Invincible Season 4 Calls Back To A Brutal Death From Episode 1

Warning: This article Contains SPOILERS for Invincible season 4, episode 5, “Give Us a Moment.”Invincible is one of the most unique superhero projects on TV, and alongside having some fantastic writing and exceptional characters, it isn’t shy about depicting extreme violence. Ever since the first episode, Invincible has been quick to let its audience know just how brutal the show is, and things have continued to escalate as the seasons have progressed.

Having already endured countless near-death experiences, Mark Grayson faced one of his most grueling battles in Invincible season 3’s ending, when he went toe-to-toe with Conquest. His rematch in the latest episode was even harder to watch and featured one of the show’s grossest scenes yet, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given how ruthless Conquest has been.

However, before Mark got his hands on the Viltrumite, Oliver challenged Conquest, and despite landing a few promising strikes, things swiftly took a turn for the worse. He may be strong, but season 4’s Oliver isn’t exactly old enough or durable enough to hang with these kinds of fighters, hence almost experiencing the same brutal fate as a season 1 character.

Conquest Vs. Oliver Almost Repeated Red Rush’s Brutal Death At The Hands Of Omni-Man

While Oliver got off to a strong start against Conquest, it wasn’t surprising to see the Viltrumite turn the tide, and he looked poised to kill the youngest member of the Grayson family in a very familiar way. Back in the very first episode, Omni-Man ambushed and killed the entire Guardians of the Globe in one of Invincible‘s most shocking scenes.

During this fight, Nolan delivered a number of brutal kills, but Red Rush suffered the worst fate by far. The speedster attempted to attack Omni-Man, but the Viltrumite was able to grab him by the head. Here, he squeezed with all his might, resulting in Red Rush’s head being crushed by the former villain’s bare hands.

To make matters worse, this felt excruciatingly slow from Red Rush’s perspective, since a second for regular people passes much more slowly to the former Guardian. Fast-forward to season 4, and Oliver nearly died in the exact same way as he was caught between Conquest’s hands, who also began crushing the young hero’s skull.

Like Red Rush, he desperately tried to punch the chest of his opponent, but wasn’t strong enough to make them stop, causing his eyes and nose to bleed from the pressure. Fortunately, Omni-Man was able to save him just in time; otherwise, Oliver was a goner.

Perhaps this scene was meant to demonstrate that Oliver was in over his head, as he is clearly the weakest member of Invincible‘s Coalition of Planets, and will struggle to survive this war. However, this particular sequence also acted as a direct callback to Red Rush’s final moments, which has more meaning than many might expect.

Omni-Man Saving His Son Shows His Journey Has Come Full Circle

After nearly beating his son to death in Invincible season 1’s finale, it’s safe to say Omni-Man isn’t exactly dad of the year material, but saving Olvier highlighted just how far he’s come. Earlier in the episode, he attempted to apologize for his past actions and confronted some of the people he’d hurt, such as Art and Debbie.

It was evidence that Nolan had, in fact, changed, yet he failed to fully see just how destructive his actions were, hence not quite getting the responses he expected. However, putting himself on the line for his son was a full-circle moment that confirmed he wasn’t the enemy anymore, even if he can never truly make up for his sins.

Oliver didn’t want or even appreciate his father’s help, yet it’s the only reason he’s still alive. Omni-Man didn’t intervene for gratitude; he did it because he loves his son and would hate to lose him, a sheer contrast to how he treated Mark in season 1.

Likewise, the fact that he was saving someone from this fate rather than inflicting it is yet another sign that Nolan genuinely wants to make amends. Previously, he was a pure-blooded Viltrumite, willing to kill Invincible‘s original Guardians of the Globe despite them being his allies, purely to carry out his duty to the Empire.

Now, he’s fighting against his own people for the greater good and protecting innocent lives, highlighting his overall growth. This one scene with Oliver and Conquest is the perfect demonstration of how much this former antagonist has progressed, and it has cemented Omni-Man as one of Invincible‘s most interesting characters.