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There’s something about one-eyed characters. Mike from Monsters Inc. and Leela from Futurama were some of my favorite cartoon people as a kid, and now Allen, the Alien, joins the bunch. I’m a big fan of Invincible; it has great story arcs, themes, and insanely cool characters.
But let me say something: Allen easily takes the trophy of most charismatic personality. In this Allen the Alien guide, I will show you all that makes him a fan favorite with excellent character development.
My Bottom Line Up Front
Allen’s charismatic nature, dedication, and honesty make him a lovable character. Besides, his rise to power shows he is a capable leader who doesn’t let prestige go over his head.
- Basic information on Allen the Alien
- All appearances in Invincible comic
- Opinion- Is he awesome or lame?
- And the award for best quote goes to…
What and Who is Invincible?
Invincible is a comic book that imagines what if Superman came to Earth as an adult? What if he didn’t want to save us but conquer our world? And what if he had a mustache?! Thinking back at the horrible CGI in the 2017 Justice League movie, maybe a mustache wasn’t such a bad idea.
But anyway, this Superman is Omni-Man, and he has a son, Mark Grayson, who goes by the creative superhero name Invincible. Depending on who you ask, this name is a great way to intimidate your enemies or make you look like an idiot.
I am going to take the former. Invincible is a comic about the said superhero, his struggle against his father to protect Earth, romance, friendship, soap opera drama, and a massive amount of blood!
General Information
Allen the Alien was born in Unopa, one of the planets that refused to be conquered by the Viltrumites. As a result, Unopa was destroyed, and the few survivors had to wander through space.
Unopan’s numbers were meager, so they resorted to breeding camps to restore their population. The measure solved the problem but created other types of conflicts.
Allen has stated that growing up without a family was hard, and he is against such measures today. Besides, Unopans became against the act of sex without the intention of procreation. Therefore Allen and his girlfriend Telia have to do the deed in hiding.
The Coalition of planets developed experiments in babies to make strong soldiers that could defeat the Viltrumites. Allen was the only one to survive the experiments without any disfigurements, and so he became an essential part of the Coalition of Planets’ missions.
He was appointed Champion Evaluation Officer as a way to discover strong beings on other planets that could defeat the Viltrumites.
Initially, Allen the Alien wasn’t as strong as the Viltrumites, but after he was almost beaten to death, his regeneration process kicked in and made significant improvements to his physique. Now Allen has Viltrumite levels of strength and invulnerability, a condition which would prove helpful time and time again.
Personality
Allen is a hard-working man who takes his job very seriously. But he has a very loving nature, as is shown in his relationships with his girlfriend Telia and his friends Nolan, Mark, and Oliver.
The alien is also hilarious and carefree when we meet him. Despite the difficulties, he always finds a way to be optimistic and handle any situation.
However, when he becomes the leader of the Coalition of planets, the weight of responsibility changes his traits a little. As a leader, he puts the greater good above his friends. Still, I love how badass Allen is without losing his honesty and simple nature.
Allen the Alien can stand up to people who defy him but is unceremonious about his title. He is one of the most powerful men in the Universe but also one of the friendliest ones. I think that is an unusual and appealing combination.
Appearance
Allen is a tall and robust alien with one giant red eye, orange skin, two fingers and a thumb, and two toes. A very curious combination. But his species has no hair. He dresses in a gray one-piece with a red jacket. He goes through a few clothing changes throughout the comic, but he will often have a red piece of clothing.
See also: Invincible Characters Guide
Key Relationships
Nolan Grayson
Initially, Nolan thought Allen was an enemy who tried to conquer Earth. They fought a few times until Mark discovered Allen was not a threat. Nolan and Allen became great friends when the Unopan got himself arrested to free the Viltrumite.
They spent days talking telepathically in their cells. I like how they go from exchanging information about the war to being vulnerable to one another. And for that reason, I’m inclined to say this is the best friendship in the comic. Especially when we consider how lame of a friend William is to Mark.
Mark Grayson
Mark is the one to discover that Allen is not an alien intruder but a Champion Evaluation Officer. The two talk about the situation in a humorous way.
