r/Invincible • u/Lukas-Reggi Ember • Apr 24 '24
Ok but why adding "the alien" into the name when like half of the characters are aliens? DISCUSSION
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u/beardownbara Apr 24 '24
Play on words. “Allen” sounds and looks a lot like “alien”.
Alliteration is fun
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u/lemme_try_again Apr 24 '24
I'd like to add while others are an alien, he's Allen the alien.
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u/kniGhgArdlyb-G89 Apr 24 '24
He’s Him
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u/TheNeonLich Show Fan Apr 24 '24
He’s been Him, and he will continue to be Him
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u/nepo5000 Allen the Alien Apr 24 '24
There’s a couple times where his himness may be called into question, but he always shows up
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u/PayRealisticReddit Apr 24 '24
When not him, he becomes him.
When he is him, he stays him.
When he was him,
He left room for him
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u/xHoodedMaster Comic Fan Apr 24 '24
you know that he's him because there's only one i.
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u/GodzillaUK Apr 24 '24
"One little line and the movie would be called Allen..."
"I got an alien in me~ it's busy as a little bee~ Gonna be my dinner guest, when it bursts out of my chest~ I got a little alien in meeeee"
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u/AwarenessPrudent2689 Invincible Apr 24 '24
Alot of the characters were clearly named what they were because of the pun lol
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u/Locem Apr 24 '24
Took me a shameful amount of time to realize Multi-paul was word play on multiple.
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u/beardownbara Apr 24 '24
Ready to have your mind blown again? Duplikate… is duplicate!
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u/Locem Apr 24 '24
Yea I had caught that one, dunno why Paul eluded me until recently.
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u/MotkaStorms Apr 24 '24
This! As someone who likes to draw an has recently started looking at lettering, the sheer number of fonts where they look like the same word has been wild!
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u/latvia100 The Mauler Twins Apr 24 '24
Maybe they see Unopans as more "Alien" than other aliens. I, for one, haven't seen any other cyclops species in the show besides them. There's also the fact that Allan and Alien sound a lot alike. Maybe Kirkman just thought it was funny or something.
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u/squarerootbear Apr 24 '24
I would say they are also more alien then all other species on a technical level, Given that Unopans have no home planet (anymore) there isn’t really a world they aren’t considered aliens.
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u/Pokermans06 Apr 24 '24 edited Apr 24 '24
It’s cuz he’s the last unopan Edit; he’s not im a moron. We just never see any other unopans outside of the flashback so I figured he was
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u/Invincidude Allen the Alien Apr 24 '24
No he isn't. They have breeding camps to keep their species alive. Allen himself stresses about having sex with his girlfriend because Unopans aren't supposed to have sex with anybody - he worries if his "cycles" are off or low, he'll get in trouble. So clearly, even Allen is expected to donate genetic material to keep the species alive.
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u/Aj_Caramba Apr 24 '24
I wonder if what makes him so powerful (or able to get so powerful) can be transferred to his offspring. If so, Unopans can get near to Viltrumite power levels as a species.
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u/El_Psy_100 Apr 24 '24
Even if it can, I doubt Unopan's would stay at Viltrumite levels for long. Allen was weaker than viltrumites naturally and needed several boosts to get to his final power level. Once people realize that Unopans can survive otherwise fatal injuries and gain a boost from them, they'll probably adapt and just start beheading them completely.
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u/latvia100 The Mauler Twins Apr 24 '24
Wait, is he really the last one? Like, what happened to the refugees that fled Unopa? Or the ones that made Allan? Sorry, because I'm not that familiar with the comics. But I didn't get by watching the show of what happened to the rest of them.
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u/WOOWOHOOH Where's Mark, William? Apr 24 '24
He's not.
However, since they don't have a home world anymore it would be accurate to say they are aliens everywhere.
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u/Luke-Warm-S0up Apr 24 '24
also, he travels to more planets that most species ever do for his "job." he probably is used to being the only alien around
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u/Aok_al Apr 24 '24
It just rolls off the tongue better. It's like how Peter Parker is named Peter Parker but everyone else knows how to park a car
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u/dathunder176 Apr 24 '24
Invincible fans still discovering that the comics/show is an elaborate deconstruction of the entire superhero genre and pretty much everything in it are subtle jabs to established conventions from the genre.
It's a writer's joke, simple as.
