You're Not Laughing Now

Cecil Stedman and the Global Defense Agency push Mark Grayson through punishing drills, sharpening his strength, speed, and stamina for the Viltrumite threat still on the horizon. During one sparring bout, the towering opponent Mark faces turns out to be a boy of eight who has been transformed into a Giant, a grim reminder of Cecil's willingness to win at any moral price.

At the National Archives, the pairing of Dropkick and Fightmaster tries to make off with the Declaration of Independence. Rex Splode and Mark break up the theft, only for Multi-Paul to storm in, convinced the Lizard League killed his sister Dupli-Kate and blaming Rex for it. He floods the fight with clones, which Mark tears apart to shield Rex. The chaos ends when Dupli-Kate herself appears, now engaged to the Immortal, and reveals she survived by keeping a hidden original copy. Multi-Paul is hauled off into GDA custody.

At home, Oliver's tutor April Howsam quizzes him and marvels at how quickly he absorbs everything, though his runaway aging worries Debbie. Mark also fumbles his romance with Eve, ignoring Rick's warning to avoid the topic of her alternate self and making things awkward. Cecil, annoyed that Debbie hid Oliver's emerging powers, presses to test the boy, and she reluctantly agrees after Oliver hints at leaving to chase his purpose.

The danger sharpens when Doc Seismic, secretly mapping Earth's vibrations, snares the heroes with spider-like drones. Eve and Mark stay loose at first but are caught trying to free the others. Cecil answers by unleashing Darkwing II and his ReAnimen, who put Seismic down and release the captives. Furious that Darkwing II now works with Cecil, Mark confronts both men and trails Cecil to the White Room, where a cluster of ReAnimen waits. Far away, Nolan Grayson sits alone in a Viltrumite cell until Allen the Alien breaks the quiet, revealing he engineered his own capture to reach Nolan and draw him into the Coalition of Planets. Nolan says nothing to refuse, and an uneasy alliance takes shape.

Mark's training partner is exposed as a transformed eight-year-old, underscoring the cost of Cecil's methods. Dupli-Kate returns alive with the Immortal as her fiance, having stored a safe original copy, which lands Multi-Paul in custody. Oliver's off-the-charts development pushes Debbie to permit Cecil's testing. Doc Seismic's ambush is broken only by Darkwing II's ReAnimen, deepening Mark's distrust of Cecil. The episode closes with Allen recruiting an imprisoned Nolan toward the Coalition, hinting at a former enemy's road to redemption.

The title echoes Invincible issue 48, where Doc Seismic taunts the heroes he has captured. A wound Mark takes during the Seismic fight visibly shrinks across the episode, showcasing his accelerated healing, and it is fully gone by the next installment. Oliver's attempt to slip away from home mirrors a similar beat with Goten and Trunks in Dragon Ball Super. The episode draws on comic issues 42 through 44, 46, and 48 to 49, with several changes: in print Doc Seismic monologues in his cell beforehand, Rex fights among the Guardians rather than arriving separately, and Cecil brings Mark to the White Room for surprise rather than protection.