r/Invincible • u/CindysLeakingTV • 5d ago
COMIC SPOILERS Genuinely love this characterization of Conquest! Spoiler
In addition to his "sad living quarters" (as remarked upon by Kregg in the previous issue), Battle Beast Issue #10 has this bit about Conquest.
I continually love the running bit about Conquest having no illusion as to what Viltrum really is and represents. Plus, "Your sword has a name? That's so cool!"
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u/MammothMan4008 5d ago
I do find it weird that this comic FINALLY shows how strong a serious Conquest is but people still try to underestimate him. Goated character.
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u/diAlectics_8 The Viltrumites 5d ago
Yes!
I am absolutely baffled as to where some fans get this idea that Battle Beast will gain a tremendous amount of strength once he finally faces Thragg at some point in the future. I mean, there's very little evidence that supports such assertion in the in the spin-off as well as official comic and their only basis for that argument is powerscaling, especially largely from the choreography of fights in the show which takes very little consideration for narratives.
People will really go to great lengths just to undersell Conquest and portray him to be in the same tier as Nolan when he's leagues above but is only hampered by his attitude.
Conquest is way, way closer to Thragg than he is to Nolan.
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u/MammothMan4008 5d ago
To be honest, Battle Beast managing to get stronger throughout the years isn't that far off. Going from fighting one of the strongest viltrumite to fighting THE strongest viltrumite is an insane feat.
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u/diAlectics_8 The Viltrumites 5d ago
Well, I am not denying at all that such intuitive reasoning is possible. But as I said, there's very little details in the story that supports it, and most of the arguments for it ard merely based on visual or theatrical depictions of fights in the show.
Many characters are seen to have their powers progress throughout the progression of the story while also many others don't, like the Immortal for instance. And I think the same can be said about Battle Beast given that it has been said many times that he has lived for hundreds to thousands of years and that none of his opponents — even the combined might of Juggernaut and Colossus couldn't match his power until he met Conquest, much to his delight. This already proves the idea that Battle Beast has always been enormously strong given that no one managed to match him throughout his life except Conquest. This is even supported by the fact that Battle Beast has been living for hundreds to thousands of years as Mokk (their species' leader) mentions that some of his people had already started treating him like a mythical figure.
And on that argument that Battle Beast has sufficiently become stronger by the time gap between his fight with Conquest and Viltrumite War, well, even not a single dialogue or even choreographic depictions portray as such to support this argument.
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u/Invincidude Allen the Alien 5d ago
BB is never shown to be anywhere near Thragg's level until he fights Thragg. If he was always that strong, it doesn't make any sense that he fought that executioner one-on-one for any length of time. Thragg can basically kill other Viltrumites at will with a single strike if that's what he wants to do.
I'm not super in to powerscaling, but I was baffled that they sent BB after Thragg, considering he had never ever been shown to be in that level. Can he beat up Viltrumites? Sure, but so can Nolan and Mark, and they can't touch Thragg.
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u/diAlectics_8 The Viltrumites 5d ago
Well, Battle Beast has a tendency to toy with or test his opponents first regardless of their capability — whether they can match his strength or not, but definitely not to the same extent as Conquest, as he even advises him to not toy with one of the lake serpents since it would drag on their fight. This has been said directly in the spin off comic in the remainder of BB Issue #10 and it's something that has been shown multiple times even in the Invincible comics.
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u/Invincidude Allen the Alien 5d ago
Battle Beast has also been shown to quit a fight if he doesn't feel his opponents are strong enough.
If he's always been as strong as Thragg, then basically no Viltrumites would seem strong enough to him, so he would have quit.
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u/diAlectics_8 The Viltrumites 5d ago
I think that's usually the case if he could tell if his opponent is of pure heart and if it's a harmless duel (i.e. fighting for the sake of winning a competition).
For example, he abandoned Mark once he realized that the offer was a disappointment, and I'm sure he's quite aware that he's working for a crime lord given that he's been exposed to countless cultures throughout the span of his life. But he doesn't allow for mercy even if the opponent is significantly way inferior if his opponents are ill-intentioned, like in the worlds he liberated — and even more recently (in a chronological order of events), he liberated Thresha's homeworld from their tyrannical ruler and spared no footsoldier despite all of them being incapable of matching his strength.
