Mark or Oliver – Who is stronger in Invincible Season 3? Comic book details explored

One of Invincible Season 3's important subplots is that of Mark training his half-brother Oliver to hone the latter's superpowers. The first three episodes have the viewers wondering how strong Oliver is. From what they've seen of him, fans and viewers are wondering if the half-Viltrumite half-Thraxan is like his father, Omni-Man.

A major portion of Invincible Season 3 revolves around Mark training Oliver so that the latter understands what it takes to be a hero. Oliver becomes stronger and more agile like Mark after confronting different villains over the three episodes of this season. It is to be noted that thanks to his Thraxan heritage, Oliver is older than the previous season's finale, where he was just a baby.

Thanks to the speed at which he is growing, fans are wondering if Oliver is stronger than Mark.

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Is Oliver from Invincible Season 3 really stronger than Mark?

The first three episodes of the third season of Invincible hint that Oliver might be stronger than Mark. One of the ways it suggests that is the age at which Oliver gains his powers. Oliver's superpowers manifest when he is much younger than Mark. Conversely, Mark's powers weren't activated until he was 17, but Oliver's emerged when he was around a year old.

He probably gets his powers because of his advanced aging as a half-Thraxan. The rate at which Oliver's powers manifest suggests that either he is stronger than Mark or, at the minimum, adapts to his powers quicker than Invincible. This is hinted at during Oliver's confrontation with the Mauler Twins in Invincible Season 3. Mark found it hard to beat these recurring villains in the previous two seasons.

On the other hand, Oliver quickly defeats the Mauler Twins after he is overpowered initially. Similar to Omni-Man with his prey back in season 1, Oliver kills the twins effortlessly, which ultimately frightens Mark. Because of these scenes, fans and viewers believe that Oliver is stronger than Mark. But that might not be the case in the source material the animated series is based on.

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Is Oliver stronger than Mark like Invincible Season 3 suggests?

After the three-episode premiere, fans are going back to Robert Kirkman's comics to learn about Oliver's power level, and are shocked to learn that Oliver does not even come close to Mark in terms of strength in the original comics. Oliver's fast aging process doubled with Mark's training helped him adapt to his powers quickly. However, there are some downsides to his half-Thraxan DNA.

Mark is half human and half Viltrumite, while Oliver is half-Thraxan. The original comics do highlight that Viltumite and human DNA are compatible with each other, but that's not the same for Viltrumite and Thraxan DNA. Human and Viltrumite genes are incredibly similar, which is why Mark can go head-to-head with a Viltrum native, in theory. Conversely, Thraxans and Viltrumites don't have much in common.

Therefore, the Invincible comics showed Oliver as weaker than the numerous warriors from Viltrum, Mark, and Omni-Man. While there are things in which he is stronger than Mark, Invincible season 3 and future seasons will show, in terms of strength, that Oliver may not be as strong as his older half-brother.

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What do you think, though? Could Oliver be stronger than Mark? If the comics are to be believed, Oliver isn't as strong as Invincible. But also worth noting is that Prime Video's animated series has changed things from the source material here and there. The same can't be said for Oliver's power levels, either.

You can watch the remaining seven episodes of Invincible Season 3 on Prime Video weekly till March 13, 2025.