Later, when Allen warns Mark of a Viltrumite on Earth, Mark has an honest conversation with Allen about his dad. Through each appearance, their relationship grows. I like how they are always willing to listen to each other’s problems beyond the war.
However, it saddens me that this friendship suffered the most because of Allen’s acts as a leader. Mark even states that their relationship would never be the same after Allen caused Oliver’s death to win the war.
Oliver Grayson
Allen really likes to befriend the Graysons. Oliver always felt out of place on Earth due to his utterly Alien nature. So when he moved to Talescria, home to the Coalition of Planets, he finally found a home.
And a big part of that feeling was his friendship with Allen. They worked together for many years, but eventually, a mission Allen assigned to Oliver was the cause of his death.
Thaedus
The leader of the Colation of Planets before Allen. They had a great work relationship. When Thaedus didn’t trust anyone, he trusted Allen and set him on the path to replace him after his death.
An example of this trust is when Thaedus reveals he is a Viltrumite. The revelation comes with a hilarious moment of Thaedus ripping his beard off to reveal his mustache.
See also: Iron Man Characters Guide
Telia
Allen’s long-term girlfriend. In the first issue, we learn about Allen’s life. They’ve been dating for a while. They fight a lot but make up and stay together throughout the years.
Telia has a powerful sex drive and always throws herself on her lover when he comes back from his long missions. Well, I don’t blame her. Allen really disappears for a lot of time.
Issues
Family Matters
(Appears in #2) Allen’s first appears as a cameo. When Nolan tells Mark the story about the Viltrumites, there’s a panel of him beating up Allen near Earth.
Eight Is Enough
(Appears in #5) Nolan asks Mark to fight an alien he fought several times in space. However, when Mark talks to Allen, he discovers the alien is not there to threaten Earth but to test its heroes’ abilities. The Unopan also realizes Earth was not the planet he was supposed to be in and flies away to fix his bloated schedule.
Perfect Strangers
(Appears in #9;11;13) Allen saves a spaceship on his way back from Earth. Not just any ship, but one with a parody of the Star Trek: The New Generation crew. This is my favorite reference in a comic full of nods to pop culture.
In issue 13, Allen goes to Earth and warns Mark about the Viltrumite agent. Too bad he was too late, and Mark already knew about his father. They talk, and Mark learns about the Coalition of Planet’s goal to defeat the Viltrumites.
The Facts of Life
(Appears in #23) In this issue, all focused on Allen, we learn about his life and origins. A cool thing about the plot is that it focuses not only on significant events but on Allens’s day-to-day life.
For instance, we meet his girlfriend, Telia, and learn that Unopans do not have sex for pleasure but only to procreate. That is not the case with Allen, though, who gives in to his love even with his beliefs.
The couple’s life is far from uneventful as when they go out, the Viltrumites decide to attack and almost kill Allen. Thaedus, the Coalition of planets leader, tells Allen they have a traitor in the council. I saw there was more to Allen than meets the eye in this issue. It did an excellent job of making us care for him and want to know more.
My Favorite Martian
(Appears in #38) Allen has been healing for months, and he is much stronger now, with near Viltrumite levels of strength and invulnerability. In a shocking twist, Thaedus reveals he is a Viltrumite and that with Nolan’s betrayal, he has now hope to defeat his people.
Out of This World
(Appears in #43;45;47) Cecil sends Immortal to fight Allen, but Invincible solves the misunderstanding. Allen gives Mark updates on the Coalition. He wants to take Mark to Talescria, but the young man says he is not going because he wants to dedicate himself to his personal life.
Mark updates Allen on his life and his brother. Allen then scans the information on Nolan’s books that contain the secrets to defeat the Viltrumites. When leaving Earth, Allen runs into Anissa and lets himself be captured to rescue Nolan. Allen meets Nolan in prison and says they’ll talk later.
Happy Days
(Appears in #55) Allen uses his telepathic abilities to talk with Nolan in their cells and become friends. When the Viltrumites come to execute Nolan, Allen breaks free from the handcuffs and starts his rescue plan.
