The Order: Invincible Season 3's Criminal Alliance Explained

The following contains spoilers for Invincible season 3 episode 5, "This Was Supposed To Be Easy," now streaming on Prime VideoInvincible fully introduces the Order in season 3. The world of Invincible is a self-aware and brutal love letter to superhero stories that is able to use plenty of established tropes to great effect. Invincible's cast of characters have been largely focused on the global and universal scale threats, such as the Viltrumite Empire or the dimension-hopping Angstrom Levy. However, the full scope of the setting also has plenty of smaller threats like the Lizard League or Doc Seismic that only need one victory to change the world forever.

One such group from the original Invincible comics (albeit one that didn't have much of a role to play in the main comic series) has formally made their debut in the animated series. Notably, there are some key roster and history changes to the group that present them as a more effective and dangerous organization then the one that appeared in the original story. This could set this new group of villains up to play a more proactive role in the show and become more important in seasons 4 of Invincible or beyond.

What Is The Order In Invincible Season 3?

The Order Are Formally Introduced In "This Was Supposed To Be Easy

Invincible season 3 fully introduces the criminal organization known as the Order, who play a minor role in the original comics but could become larger threats in future seasons of the animated adaption. The Order has been established as the hierarchy of criminal conspiracies in the world of Invincible. United across borders from around the world, the Order have been operating well enough in secret to avoid the scrutiny paid to the countless other threats that the hero community has to contend with.

Previous episodes in season 3 set up Titan trying to break Multi-Paul out of prison to appease the ORder, but this plot thread finally comes to a head in "This Was Supposed to be Easy" when Mr. Liu decides to finally take matters into his own hands. Composed of minor villains like Slaying Mantis, Red Eye, and Embrace — all of whom appear among the roster of the Order introduced at the episode's conclusion — the Order has been quietly ruling criminal enterprises around the world for some unknown period while the other heroes are more focused on alien threats and terrorist attacks.

Who Leads The Order In Invincibled?

How Mr. Liu Is Dethroned From The Order

Invincible Season 3 The Order Villains 1

The Order is introduced primarily by proxy through Mister Liu. A leader among the villainous organization, the old man is capable of transforming himself into a massive mystical dragon. Even Machine Head recognizes the danger the villain poses and willingly worked within the command of the Order. Mister Liu doesn't delegate the responsibility of freeing Multi-Paul either, taking out his fury against Titan by trying to kill him. Having to leave his mortal body behind while assuming his dragon form, Liu is distracted fighting Invincible long enough for Machine Head, Titan, and Isotope to dispatch his bodyguard and kill him.

Mark Grayson in his blue suit and Omni-Man flying with lightning behind them Invincible

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This instantly kills Liu, who had been seconds away from seriously injuring or outright murdering someone as powerful as Invincible. This opens up his seat among the Order to Machine Head, who quickly establishes himself as a leader of the group. The group openly leaves the main city that Invincible is set in to Titan, which could easily allow their corner of the universe to remain separate from Invincible's core characters. However, a lingering threat to Titan could eventually bring those two factions into conflict.

Which Characters Are Involved With The Order In Invincible

Invincible Has Seven Other Villain Crimelords Working With The Order

Invincible Season 3 The Order Villains 10

The Order looks largely similar to the group from the Guarding the Globe. The ending of "This Was Supposed To Be Easy" reveals that the current roster of the Order includes eight villains, including the seat formerly taken by Mr. Liu and usurped by Machine Head. This includes animated versions of Embrace, Red Eye, Insomniac, Face, Walking Dread, Slaying Mantis, and War Woman. These villains largely appear similar to their original comic incarnations. Multi-Paul was also their assassin and ends the episode on the run from prison (and likely returning to the Order).

Members Of The Order From Invincible

Mr. Liu (Deceased)

Machine Head

Isotope

Embrace

Red Eye

Insomniac

Face

Walking Dread

Slaying Mantis

War Woman

The most prominent characters in Invincible affiliated with the Order are Machine Head and Isotope. Machine Head gives Titan control of the city at the end of the episode, allowing him to operate independently of the Order. This means that Titan can continue to try and fix up the city his own way, even in complete defiance of whatever Invincible and the other heroes know about him. However, the size of the city and the danger of an independent player with knowledge about them could eventually push the Order to take action against Titan despite Machine Head's orders.

What Happens To The Order In The Invincible Comics?

The Order Only Really Had One Important Storyline In Guarding The Galaxy

Despite their role in the world of the animated show, the Order was a smaller group within the original comics. Guarding the Globe is the primary storyline focusing on the Order, and serves as a side-story in the grand scheme of things for the original comics. While Mark and the main Invincible storyline were off-world for the Viltrumite War storyline, Cecil and the Guardians served as the main characters for the Guarding the Globe miniseries. The storyline saw Cecil forced to recruit new members of the Guardians amid the foundation of the Order.

The Order were the antagonists of Guarding the Globe Vol. 1, while Seth, Thoth, and other minor villains from the Order appeared in Vol. 2.

The Order was a new villainous organization that sought to use that opening to establish itself as a global criminal conspiracy. In a departure from the comics, the Order was not run by Mr. Liu but rather commanded by the villain known as Set. Their army was able to raze the Eiffel Tower and cause a lot of chaos before brought down when Set loses control of his powers and is forced to retreat. The story is a minor spotlight for the Guardians of the Globe.

How The Order Could Factor Into Invincible Season 4 And Beyond

Invincible Season 4 Could Introduce Set Or Set Up New Storylines For The Order

Invincible Season 3 The Order Villains 4

So far, there are two big differences between the comics version of the Order and the one that appeared in the comics. Set's ambitious plans could bring back the Order in season 4 or beyond. The more interesting difference is that the Order is long established in the animated series. Crime lords in major cities follow the command of the Order in this world, with Machine Head implying the organization has been thriving under the noses of the Guardians of the Globe for years. It's an interesting tweak that could turn any of the group into more important characters.

Invincible has already made some tweaks to the Order, which could snowball into future plotlines or spin-offs for the show.

The Order already being established instead of being an upstart group means the Guardians might not be able to fully respond to it. A straight adaptation of the Order's storyline could be a handy way to return to Earth amid a space-born adventure, similar to how the Lizard League attack was so compelling because it targeted the lower-level heroes. The show could create new plotlines for the group and set them after the heroes in unexpected ways. Invincible has already made some tweaks to the Order, which could snowball into future plotlines or spin-offs for the show.