Invincible's Dark Future has a shocking villain, and it isn't the Viltrumites

Invincible brought back Dropkick and Fightmaster in the fourth episode of Season 3, and they're in need of Mark's help. They have traveled back to the present from a dark, dystopian future. The Earth is ruled by a superpowered despotic ruler, which makes Mark and the viewers assume that the king in question is a Viltrumite. However, the shocking twist is that the King is none other than the Immortal.

The Immortal is one of this season's divisive characters, and the twist makes him a tragic one, too. This season, he comes across as the Guardians of the Globe's polarizing veteran, and he has gotten worse as he backed Cecil, who is being set up as Invincible Season 3's central antagonist. While most of the Guardians sided with Mark, the Immortal agreed with Cecil.

However, the dark future makes you feel for him, because it looks like he and Mark resolved their issues and became friends in the future. Mark made the Immortal the King of the Earth but, over time, the latter became increasingly despotic, hoping for death, which he seeks at Mark Grayson's hands. During his interaction with Mark, Immortal also revealed something important.

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Why did Mark make the Immortal Earth's ruler in Invincible Season 3?

Invincible Season 3 Episode 4, titled You Were My Hero, unfolds in a hopeless and dark future in which the Immortal has taken over the Earth. Centuries ago, even before Fightmaster and Dropkick, Mark made the Immortal a ruler after he fell ill. Centuries of survival have driven the Immortal to the point of insanity, and he wishes to end his misery.

He asks Mark to end his misery by killing him. To force Mark, or Invincible, the Immortal even goes on to harm one of the twins, which finally compels Mark to kill him. Before dying, the Immortal mentions something surprising that possibly sets up an interesting plot point for the future. Apparently, Mark fell ill, and this was the reason he chose the Immortal as Earth's ruler.

It is revealed that Mark is also alive in this future, but he is sick, and the Immortal wonders if there is a cure for his condition. This is surprising because Mark is half Viltrumite and, therefore, immune to Earth's diseases. So, the thing that got him sick was created to harm Viltrumites. Something similar happens in the comic's source material written by the series creator Robert Kirkman.

The Scourge Virus was introduced in Invincible #67, which killed a lot of Viltrumites. Only a few of them survived the Scourge Virus, including the royalty. Mark is infected by an evolved strain of the virus and loses his powers. But Mark's father Nolan originally hails from a superior royal family. Therefore, Mark was able to recover over time and get his powers back.

It looks like Season 3 is hinting at the same virus, but the animated Prime Video series has changed the comicbook storyline a bit. The Immortal was made the ruler of Earth centuries ago, when he may have gotten sick. And while Mark is still alive, he is still without power and sick centuries later. It is worth noting that this is not the first time the show has deviated from the source material.

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Do you think that the forthcoming episodes will expand upon the Scourge Virus? Find out by watching the remaining episodes of Invincible Season 3.