r/Invincible • u/mwthecool Omni-Mod • Nov 17 '23

Invincible [Episode Discussion] - S02E03 - This Missive, This Machination! EPISODE DISCUSSION

Episode 3 - This Missive, This Machination!

Mark starts his college career, Debbie struggles with personal trauma, and Allen the Alien returns home to find a new threat facing the Coalition of Planets.

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766

u/mylegsweat Nov 17 '23

That fight scene with those three Viltrumites and Alan was amazing!! They are so fast, they were seemingly teleporting between hits. So ruthless. Can’t wait to see more development within that.

518

u/mmcintoshmerc_88 Battle Beast Nov 17 '23

I've said it before but, the show does such a good job of showing that despite being strong, Allen's no real match and the Viltrumite's are just on this different level of speed, strength and brutality.

373

u/mylegsweat Nov 17 '23

I love Alan’s little smile. Knowing there’s no way out, he then decides to mock them… They toy with him like a pack of intergalactic dogs. Smashing him up, ripping off his arm and eventually slamming her whole arm through his stomach (the Viltrumite classic).

308

u/ganzgpp1 Nov 17 '23

I'm also SO very glad he's aware enough to know "these guys are the bad guys. Like the actual worst. If I lie to them, they'll kill me. If I tell them the truth, they'll STILL kill me. Might as well have some fun and not give out any information since it's a lose-lose either way."

Too many shows write the good guy giving some semblence of trust to the baddies and it always turns out poorly.

22

u/AllinForBadgers Nov 17 '23

Like how Mark trusts the bug alien?

That’s not a writing flaw it’s just how the narrative goes sometimes

42

u/ganzgpp1 Nov 17 '23

We expect it from Mark- he’s still naïve. The only real dude who gave him any deception problem so far is Nolan, most other villains he hasn’t had to think very hard.

27

u/SachaSage Nov 17 '23

The bug alien was literally briefed by Mark’s dad though. He knew what would get through to mark

19

u/King_of_the_Hobos Nov 17 '23

I'm just confused about the viltrumite behavior. They gave up on getting information pretty much immediately, and they told us in the same episode 10 minutes prior that viltrumites don't abandon their mission. Are they allowed to completely biff it on purpose?

44

u/BardtheGM Nov 17 '23

They're meatheads who use raw overpowering force to win. They're probably not used to using finesse to withdraw information.

36

u/RealAbd121 Nov 17 '23

They gave up on getting information pretty much immediately

this is what happens when you kill anyone of your society who has anything in his brain other than nonstop fighting!

38

u/RunningNumbers Nov 17 '23

Viltrumites murdered anyone with a lick of sense in their society. When you kill off all the bureaucrats, engineers, and intermediaries who are not all dedicated towards being the strongest murderers, you get a certain type of incompetence. Hence why Vilrumites feel the need to conquer and enslave other worlds, they killed off all the people who keep the lights on and trash from accumulating.

18

u/KorianHUN Nov 17 '23

"Too much trash? Compress it into diamond in your hand and throw it into space!" -Viltrumite handbook, probably?

They are so strong they don't need stairs or elevators. Their buildings could be empty frames. No need for walls or doors since they walk through a house like humans walk through air. They can destroy a planet... what point is there to live for for them anyway? You can't build anything that lasts, due to their long lives buildings and statues would crumple over the centuries from exposire to the outside world. No need for clocks or computers because they are so fast they basically teleport. If they know rudimentary astronavigation they are good to go.
Maybe the single thing they need if a handbook or star charts and planet names made from some indestructible material?

1

u/watashi_ga_kita Nov 22 '23

due to their long lives buildings and statues would crumple over the centuries from exposure to the outside world

They could just maintain them like we do in real life.

1

u/KorianHUN Nov 22 '23

You can't accidentally bump into a skyscraper while drunk and destroy it.
For viltrumites it is like if our greatest cities and monuments would be made out of tissue paper, single ply.

1

u/watashi_ga_kita Nov 22 '23

I don't think they can get drunk. Besides, they're capable of controlling their power. It's probably just understood that you have to be more careful in those kinds of areas.

4

u/KnotSupposed2BeHere Nov 17 '23

This comment gives me some quantum of solace about Allen’s death, so thanks. I’m over here mourning an animated character. SMH

87

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '23

eventually slamming her whole arm through his stomach (the Viltrumite classic).

They do like their doughnut-punches.

9

u/WaveBreakerT Nov 17 '23

Viltrumites confirmed to be Jojo fans?

3

u/HippieWizard Nov 19 '23

Akainu confirmed to be a Viltrumite

5

u/SalvadorZombie Nov 18 '23

I think that because Allen's voiced by Seth Rogen people assume he's just a goofy comic relief character, but he has true heroic spirit. He's that guy. If he can't beat you, he's still not going to give up. He really will be the guy you have to kill if it comes down to it.

