The Real Reason There Are Less Than 50 Viltrumites In Invincible

This article contains spoilers for “Invincible.”

The defining moment of “Invincible” comes early on in the comic (and in the very first episode of the series), when superhero Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) reveals himself as a brutal invader. After killing his fellow superheroes on the Guardians of the Globe, Nolan shares the truth with his son Mark/Invincible (Steven Yeun). Nolan’s people, the Viltrumites, are an empire out to conquer all life in the universe. Long ago the Viltrumites battled amongst themselves to purge their gene pool of all but the “strongest.” Now they’ve unleashed their near-insurmountable strength of the rest of the cosmos.

It’s a scary premise for an alien race, like the Saiyans from “Dragon Ball” mixed with Nazi eugenicists, or if Krypton was full of only General Zods. An evil Superman archetype like Omni-Man is not exactly a novel idea, but it’s gutting here because of the personal betrayal. Mark idolized his dad as a man and hero, so having to fight him crushes him. Of course, flash forward to “Invincible” season 3 and Nolan has had a change of heart. Allying with foe-turned-friend Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen), Nolan reveals the Viltrumites’ greatest secret: there are less than 50 of them left. And since Nolan and Allen have killed one of Nolan’s would-be Viltrumite executioners, that number is now even lower!

But wait, aren’t the Viltrumites all-but invincible? This twist accounts for the small number of Viltrumites we’ve seen, but any time they’ve shown up it’s been terrifying. Nothing in a Viltrumite’s path, except another one, can stop it. Have they been losing their wars that badly? Is their low population the result of attrition? Not exactly. 

Here’s the broadest answer possible: the Viltrumites have fallen victim to a plague and the remaining ones have immunity. Any further details require looking ahead in the “Invincible” comic, so beware of spoilers.

We know eight of the currently living pure-blooded Viltrumites: Nolan, Grand Regent Thragg, Conquest, General Kregg (Clancy Brown), Anissa (Shantel VanSanten), Thula (Grey DeLisle), Lucan (Phil LaMarr), and Thaedus (Peter Cullen). Like Nolan, Thaedus has defected from the Empire; in fact, he’s the leader of the anti-Viltrumite alliance the Coalition of Planets and Allen’s boss. To conceal his true heritage, Thaedus wears a beard beneath his typical Viltrumite mustache.

Thaedus is also the reason there are so few Viltrumites. As leader of the Coalition, he oversaw the development and deployment of a “Scourge Virus,” a bio-weapon to kill Viltrumites. It worked all too well, wiping out 99.9% of Viltrumites.

Based on the rate season 3 is going, “Invincible” season 4 will adapt the “Viltrumite War” arc. This features Mark and Oliver (Christian Convery) heading out into space to fight the Viltrumites alongside their father, Allen, and the rest of the Coalition forces. The Scourge Virus becomes a plot point in this story, so expect more detail on it in season 4 as well.

Are the Viltrumites doomed to become extinct? Not at all. You may have noticed that Viltrumites look a lot like humans; the comic doesn’t go into why, but it turns out this means that human and Viltrumite DNA is highly compatible. Note how Mark is a Viltrumite-human hybrid, but he’s almost as strong as a 100% Viltrumite. So, to rebuild their numbers after the war, the remaining Viltrumites “settle” on Earth the way Nolan did. They plan to pose as humans, find partners, and spread their seed to build their population back up to civilization-appropriate levels. Viltrumites live for centuries, so they can afford to play a long game like that.

“Viltrumite War” is only the halfway mark of “Invincible,” so rest assured that even as the show is ramping up, there will still be seasons’ worth of story to tell for years to come.

“Invincible” is streaming on Prime Video.