SERIES PREMIERETHE BEST NEW (NOT QUITE A) SUPERHERO SERIES IN THE UNIVERSE! Cursed with an unquenchable thirst for violence, BATTLE BEAST searches the universe for the one warrior mightier than him-and a glorious death, his only reward. But even in a universe of mighty Viltrumites like Invincible and Omni-Man, it seems that no one may be able to stop the galaxy's deadliest warrior...unless he does the unthinkable.
Superstars ROBERT KIRKMAN and RYAN OTTLEY present the most demanded INVINCIBLE story of all time, revealing the secret story of Battle Beast that’s perfect for any long-time fan (no spoilers!) and new readers alike.COVER C Blind This is a first-of-its-kind blind bag program.The blind bags will include a chance to get ANY of the solicited covers from A through I.However, there are rare SURPRISE issues that may or may not be related to BATTLE BEAST or the Invincible Universe that can be found in these blind bags.Those SURPRISE issues will not be publicly announced in advance of the issue release.
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible for Image Comics, as well as Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt. He is one of the five partners of Image Comics, and the only one of the five who was not one of the original co-founders of that publisher.
Robert Kirkman's first comic books were self-published under his own Funk-o-Tron label. Along with childhood friend Tony Moore, Kirkman created Battle Pope which was published in late 2001. Battle Pope ran for over 2 years along with other Funk-o-Tron published books such as InkPunks and Double Take.
In July of 2002, Robert's first work for another company began, with a 4-part SuperPatriot series for Image, along with Battle Pope backup story artist Cory Walker. Robert's creator-owned projects followed shortly thereafter, including Tech Jacket, Invincible and Walking Dead.
Of all the characters Robert Kirkman could’ve picked to expand on in the Invincible universe, Battle Beast honestly makes the most sense. He’s a fan favorite, he’s mysterious, and his story was always needed more depth.
This first issue picks up right after his debut in Invincible, where he served as the bodyguard for Machine Head.
After slaughtering most of the heroes sent to stop him, he returns to the alien ship that brought him to Earth in the first place. These aliens had basically lied to him, claiming Earth was full of worthy warriors. He tears through the aliens and kills them for wasting his time.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t destroy everything. Instead, he bonds (in his own way) with the ship’s AI. This AI becomes something like his travel companion, helping him scour the galaxy for opponents who might actually pose a challenge. It’s a nice touch that he mentions “the curse”, a detail that shows up near the end of Invincible’s main run. That little bit makes it clear that this spinoff is trying to stay in tight continuity with the original series. I really appreciate this.
The violence and gore are still here, which is essential for a character like this.
This issue gives us a fight between him and a so-called conquering alien prince, someone who’s built up to seem important, but ultimately goes down pretty fast. That’s where I had a big of a problem: we don’t get enough context about how strong this prince really is. Was he a real threat on par with Earth’s heroes, or just another overhyped pretender? Without more buildup or background, the fight loses some of its weight.
That being said, I’m really excited to see how the story unfolds from here, especially as we get closer to his eventual showdown with Thragg.
There’s real potential for tragedy, glory, and plenty of blood.
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 is an Image Comics comic book issue written by Robert Kirkman, art by Ryan Ottley, and colors by Annalisa Leoni. It is cover dated April 2025.
Set moments after Battle Beast first appears in Invincible #19 when he makes short order battling the Guardians of the Globe, Battle Beast returns to the ship that transported him to Earth in the first place. Having already killed all the crew, Battle Beast makes a deal with the ship’s computer. The computer missing his old crew and seeking revenge, will aid Battle Beast in finding opponents across the galaxy who will put up a challenging fight, and hopefully, death’s warm embrace.
Kirkman and Ottley return to tell us new adventures set within the Invincible Universe. It is so good to be back! Ottley delivers an absolutely blood soaked first issue. You can already tell that Kirkman is about to wrench our hearts with the Battle Beast character who was largely one dimensional when he showed up in the Invincible series. I’m very excited to see what barbaric adventures that Kirkman and Ottley take us on as Battle Beast travels the galaxy looking for the ultimate fight.
BLOODY GLORIOUS!! Every moment of this is perfectly what I expect from a battle beast solo, from his personality, to the premise. It’s just so fitting! I ended up picking this up a week later from release because of major FOMO, I was completely worried that I would also be missing out as I’ve really only read the first volume of invincible and seen the show…but I would be missing out on more if I didn’t read this! From the very first page it seems to establish that this took place early on in the invincible series, and occurred right after battle beast decided to drop by and release there was no one worthy enough for him to fight. But every page on this is beautifully drawn and colored to perfection, every splatter of blood every endless piece of space…I love it!