They successfully escape with the incredible warrior Battle Beast. This is one of Allen’s most critical issues because it shows how patiently he can carry out a plan up to its successful resolution.
Growing Pains
(Appears in #66-67) Nolan tells Allen there are less than 50 pureblood Viltrumites in the Universe because of the Scourge virus and that his real mission was to find a species with whom they could crossbreed.
They head to Talescria to talk with Thaedus and search for creatures that can kill the Viltrumites, such as the legendary Space Racer.
Space Racer fights Allen and Nolan, but the duo convinces him to join forces. They set out to capture the Ragnarr aliens but were unsuccessful.
They continue assembling substances poisonous to the Viltrumites and powerful allies throughout the Universe. Thaedus reveals to Nolan he created the scourge virus. He has produced a new strain, and if he thinks their cause is lost, he won’t hesitate to use it.
See also: Iron Man Suits Guide
Invincible Returns
(single issue) Nolan and Allen arrive on Earth to tell Mark the time for war has arrived.
The Viltrumite War
(Appears in #71-78) Nolan and Allen recruit Tech Jacket on his space station near Earth and take Mark and Oliver on a mission.
The ship is attacked by the Viltrumites, but the bridge is separated from the body and leaves intact. Amid the bloody battle in space, Mark takes Conquest to a planet and kills him but almost to the cost of his own life. Oliver and Nolan arrive, and they get stranded on an alien land for months until Mark heals completely.
Allen and Tech Jacket hide from the Viltrumites with Tech’s armor attached to their own ship. The coalition forces appear to rescue them, and Thaedus sends both of them on missions. The Viltrumites attack the Coalition’s HQ. Allen and Tech Jacket come to the rescue while Nolan, Mark, and Oliver join forces.
Word arrives that all Viltrumites have abandoned their posts. And the forces of the Coalition head to Viltrum to fight the remaining enemies. Mark, Nolan, and Thaedus destroy Viltrum.
After Thaedus’ death at the hands of Thragg, Allen is named the leader of the Coalition of planets. The reports show the Viltrumites aren’t doing anything, and that can mean only one thing: they went to Earth.
Mark and Nolan strike a deal with the devil and allow the Viltrumites to stay on Earth to avoid further deaths. Allen receives a tablet on which Thaedus registered information he should receive after his passing, including the existence of the scourge virus.
Family Ties
(Appears in #85-90) Nolan updates Allen on their deal with Thragg, and the orange alien is not happy about it.
Allen wonders, if he does something horrible to save the Universe, does that make him an awful person? Allen informs Nolan he will release the scourge virus on Earth, which can kill not only Viltrumites but also humans.
The two friends fight, and Oliver emerges to help Nolan, but when Allen explains the situation, the teenager agrees with the Unopan. Nolan thinks the Viltrumites will be reformed by humans.
Allen the Alien disagrees and defeats Nolan. Mark runs into Allen and Oliver in outer space. They tell him the plan, and he won’t let it happen. Mark fights them, and Thragg appears to help.
Thragg proposes a truce because the conflict will only bring more death. Allen beats the Viltrumites with the help of the Guardians. Oliver takes the gun with the virus to release on Earth but infects Mark.
Allen goes after Mark and says humans won’t be infected because the weapon was meant for close range, and they are above an ocean.
Oliver wants to leave for Talescria, but Allen says he won’t leave until he knows Mark is okay. Besides, his mission has failed, and he doesn’t know what to tell people. He is troubled because after learning the Viltrumites can treat the virus, he realized he could have killed billions of people for nothing.
I love what this arc does with Allen because it shows how far he is willing to go to do his job: save the Universe. It is the turning point for the character. He has doubts, but he realizes he will have to do unpleasant and sometimes cruel things to fulfill his mission.
What’s Happening
(Appears in #91;96) Allen and Oliver help Eve find Mark. The Unopan and the teenage Viltrumite say goodbye and leave.
