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I’ll start this Battle Beast Invincible guide with a seemingly unrelated note – my love for U2 – but I swear it will all make sense.
When I first heard U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, I became enchanted. Its haunting lyrics about experiencing all the world has to offer while still feeling empty inside made a gripping impression on me.
Yes, you can climb the highest mountains and hold the devil’s hand only for it to feel like you’re missing something.
This notion was stuck in the back of my mind ever since, until a character returned it to the surface of my psyche: Invincible’s Battle Beast. At first glance, the alien seems to be a superficial rageful monster like so many others in mediocre movies. But the reality is actually more layered.
Battle Beast lives to finally find what he’s looking for: a real challenge. Someone that’ll close his eyes wide shut and put him six feet under.
After all, when you’ve single-handled destroyed worlds, created formidable utopias, and explored countless galaxies, what else could you want besides an honorable and glorious death?
I’ll level; it’s not perfect motivation nor everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s reason enough to relocate Battle Beast from the mediocre monsters’ list into the memorable monster arena. The devil is, after all, in the details – and those make the alien leonine’s journey stand out from the rest.
My Bottom line up front: Battle Beast is not by any means the strongest or most memorable character in Invincible – but that says less about him and more about Robert Kirkman’s talent to write awe-inspiring people. The competition is hella challenging.
Still, the author made him compelling, so much so that he will have an extended role in the series adaptation. So, while it’s true Battle Beast is no Omni-Man or Rex Splode, you can’t say he hasn’t left his mark on the comic. Keep reading this Battle Beast Invincible guide for more!
The Legend of Thokk
First up is Battle Beast– Scourge of Twin Galaxies, whatever that means. He likes to take trophies, so make sure your neck doesn’t meet one of his weapons at the wrong angle.” – Machine Head.
Invincible is the story of Mark Grayson, a teenage superhero who fights aliens with Freddy Mercury’s mustaches as well as other ominous threats.
The young hero is only one of the multiple alien species in the comic’s in-universe lore. Inside the catalog are the leonines, a race whose world once lived in an endless war until a warrior changed everything.
The savior was called Thokk. He acted as his planet’s guardian until it became an unparalleled utopia. However, the ongoing fighting before the peace transformed him: Thokk became addicted to combat. His blood boiled at the mention of battle, and his whiskers squirmed in excitement every time he got to fight an opponent.
Scared of ruining his utopian reality, Thokk went away to shield the planet from his wrath. Now free from any constraints, the leonine traveled the world searching for worthy opponents.
Thokk’s outstanding feats made him feared by all: he conquered thousands of worlds and collected the head of defeated enemies as trophies. As his kill count rose, so did his fame, earning him bold aliases like Battle Beast and the Scourge of Twin Galaxies.
Legends about him reached all corners of the galaxy and were passed down on his home planet across generations. His people revered him and believed the beast to be an immortal warrior with unique powers. But as time passed and he remained far away, his planet’s newer residents didn’t think him to be real.
Until he became an integral part of a plan to defeat the mighty Viltrumites, aka aliens with mustaches.
Appearance and Personality
This is no game! This is what I live for! This is my life!”– Battle Beast.
Battle Beast is an anthropomorphic white lion. He is 7’6″ tall, weighs 775 lbs, and has deep blue eyes. The warrior wears full-on black, red, and gold armor with a partial helmet on his head.
Personally, I think Battle Beast’s design is one of the best in the comic due to both his natural appearance and detailed costume.
The warrior has a ferocious personality – he chases his goals, no matter the consequences, and obeys no one. When he works alongside Allen to free Nolan from a Viltrumite prison, he rebukes the orange alien’s orders.
He states he’s only helping them because he likes a fight. The message is clear: no one commands him.
Beast’s rage often results in a vast killing spree, but the white lion shows no remorse for his victims. It’s not a far cry to assume he’s a psychopath.
Still, the leonine is bound by an internal code of honor: he doesn’t use artifice to generate an edge during combat. Battle Beast always strives for a fair fight.
Powers and Abilities
Battle Beast possesses a plethora of powers and abilities, which include:
- Superhuman strength – he can lift at least 20 tons;
- Unlimited endurance;
- High resistance to injury;
- Highly acute senses – which include night vision, sensory perception of acoustic pressure, and a sense of smell 14 times stronger than a human’s;
- Knowledge of all known hand-wielded weapons and combat apparatus like heavy-bladed weapons, swords, large flanged maces, cudgels, and quarterstaffs.
- Mastery of all known fighting systems.
Plus, his feline features give him an edge in combat and exploration. His whiskers – technically named vibrissae – aid with navigation and sensation, and his lethal bite with canine teeth can sever the victims’ spinal cords.
Key Relationships
Thragg
Battle Beast’s relationship with Thragg is layered. The former Grand Regent is the leonine’s final enemy, so while their connection is filled with immense violence, it is also the source of the white lion’s wish fulfillment.
