This article mentions sexual assault. Please read with caution.
Of all the animated superhero shows out there, none are as excitingly gritty and gory as Invincible. Released on Amazon Prime Video, Invincible tells the story of Mark Grayson, who is half human and half Viltrumite, an Earth-conquering alien race. He’s vowed to protect Earth, but the problem is, the Viltrumites want it under their galactic rule. One of the Viltrumites who has yet to appear in the show but eventually will is Anissa. So who is she?
Some background: Invincible premiered on March 25, 2021 and quickly caught everyone’s attention with its intense storyline and adult themes and visuals. The second season premiered on Nov. 23 of last year, and the second part of the season will hit Prime on March 14, 2024.
It’s based on a comic book of the same name written by Robert Kirkman. In the story, Mark Grayson turns 17 and begins to develop superpowers. He then learns that his father, a superhero named Omni-Man, is a Viltrumite, a race that wants to enslave the galaxy. When Mark refuses to go along with his father’s plan, his father beats the stuffing out of him and leaves him to die.
There’s also a number of ancillary characters, like Mark’s mom, and agents of a government agency that handles superheroes, and a lot of the show has them dealing with the aftermath of Omni-Man’s actions. Mark’s mother, in particular, is devastated when Omni-Man leaves. The show pretty much deals with the aftermath of that. Now let’s talk about Anissa.
Who is Anissa in Invincible?
Warning: Potential spoilers for the Invincible TV series ahead.
Anissa is probably the least liked villain in the Invincible universe, and there’s very good reason for that. She does something to Mark that is pretty horrible, and will be very hard to watch if the show decides to follow that particular storyline. Before we get to that, let’s take a closer look at this hated character.
Anissa is a female Viltrumite with black hair and grey eyes. She’s 5′ 11” and weighs 135 pounds. She makes her first appearance in Invincible #44 and her last appearance in Invincible #139. She has yet to appear in the animated show.
Her powers are the basic gamut of the Viltrumite race. Her superhuman strength is comparable to the greatest other Viltrumites. She has superhuman speed because Viltrumites don’t get as fatigued as humans, and she can survive lava, bomb blasts and even disembowelment without suffering permanent damage to her physique.
She can fly due to a complex balancing system in her ear, and can also survive in outer space without needing oxygen. In fact, she can hold her breath for two weeks. Her skin is incredibly hard and can’t be pierced unless it’s by someone of comparable or greater strength.
Finally, she has a healing factor that allows her to sustain incredible injuries that would kill normal humans and she ages so slowly that she can live for thousands of years and still be in her prime. Her one weakness is her ears.
If the equilibrium in a Viltrumite’s ears is disturbed by the right frequency, it can cause a lot of pain or even kill the Viltrumite.
The first time Anissa meets Mark, he’s having dinner with his mom, Debbie. She threatens to kill Mark’s mom in an effort to make him chase her, and then she tries to convince Mark to complete his mission of taking over the earth.
They fight a monster together, and rescue some people from a cruise ship, but once Anissa realizes Mark won’t help her she leaves, but with the thought that Mark will eventually change his mind. She tells him someone else will come check on him somewhere between five months and five years.
Her next appearance is during the Viltrumite War, when Mark and Omni-Man destroy Viltrum. She survives the explosion and moves to Earth with the other escaped Viltrumites to replenish their population in secret.
After they move to Earth, the Viltrumites build a moon base and their leader, Thragg, wants to know why Anissa hasn’t had a kid yet. Eventually, there’s a big fight with Omni-Man and Thragg, with the former eventually winning and telling his fellow Viltrumites not to kill Thragg but to spare him. This means Omni-Man’s the new leader of the Viltrumites.
After that, Anissa spots Mark and his father arm wrestling and then slays a magmamite beast in the sky, which Mark goes to investigate. While they’re in the sky, she kisses him. Here’s where things take a turn. She says she’ll see him again soon.
Anissa tracks down Mark six months later, and tells him about the Viltrumite mission of procreating with humans. However, she hates humans and Mark is half Viltrumite, so she wants to mate with him. Mark, by the way, has just been kicked out of his house by a very pregnant Atom Eve.
Mark rebuffs Anissa’s advances, but to no avail. Anissa forces herself on Invincible without his permission. It’s very violent and disturbing, and when she flies away, she leaves Mark on the ground crying. She tells him to man up because it’s probably going to take a few tries and she’ll be back.
Anissa gives birth to Mark’s son Marky, and she marries a man named Scott and has another child. Mark, Nolan, and Eve get into a big fight with her near a Viltrumite warship. This is near the end of her character arc, because marriage calms her down a bit and she regrets her actions and actually wants Earth to survive now.
Mark tells his dad that Anissa raped him, and he tells Mark to get over it because Anissa has changed a lot and is a better person now. There’s another battle with Thragg’s children, and Anissa saves Eve’s life but gets cut in the process. The wound is so severe that not even her Viltrumite body can handle it.
In her final moments, she tells Eve that she’s sorry she raped Mark but doesn’t regret it because she got to have her son Marky. Eve puts Anissa in a bubble to save her, but her wounds are too grievous and she dies.
That’s the whole arc of Anissa in the comics. If they decide to add her to the show, it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with “that” scene.