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u/The_Thin_King_ Apr 24 '24
He is the last of his kind. in a universe full of aliens he will always be an alien to everyone.
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u/Invincidude Allen the Alien Apr 24 '24
No he isn't. There are other Unopans still. They have breeding camps to prevent their extinction. Allen is unique among Unopans, but not the last one.
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u/The_Thin_King_ Apr 24 '24
Yeah I forgor. But Point still stands his race has been evicted from their home planet so they have become an alien wherever they go.
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u/Resident_Hair3065 Where's Mark, William? Apr 24 '24
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u/GWolfie95 Apr 24 '24
well theres 2 of them.
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u/MutedIndividual6667 Get me pictures of Invincible! Apr 24 '24
Yeah, but only one is the original
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u/7777Leo7777 Apr 24 '24
If the other is an exact copy, both are original
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u/PandasDontBreed Apr 24 '24
Yeah, an original copy
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u/SKiddomaniac Red Rush Apr 24 '24
None of them are original. The original mauler is long gone and long dead
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u/BNB3737 Apr 24 '24
That’s what the copy would say
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u/SKiddomaniac Red Rush Apr 24 '24
im not the copy your the copy
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u/BNB3737 Apr 24 '24
What? impossible, I remember Cloning you, I remember making the machine
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u/Idrinkgermaline Apr 24 '24
I don't think the Maulers are aliens. I've not read the comics, mind you.
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u/inconspicuous_male Apr 24 '24
I haven't read the comics either [which means if you have, please please please don't comment] but my theory is that they started as humans, and each clone is slightly deviated from the previous so over time they developed into monsters.
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u/Rhids_22 Apr 24 '24
My thoughts were that since they are clearly experts in genetics and in transferring consciousness they started life as a singular scientist that decided to design a new genetically advanced body that was very strong and very durable then transferred their consciousness into that body.
The original then died (most likely killed by the copy as they were clearly the original since they looked completely different) and then the copy generated a new body and they continued from there.
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u/kniGhgArdlyb-G89 Apr 24 '24
Damn that theory would make a lot of sense and it would tie back in with why they can’t know who the original is. I wonder why they would call themselves brothers though if originally one clone was the creation/invention of another, I feel like that would be more like a son. Maybe the original scientist lost his twin brother in an accident or something and he tried to clone himself to recreate his twin, but he gave the new body enhanced strength and resilience so his new brother couldn’t die again.
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u/Idrinkgermaline Apr 24 '24
I just assumed they did an Angstrom Levy style upgrade with their genetic manipulation knowledge, and ended up looking like that.
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Apr 25 '24
think about it. He is the Coalition of Planet’s guy who travels the universe to different planets to see if they are capable of defending themselves. He is ALWAYS the alien, especially now that his home planet is gone, anywhere he goes hes the alien.
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u/RedArrow171 Apr 24 '24
I always assumed it’s because his name gets confused with Alien, like how he confused Earth for Urath.
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u/Dolot Vidor Apr 24 '24
Maybe it's his class?
Robot the robot
Allen the Alien
Amber the Soup distributor
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u/DracoZeBoi Apr 24 '24
Iirc Allens home planet was conquered by Viltrum and the Unopans were genocided, so Allen will always be an alien to everyone because he has no home planet
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u/Fernisbestgirl Apr 24 '24
Wasn't Allen the first alien Mark encountered that wasn't Sol based or inter-dimensional?
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u/ryzu11 Battle Beast Apr 24 '24
I think we can also count his father as an alien.
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u/Majam303 Apr 24 '24
That falls under "sol based." They're basically saying the other aliens are established to live on earth and/or be from our solar system. Allen is the first alien encountered by the reader/viewer that isn't already on earth.
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u/pritheemakeway Apr 24 '24
He is an emissary. That is his job. When he shows up somewhere, he is technically the alien.
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u/ForestEnjoyer Apr 25 '24
I figured it was to emphasize that he was one of the first alien species we see interacting with the earth characters, besides omni man and mark obviously
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u/unintentional-tism Apr 24 '24
Coz he only visits other planets to fight people. He is always alien
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u/calvicstaff Apr 24 '24
Besides the fun word play, as I understand it his home planet was completely annihilated, so wherever he goes, he is an alien there
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u/Nightkickman Two-Punch Man Apr 24 '24
His job is to literally fly to alien planets. Everyone he meets probably calls him alien. Also not like theres many Unopans around.