The beast admires Thragg greatly: once the white lion sees him, he knows he’s found his last foe. The Viltrumite is the only one able to defeat the Scourge of the Twin Galaxies. However, Thragg’s view of his foe is less flattering: he sees the leonine’s attempts to have a fair fight as foolish.
But the former Grand Regent grows to admire Beast’s abilities and recognize his value as an opponent during their battle.
Unnamed Girlfriend
After releasing a planet from a cruel ruler, one of its inhabitants asks to leave with Battle Beast and later becomes his girlfriend.
Although she loves him deeply, she doesn’t understand him. The alien tries to avoid Beast’s death, which enrages him greatly. Still, the white lion admires her violent streak and strength, even highlighting her qualities compared to his former lovers.
It Starts with a Bang
Impressive. You could be the strongest thing in this world … but I’m not of this world!” – Battle Beast.
The leonine’s introduction occurs during one of the comic’s subplots: a criminal named Titan asks Mark’s help to defeat the villainous Machine Head. But the gang lord is no fool, and once the duo arrives, an army of hired muscle is ready to greet them.
The first of the bunch is Battle Beast.
Mark neutralizes most threats easily, except for the white lion. The leonine beats the hell out of Invincible and leaves him lying on the floor, but the Guardians of the Globe arrive. Still, that doesn’t mean shit for Battle Beast, and the alien beats Black Samson and Bulletproof into unconsciousness.
Battle Beast is disappointed and has lots to say about it:
I could kill you all with my bare hands – but it would prove nothing. I came for sport – the thrill of the hunt. I was told this realm offered fierce and worthy combatants. I was deceived. You have nothing to offer me. You have been a pathetic waste of my time. Today is not a good day.”
After the outraged complaint, the white lion drops both heroes down, opens up a portal, and disappears into God knows where.
But thirty-something issues later, he comes back better than ever.
You see, Thaedus sent Allen into space to free Omni-Man from the Viltrumites. The orange alien fakes capture to infiltrate the prison and rescue Nolan. Once there, they communicate telepathically and form a plan.
The plan has three steps: trigger the alarm, free the prisoners, and recruit those strong enough to help the Coalition of planets.
And who could be stronger than Battle Beast?
The white lion agrees to help because he’s eager to face the fabled Viltrumites. He has heard stories and thinks they are worthy adversaries. So the beast fights his way out of the ship until Allen and Nolan are free. Still, the lion doesn’t stop: he beats more Viltrumites in space once they escape the base.
This impressive fight shows the leonine’s colossal strength: he takes on Viltrumites without much effort. But not even he could keep that fight going forever, and a few issues later, a space crew finds the white lion frozen in space. Presumably, he kept fighting until being defeated.
It Keeps Getting Better
You’ll never oppress anyone again.” – Battle Beast.
After the Viltrumite war ends, Battle Beast and other allies head to Viltrum to attack the remaining Viltrumites. An epic space fight ensues with vicious scenes: Battle Beast uses a Viltrumite to beat the other and takes on five aliens at the same time.
Yet another testament to his strength. The lion needs a bigger challenge. So, he attacks Grand Regent Thragg, claiming he has finally found a worthy adversary.
But Thragg grabs the leonine by the face and breaks his jaw, saying the furred alien is a “nuisance at best.” Still, the Beast fights other Viltrumites until the coalition retreats, and they go their separate ways.
A while later, Battle Beast frees a planet from a power-hungry emperor and states the ruler won’t oppress anyone anymore.
I thought this moment was awesome because it showed the white lion wasn’t only about bloodlust. Beneath all the violence, there was a concern for people’s freedom.
Once the deal ends, Space Racer asks the leonine if he’s ready to leave the terrible planet. Battle Beast says yes – this world has no more challenges for him. He will comply with Allen’s request and head to Talescria, the Coaliton’s capital.
But a native approaches, saying she would like to leave with the white lion. He agrees, and they walk into the sunset –or the equivalent on this planet. At Talescria, Allen informs Battle Beast that former Grand Regent Thragg has been exiled, and he wants the beast to hunt down and kill him.
Battle Beast smiles. He just got another shot to fulfill his destiny.
I love this reaction because it says so much about him. Plus, I’m a big fan of Ryan Ottley’s art. It was a simple but poignant moment.
It Ends in a Bloodbath
“That contest between us was never finished. You’d be a fool to claim victory.” – Battle Beast.
The coalition has finally tracked Thragg down. Battle Beast heads to Thraxa for a rematch. But before the clash begins, Beast’s girlfriend sends the contingency plan: a batch of Ragnar aliens. The white lion is furious: the leonine’s girlfriend wanted to save him when he only wanted a glorious death.
Still, Beast is committed. He helps Thragg defeat the aliens so they can have a fair fight.