But you know who doesn’t love it? The artificial intelligence on board the ship that battle beast captured and proceeded to kill the entire crew of. Turns out they were the ones who panicked right before their deaths and pointed he towards Earth, and now he is even angrier that turned out to be unworthy of his power. At first battle beast was angry at the computer, even going so far to hate its voice. But after a few weeks of silence aboard the ship, with nothing but the rotting parts of the crew to keep him fed, battle beast grew to welcome the change in silence. But to our benefit this computer is white inquisitive and decided to ask why battle beast is doing this, and wanting to keep his legend alive he actually decided to answer. It turns out battle beast comes from the war planet Dornn, where he was known as Thokk. As he grew to fighting age he found that there was a rage that boiled within himself that he is completely unable to contain. In time his strength grew with his rage and he brought peace to his world by ending the wars. But his rage only intensified and as he realized it was a curse he left the utopia he built so his rage wouldn’t destroy it. That’s actually quite a compassionate side to battle beast I didn’t think we would find. But of course now he is in a journey to find an opponent so powerful that he will finally die and his rage will finally end. But heres the hilarious thing, the ship has the databases and knowledge necessary to point him in the right direction…but it also doesn’t want to lie. It was quite fond of the previous crew, and anywhere it takes him will be with the end goal of trying to kill him. Hahahaha, perfect! They are on the same page!
“Okay then…let me scan my database and see how fast we can end your life!”
Immediately I am shocked by the red after glow beauty of the planet battle beast is brought to, and the absolute drip he has on. Dude knows how to look good in a fit. On this mysterious world there only appears to be one intelligent life crated thing sticking out from the ground like a container…with a single head popping out of it. As battle beast approaches the head he tells it to throw away its charade as he knows it is alive. Immediately the four eyed creature bares its teeth and apologizes to a creature who is obviously powerful and wise for the deception that he merely uses as a defensive measure. Without battle beast saying anything, the creature proceeds to go on a long tap session about how battle beast looks powerful enough to free him and that his story is a sad one as he was once a prince of a great empire and when it was time for him to take the throne his brutal sister destroyed their kingdom, and imprisoned him in the cosmic nail we now see. But before the creature can continue yapping on about his made up story, battle beast uses his fist to crack open the nail and reálcese the head. And what pops out is even uglier than the head itself, as below the head is a large muscle bound body with 2 spikes protruding from each of its hands. The monster calls battle beast approaches fool and claims that it tricked him and that he is really the tyrant who has conquered empires across the universe and now his reign of terror may begin again with battle beasts death! But without saying anything battle beast simply jumps up and latches onto the monster face and begins to yell at him that he did not trick him and he knows his story, and he only freed him because he wants to know this tyrants power and battle beast wants all of it!!
As the fight begins battle beast slams his helmet into the beasts mouth, shattering its teeth…but also shattering battle beast’s helmet and cutting open his head. The tyrant only laughs as he regenerates his teeth in only a few seconds, but battle beast does not relinquish at this foe. He immediately goes for his sword and lobs the tyrant’s hand off. But of course that can also grow back in a few moments. Soon the tyrant not only breaks battle beast’s sword, but also gets him in a headlock. But that proves to be an immediately mistake as now battle beast is close enough to lock his jaws on the tyrant. The tyrant yells out in pain and tries to rip battle beast off, and while battle beast does release himself…it is only in short bursts as he progressively bites down even harder before ripping off the tyrant’s arm at the bone! Apparently that much damage takes longer to grow back, but now battle beast has the creature’s own arm as a weapon! And even as the tyrant quips during the fight, battle beast doesn’t let up. There were even moments a bit ago before loosing his arm that the tyrant blamed his own fatigue being stuck for so long on why he was fighting poorly…in response battle beast offered to stop the fight so he could recover because he wants to fight him at full power, hahahaha. Of course the tyrant refused and that’s where we find ourselves now…with battle beast’s using the tyrant’s own arm to slash through his face. The tyrant attempted to grab battle beast by the neck…only to forget about his own arm in battle beast’s hand…which battle beast used to cut the tyrant in half while staring him in the eyes. What a way to end a fight, omg!!
