The 10 Most Powerful Viltrumites In Invincible

Both the original “Invincible” Image Comics series (created by Robert Kirkman and Corey Walker, and with over a hundred of issues of art by Ryan Ottley) and the Amazon Prime Video TV series stand out among a crowded landscape of superheroes. Whether it’s for their colorful characters or their unique perspective on the superhero genre, “Invincible” is worth paying attention to. 

As subversive as “Invincible” can be, however, it still lends itself to the oldest comic shop arguments imaginable: Who would win? We’ve already ranked the strongest characters in “Invincible” overall, but getting more specific, we also wanted to look at the Viltrumites who dominate the series’ power-rankings at large. In doing so, we found the strongest of the strong: the 10 most powerful Viltrumites in “Invincible.”

Spoiler warning for the “Invincible” comics and TV show follow below, so proceed with caution!

Though starting things off with a tie may be offensive to Viltrum’s culture of dominance, it’s just impossible to state with certainty which child of Mark Grayson is truly stronger than the other. The eldest of the two is Terra Grayson, the child he has with Samantha Eve Wilkins, also known as Atom Eve (voiced by Gillian Jacobs in the series). The second, conceived after the birth of Terra, is Markus “Marky” Murphy.

If you’re wondering why his surname isn’t Grayson, it’s because Marky was conceived under deeply disturbing circumstances. The Viltrumite warrior Anissa (who first appeared in season 2 of “Invincible,” voiced by “The Boys” actor Shantel VanSanten) sexually assaulted Mark as a means of forcing him to continue his bloodline, resulting in her becoming pregnant with Marky. (It remains to be seen if the series will adapt this storyline, though there’s no reason to assume as of yet that it will deviate.) She gave birth to him while Mark was away during the comics’ five-year time-jump, and raised him in large part with a human named Scott Murphy whom she married in Mark’s absence.

We don’t learn much about Terra or Marky’s capabilities, beyond that they appear to be as strong or perhaps even slightly stronger than their father was around their ages. There’s no evidence in the series to suggest Marky would have an edge over Terra due to his marginally purer Viltrumite blood, and it’s more than reasonable either one or both of them would become stronger than Mark in their prime. 

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Frequently in both the “Invincible” comics and what has been adapted for the TV show, we see mid-tier Viltrumites who appear to represent the power of the average surviving members of the species. That’ss no small feat in and of itself, given they purged all but 50 of their number as a result of ritual slaughter and the deadly scourge virus, the survival of both marking a Viltrumite as the strongest (and maybe luckiest) of the strongest beings in the universe. Of these characters, two are particularly notable for our purposes given their presence in the series. We’ll start with the lesser of the pair, Thula.

Voiced by Monster Girl and Shrinking Ray voice actor Grey DeLisle in the series, Thula is an older Viltrumite who can be easily recognized for the blade she attached to the end of her long, gray ponytail. Physically, she doesn’t appear to possess any greater capabilities than the other mid-tier Viltrumites we see throughout both series, but we’ll give her a spot on this list for displaying more unique fighting skill than most.

Voiced by legendary voice actor Peter Cullen (one of many voices you may recognize within the ensemble of “Invincible” on Prime Video), Great Thaedus the Betrayer is a Viltrumite defined by his bravery in rebelling against his people’s genocidal ways. He assassinated the first Viltrum Emperor Argall (the father of Nolan Grayson and the grandfather of Mark Grayson), defected from the empire, and founded the Coalition of Planets as a counter-force to the Viltrum imperial imperative.

In the animated series thus far, we actually haven’t seen Thaedus do much physically. In the comics, however, he is an active (and brutally effective) combatant in the Viltrumite War. In the battle, the combined strength of himself, Mark, and Nolan (with a little boost from Space Racer’s asteroid-destroying Infinity Ray) turned the planet Viltrum into a cluster of space rubble. Clearly, his strength is at least comparable to two of the strongest characters in the entire Invincible canon.

At the same time, there’s the matter of his age. There’s some disagreement between “Invincible” fans as to what maturity does to a Viltrumite. Some have a biologically exceptional view of Viltrumite physiology, believing that the older a member of the species gets, paradoxically the stronger they become. Others, however, view it as parallel to how normal human aging works — as you mature, you naturally get stronger, but it’s only dedicated training that yields exceptional results. In other words, Thaedus’ age may not be an indicator of superior strength aside from the fact that he’s had more time to train. It may actually be more of a hindrance as Viltrumites are confirmed to decline physically at least in terms of their speed.

