In the Invincible Season 2 finale, a future version of Robot took off his mechanical head and revealed himself to seemingly be Rex-Splode. While this may confuse non-comics readers, the original story explains why this happened.
In its first two seasons, Invincible on Amazon Prime Video has successfully balanced being faithful to its source material and offering new spins and perspectives on familiar stories.
In doing so, the show can bring the story from the comics to an entirely new audience but does not exclude fans who know the comics forward and back from the chance to be surprised and engaged when watching.
Still, it can be fun for those who are more familiar with the series to recognize moments that foreshadow future twists and plot points.
[ Invincible Season 2 Showrunner Defends Changes from the Comics (Exclusive) ]
Was Future-Robot Rex in Invincible Season 2's Finale?
In Invincible Season 2, Episode 8, Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) saw a potential future Guardians of the Globe, including a version of Robot who appears to be Rex-Splode.
This potential future version of the team devoted years to finding the wayward Mark, trapped alone in an alternate universe. After they saw Mark off to the past, Robot removed his mechanical head to reveal the face of Rex-Splode, likely much to the confusion of many fans.
The explanation for why it seemed that Rex was inside the Robot suit is that Rudy, the Robot fans are familiar with already, is actually a younger Rex.
In Season 1, Robot created a new body for himself. In doing this, he used the DNA of his teammate, Rex-Splode. So it would make sense that years later, this younger version of Rex would grow up and look like the Rex fans are familiar with.
However, Atom Eve explicitly refers to him as Rex, not Rudy (the name Robot took on with his new body). Many may think that the person operating the Robot suit in this potential future is Rex himself.
This is where the comics come in.
Warning - The rest of this article includes spoilers for the Invincible comics and potential future events in the Invincible animated series.
The events of the Invincible comics reveal that the seeming Rex-Splode under the Robot suit from the future seen in Season 2, Episode 8 is Rudy, the Robot fans are familiar with from the rest of the show.
In a future one-issue event called Invincible War, the Guardians of the Globe are fighting an army of evil versions of Invincibles.
In a battle with one of these variants, Rex sacrifices himself to destroy the evil variant he was fighting with. Following Rex's death, Rudy begins going by Rex in his honor.
As such, there is a Robot who looks like Rex and a lack of a traditional Rex-Splode on the team that encounters Mark. Fans can presume that between the events of Mark's disappearance and the future teased in the episode, the Invincible War arc happened.
The Invincible War on the Horizon
Given its chronological placement and teases throughout Season 2, Invincible's already-confirmed Season 3 will likely see Invincible War and its aftermath.
The most obvious reason to expect Invincible War in Season 3 is that it is one of the next arcs in the Invincible comics. It comes after Mark seemingly killed Angstrom Levy and exists within the larger story of Mark's emotional reckoning with this action, all things seen or introduced in the Season 2 finale.
Beyond that, though, Season 2's title card each episode has been cracking more and more until the finale's reveal of an all-blue-and-black title card going into Season 3.
Comics fans may recognize that color scheme from Mark's suit during the Invincible War arc and its surrounding era, something which the official Invincible X (formerly Twitter) account all but confirmed:
"Black and blue title card! What can we say, we just wanted a change. Like when you paint your house. Foreshadowing? What is that?"
The finale also sets the stage for evil versions of Mark across the Multiverse, the Sequids and Rus Livingston, and Oliver's continued rapid growth, all of which play a role in Invincible War.
While waiting for more information about Season 3 and its probable Invincible War adaptation, though, fans can stream Invincible's first two seasons on Amazon Prime Video.
Read more about Invincible on The Direct:
Invincible Season 3: Release, Cast & Everything We Know
Invincible Season 2 Finale's Spider-Man Cameo Explained by Showrunner (Exclusive)
Invincible Season 2: Who Is Anissa? Controversial Character Explained
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
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