline
He Lived Too Long & Eventually Lost His Sanity
Mark was dragged to the future as Fightmaster and Dropkick believed he was their only chance at stopping the mad king, and he unintentionally played a role in The Immortal turning evil. Invincible's dystopian timeline highlighted that despite being a great leader initially, The Immortal became increasingly unhinged. Introducing harsh laws and mandatory work camps was just the beginning, as he proceeded to spark senseless wars before wiping out entire cities. Rather than one specific event triggering this change, The Immortal's descent into madness stemmed from living too long and losing everyone he loved.
Outliving pretty much everyone he ever knew started to take a toll on him and surviving for thousands of years became too much to handle. Despite Invincible season 3 making Mark more villainous, his actions are nothing compared to the future version of The Immortal who lost everything. It was Mark's future self that left him in charge of Earth, meaning his past self feels some guilt over what happened, but it seems impossible to predict a man who has been a hero for at least hundreds of years would snap so drastically.
Mark's departure from Earth in the future left The Immortal with no real loved ones, especially after another century, creating an endless cycle that he'd clearly become tired of.
Mark's departure from Earth in the future left The Immortal with no real loved ones, especially after another century, creating an endless cycle that he'd clearly become tired of. Consequently, the Immortal wanted to die, and each extreme action he took was an attempt to get Mark's attention so that he could finally be put to rest, which is what led to his immoral behavior.
What Happened To The Future's Version Of Mark Grayson
Mark Left Earth With His Family After Getting Ill
Despite the confirmation that Mark survived, his future version seemed to be facing some issues, according to the timeline's version of The Immortal. The King of Earth mentioned that Mark looked slim and weak before asking "Have you been sick again? I thought they found a cure for you." Despite Mark cutting him off to talk about more pressing matters, this small bit of dialog hints at the protagonist running into some health problems in the future. Fortunately, the cure was likely effective, given Mark's supposedly slimmer state is simply because he is younger and weaker than his future self.
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Mark Grayson has been desperately trying to avoid following in his father's footsteps, but his brutal season 3 scene proves he and Omni-Man are alike.
The dystopian timeline also indicates that Mark leaves Earth with his family, with The Immortal claiming his loved ones could endure the effects of time. This indicates that Mark and Eve's Invincible season 3 romance may have some real longevity since The Immortal's comments hint at them starting a family in this timeline. The comics also back this up, and assuming Mark left his home planet alongside whatever surviving family he had centuries into the future, his illness seems unlikely to prevent a happy time ahead with his loved ones, a stark contrast to The Immortal's tragic fate.
How Invincible Season 3's Future Sets Up The Comic Book Ending
Mark's Glimpse Into The Future Will Make Him More Determined To Save The World
Invincible's comic book ending may not look anything like the world we see in season 3, episode 4, but the dystopian timeline sets up the same conclusion. Mark getting an insight into what the world can look like if he makes the wrong decisions should help motivate him to do the right thing, starting with leaving someone else in charge. In the comics, Mark helps save the entire universe by defeating the Viltrumites, and he also leaves Earth to be with his family, suggesting the future timeline in season 3 isn't a million miles off from the show's possible ending.
The big difference is that Mark now knows not to put so much pressure on The Immortal's shoulders by placing this burden on him alone. In the comics, the hero is again left to rule Earth despite Mark seeing what happens in the future, but Rex Splode's brain is also used to assist him in an attempt to prevent The Immortal from repeating his mistakes. Someone with his strength and commitment to saving lives feels like the natural fit to protect Earth, but it's clear he can't do it alone.
| Invincible Season 3 Episodes | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Episode 1: "You're Not Laughing Now" | February 6, 2025 |
| Episode 2: "A Deal With The Devil" | February 6, 2025 |
| Episode 3: "You Want A Real Costume, Right?" | February 6, 2025 |
| Episode 4: "You Were My Hero" | February 13, 2025 |
| Episode 5: "This Was Supposed To Be Easy" | February 20, 2025 |
| Episode 6: "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry" | February 27, 2025 |
| Episode 7: "What Have I Done?" | March 6, 2025 |
| Episode 8: "I Thought You'd Never Shut Up" | March 13, 2025 |
As a result, Invincible season 3 showing what could occur gives Mark a genuine chance at preventing it from happening in his timeline, but he will likely still have desires to live a more peaceful life elsewhere with his family. Therefore, "You Were My Hero" may be way more important than viewers anticipate at first glance, as Mark's visit to the future could be the leading factor to saving Earth centuries down the line while providing the protagonist a deserved happy ending.
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Invincible
TV-MA
Animation Adventure Action
8/10
57 8.7/10
- Release Date
- March 26, 2021
- Network
- Amazon Prime Video
- Showrunner
- Simon Racioppa
Cast
-
Steven Yeun
Mark Grayson / Invincible (voice)
-
Sandra Oh
Debbie Grayson (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
- Writers
- Robert Kirkman
- Franchise(s)
- Invincible
- Creator(s)
- Robert Kirkman, Simon Racioppa
