Conquest

Conquest is one of the most fearsome warriors in the Viltrumite Empire, a battle-hardened alien conqueror whose very existence represents the terrifying pinnacle of what a Viltrumite soldier can become after centuries of brutal warfare. Unlike many antagonists who rely on cunning or strategy, Conquest is a living weapon — a berserker who has survived countless wars across the galaxy, bearing scars that most Viltrumites would never allow to remain, wearing them instead as trophies of every fight he has endured and won. His first appearance in Invincible #61 (2009) hit the collector community hard, arriving as a brutish force of nature who immediately established himself as a villain unlike anything Mark Grayson had faced before.

Conquest's debut story arc stands as one of the most viscerally brutal sequences in Robert Kirkman's celebrated Invincible run. The battle between Conquest and Invincible became the stuff of legend among fans — a savage, no-holds-barred confrontation that left both combatants devastated and shocked readers with its unflinching intensity. Kirkman and artist Ryan Ottley delivered a fight sequence that redefined the stakes of the series, making it abundantly clear that the Viltrumite War on the horizon would be unlike anything the book had attempted before. Conquest returned for the landmark Viltrumite War arc, cementing his place as one of the defining threats of the entire Invincible saga.

What makes Conquest compelling beyond raw power is what he represents thematically — he is the future that Nolan Grayson and ultimately Mark himself could have become, a being who has surrendered everything to conquest and survival. His longevity means he has outlasted entire civilizations, and that history radiates from every panel he inhabits. He is not a schemer or a mastermind; he is inevitability given physical form, and that simplicity makes him one of the most effective villains in the Image Comics universe.

For collectors, Invincible #61 is a key book worth tracking down in high grade — it marks the debut of a villain whose impact on the series was immediate and lasting. The issue arrived during a period when Invincible was at the height of its critical acclaim, and copies in CGC 9.8 have drawn strong interest from fans of the series. With the continued growth of the Invincible franchise across other media, first appearances tied to the Viltrumite War storyline are increasingly on collectors' radar. Any issue featuring Conquest's battles with Invincible represents some of the most celebrated single-issue storytelling the series produced.