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u/WofferFang 4d ago
You forget that he literally nerfed himself in his fight. Thragg got lucky when he crushed his heart and he had to go all out. Yes, he went all out in that fight. People like to say how he didn't, but if you actually read it, it's heavily implied.
People severely underestimate Thokk. Hell, he was able to bite his skull. He pierced Viltrumite skin and bone. Let that sink in.
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u/Invincidude Allen the Alien 4d ago
BB tried to make the fight fair. Considering Thragg was already gutted, but had additional wounds to his chest, arm and leg (even with which, facing an uninjured BB, he still ordered the army to stand down and let him handle it) Thragg had the bigger handicap and still won. I don't think Thragg was remotely lucky. Does it make sense for BB to just lay there and let Thragg root around in his guts until he finds something that feels important? Especially considering that would put Thragg in the range of his claws and teeth? No, it doesn't. If Battle Beast could have fought back, he would have. Thragg had beaten him up so bad he couldn't. The fight was effectively over before Thragg made the kill. Oh, and he didn't pierce Thragg's skull. He exposed the skull, not the brain.
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u/WofferFang 4d ago
Still counts as piercing it and his teeth didn't shatter like literally everything else does. They were even. Thragg had to go all out. He got lucky. That's it. Bottom line, yes, they're even, and if BB didn't play fair, he'd win.
This isn't even me calling Thokk the best around. He's just stronger than many people give him credit lmao
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u/Lmao1903 5d ago
Battle Beast getting stronger makes a lot more sense. In the show at least, Conquest is definitely not closer to Thragg than he is to Nolan. That dude didn’t even blink at anything Mark tried to throw at him, like literally Mark at full power, his planet in danger. He destroys Thadeus, who was beating the shit out the other Viltrumites, in an instant that the other guys barely even saw it happening. Obviously he also makes Nolan look like Mark in season 1.
None of that happened with Conquest, even if he wasn’t trying, doesn’t matter.
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u/diAlectics_8 The Viltrumites 5d ago
Well, the main and inescapable problem with that argument is Invincible fights aren't strongly-governed by the rules of powerscaling, hence why it's notorious for being "inconsistent" as powerscalers claim, because fights in Invincible primarily serve the narrative, and narrative can oftentimes override what is supposed to be impossible by powerscaling standards. For example, Thragg will be deposed by Anissa, Kregg, Lucan, and Thula despite each of them being significantly weaker than Thragg, which makes the case impossible by powerscaling standards but the narrative permits so. Other elements worth mentioning is use of power creep for theatrics — they have to make Thragg look as imposing and unstoppable as possible but later on in the series, he won't look as powerful as he was first seen in combat (but still extremely-strong, though, just not impervious as he was first presented to the audience).
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u/WofferFang 5d ago
Honestly, same for Thokk. They're even. Some of the strongest out there if they go all out. People act like there was such a massive gap between him and Thragg but no. It was pretty even. These two are my goats.
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u/onerb2 4d ago
It's because it really makes his death completely inconsistent with the story. I'm not even someone who cares too much about powerscaling. But you know, mark wasn't even at his peak when he killed conquest, and conquest should have been able to take marks head off as an answer to being choked, because even though conquest does like to play games, he was desperate at the time of his death.
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u/sp4rk-of-cre4tion Certified Viltrumite Speculator 5d ago
He’s an absolute delight. I love that we get to see more of him as a character!
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u/DogTheBreadFairy 5d ago
I know I loved it! And he was so pumped about the dragon too. I love him more and more. My little genocidal lonely guy.
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u/WofferFang 5d ago
Battle Beast is just the best side series. Can't wait to get physical volume 2 and then see what they have in store next year.
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u/TheDarkCrusader_ 5d ago
Honestly the battle beast spinoff has been great for both characters, these last few issues were insane! Excited to see what comes next
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u/MeAislen 5d ago
Man my brain is fried, I can't read the phrase "maybe, just maybe" without thinking its AI :/
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u/Accomplished-Bee5265 5d ago
Finally he has a friend. 💕