Invincible season 3 ending explained and post-credits spoilers: What happened to Conquest, Mark and Atom Eve?

Not only have they had to battle 18(!) evil Invincible variants, courtesy of a surviving Angstrom Levy (Sterling K Brown), but they soon wound up in a showdown with the Viltrumite empire's most brutal warrior.

The penultimate episode delivered on a number of jaw-dropping moments and shock deaths (rip Rex!), with the ensuing invasion pushing the multitude of superheroes and the Global Defense Agency to their limits.

But just as Mark was helping to clear the wreckage and search for survivors from the wreckage of the Invincible War, he had to contend with the arrival of lauded Viltrumite fighter, Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

The epic smackdown certainly mirrored the bloodshed and sheer violence of THAT battle with Omni-Man (JK Simmons) in Chicago - but who, if any, came out alive and what does that post-credits scene mean? Read on for our full breakdown.

What happens in the Invincible season 3 finale showdown?

Following the Conquest-shaped cliffhanger in the penultimate episode, ("Stand ready for my arrival, worm!") creator Robert Kirkman certainly doesn’t hang around, with the season finale delving straight into the action.

As advanced scout Anissa (Shantel VanSanten) warned last season, we learn that Conquest has arrived to check on Mark’s preparations for the Viltrumite Empire’s takeover.

As he discovers there has been no further progress and is met with resistance, he has been ordered to take over Mark’s duties - by any means necessary.

As a result, an almost 30-minute battle ensues between the two. Despite initially appearing to go toe-to-toe with the grizzled Viltrumite, it’s clear that Mark is struggling following the events of the Invincible War.

His half-brother Oliver (Christian Convery) rushes in to help him, but is quickly swatted away. A further blow leaves Oliver bloody and spitting several teeth out, and Conquest pounces - almost ripping the purple Viltrumite hybrid in half.

Thankfully, Cecil rushes in to save Oliver, but not before Conquest uses Mark as a battering ram (just like Nolan), with even more catastrophic consequences for innocent civilian bystanders.

An injured Atom Eve flies in to help the bloodied Mark ("get away from him, you animal") and the pair attempt to contain the Viltrumite.

However, Conquest soon breaks Mark’s leg, and despite using a bag of tricks (including an amazing pink hammer Harley Quinn would be proud of), the Viltrumite shockingly pummels Eve’s jaw and impales her through the stomach.

Filled with rage, Mark destroys Conquest’s cybernetic arm, breaking his forearm in the process. As the two grapple, Mark bites Conquest’s shoulder, tearing off pieces of muscle tissue.

Meanwhile, Eve miraculously rebuilds her own body and wakes up, entering a super Saiyan state to unleash a deadly beam of energy at Conquest, which burns most of his skin clean off.

As Conquest lunges for Eve, Mark stops the Viltrumite, headbutting him until he dies.

What happens to Conquest?

After Invincible seemingly kills the Viltrumite warrior, he requests to see the body. We then witness Cecil unzipping a body bag to show him the pulverised corpse of Conquest. "Burn it," Mark demands, to which Cecil responds, "Yeah."

But Cecil being Cecil, he certainly doesn’t burn the body, preventing a potential return from the Viltrumite. Instead, the director of the Global Defense Agency stores Conquest's body in a 400-tonne block of steel alloy, 600 miles underground in the desert.

Cecil is waiting for the Viltrumite to heal and regain consciousness so he can try and find out everything he can about the Viltrumite empire and how to stop them. Which really isn’t a wise move…

How does the battle affect Mark?

Along with coldly instructing Cecil to burn Conquest’s body, a battered and bruised Mark has a heart-to-heart with his half-brother in hospital, admitting that Oliver was right in his outlook on dispatching villains.

Mark confirms that he's putting killing on the table and that he won't hesitate to dispatch villains.

"They hurt so many people, ruin so many people’s lives… so if anyone else ever puts my family or anyone I love at risk, I won’t hesitate to kill them."

Mark’s battle with Angstrom Levy, the events of the Invincible War and Conquest’s arrival have proven a real turning point for the hero, completely shifting his views on the use of lethal force.

Mark’s moral conflict over whether he should or shouldn’t kill has proved the major character arc this season, with the finale setting up Mark’s trajectory going forward, especially with the Viltrumite War just around the corner.

How did Atom Eve survive?

Atom Eve miraculously survived Conquest's brutal attack due to her body overriding the mental blocks she originally had placed on her powers, limiting what she could do. That’s why she can’t change sentient matter.

However, the effects of a traumatic event can override those blocks, allowing her to use her powers without any limitations, hence how almost dying forced her to rebuild her entire body.

She also reveals that this has happened once before and that she’d been meaning to tell Invincible about it, but hadn’t found the right time yet.

What's teased for the next season of Invincible?

Along with the tease of Invincible ReAnimen and Rudy changing his name to Rex, a jam-packed sequence in the closing moments sets up a whole lot of exciting threads for the next few seasons.

Firstly, we see an army of Sequid parasitic aliens - led by Rus Livingston teasing "not long now" - in the sewers ready to stage another attack. Presumably we’ll be getting the finale to the Sequid arc early on in season 3.

Next up, fan favourite Battle Beast (Michael Dorn) is retrieved from outer space and lives, screaming "more".

Due to his incredible fighting talents and sheer tenacity, he will undoubtedly be brought back to the Coalition of Planets in an attempt to recruit him for the upcoming Viltrumite War.

Lastly, following his showdown with Invincible, Angstrom Levy is granted a bionic arm by the Technicians, and asks what they want in return.

The super-advanced physicians are looking to leave their devastated world and collaborate with Levy, teasing "that is only the beginning of the delights we will achieve together".

Invincible season 3 post-credits scene explained

In a surprising reveal, showrunner Robert Kirkman brings back one of the show's most intriguing characters - the demon detective Damien Darkblood (Clancy Brown).

Last seen in season 1 episode 4, Neil Armstrong, Eat Your Heart Out, the demon was banished back to hell by Cecil after correctly solving the Guardians of the Globe case.

Back in hell, we see Damien Darkblood drawing a pentagram symbol to summon the dark one.

"Forgive me, Lord. I would not dare awaken the great beast if I didn’t bring welcome news. Have means to restore you to your infernal throne," Darkblood claims.

"A surface dweller of great power, the likes of which this planet has not seen in eons, with abilities that far exceed any other. His blackened heart will be bound to your service, dark one. I have discovered means of conjuring him here."

This is a very intriguing deviation from the source material, as he was only a minor character in the comics, predominantly used for comedic effect.

However, Kirkman has reimagined Darkblood as a serious detective by cracking the Omni-Man case and sowing the seeds of doubt in Debbie (Sandra Oh), which led to Nolan’s major revelation.

The post-credit scene implies that we’ll definitely be seeing more from the enigmatic detective. But just who is he referencing?

Potential options include either Dark Wing II (Cleveland Berto) or one of the alternate Invincibles, as we know they’re both currently stuck in the Shadowverse following the events of the Invincible War.

However, this could prove the perfect opportunity to introduce another fan-favourite character - Dinosaurus (aka David Anders).

Dinosaurus is a major antagonist in the comics, and his destructive powers and immense strength could fit Darkblood’s description.

With such a gripping post-credit tease, thankfully production is already under way on a fourth season of Invincible, so hopefully we won’t have to wait too long!

Invincible season 3 is available to stream on Prime Video – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.

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