3

u/Rodiwe008 Nov 18 '23

He is already a real one to me. I mean, you need balls to face 3 psychopathic Supermans much stronger than you, look at your girlfriend (and innocent people around) then look at them and mock their faces in order to be the only victim

MVP

2

u/Redditer51 Nov 18 '23

They're bullies.

169

u/kzoxp Nov 17 '23

And it seems in this episode, they especially focused on Viltrumite speed, first with Mark almost teleporting to turn the light off

135

u/MegaBaumTV Nov 17 '23

And it seems in this episode, they especially focused on Viltrumite speed, first with Mark almost teleporting to turn the light off

They emphasized the Viltrumite superpowers quite a bit. Mark questioning whether drugs would work on him, the super sperm comment...

20

u/GermaX Nov 17 '23

I just loved the Spider-man and The Boys references

19

u/Cloudhwk Nov 17 '23

The sperm comment was a nod to “Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex”

17

u/Limp-Ad-5345 Nov 17 '23

There's a spiderman arc where he kills maryjane too, he has radio active sperm, while superman has 50. cum.

2

u/ProbablythelastMimsy Nov 17 '23

Made me think of Hancock where he "busts" some large holes in the ceiling instead of his lady friend.

8

u/Generic_user_person Nov 17 '23

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m_aMss1p8EQ&pp=ygUQTG9pcyBsYW5lIG11cmRlcg%3D%3D

The sperm immediately reminded me of Lois Lanes murder scene.

1

u/Szygani Nov 26 '23

Also the Mallrats bit

19

u/silverhammer96 Nov 17 '23

They do such a good job showing how strong some characters are, but how weak they are compared to others

8

u/swimminginsweatpants Nov 17 '23

Like an average college player vs an average pro player

Thought it was an honest depiction as well

4

u/reddick1666 Nov 17 '23

The show does a really good job of making Viltrumites intimidating, every time I see Nolan or other Vilturmites I know something brutal is about to happen

3

u/hemareddit Nov 23 '23

For some reason, the woman’s long braid really scares me. You just know she must be incredibly skilled and dangerous, because that’s a huge vulnerability to grappling attacks, so she must be very confident in her own abilities, compared to those like Nolan who favour practical haircuts.

For some reason, in martial arts media, those with long hair styles are always able to fuck people up with ease.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '23

Spoiler: >! that will soon change !<

0

u/Bobjoejj Nov 19 '23

Fuck whoever downvoted this, because holy fuck please. I understand it’s the universe, but damnit I don’t know how y’all enjoy these one sided fights so much.

Yes I can understand the visceral and brutalness of it, very few other shows or films have this level of raw insanity.

But fuck man, let characters fight back!! Let the fights be not so lopsided. It gets tiring and hard to just watch people get the shit beat out of them with no chance to be able to at least defend themselves ot actually push back at all.

15

u/facw00 Nov 17 '23

It is a bit weird though in the sense that there is obviously something that keeps the Viltrumites from just coming in and killing the coalition leadership (mole aside of course), so one would think they would some tech at least marginally able to keep them at bay.

19

u/ikarikh Nov 17 '23

With the reveal at the end, it seems the most plausible they allow the coalition to continue to exist because their leader is feeding them all the info on any ACTUAL plans to destroy them.

Much better to let a bunch of useless nobodies who can't actually hurt you, believe they're an actual rebellion and keep tabs on them for any ACTUAL threats.

That way if a REAL threat arises, they can crush it before it can be used against them.

They're allowed to exist solely because their leader feeds them info on any real threats in exchange for leaving the people on that planet alone and allowing them to pretend they're free.

Which is why the leader likely agreed to it. Because he knows they'd be dead and enslaved otherwise. It's a happy compromise for both.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '23

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1

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '23

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8

u/skyhiker14 Nov 17 '23

Looked like the woman had a knife in her hair at the end of the braid.

3

u/JumpUpNow Nov 17 '23

I kind of got the feeling the Viltrumites were massively holding back to be honest. They were toying with him as they slowly increased the violence of their attacks.

3

u/sephtis Nov 18 '23

As a side note, Mark teleporting across the bed and back begs the question. Why does Mark eat shit all the time.

2

u/LordCaptain Nov 18 '23

I was getting concerned. If it lasts too long and no one shows up to help it shows that even the capital of coalition of planets has zero defenses against even three viltramites which seems insane to even call yourself a resistance at that point.

Like even if they needed 150 demi heroes to show up to match the three of them it would at least show that the coalition can slow them down.

1

u/DerFatEye Nov 17 '23

If you like that, play MK1 with Onmi Man:)I