The Death of Everyone
(Appears in #97) Allen releases Nolan from prison and tells Debbie he made an error in judgment. Allen gives Nolan a mission.
The War at Home
(Appears in #105-106) Nolan informs Allen he is the leader of the Viltrumites. Allen is furious that Nolan let Thragg go and tasks Battle Beast with the mission of killing Thragg.
Modern Family
(Appears in #118-119) Mark and Eve go live in Talescria with their daughter Terra. When they meet Allen, Terra punches him in the eye. A painful but funny moment! Space Racer informs Allen that Thragg and Battle Beast have been fighting for days.
They are moving so fast Space Racer can’t get closer to help. Allen recruits Mark to be a space spy and assures him he will only go on safer missions. However, he has to ask for Mark’s help to beat Thragg now that he is weakened.
Reboot?
(Appears in #122-123;126) Allen assures the Coalition locating Thragg is his top priority, but Elian, a council member, says he is not doing enough. Allen stands his ground and plans the next step. He’s located Thragg and asks Mark and Oliver to go after him. Mark falls into a cave during the mission, and his Universe is rebooted.
In issue 126, we see Mark’s first meeting with Allen in the rebooted reality. Mark tells him everything that’s happening, avoiding a lot of problems.
Allen arrests Nolan, but the Viltrumite reforms and they go out into space. Despite being able to erase most evil events in this timeline, Mark decides to go back to his reality and recover his family. Unfortunately, there’s been a 5-year skip.
Full House
(Appears in #127-130) Allen is happy to see Mark after so long, but Thragg is still out there, and there have been many confrontations. Allen asks for Mark’s help, but the young man says he’s never helping again.
Allen insists, and Mark snaps, saying he’s lost 5 years of his life. Allen says he shouldn’t have asked, but he’s under a lot of pressure.
Allen the Alien receives an emergency call and heads to the coalition headquarters.
Elia has gathered various people for an assassination attempt. She blows up the building, and Allen barely makes it out alive. Allen’s friends visit him in the hospital while he makes a fast recovery. Oliver tells Allen Thragg has seized control over many planets.
Allen the Alien receives a mysterious update we later discover was about Oliver’s mission to infiltrate Thragg’s forces. Unfortunately, this led to Oliver’s death.
The End of All Things, Part 1
(Appears in #133-138) During Oliver’s funeral, Allen gives condolences to Mark, but the young man punches the Coalition leader.
He thinks Oliver’s death is Allen’s fault. Mark keeps fighting Allen until Eve interferes in the fight. After all this tension, we have a funny exchange between Allen and Terra that garnered my award for the best quote. Don’t forget to check it out.
Allen reveals to Telia that Mark and Eve are now involved in the fight against Thragg as he planned. By pushing Thragg to trust Oliver, he knew he would want to test the infiltrated agent. Oliver is dead because of his actions to save the Universe.
With a heavy conscience, Allen reveals this information to Mark and Eve. Eve is hurt and doesn’t want to talk to him, but Mark says he did what he couldn’t, place the lives of the ones he loves below the greater good, and they’re still on his side. Allen says that is not enough and that they need Nolan.
This is the climax of Allen’s arc as a leader. During the funeral, I thought it had all been an unfortunate situation. But discovering Allen knew the risks and chose the dangerous road at the cost of his friend’s life was a punch in the stomach.
I have mixed feelings about it, but in the end, I understand his actions. This arc does a great job of showing a ruthless side to a lovable character. But even with the weight of this choice, I still love him.
The Coalition frees planets seized by the Viltrumites to get allies. Allen’s forces fight Thragg and his gigantic army. Thragg procreated with the Thraxans, a race that developed so fast that in 5 years, he was able to create an army of teenage Viltrumites.
Allen initiates retreat because they need to regroup to rethink their strategy. All the other allies have joined the fleet, heading to Earth. Nolan calls the Viltrumites.
They lured Thragg closer to Earth so they could help. Mark is curious why they’re flying so close to the Sun, and Allen says it is so their enemies don’t see their additional forces until they get too close. Nolan is badly injured during the fight.
