In an event fans of Prime Video’s Invincible have been fearing for a very, very long time — and spoilers past this point — this week’s episode kills Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas). And while he is very much dead by the end of the episode… Don’t worry, he’ll be back.
To further get into it, though we’ve covered some of this back when it looked like Rex would be killed by the Lizard League in Season 2, here’s how things went down on the show… And how Rex might return to the series, based on the comic books.
How Does Rex Die In Invincible?
Rex Splode dies in this week’s Season 3, Episode 7, “What Have I Done?” during an event called “Invincible War” — at least that’s what it’s called in the comics. And the way he goes out on TV is actually pretty similar to how it happens in the books, though is given much more room on the show.
In the TV series, Rex is fighting one of many alternate Marks (Steven Yeun) who has knocked out Monster Girl (Grey Delisle), destroyed Robot’s (Zachary Quinto) bodies, with only Bulletproof (Jay Pharoah) going toe to toe with him. However, Rex tells them he has a plan, and encourages Bulletproof to get the other two to safety. Rex does not, in fact, have a plan. What he does have is a series of things he can charge up and explode, none of which phase the Alternate Mark. Rex even tries blowing up the entire floor… But it does zero damage.
The Alternate Mark picks Rex up by the throat and is about to pop his head off, but Rex explains that he has one more thing he can blow up. The Alternate Mark asks what that is, Rex reaches inside a gaping wound in his side, and says, “My entire goddamn skeleton, dickhead.”
He then charges himself up, exploding and killing himself — and the Alternate Mark — in the process. RIP, Rex Sloan.
The way it happens in the comics, as mentioned, is extremely similar, down to the dialogue. Some differences? Rex simply says “My skeleton,” and the whole scene is shorter. We also get to see the flesh being ripped off the Alternate Mark’s bones, which clinches both Rex’s sacrifice and that it was successful. On the show, we see the twitching remains of the alt-Mark, but no body for Rex, so I’m sure there will be “Rex is Alive” truthers out there.
But in fact, Rex is dead, both in the comics, and in the TV show. So… How does he come back?
How Does Rex Splode Return In The Comics?
To give some chronology here, “Invincible War” happens in the comics in Invincible #60, with “Aftermath” issues running through issue #65. Without spoiling everything that happens in the middle, we need to jump all the way ahead to Invincible #123 which kicked off the events that brought about Rex Splode’s return.
At the end of the issue, while exploring a planet, Invincible goes into a cave where he encounters a blue alien. Touching the entity, there’s a flash of light… And suddenly, Mark is back to his teenage years, sitting on the toilet in his bathroom at home. He’s back before he got his powers, and has a chance to do everything differently.
And he does, from confronting his father before he murders the Guardians of the Globe, to helping prevent a lot of heartache and destruction. This is how Rex comes back, as an earlier version of himself. Who, it should be noted, is still dating Eve, which is crucial to Mark realizing that he needs to put the timeline back the right way.
In terms of Rex Splode, that’s pretty much it for his return, just a three issue arc titled “Reboot?” If the show adapts this plotline, given the pace the series is going it likely wouldn’t get there for another three or four seasons. That said? Shrinking Rae dies in the comics, and is very much alive in the TV show, so anything is possible in terms of bringing Rex back. And it’s also possible that Rudy, who has a body cloned from Rex, could grow up and become more like his body double. And heck, we’re dealing with multiple universes, so that’s always a possibility as well.
For now though? Rex is dead. And it may be a good long while before we see any version of him again.
Where To Watch Invincible:
Invincible Season 3 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
Season 3 of Invincible will premiere on Prime Video on Thursday, February 6 at 3 am ET / 12 am PT with three new episodes. New episodes will then roll out one a week until the season finale on March 13, 2025.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Invincible Season 3:
- Thursday, February 6, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 1, “You’re Not Laughing Now”
- Thursday, February 6, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 2, “A Deal With The Devil”
- Thursday, February 6, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 3, “You Want a Real Costume, Right?”
- Thursday, February 13, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 4, “You Were My Hero”
- Thursday, February 20, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 5, “This Was Supposed to be Easy”
- Thursday, February 27, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 6, “All I Can Say Is I’m Sorry”
- Thursday, March 6, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 7, “What Have I Done?”
- Thursday, March 13, 2025: Invincible, Season 3, Episode 8 *Season Finale*
Listen to Podvincible: An Invincible Podcast:
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