The last time audiences saw Conquest, whether they knew it or not, the Viltrumite still had all his limbs, but he's missing an arm in his Season 3 arrival in Invincible.
Invincible has teased Conquest since Season 1 and even more since Anissa warned Mark Grayson about his impending arrival in Season 2. Someone stronger and more terrifying than her or Nolan, both of whom already easily disproved the legitimacy of Mark's superhero alias.
However, some attentive viewers of the latest episode might have noticed that Conquest isn't quite as whole since the last time they saw him, sporting a new prosthetic arm and a nasty scar across his face.
Conquest Arrives in Invincible Missing An Arm
Conquest made an early-bird cameo in Invincible's Season 1 finale, "Where I Really Come From," when Nolan told Mark Viltrum's true history, including the Great Purge—a culling of "the weak from [Viltrum's] society," with Conquest as one of the many who "emerged from the ashes" as "unstoppable."
In Season 2, Episode 7, "I'm Not Going Anywhere," the Viltrumite warrior Anissa warned Invincible that the Viltrumite after her "[would] demonstrate the error of [Mark's] ways." She even prayed that Mark wouldn't fight back against him.
Taking Anissa's warning seriously, especially after already being on the receiving end of two one-sided Viltrumite beatdowns, Mark underwent intense training for when the next enforcer of the Empire would come.
While the penultimate episode of Invincible Season 3, "What Have I Done?" had Mark fighting more Viltrumites, it was against evil versions of himself. Despite heavy losses, including Rex Splode, Invincible and the rest of Earth's heroes fended them off, but Mark and the world faced one last horrible surprise: Conquest.
Voiced by The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Conquest has one less arm and eye than the last time audiences (briefly) saw him. Considering a Viltrumite's amazing renenerative qualities, it's rare to find a Viltrumite with such injuries, with the only other example being Clancy Brown's General Kregg, who's also missing an eye.
After how much build-up Conquest has gotten the past two seasons of Invincible, it's scary to imagine what could have caused such permanent injuries to the veteran Viltrumite.
How Conquest Lost His Arm in the Comics
Warning - The rest of this article includes major spoilers for the Invincible comics and potential future events in the Invincible animated series.
In issue #66 of Invincible, Nolan revealed to Allen the Alien that what reduced the Empire to only 50 Viltrumites was a manufactured virus called The Scourge, which killed 99.9% of their population. While most died, some would have their bodies ravaged, inside and out, with General Kregg losing his right eye to the virus.
Those few who survived infection had "deadly after effects," with Conquest being one of them. According to Nolan, after the virus had left their systems, it would render them nearly powerless for a limited time, with "greatly diminished" strength and invulnerability.
Conquest discovered this the hard way when a pack of Rognarr effortlessly tore off his arm and took his eye. In Season 2, Episode 6, "It's Not That Simple," these creatures are introduced as one of the few existing Viltrimute weaknesses in the galaxy for their superior strength and durability.
It only makes Conquest's survival against them under the "deadly after effects" of The Scourge virus all the more impressive. And now Mark will have to fight this flying juggernaut all by himself, when he couldn't even land a single scratch on the last two Viltrimutes he fought.
The Season 3 finale of Invincible will stream on Amazon Prime Video next Thursday, March 13.
