The Destruction of Chicago was a wide crucial event in Invincible. It was the climactic battle between Invincible and Omni-Man.
Parental Revelation[]
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Kaiju attacks.
Omni-Man and Invincible meet to fight a Kaiju, and team up to defeat it, when suddenly, the Immortal shows up, several helicopters record a video feed of the two fighting, which results in Omni-Man slaying the Immortal once more, but this time on live TV for the whole world to see. Omni-Man, after killing The Immortal again, then takes the time to explain the truth about him and Viltrum to Invincible who electrocuted the Kaiju.
Nolan had not lied about Viltrum's existence, but had lied to Invincible about its true nature. He states that Viltrumites are a species of conquest and that they only became as strong and advanced as they are by weeding out and slaughtering the weakest among them. When only their strongest remained, they began to expand their empire to the stars, quickly conquering planet after planet. Planets that submitted would benefit from Viltrum's technological advancements, while those that resisted would be culled.
However, their forces began to thin after so long, making it more challenging to conquer more readily defended planets. As such, they elected to change their strategies. Select Viltrumite soldiers would be sent to planets Invincibleed for conquest and would whittle their defenses covertly. Omni-Man was chosen to do the very same for Earth. He had waited until Invincible had demonstrated Viltrumite powers before setting the next stage of his plans into motion.
Despite Omni-Man's reassurance that it is for the greater good, Invincible cannot shake the callousness of his plans, believing himself to be another human to rule over had his powers never manifested, even calling his father's love of him and Debbie into question. Omni-Man continues trying to explain delicately how long Invincible will live and how futile resisting the Earth's conquest is. Omni-Man then states that while he does love Debbie, he considers her a pet, a remark that sends Invincible over the edge. Invincible takes a firm stance against Omni-Man and vows to defend Earth from him and the rest of the Viltrumites. Omni-Man attempts one more time to talk his son down, but when it becomes clear that Invincible will not change his mind, Omni-Man relents, and the two engage.
Invincible's Decision[]
A brawl breaks out between them, with Omni-Man having the clear advantage from the get-go. As the fight is taken to the sky, Cecil Stedman sends out jets in the hopes of distracting Omni-Man and enabling priceless seconds for Invincible to gain the upper hand. Invincible attempts to reason with his father, only to rebuff him. The jets arrive and target Omni-Man, dealing no damage to him whatsoever. Omni-Man takes his attention off Invincible and retaliates, destroying one jet. Invincible rushes to the pilot's aid, saving him from a fall to his death. The pilot expresses gratitude to Invincible, only for Omni-Man to effortlessly crush the pilot's skull to illustrate how meaningless Invincible's efforts are. Omni-Man continues to ridicule Invincible's love of human life before punching him with such force that sends him to a nearby city...
Omni-Man's Lesson[]
Around this time, a man meets up with his sister, to show his niece his powers, and then talks to his sister about current events. He decides to get coffee while the sister and daughter return to their apartment. Then the man is flung by an earthquake-level shockwave from Invincible who was punched hard.
Invincible tries to save a mother and her daughter.
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But is unable to save them, save them both.
The results of the catastrophe traumatize Invincible, who quickly rushes to the aid of the people in the building he had crashed through. He desperately tried to reassure the occupants of the building that everything was going to be okay. However, his stress, alongside the structure's sheer weight and faltering integrity, resulted in the whole thing collapsing. Standing amidst the rubble, Invincible holds the severed arm of a mother whom he had attempted to save from the building.
A survivor witnessed the event.
Omni-Man shows up, and the two argue once more. Omni-Man attempts to blame Invincible's insubordination for the loss of so many civilian lives, mockingly asking how many more need to die before he gives in. Omni-Man goes on about the worthlessness of human life and, when asked if Debbie's life is just as worthless, coldly replies that it is. Debbie overhears this and begins to break down. Invincible becomes enraged and attacks, accusing his father of lying, landing several blows, and catching Omni-Man off guard. Omni-Man quickly recovers, grabs Invincible's arm, tells him for the first time in his son's life Omni-Man is telling the truth, and hurls Invincible into the subway. Unknown to any them the man from before catches a glimpse of the event and sobs upon seeing Invincible drop the arm of his sister. He once again forced Invincible to witness complete and total carnage by holding him in front of a moving train and allowing it to hit the both of them. The train is ripped in half, and the people inside are continually minced until Omni-Man stomps, sending the remaining cars careening in random directions. When the dust clears, Omni-Man caps the event off by placing his foot on a civilian trapped under a piece of rubble, squishing him like a bug as he reaches for his unresponsive daughter.
Omni-Man argues with his son once more.
