Stand ready for my arrival, Worm.
This line marks the entrance of one of the most interesting characters in “Invincible” (2021). A feared adversary, Conquest is the most powerful soldier in the Viltrumite Empire, sent to earth to subjugate it. He stands against Invincible, and as the fight progresses, his facade crumbles.
You were given orders, you were given time. You were given more leeway than most, and yet I find this planet unprepared for the arrival of our Viltrum Empire. The Empire anticipated your resistance, which is why they sent me. I am Conquest, and I am your last chance to fulfill your duty.
His introduction is one of strength and power. He descends, a vulture upon his prey. More than a vulture, he is biblical in his approach. A harbringer of doom, a force of nature. He knows every bit of his power, and he relishes in it. But he arrives as a tool of the Empire, a soldier sent to do a job.
Invincible rises in anger. When the human-raised Mark Grayson first encountered others of his kind, he tries to solve the conflict with words. Yet he meets Conquest with a raised fist, and the two fight. The fight is brutal, and Conquest revels in it. His facade of a soldier crumbles as he toys with Invincible:
The truth is, I want you to resist. I'm not here to save you. I'm not here to spread the greatness of the Viltrum Empire. I'm here because I enjoy this. See, to me, there is no greater pleasure than feeling the warmth of my fist, drenched in blood.
Conquest’s bloodlust is palpable. To him, life is most simple in combat. A winner and a loser, a predator and prey. No ulterior motives, no empire to serve. Just him and his opponent. There’s a beauty in this simplicity, a purity in the violence. When all else is stripped away, when the world is reduced to a single moment, Conquest finds joy.
As the adrenaline fades, so does Conquest’s thirst for blood. What remains? Only his true motivation, which is revealed in a moment of vulnerability:
Pay Attention! I am so lonely. All the other Viltrumites are scared of me. No one talks to me. No one wants to be my friend — They think I am unstable. They send me from planet to planet committing atrocities in their name. And as I get better at it, they fear me more and more. I am a victim of my own success...
The most powerful, the most successful, and the most accomplished, Conquest stands alone. His merits raise him to a pedestal that no Viltrumite wants to approach. He follows orders, travels the galaxy in the name of his Empire, but. He is a soldier with no home. No one to talk to, no one to share his victories with.
He is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more he succeeds, the more he is feared. The more he is feared, the more he is alone. More than this, though, his wars build baggage. With no one to share his hardships with, both his resentment and his trauma build. If he were to find a ready ear, he would share millenia of pain. Too much pain for a single person to bear. So Conquest remains alone. His only audience literally captive, forced to listen to his monologue.
One redditor says “I think those other Viltrumites are absolutely correct, he IS unstable.” This consensus is a misunderstanding. Conquest is not unstable, just a man with too big a burden to bear. He channels it into his work, work which nothing to alleviate his need for connection.
He continues:
Conquest. I don't even get a real name, only a purpose. I am capable of so much more and no one sees it. Some days I feel so alone I could cry, but I don't. I never do. Because what would be the point? Not a single person in the entire universe would care. Take it to your grave.
Every word drips with pain. Conquest is tired. He is tired of fighting, tired of being a thankless tool. He plays the monster, trying to perform what is demanded of him. But he would love any other role. Like any man, he is capable of more. He wants to provide, to be a friend, to be a partner. He wants to be a person, yet is reduced to an icon. A symbol of power, a weapon of war. Nobody loves a weapon, and Conquest is no exception.
But he is right. There is no point in crying. No one would care, that is the truth of it. Men’s struggles are unseen, and the world is indifferent to them. Conquest’s pain is a burden he must bear alone, however unjust this expectation is. Besides, what would crying help? It solves nothing, only shows weakness. And weakness is not tolerated in the Viltrumite Empire.
Like many modern shows, the foil between the emotionally-repressed Conquest and well-connected Mark is squandered. Both characters survive their encounter, and the clash of ideologies remains unresolved. I would be extremely interested to see a story where Conquest’s pain is resolved, yet it is unlikely for the showrunners to explore his humanity. They seem content to paint his as a monster, to make the conflict a simple one.
It isn’t. How would Conquest be rehabilitated? Every support network needs to be built from a single person, and Conquest has too much pain for any single person to bear. He is hopeless. His society has failed him, and while he could simply leave the Empire and go his own way, he would lose any semblance of connection.
Then, he would be truly alone. But what more can be done?