THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE of Invincible Season 2 threw a whole lot of plot into the mixer ahead of next week’s finale.
After nearly dying at the hands of the Lizard King, Rex Splode is back in action with a new bionic hand. Ferguson discovered the truth about his robotic reconstruction, and helped a traumatized Rick come to terms with what was done to them both. The multiverse-hopping evil genius Angstrom Levy returned, just in time to hold Debbie and baby Oliver hostage at the end of the episode. And the strain of dating a superhero finally became too much for Amber, leading to her and Mark breaking up.
Oh, and we still haven’t caught up with astronaut Rus Livingston, who has once again fallen under the control of the parasitic Sequids.
But the most pivotal event of the episode, entitled “I’m Not Going Anywhere,” was the introduction of Anissa. And boy, did she make one hell of a first impression.
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Who is Anissa?
At first it seemed that Mark and Amber were finding a way to make their relationship work, with Mark taking a much-needed night off from GDA business and taking Amber on a date. But their dinner was swiftly interrupted by the arrival of Anissa (Shantel VanSanten), who threatened to kill Amber if Mark didn’t do exactly as she said.
Anissa is a Viltrumite warrior, just like Mark’s father Nolan, and she was sent to Earth as an advance scout for the Empire to check on Mark’s progress in preparing the planet for Viltrumite rule. However, unlike the other Viltrumites we have seen on the show so far, Anissa appears rational, stating that she does not wish to kill any humans needlessly, and that she hopes to avoid a massacre when the Empire takes over Earth.
She then goes on to seemingly prove this true, assisting Mark in saving a cruise ship full of people from a giant, ocean-dwelling kaiju and safely transporting the passengers to a nearby island. However, when Mark refuses to go along with the Viltrumite plan of planetary domination, she uses her considerable strength to try and force him to comply. What follows is a brutal battle in the sky that results in Mark getting the worst beating he’s had since he first went face-to-face with his father.
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Anissa eventually leaves Earth of her own accord to report back to the Empire—and in a mid-credit sequence, we see her capture Allen the Alien in deep space. But given the complex and controversial arc the character goes on in the original comics, it’s almost certain that she will be back.
Why is Anissa such a controversial character?
Spoilers ahead.
Anissa’s appearance in “I’m Not Going Anywhere” foreshadows the coming Viltrumite War that plays out in the comics, a conflict that her character plays a major part in. During the war, the Viltrumite numbers are decimated, and Anissa is tasked with helping to repopulate their species. However, seeing her kind as superior to human beings, Anissa sets her sights on Mark as a prospective mate. As a half-Viltrumite, she feels he is worthy of fathering her children. Mark, however, resists her advances—and once again, Anissa uses brute strength to get what she wants. She physically forces Mark into submission and rapes him, conceiving a child, and then flies away.
Throughout the rest of her appearances in the comics, Anissa never expresses any remorse for the sexual assault she committed. Even when her character is granted a redemptive, heroic arc, she continues to be unrepentant, making her one of the most-hated figures in the entire Invincible universe.
Whether or not this highly divisive storyline will be adapted in future seasons of the show remains to be seen.
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