The End of All Things, Part 2
(Appears in #139-140;142 -144) Allen sees Nolan is in danger, but Ursaal, one of the most prominent of Thragg’s children, attacks him.
He escapes her, but various Viltrumites catch him before he can rescue Nolan. Fortunately, Eve saves Nolan while Ursaal convinces her siblings to surrender to Allen.
Mark and Thragg have their epic fight in the Sun. Mark comes out Victorious. However, he is badly burned, and Allen rescues him. Allen talks to Ursaal about her decision and explains the concept of forgiveness. Nolan dies, and Mark fulfills his father’s dying wish to become Emperor.
Rex creates a blockade keeping the Coalition from Earth, but Allen finds his location. Allen questions Robot, and the latter replies that now that Mark is the Viltrumite emperor, he will interfere with his plans on Earth.
The Viltrumites attack Allen because Robot is blackmailing them with their children. Mark and Eve assemble their allies. Mark convinces the Viltrumites to help him by saying he will get their children back. The heroes defeat Robot.
Allen the Alien says goodbye to Mark and thanks to him. Mark says he understands the good he’s done, but their relationship will never be the same after what he did to Oliver.
The Viltrumite adds Allen is a better leader than a friend, but that’s okay because the orange alien has a lot of responsibility. He also promises to always help the Coalition if it doesn’t endanger the Viltrumites.
Mark starts making an impact on the Universe as the Viltrumite emperor. He and Allen remain allies. Allen thinks what he is doing is remarkable, but that has led to many planets leaving the Coalition. They don’t believe the organization is necessary because there aren’t as many dangers anymore.
After a while, when the Coalition is destroyed, Allen agrees they are better off without it. Mark says the Coalition drained resources from the poorer worlds and moved them to rich worlds, which was unfair. We don’t know what happens to Allen after that, but now he is free to make a new path.
Awesome or Lame?
Awesome, awesome, and awesome! Allen is just the best. He is an earnest character with a beautiful journey that shows how badass he is. His charisma is poignant.
I could make an extensive list of Allen’s qualities — he is funny, honest, compassionate, strong-willed, and friendly — but I just like him at the end of the day. Plain and simple. He is likable in a way that exceeds explanation.
I realized that when I read the issues focused on him. Generally, when a comic abandons its main character to focus on another one, it can be a frustrating experience. But not with Allen.
Each time I saw an issue focused on Allen, I was more than happy to read it and discover more about the Unopan. He is a one-of-a-kind character, and if Amazon is clever about the Invincible adaptation, it will make an Allen, the alien spin-off.
And the Award for Best Quote goes to…
Allen: You know, I remember a very young little girl who once punched me in the eye, and it hurt really bad.
Terra: Really?
Allen: Yeah. That little girl was you…when you were still a baby.
Terra: Cool!
(silence)
Allen: Terra … I can tell you’re thinking about punching me in the eye again. Please don’t.
It’s funny and cute, and it makes me want to punch Allen’s eye, too, for an unknown and probably weird reason. So it takes the prize for me.
FAQs
Question: Is Allen the Alien Stronger than Thragg?
Answer: No. After Allen is beaten and undergoes an arduous healing process, he achieves Viltrumite levels of strength. But even though he is on par with most Viltrumites, Nolan states Thragg is stronger and better trained than all of them.
Question: Who Voices Allen the Alien?
Answer: The incredible comedian Seth Rogen.
Question: Can Allen the Alien Beat Battle Beast?
Answer: Battle Beast fought Thragg for days before succumbing at the hands of the Viltrumite. In my opinion, that is more strength and stamina than Allen has ever shown in the comics. So my guess is Allen can’t beat Battle Beast.
The Friendly Cyclops
Answer: Allen has all the traits that make a fan favorite. I can say that he has undoubtedly stolen the spotlight many times and my admiration. It was fascinating to watch as he became stronger both in physical and political aspects without ever losing his true nature.
One can only wish for more characters like him, and I hope more creators can emulate this sort of magic that can make a character so likable and well-rounded!
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