‘Invincible’: Why Do the Maulers Always Clone Themselves?

There are a lot of different constants in the world of ‘Invincible,’ and one of those constants is Mauler cloning himself. That’s because every version of Mauler in the multiverse of ‘Invincible’ always cloned themselves, and it was always the case that Mauler tried to create an exact genetic copy using his incredible knowledge of cloning technology. Then again, why do the Maulers always try to clone themselves?

There is actually only one Mauler

Ever since the first episode of ‘Invincible,’ the villains who have consistently appeared are the Mauler Twins, who are superhumans who have super-strength, durability, and intelligence. The Maulers are known for their scientific genius as they are experts in cloning technology despite the fact that they are both known for their brawns as well. Of course, the Maulers have been around since season 1 and have also appeared in season 2.

But the thing that needs to be said about the Mauler Twins is that these guys aren’t actual twins. In fact, there is only one Mauler. However, because Mauler became an expert in cloning and is the only one capable of masterfully transferring memories from one person to another, he eventually decided to create a clone of himself.

As such, the Maulers have consistently created clones ever since, and the problem is that neither Mauler knows who the clone is. This has been a running gag in ‘Invincible’ as Mauler was such an expert in cloning tech that every clone he created couldn’t distinguish himself from the original. In that regard, it is possible that the original Mauler died a while back and that the current Maulers are just clones of the original one.

Nevertheless, every single time that one of the Maulers dies, the surviving one creates a clone of himself. This was also the case in the different universes in the ‘Invincible’ multiverse, as every version of Mauler in every universe has a penchant for creating clones of themselves. In fact, in episode 4 of season 2, the Mauler who survived the explosion in episode 1 of season 2 decided to create another clone of himself, only for him to tell the new Mauler that he was the clone as the “original” Mauler had permanent injuries that stem from the explosion.

The reason why neither the original nor the clone wants to be the clone is the fact that the clone is often seen as the “inferior” one of the two despite the fact that the clone is an exact genetic replica of the original one in every basic aspect, including memories and personality. As such, at the end of episode 4, the clone killed the “original” Mauler, who ended up bossing the clone around before his death. And the clone, we can expect, created another clone after the death of the “original” Mauler.

The Maulers need twice the brain and muscle

Of course, one of the things that has always been constant in ‘Invincible’ is that the Mauler Twins always make sure that there are two of them by creating a clone whenever one of them dies. So, why is it that the Maulers always clone themselves?

Well, the first reason is that Mauler knows that he cannot handle the job all on his own. While Mauler is smart, he understands that there are limitations to what he can do, as he knows that heroes are always there to stop him from succeeding in his experiments. This means that he needs another version of himself to make sure that he is able to work more efficiently, as there is now twice the brain and the muscle.

Mauler also knows that the only person he knows can get the job done is another version of himself, and that’s why there’s a need for him to create a clone. This clone has all of his strength and memories, and that’s why the Mauler Twins are able to work efficiently in the different science experiments that they conduct. Allying himself with another person makes it more difficult for him because he would only want to trust someone who has a similar way of thinking and has strength that’s exactly the same as his.

There’s also the fact the clone acts as an insurance policy for Mauler. He knows and understands that what he is doing is dangerous, and there’s a good chance that the heroes will end up killing him. The clone exists to make sure that he stays alive, as the clone would act as a backup plan in case Mauler dies. This is why every version of Mauler creates a clone whenever one of the Maulers dies.

If Mauler knows and understands that he needs another version of himself to become more efficient, then why doesn’t he clone more versions of himself? Well, the answer lies in the fact that he doesn’t always agree with himself, and we often see this in the fact that the Mauler Twins always argue with one another. In fact, in episode 4 of season 2, the clone even killed the original, suggesting that this could be a trend.

More Maulers would mean that there would be more arguments happening and that they would all fight amongst themselves. As such, an extra Mauler is more than enough help for Mauler, considering that more versions of himself would only make things chaotic.

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