Invincible attempts to strike his father again, but Omni-Man does not buckle a second time. He remains unaffected by the strike and retaliates by launching Invincible into the air and brutally pummeling the boy through the clouds. All the while he's doing this, he lectures Invincible, coldly remarking that raising him as a human was a mistake and that the current battle is the beginning of his proper education as a Viltrumite.
Omni-Man then sends Invincible across the country, and later into Mount Everest, where he makes a crater, and forces Omni-Man to nearly brutalize his son to death, to the point where even Omni-Man feels exhausted, claiming he is fighting to watch everyone around him die, and asks him what will he really have after all is said and done after 500 years?
To which Invincible responds that he would still have him, leaving Omni-Man motionless and forces him to fly away.
Aftermath[]
Invincible remains on the mountain, where Cecil sends a chopper to rescue him and taken the GDA. During his rescue, it's revealed that William Clockwell, Art Rosenbaum, and Amber Bennett have all witnessed the events on the news and are devastated at the potential loss of their friend. The news reports go on to mention the extreme loss of life, only mitigated by the help of the Guardians of the Globe and Atom Eve. The report expresses concern about what could have caused the attack, not knowing the true motives behind Omni-Man's actions.
After the world discovered Omni-Man's betrayal, humans and superheroes alike began to disown and hate him. Among his victims were The Immortal, Benjamin Taylor, Darkwing's successor, Theo, Green Ghost's spouse, and Scott Duvall, who lost his sister in the chaos. Duvall initially directed his anger toward Omni-Man's son, Invincible, and attempted to press charges, even seeking a trial, but was denied. Frustrated, he devised a new plan. The city of Chicago was devastated, taking months to fully rebuild. This event forced many residents to lose their homes and jobs.
Invincible and Debbie were also more than shell shocked, as Debbie entered into a depressive state over learning that the past twenty years of her married life was a lie, while Invincible began to worry over whether he would one day become like his father.
Omni-Man exiled himself.
Omni-Man left Earth on a soul-searching journey through the universe. In his quest, he encountered a black hole where he contemplated ending his life. However, he came across a spaceship containing Thraxans heading towards the black hole. Omni-Man decided to save them and take them back to their homeworld, Thraxa. In return for his heroism, he was granted amnesty and a second chance at life, eventually becoming their Emperor.
The Viltrum Empire on other hand were more than furious that Omni-Man abandoned earth and began a galaxy wide search for him.
Legacy[]
Honoring the fallen.
"Two years after the incident," a memorial was held by the Mayor of Chicago, and it is revealed that the death toll from the destruction is 2,341 people.
History repeats itself.
However the following day, it would once be destroyed again, during the worldwide event known as the Invincible War, with the city's state being possibly beyond repair and a worser condition than the fight with Nolan and Mark.
Sightings[]
| Season 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1. "It's About Time": | Absent | 5. "That Actually Hurt": | Absent | |||||||||
| 2. "Here Goes Nothing": | Absent | 6. "You Look Kinda Dead": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "Who You Calling Ugly?": | Absent | 7. "We Need To Talk": | Debut | |||||||||
| 4. "Neil Armstrong, Eat Your Heart Out": | Absent | 8. "Where I Really Come From": | Appears | |||||||||
| Season 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1. "A Lesson For Your Next Life": | Absent | 5. "This Must Come as a Shock": | Absent | |||||||||
| 2. "In About Six Hours, I Lose My Virginity to a Fish": | Absent | 6. "It's Not That Simple": | Absent | |||||||||
| 3. "This Missive, This Machination!": | Absent | 7. "I'm Not Going Anywhere": | Absent | |||||||||
| 4. "It's Been a While": | Flashback | 8. "I Thought You Were Stronger": | Mentioned | |||||||||
| Season 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1. "You're Not Laughing Now": | Absent | 5. "This Was Supposed To Be Easy": | Absent | |||||||||
| 2. "A Deal With The Devil": | Absent | 6. "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry": | Mentioned | |||||||||
| 3. "You Want A Real Costume, Right?": | Absent | 7. "What Have I Done?": | Absent | |||||||||
| 4. "You Were My Hero": | Absent | 8. "I Thought You'd Never Shut Up": | Absent | |||||||||
Trivia[]
- It is been noted by Thaedus, that prior to Invincible's opposition towards his people, Viltrumites have not been at conflict with one another since the Great Purge
- This event lead to the creation of Powerplex, the brother of a woman, and uncle of his niece from Chicago. The mother and daughter both died, which caused him to become a hated of enemy of Invincible.
- Atom Eve's father, Adam Wilkins, who worked at a furniture company, loses his job and business because of Chicago's destruction.
- This is the second city torn fights in the series.
- Chicago would be destroyed again for the second time in the series by Invincible wears the Viltrum attire.