With the fight over battle beast gets the chance to tell the tyrant that while he was on this world his legends and tales of his might grew…they were wrong and he was not a worthy opponent. But strangely as battle beast walks away..a small half alive grey alien climbed from the tyrant’s guts. He claimed to be a prince and asked if battle beast could return him to his empire. This is super suspicious, right? Cut in half just like the tyrant is now, and a whole story about being a prince. Could this be what is left of the tyrant, maybe it is extremely hard to kill him? Or it’s someone that was eaten by the tyrant and actually needs help. Either way battle beast decides to bring him back to the ship but only claims to bring him back as good that will stay fresh a little longer than the tyrant’s arm he also brought back for food. I’m not entirely convinced of that, but I’m so excited to see where this goes!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Has some really good artwork, but the story feels very cliche. Battle Beast must find strong people for him to fight, a computer helps him hoping that one beast will be able to defeat Battle Beast.
I missed issue one and am glad to go back to see the beginning of this savage adventure. It definitely sets the stage for what to expect, with the devouring of flesh (don't see it as cannibalism so much) and the brutality of opposing forces. Battle Beast's lack of sincerity for life can generally seem depressing but this tale gives it life of its own. Kirkman's monologues through characters and their diverse misunderstandings is a thoughtful and fun discourse. Ottley's art is good and as with other issues, my only complaint is when some actions get lost in the chaotic details. Maybe I'm just older so take it with a grain of salt.
Thokk's inner rage is so great and his battle prowess so savage, that he's created a peaceful utopia upon Dornn. This tears him up as death is the answer to his curse of rage. Not death by his own hand though. It must be a worthy opponent. Prince Salaka has a harrowing lifespan that would drive the best of us mad but Hope is on the horizon in the form of... Death? Ai has never been so witty and thoughtful.
Finally got my hands on Battle Beast #1 after waiting since May 14, wish it didn’t show up with some damage on the spine, but even that couldn’t ruin the experience. This issue delivered.
The artwork? Absolutely insane. Every panel was dripping with detail, color, and raw energy. You can feel the rage and power in every frame, it’s cinematic without even trying. The action scenes go crazy in the best way. Like, if you’re into brutal combat, clean visuals, and a warrior who just does not hold back, this is your issue.
If this is just the beginning, I can’t wait to see how far it goes. Easily a 5 star start. Let the bloodbath continue.
Battle Beast is one of my favorites from the series and I love this concept where it’s just Battle Beast wanting to fight the mightiest for the love of the game. The art is so good it’s not a surprise but man it’s still lovely to see. A great first issue that makes me want more and more !
1. Disliked the character pretty intensely at first. He had no redeeming qualities that I could see. 2. Little by little, his backstory is hinted at and I found myself rooting not only for Battle Beast, but also his companion. 3. By the end - I was hooked and am looking forward to seeing where this series goes!
I never give out 6 stars, but this deserved the extra star. The art was exquisite and delicious. The sci-fi body horror was so good. Character designs and color palettes were just scrumptious. This is a must own. So much fire!
Welcome back, Ryan and Robert. i have missed exactly this. I can't express how perfect and satisfying this book is. Like drinking water after being in the desert for too long. amazing, as always, but in a way I think has been missing from comics for too long. A return to exquisite form.
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 artwork was amazing. The storyline is still a work in progress. I enjoyed the interaction between the characters. Next issue should be filled with more action.
Una presentación increíble al nivel de los primeros tomos de la saga de invencible aunque con un personaje totalmente diferente que va como un barbaro matando a sus enemigos. El trabajo de Ryan ottley es muy bueno
Honestly fun issue about Battle Beast and excited for the direction it’s putting the series in. There’s a lot of directions to go and hopefully keeps diving into the past of the protagonist.
Was what I expected it to be, and the art for sure delivers. I suppose it is a little strange that because we already know the ending of Battle Beast we know no enemy will get the best of him throughout the series. What’s the ultimate goal here then? The ultimate story? Because for now it seems like it’s stuck in a series of battles and wins and rage. Which is fine as a companion spin off, but not particularly interesting or sustaining on its own.
I need the random character at the end to be a part of the overall story. A) it’s funny but b) having Battle Beast go on some other kind of journey but ultimately failing to choose a different life purpose could be an interesting and novel arc while also positioning him right where he needs to be in the main series
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is what a comic book should look like. Take note big two. Well written, well drawn , fun ,and full of testosterone. Thank you mr,Kirkman ad Mr. Ottley.
fantastic first instalment in what I hope is a long story. my favourite character from the invincible universe showing just how ruthless he is. looking forward to the next one!