But the Ragnars pierce through Thragg’s stomach. How can they have a fair fight now? Well, only one thing Beast can do: pierce through his stomach too.
Now the fight begins.
It’s a bloodbath, but once again, Invincible knows how to make violence beautiful. The foes fight in gorgeous vertical planes with a center drawing that displays Ryan Ottley’s wondrous composition skills and stunning drawing style.
They fight for days, each issue showing a different strike.
Thragg throws Battle Beast into the air. Battle Beast chews Thragg’s arm. Thragg holds Beast’s open mouth. Beast plunges onto Thragg. Thragg chokes Beast.
And so it goes until a bloody white lion lies on the ground with ripped insides and mutters a soft “thank you.”
Thragg is victorious at a massive toll: he immediately falls down after defeating the leonine. With time, he heals and starts wearing Battle Beasts’ fur and face as a mantle.
Although this was Battle Beast’s final appearance in Invincible, his legacy would live on. It was long claimed that the leonine’s rage was a curse, a fact confirmed in Invincible’s last issue. Battle Beast’s daughter has inherited the curse and continues her father’s legacy, looking for a formidable foe to bring her to an end.
You Haven’t Seen the Last of Him
After four years, writer Robert Kirkman and artist Ryan Ottley teamed up again to bring Battle Beast to life in Skybound X #25. Well, sort of. The warrior is not actually alive – the comic is a prequel. But fans were eager for this development, and Kirkman stated in an interview Battle Beast is one of those characters he just wants to write more about.
But I must say the resulting issue is not mind-altering. The story is short, more a reflection than a tale, but it provides interesting insights and expands Invincible’s worldbuilding. It starts right after Battle Beast’s first encounter with Invincible: once the lion jumps through a portal, he arrives at a spaceship whose crew he had killed.
Battle Beast tells his story to the ship’s A.I. while the lion eats the crew’s corpses. Quite a disturbing scene if you ask me. But despite that, I would empathize with Beast due to his following words. The leonine explains how he felt endless rage, even after transforming his world into a utopia.
The white lion is angry and ready to battle all the time. He’s tired and only wants to find someone stronger to give him a heroic death. The A.I. says it wants to see Beast dead since the lion killed its crew. So he agrees to help the alien find a worthy match.
Then the comic ends with a” to be continued” caption. I don’t know if a sequence will ever happen, but if it does, I hope it gives us more backstory than this.
An Extended Story Arc
Amazon’s Invincible has adapted some plot points earlier, so Battle Beast has already shown up in season 1. Let me say this: his first appearance was executed to perfection.
So, of course, I and other fans wanted more of him. Thankfully, Kirkman has listened. In an interview for Inverse, he stated we would get more from Battle Beast in the series than in the comic.
Yet, he clarified it wouldn’t be that much. He’s still a side character, but since he loves him as much as the fanbase, why not have a little bit more of the white lion?
Awesome or Lame?
I’m no fan of one-dimensional monsters who kill everything in their way. Thankfully Battle Beast’s motivations and his code of honor help flesh out a character that would otherwise be boring.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s not super complex and layered. But Kirkman did an excellent job of proving a character with a simple goal can make for a thrilling narrative if you use a bit of worldbuilding. That’s enough to change mindless violence into a fun experiment.
So, yeah, Battle Beast is definitely awesome.
And the Award of Best Quote Goes To…
What I do here will have meaning! I will, at long last … prove I am worthy of my gift. You will give me the glory of Battle I have yearned for. I will do nothing to sully this victory. I will accept no advantage.”
Invincible# 115
The quote per se is not the best written or the most compelling, but what comes after makes it stick. Battle Beast rips his stomach to pieces to have a fair fight with Thragg.
That’s the kind of stuff you remember years after you saw it – just like Shiriyu blinding himself to defeat Perseus Algol.
Iconic!
FAQs
Question: Can Invincible beat Battle Beast?
Answer: Yes. Considering that Thragg beat Battle Beast and Invincible beat Thragg, it’s fair to assume Mark could defeat the leonine. But that’s only valid at the end of the comic – when Mark’s abilities have evolved tenfold. In the early issues, Battle Beast easily defeated Mark.
Question: Does Battle Beast kill Invincible?
Answer: No, Battle Beast doesn’t kill Invincible. The leonine thought Mark was weak and wasn’t even worth the kill. That would change, however, as Mark became arguably stronger than Battle Beast.
Question: Where is Battle Beast from?
Answer: Battle Beast comes from a planet called Dornn. In his words, his home was a “savage, untamed world” until he brought peace to it.
Glorious Endings
In a world as violent as Invincible, it shouldn’t come as a surprise Battle Beast is not the only mass murderer out there. He may have nobler intentions than some others, and I’m not even sure he’s the most terrifying. To get a grip of what I’m saying, you should check either my Conquest article or the Anissa one and decide which villain is the most sadistic in the series.
Related Raed
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