WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Invincible Season 1, Episode 8, "Where I Really Come From," available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
With Omni-Man's bloody murders now out in the open and the Global Defense Agency pulling out all the stops in a desperate effort to slow him down, Invincible finally has an overdue father-son talk to learn what his dad has really been up to. And faced with his true Viltrumite mission, Mark Grayson makes a firm decision on where his loyalties lie, leading the series to its most epic, brutal showdown yet.
Mark is initially incredulous at what he's witnessed, sure someone is mentally controlling his father and trying to snap him back to his senses. Instead, Omni-Man assures his son he's in full control of his own faculties, revealing that Viltrum, while the idyllic society he regaled Mark about as a child, was developed that way after years of bloody combat to determine who among the Viltrumites are genetically superior. The Viltrumites expanded their ambitions across the cosmos, conquering other worlds and subjugating under their will; Omni-Man was selected to raise a half-Viltrumite on Earth to help him conquer the planet.
Mark rejects his father's offer to join him in conquering the planet, resulting in an epic fight between the two Viltrumites. As Omni-Man points out that Viltrumites live for millions of years and every human they ever know -- including Debbie, whom Omni-Man dismisses as little more than a pet and means to spawn -- he shows Mark the futility of human life in comparison to Viltrumites by massacring humans around his son. Starting with two pilots, Omni-Man expands his rampage to downtown Chicago, an ocean liner and a mountainside village all while subjecting Mark to these horrors firsthand and taunting him that, by not putting up a fight, he could've spared their lives.
Frustrated that Mark continues to resist him and reject his overtures, Omni-Man begins to beat his son to death, only to recall the memories he had raising his son and being able to experience the joy of parenthood through him, with Debbie at his side. As a gravely injured Mark reveals that he'll still have his father when his friends are dead and gone, a visibly shaken Omni-Man flies off into deep space, his destination currently unknown. In the immediate aftermath, humanity is shaken by the sheer loss of life, with the Guardians of the Globe assisting with relief efforts in Chicago -- finally functioning as a cohesive team -- while the Mauler Twins are taken back into custody by the GDA.
Mark recovers from his injuries under the medical care of the GDA and is shown how humanity is preparing for an inevitable Viltrumite invasion, including resurrecting the Immortal once again. Cecil Stedman offers Mark to join him and resume his superhero career but Mark wants to take some time away. While Debbie and Art commiserate over drinks, Amber rekindles her romance with Mark before he meets with Allen the Alien who reveals that the Coalition of Planets is preparing to battle the Viltrumites; letting slip that Omni-Man is probably a wanted man among his kind for failing to conquer Earth.
As Mark reclaims his superhero identity and vows to be ready for any Viltrumites that threaten his home (while finishing high school), the rest of the world begins to move on: The sequids overtake the human facilities on Mars, the Flaxans have rebuilt their own empire and vowed vengeance on Omni-Man and Earth, Doc Seismic now commands an army of magma-based monsters, Titan solidifies control of crime syndicate, Battle Beast continues to stalk new prey in outer space and Cecil has D.A. Sinclair build an even bigger force of cybernetic soldiers, setting up a new future for Invincible.
Invincible stars Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Mark Hamill, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Melise, Kevin Michael Richardson, Khary Payton, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder. The series is produced by Skybound, and executive produced by Robert Kirkman, Simon Racioppa, David Alpert and Catherine Winder. The first season is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.