‘Invincible’: Is Donald Ferguson a Clone?

Donald Ferguson has been one of the most consistent characters in the world of ‘Invincible,’ as even his counterparts in the other universes are pretty much always working for the Global Defense Agency as Cecil Stedman’s loyal right-hand man. Of course, one of the things that we did see in season 1 of the series was Donald’s death as he blew himself up to slow down Omni-Man. But it is clear in season 2 that he is alive. So, is Donald a clone?

Omni-Man killed Donald

One of the things that we know about the first season of ‘Invincible’ was the fact that the Global Defense Agency (GDA), under Cecil Stedman’s leadership, was keeping a close eye on Omni-Man when it became clear that he could be involved in the deaths of all of the members of the Guardians of the Globe. As such, Nolan became Cecil’s prime suspect, and he had his right-hand man, Donald Ferguson, keep a close watch on the powerful superhero.

Donald was incredibly loyal to Cecil and willing to do anything and everything for the sake of his boss and the entire GDA, even if it meant spying on the strongest man on the entire planet. When it became clear that Omni-Man was the one who killed all of the Guardians, that was when Cecil tried to slow him down so that he wouldn’t be able to get to his son, Mark Grayson.

The GDA sent soldiers after Nolan, only for the superhero to kill all of them. Donald was in the house across the street, spying and observing Nolan as the Viltrumite made his way there to kill everyone. Nolan grabbed Donald’s spine from behind as he was ready to kill the loyal GDA agent. But before dying, Donald pushed a button that blew up the entire house, hoping it would slow Omni-Man down.

Of course, Nolan left the house unscathed, but it was clear that the blast took everything and everyone else inside the house, including Donald. This means that Donald died in season 1, and everyone familiar with him knew he died.

Still, in season 2, episode 1, Donald was seen working for the GDA, and some people were left wondering why or how he survived. Then, in one of the next episodes, Debbie stormed the GDA to demand Cecil to make Mark stop working for him. But Debbie was stunned when she saw Donald, as Donald himself was left wondering why Debbie was surprised to see him.

This means that Debbie was aware that Donald was dead and that the current Donald, who has been working with Cecil throughout the events of season 2, was not aware that he was supposed to be dead. When he asked Cecil why Debbie was surprised, the GDA director merely brushed it aside, as it was clear that he wasn’t willing to tell Donald the truth about what happened to him.

The new Donald is a cyborg

In episode 4 of season 2, it became clear that Donald was disturbed about what happened in the GDA base when Debbie was surprised to see him. He went to the ruins in front of the Grayson household to investigate it, only to find a pair of glasses that were similar to the ones he was wearing. This made him even more curious about the truth behind what happened to him.

Donald checked classified security footage to learn more about what happened to him. He even had to use Cecil’s credentials to access the files, as he saw a video of what happened at the end of season 1 when Omni-Man was about to kill him before he blew up the entire house. This left him puzzled about what he was and how he was alive.

After that, Donald grabbed a knife and went to the restroom to stab his arm so that he could check whether or not he was still human. He was momentarily relieved to see that blood came out of his arm. However, when he saw that the knife had a dent right at the tip, that was when he realized that he wasn’t human after all.

In the comics, Donald was a cyborg. Donald can transform his hand into any weapon, proving he is Cecil’s best right-hand man. He also has superhuman strength and durability due to his status as a cyborg.

So, as episode 4 suggests, Donald could very well be a cyborg in season 2, as there’s a good chance that Cecil saw him as a very valuable ally and asset. We can’t say he is a clone because the only cloning process we know about is the one that the Maulers use. The Maulers were brought back to prison during the latter portion of season 1, suggesting they couldn’t have cloned Donald. Of course, as episode 4 shows, Donald had a metal skeleton, suggesting he is cybernetic. 

It is likely that, at one point in time, the people over at the GDA cloned Donald’s brain or, at the very least, downloaded his memories and personalities. After his death, the GDA must have created a cyborg intact with all of Donald’s memories.

Then again, Donald was not aware that he was turned into a cyborg, as this complicated things between him and Cecil. As loyal as he is to his boss, this could add a wrinkle to their relationship, making Donald one of the more compelling characters in the series, even though he was mostly portrayed as a regular government “Yes” man.

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