Invincible Season 3: Who Is Battle Beast (& Why Is He In Prison)?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Invincible Season 3, Episode 4, “You Were My Hero.”

Invincible Season 3’s fourth installment, “You Were My Hero,” brings back a heavyweight antagonist last seen in Season 1: Battle Beast. Can’t remember who Battle Beast is, and confused about why he’s in the Viltrum Empire’s prison in Invincible Season 3? Read on for the full lowdown!

Who Is Battle Beast in Invincible Season 3?

Battle Beast (whose real name is Thokk) is a leonine alien fixated on a single thing: finding worthy opponents. To that end, he travels the universe picking fights with the most powerful people on the block. And if he should die in one of these dust-ups? That’s no problem; in fact, it’s technically the best possible outcome, since anyone capable of beating the incredibly formidable Battle Beast in one-on-one combat is the very definition of “worthy.”

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It’s all a bit bonkers, and it’s what leads Battle Beast to Earth in Invincible Season 1, Episode 5, “That Actually Hurt.” Eager to test his mettle against the planet’s superhero population, Battle Beast signs up to fight the Guardians of the Globe alongside crime boss Machine Head’s other hired muscle. He soon makes short work of Invincible, Monster Girl, and Black Samson, before exiting the battlefield in disgust. And that’s the last we see of Battle Beast, until he turns up in Invincible Season 3.

Why Is Battle Beast in the Viltrum Empire’s Space Prison?

Of course, Battle Beast’s return in “You Were My Hero” raises questions of its own. Chiefly, why the heck is someone as tough as him behind bars? We never get an answer in Invincible Season 3, Episode 4, and the comics aren’t much help, either. The original 144-issue Invincible run also skips over Battle Beast’s exploits between his brawl with the Guardians and winding up in a Viltrum Empire-controlled prison.

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That said, writer Robert Kirkman and artist Ryan Ottley are set to fill in the holes in Thokk’s backstory in Invincible Universe: Battle Beast. So, we should get the skinny on his journey to the jailhouse when the spinoff title hits shelves in April 2025. Until then, our best guess is that Battle Beast is in prison because he wants to be there. After all, what better way to guarantee a fight with the worthiest foe of all, a Viltrumite?

Invincible Season 3 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.