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u/Bobsothethird Apr 24 '24
He's one of the few 'aliens' that's actively set foot in myriad worlds. It would make sense that he'd be known as an alien the same way someone may be known as 'the Wanderer' or the 'Troubador'.
Also it's good alliteration.
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u/Ashamed_Alarm_958 Apr 24 '24
Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think anyone actually in the show refers to Allen as 'Allen the Alien' I'm pretty sure it's just 'Alen'. To us the watchers of the show he is of course an alien and gives us the comedic vibe that his character delivers with being such a simple name.
P.S allens my favourite character
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u/AleksasKoval Banished to Hell Apr 24 '24
I figured it might have to do with their scarcity. Like how rare they are that people of ither species recognise them as the odd ones out.
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u/Devlord1o1 Apr 24 '24
Maybe the unopans follow a sonic the hedgehog type naming scheme and since Allen was modified to be so different he chose the moniker Alien.
Or maybe it’s because hes a big goofy dude.
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u/SirJacob100 Omni-Man Apr 24 '24
Most other species found it derogatory but Allen just thought it sounded cool so added it to his title.
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u/Col_Redips Apr 24 '24
For the same reason that the little drone character in Jet Force Gemini was named Floyd.
Floyd the Droid.
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u/dravenonred Apr 24 '24
The dude scouts other planets and probably got called "Allen the Alien" by so many societies he just adopted it.
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u/Iron-Tooth-Seration Apr 24 '24
A possible in universe, explanation could be because of his job. He goes around to different planets testing the strength of their guardians. So he constantly finds himself being an alien to different planets. Therefore when he goes to a new planet he is Allen the alien.
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u/Ezenthar THINK, MARK! THINK! Apr 24 '24
Because sometimes, to change the entire universe, you have to be-
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u/spiderdranny13 Apr 24 '24
Because it's his job to BE the alien in many planets he visits and "protects" from the viltrumites.
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u/Visible_Video120 Apr 24 '24
He goes to a whole bunch of unexplored planets that presumably have never seen aliens before. It's probably a little joke he does every time
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u/ChillinLikeAKrillin Apr 24 '24
Robert Kirkman has said in interviews that he really just likes the silliness of super hero comics
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u/DaNoahLP Spider-Man Apr 24 '24
Why are human superheroes called "-man" when nearly all of them are male humans?
Spider-Man
Bat-Man
Iron-Man
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u/TimeShine Apr 24 '24
Because he isn't just an alien. He is THE alien. An OG. He out aliens the rest of the aliens.
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u/FluffyPancakes90 Apr 24 '24
I feel like it's like when you call someone The Man. Like, oh yea, Allen? He's the man!
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u/bazzb21 Apr 24 '24
Cause they want to add fun to some characters?
Omni man(we see clearly he is a man)
Invincible(he get he beat everyday)
Battle beast(he is a beast and he for sure battle)
Allen the alien(does it need to specify he is a alien?)
Mtfs just want to do it and thought it was fun.
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u/plogan56 Bulletproof Apr 24 '24
Probably because to every species he recruits to the coalition, he's an alien, it's not exclusive to humans
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u/trisolariandroplet Apr 24 '24
Always feels weird when sci fi characters call someone an "alien." Even Star Trek does it sometimes and it's like...what? EVERYONE is an alien!
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u/scrobrojenkins Apr 24 '24
For some reason (although this universe is much like marvel or any other of the genre- idk why it suddenly bothered me in this franchise) I find that the diverse inhabitants of earth are kindaaa ruining my immersion…
Like mark goes to several other planets and for some reason earth is the only one with mutants, androids, warlocks, other aliens, mad geniuses, monsters, demon detectives, the undead, and pretty much anything else you could think of.
Earth is so extremely unique compared to the cosmos it inhabits… to the point that every other planet seems one note. How come earth is the only planet where their inhabitants have super powers? It’s not even from a singular source that’s specific to earth itself. Curses, mutations, robotic augmentations, experiments gone wrong.. all completely different and unrelated reasons. How come this shit doesn’t happen on Viltrimite?!
Earth in science fiction IMO works best as the baseline of normality, which creates excitement as we begin to explore elsewhere. But here it’s the most strange and impressive place in the universe… we reach a planet that has “____”? Guess what? We have that at home!