The second mid-tier Viltrumite worth noting is Kregg, the right hand to Grand Regent Thragg, who served in various high-ranking military positions under the rules of both Thragg and, later, a reformed Nolan Grayson (voiced by J.K. Simmons in the series). He is visually distinguishable from other Viltrumites by his bionic eye implant, which gives him some extra options in battle. Overall, however, he simply proves himself to be tougher than others of his class when he goes head-to-head with the series’ leads, even posing something of challenge to Thragg after it is revealed that the Grand Regent’s claim to the throne was invalid. With how Robert Kirkman used him, he seemed to be on deck as the secondary big bad whenever there wasn’t another secondary big bad for Kirkman to throw the heroes’ way (a few of these we’ve ranked higher than Kregg further down the list).

In all honesty, we may be splitting hairs a bit between Kregg and Thaedus, as the two both appear to be at about average to above-average power levels compared to other Viltrumites. That said, during the Viltrumite War in the comics, Kregg’s battle against Thaedus is scripted to make it seem as though the latter would be in danger without the arrival of the likes of Allen the Alien and Tech Jacket (a prominent character from the comics who cameoed in season 3, episode 7, but may have their use greatly restricted by rights issues and/or narrative constraints of a TV adaptation).

Part of what makes the Viltrumites so compelling on “Invincible” is that they can be used to explore the nature of real-world power imbalances, especially with how they relate to imperial government mandates, whether historically or in the present. Though they all seek universal domination, characters like Anissa and Nolan present an attitude that isn’t out of line with some polite real-world analogs — to them, Viltrum is actually doing these conquered planets a favor by assuming control of them, even through violent means, as their integration into the Viltrumite Empire grants them access to better medicine, technology, and defense systems (*types nervously in American*). This is what makes Conquest subtly one of the most important characters in the series — and, much less subtly, one of the strongest.

As fans of the “Invincible” TV series saw at the end of season 3, Conquest (voiced by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is an absolute tank, possessing greater raw strength than almost every other Viltrumite we’ve seen thus far. We’d argue this unusual power is the result of his unique mindset compared to his peers — he sees the promise of Anissa and Nolan as a lie. To him, Viltrumite conquest is… well, all about the Conquest. The flexing of his strength and the brutal subjugation of “lesser” peoples is what inspires him to beat Invincible within an inch of his life. 

In their first exchange, Mark Grayson is only able to defeat him because of Atom Eve’s sudden ability to manipulate biological matter (it’s a whole thing with mental blocks that keep her from being story-breakingly powerfu-… we mean, “that keep her from doing bad stuff or whatever”). Conquest does get got by Mark fair and square, much to Kregg’s surprise, which keeps him just under our next pick.

Again, we may be splitting hairs ever so slightly when it comes to Conquest and Anissa. They seem to be functionally equal in terms of strength and fighting skill, and in all honesty, it would probably depend on the needs of the story which one of them would come out on top in a one-on-one grudge match (cue Stan Lee rant). It doesn’t really make things clearer or easier for us that Conquest is taken off the board long before Anissa, and that her use of her powers is way more complicated afterward (and thus, potentially not entirely comparable to the series’ regular brawls). Having said that, we’ll place Anissa just slightly above Conquest in terms of the final Viltrumite power rankings, as one could come to the conclusion that she did overpower Mark after Mark had already defeated Conquest.

On the other hand, circling back to the psychological aspect of their respective strengths, it’s possible Conquest would have had an easier time defeating Anissa after her marriage to Scott Murphy. Scott seems to have exposed Anissa to a side of humanity that made her slightly redeemable as a character, but also could have taken away the sociopathic edge she once shared with Conquest. Indeed, it doesn’t bode well that while Mark had continued to grow stronger right through to the end of the series to the point that Thragg’s Viltrumite-Thraxan children smash their bodies against his skin trying to hit him, Anissa was gutted by those same children. Then again, we don’t know how Conquest would’ve in the same situation, and it’s certainly plausible that family — in keeping with the show’s central themes — would’ve given Anissa a different, more powerful edge in a competition between them.

In the “Invincible” comic book series, the Coalition of Planets eventually goes to war with the Viltrumites, the latter faction being led by the ruthless Viltrumite Grand Regent Thragg. The destructive battle results in a victory for the reformed and Coalition-aligned Nolan Grayson, who sentences Thragg to exile rather than execution. Thragg thus travels to Thraxa, the planet of bug-like beings whose lifespan is far shorter than the average human, and sets about preparing his revenge by siring countless Thraxan-Viltrumite children who would mature to fighting age as quickly as Oliver Grayson (Mark Grayson’s half-brother, voiced by Lincoln Bodin and Christian Convery in the series).

