Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Invincible Season 3, Episode 5, “This Was Supposed to be Easy.”
Invincible Season 3’s latest episode, “This Was Supposed to be Easy,” reveals that medical issues prevented Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul’s dad from raising them – so, what happened to him, exactly? And where is Kate and Paul’s mom?
What Happened to Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul’s Dad?
Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul’s father, Tsing Cha, had a mental breakdown. The poor guy’s mind simply couldn’t cope with the strain of raising twins with no control over their multiplying powers. Tsing wasn’t caring for two kids (itself nothing to sneeze at) – he was caring for hundreds. This is more or less covered in Invincible Season 3, Episode 5, however, the Prime Video adaptation leaves out a key detail from the comics: Tsing’s sad predicament was preordained centuries earlier!
As recounted in Invincible #25 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley, Tsing’s breakdown is actually tied to the ancient curse that’s also responsible for Kate and Paul’s powers. See, hundreds of years before Invincible‘s present day narrative, one of Kate and Paul’s ancestors, Fung Cha, killed the Chinese Emperor. Before he died, the Emperor jinxed “the seventh generation after Cha’s seventh grandchild” to be driven mad by “a family too large to care for.” And that’s what happened to Tsing.
Where’s Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul’s Mom?
At this point, you’re probably wondering “What about Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul’s mom?” It’s a fair question, too. As noted above, “This Was Supposed to be Easy” only really hits the key points of Kate and Paul’s origin story. But as with the full context surrounding their dad’s descent into madness, we have Invincible #25 to fill in the blanks about the absent Mrs. Cha.
Unfortunately, it’s more bad news. Invincible #25 confirms that Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul’s mother died in childbirth. Whether the Emperor’s curse is to blame for her death is unclear. While Tsing losing his wife stopped him from fathering more children (he didn’t remarry), it also left him on his own when his number of offspring skyrocketed through mystical means!
Invincible Season 3 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.