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u/Ok_Trifle_4617 Apr 24 '24
He's considered an alien everywhere he goes because he doesn't have a home planet (destroyed by viltrumtes)
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u/Complex-Criticism-38 Apr 24 '24
Now that I am looking at it I agree, most of them are aliens but we could at least call him Allen the unopan because he is the strongest unopan.
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u/TheSynchroGamer Apr 24 '24
Because for almost everywhere he goes he'll always be an 'alien' as most of his race was destroyed
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u/Stingraaa Apr 24 '24
Why call it an alien spider? It's an alien cliff; just call it a spider at this point.
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u/Duffler8 Apr 24 '24
Allen is more alien than other aliens because bro is isolated from his home planet and became a one Allen army therefore his alien status is significant
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u/Batmanfan1966 Apr 24 '24
Same reason we have Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, Steven Strange, Jessica Jones, Susan Storm, Lois Lane, Billy Batson, Guy Gardener, and all the others. Alliterations are fun.
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u/Active_Potato6285 Apr 24 '24
Why is invincible invincible when he still gets his shit rocked by half the cast until he gets to like 500+
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u/TomA0912 Battle Beast Apr 24 '24
He’s essentially a travelling salesman so on most planets he is an alien
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u/DaddyMcSlime Apr 24 '24
My head canon is that: Within the federation he's just Allen most days
however, as a member of the group that fucks around recruiting members to the federation, he has to travel to lots of different worlds, worlds where Unopans have never been seen before, worlds like earth where they've never seen any alien really
and so, when he's out doing his job, he IS allen the alien, he's an alien to everyone he meets outside his home, he probably hears that word on a daily basis, and to the worlds he works with, he's Allen the alien also
in the end, it's just a play on the words being similar, but you can kinda look past that and force some depth on it if you try, which to me ends up looking like this
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u/Odd_Remove4228 Cecil Stedman Apr 24 '24
If I understand correctly Allen calls himself (and is called by others) "Allen the Alien" because of his job, he's basically always going to a planet and "fighting" the strongest individual to measure their strength, so he's always an alien to the inhabitants of the planets he visits.
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u/Competitive-Reason65 Apr 24 '24
Number one
He kinda looks the most like what we imagine a alien would meanwhile the viltrumites look too much like humans and thaxans don't look like what we expect aliens to
Also Allen sounds like alien
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u/Galvano Apr 24 '24
Well he only uses idioms and sayings from Earth, so people might think that's where he's from, but adding the alien clears that right up. 😁
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u/RiceKrispies55 Apr 24 '24
It’s just his title, he goes to planets to get them to join the coalition so to all of them he’d be an “alien”
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u/wkamper Apr 24 '24
Because he goes to a lot of other planets to recruit for the coalition. He is "The Alien" on the other planets he goes. Do, "Allen, The Alien."
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u/NoPattern6014 Apr 24 '24
It’s from Mark’s perspective. It’s the first alien (minus his father) that he meets.
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Apr 25 '24
Because there is also Allen who works in accounting. If I just say Allen, you would t know which one I'm talking about. Am I talking about Allen the alien? Or Allen from accounting? Hence why the title.
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u/IAmNotMyName Vincible Apr 25 '24
I think 2 things. One alliteration is fun. Secondly because it’s absurd for an alien to have such a generically human name. Pointing out he is an alien in his name highlights that absurdity.
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u/Inevitable_Top69 Apr 25 '24
[Said in voice imitating a person with brain damage] Because it fun and funny
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u/doctorctrl Apr 25 '24
I know a guy called Dan and we call him Dan the man even though 50% of humans on this planet are men. It's not Allen the alien. It's Allen THE alien.
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u/SabbyDude Apr 25 '24
Obviously and why isn't everything so bleak and dark that it might've only black color, why isn't Mark's face full of pimples, why doesn't everyone say racist/sexist/homophobic things, why isn't there any sex scene? Its a mature comic book, Allen The Alien is simply just a fun word play
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u/Turbulent-Fortune559 Apr 25 '24
His job is to travel to all sorts of planets so he is an alien in every one of those planets so whoever meets just thinks "oh that's allen and he's an alien"
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u/basurasagigilid Apr 26 '24
It's alliteration For example Miles Morales MnM Peter Parker PnP Clark Kent C and k can have similar vowel noises
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u/imisswhatredditwas Apr 24 '24
Aliens always admired alliteration