The prime of his hybrid offspring was Ursaal, born alongside her twin brother Onan. Twins are incredibly rare on Viltrum, leading Thragg to become uniquely fascinated with Ursaal even as they were surrounded by dozens upon dozens (if not 100+) of his children. This attention inspires within Ursaal a desire to be her father’s strongest soldier. She gains strength, speed, and most impressively strategic and combat acumen that far outpaces both her siblings and the full-blooded Viltrumites under Nolan’s rule. Ursaal fights against Kregg in one of the comics’ final battles and essentially wins, and proves to be a near-match for a peak-power Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen’s character in the series) and even Invincible himself (long after he had decisively proved himself superior to Conquest).

In contrast to her monstrous brother, Ursaal shows a capacity for compassion and justice. Before Thragg is defeated once and for all, she calls for an immediate ceasefire and leads her siblings in surrendering. Later, she is able to find her place in the new Viltrum order, finally allowed to forge her own path. Like with Terra Grayson and Markus Murphy, it isn’t unreasonable to assume that she could potentially be stronger than most, if not all, of the characters included on this list by the time she approaches them in age.

If this were a list of Viltrumites with the best story arc and/or facial hair, Nolan would be at the top of this list (sorry, not sorry to Thaedus and Conquest fans — sometimes, simple-but-effective is the way to go). As far as the most powerful Viltrumites in “Invincible” goes, however, #3 is the best we can do. 

As the superhero Omni-Man, Nolan makes a big impact in the comics and TV show very early on as the strongest of the strong. Especially for fans of the latter, it was likely hard to imagine any character defeating him until relatively recently, as it would upset what the status quo of this universe seemed to be. In actuality, there are few Viltrumites — and even a few non-Viltrumites — above his power-level by the end of the series.

This isn’t to say #3 is a small feat. From a younger age, Nolan was recognized by the Viltrumite Empire as being a top-tier combatant and potential conqueror, and was selected for the front lines of their imperial efforts as a consequence. His placement on this list was determined fairly easily, as those who can defeat him in this series are given the chance to prove as much (except for Thokk — aka Battle Beast — who almost certainly would thrash Omni-Man one-on-one). Nolan is ultimately killed by the character ranked directly above him on this list, their final confrontation proving that his adversary was at least physically superior in every way. One could argue Nolan was potentially past his prime and fighting a peak-fitness Viltrumite, but we’re pretty sure every Viltrumite in the series save Thaedus and maybe Thula would functionally be at the same point in their lifespans, which last thousands, if not millions of years.

In contrast to other characters on this list, there’s not really much to say about Grand Regent Thragg’s power-level beyond the fact that he’s basically a character written to be unbeatable by anyone except Mark Grayson. He’s the biggest of the series’ big bads, and he’s almost by default the strongest character in the series proper. As we discussed in a previous piece about the strongest characters in “Invincible” overall, it makes sense for the series overarching message that Thragg is technically physically stronger than Mark by the time of their final confrontation, as it would arguably be thematically undermining for Mark to emerge victorious simply by increasing his own power.

Outside this narrative, it does confirm that Thragg dies decisively stronger than anyone else he comes up against. Maybe one could argue that the character at the #1 spot on our list becomes stronger than Thragg was at his age — or, on the contrary, that Thragg would be exponentially stronger than he ever could have, had Thragg been allowed to grow older as the undisputed Viltrumite Emperor himself.

Mark Grayson coming out on top on our list here may be confusing to some of our more dedicated readers, given that we ranked him #2 — below Grand Regent Thragg — on our list of the 12 strongest characters in “Invincible.” The discrepancy is the result of a final time jump at the very end of the series, which reveals a future version of Mark Grayson that — while not appropriate to consider in our opinion for the broader focus of the previous piece — fits in here as we discuss the hierarchy of Viltrumites as a species in both the comics and the TV show. This is because Mark’s final fate in the former is as the ultimate leader of the new Viltrumite Empire.

Though Mark is able to kill Thragg (only with significant help from his friends and the sun, as noted in the previous piece), it’s only after Thragg manages to kill Mark’s father Nolan. Thus, a reluctant Mark is charged with leading a new iteration of the empire that makes good on its promise to lead all planets into an unending age of peace and technological prosperity. As he grows older, Mark is in fact so successful in this goal that his reign threatens the existence of the Coalition of Planets, leading to a brief civil war between Mark’s forces and the Coalition, led by Allen the Alien. In the end, even Allen is forced to concede that the Coalition becoming obsolete is a good thing so long as Mark’s altruistic work continues yielding positive results for the universe.

Mark seemingly ruled primarily through diplomacy, but this conflict proves that he was still able to physically defend his throne. Given how evenly matched he was with Thragg long before this, it’s reasonable to assume that this final version of Mark is the strongest Viltrumite in the entire series.