In Invincible, Thaedus, Allen's boss and the leader of the Coalition of Planets, rebelled against the Viltrum Empire by killing its last Emperor, Argall, but why?
Throughout the Invincible series and comics, it's made a point that Viltrumites don't and can't change their violent nature. Not only did Mark Grayson buck this stereotype by rejecting his father's plans to conquer Earth in the name of Viltrum, but even Nolan eventually found himself on the path to redemption in Season 3.
However, the first Viltrumite to truly find the light was Thaedus, who committed the first recorded act of rebellion in the Empire's history when he committed regicide. But what finally spurred him to act for the betterment of the universe and betray his kind?
Why Thaedus Killed Emperor Argall
Warning - The rest of this article includes major spoilers for the Invincible comics and potential future events in the Invincible animated series.
The Invincible comics never delved into Thaedus' backstory on Viltrum beyond his murder of Emperor Argall thousands of years ago, the first documented act of rebellion in Viltrum's history. As for why he did it, according to Thaedus, he "grew to believe [Viltrum's] actions to be, for lack of a better word...evil."
After Viltrum hid and removed Thaedus' crime from their records, he dedicated his life "to bring an end to this age of violence and fear," which is why he founded the Coalition of Planets. Thaedus had always thought he was in this fight alone, an anomaly among his kind, until Allen the Alien told him about Mark Grayson.
Although, what's curious about Thaedus is that he's still, in fact, an anomaly. While readers never learned precisely how Thaedus realized that his Empire's actions were evil, it appears that he came to that conclusion all on his own and without any outside influence.
Mark likely remained good, unlike his many evil counterparts, because he was raised as a human being and not a Viltrumite. The rest of the Viltrumites, once they immigrated to Earth and had children with humans, mellowed out considerably and realized the error of their Empire's violent ways.
However, there's no suggestion that Thaedus had a past lover or mingled with other species to help him realize this. Something that's quite admirable and speaks to Thaedus' character as an altruistic leader.
But Thaedus committed one other grave sin against the Viltrum Empire after killing Argall, possibly leaving the Empire even worse than he had left it.
Did Thaedus Make Things Worse Killing Argall?
Of course, in the millennia-long term, Thaedus killing Argall was ultimately the right decision, but before the universe could heal, there was a lot of pain and suffering. After Argall's death, his heirs were lost, leading to The Great Purge on Viltrum, which lasted for a hundred years.
From the culling of the weak, Thragg rose to become the strongest Viltrumite and the Grand Regent of the Empire, tasked with finding the lost heirs. However, in Thaedus' efforts to stop the Empire, he created a deadly virus: The Scourge.
Thaedus never learned of its decimating effects until Nolan told him, which shocked him, not realizing that the virus had driven them to near extinction. In the chaos, Thragg declared the heirs truly lost and remained in power until the other Viltrumites dethroned him when Thragg revealed the true heir to be Nolan.
But according to Anissa (read more about this controversial Invincible character here), "It was never Argall's strength [they] followed. It was his wisdom," something which Thragg never understood. With that in mind, how much more evil had Thragg made the Empire in his time as ruler compared to Argall?
Thragg's perspective and reliance on strength over wisdom could have caused the Empire's tyranny across the universe to worsen. But despite these short-term struggles, Thaedus' actions eventually led to the Empire reforming itself under Mark into a beacon of hope for the universe instead of a plight.
It's only a shame that Thaedus would never live to see it, dying at the hands of Thragg for his many crimes against the Empire.
Invincible Season 4 is confirmed to be released in 2026 on Amazon Prime Video.
