For many, the superhero genre is having a bit of an identity crisis. Ever since its peak with the release of Avengers: Endgame, we’ve been chasing that high of epic conflict, lovable characters, and massive worlds of interconnecting stories. Honestly, considering the amount of effort it took to make it work once, I didn’t think I’d ever find a story to scratch that itch again. That’s why Invincible took me completely by surprise.
Spun from the mind of Robert Kirkman, best known as creator of The Walking Dead, nobody expected Invincible to be anything to write home about. It came extremely late to the superhero genre with a heroic pantheon nobody had ever heard of and a central hook that was deliberately kept out of the marketing. The world seemed chaotic at best, the animation was average, and there wasn’t a clear reason to give the show a chance. Even as someone who normally enjoyed the genre, I just didn’t see anything special at first glance.
However, despite everything seemingly against it, Invincible absolutely proved me wrong. It’s cast of characters is both vast and interesting, its world is bombastic and constantly evolving, and its story of overcoming tragedy executes on familiar ground in a fun and unique way. The idea of mimicking something with the scale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a single show is completely ridiculous. I’m happy to say that Invincible is ridiculous in the best way possible.
Mark Greyson, son of the famous superhero Omni-Man, is a teen enjoying his normal life amid a very abnormal world. Aliens, mad scientists, sea monsters, ancient civilizations, and more are all established threats, and to keep them at bay, heroes are commissioned that protect humanity. However, when the most prominent among them, the Guardians of the Globe, are suddenly defeated all at once, a hidden threat emerges that humanity isn’t ready for. This allows Mark, newly awakened to his father’s inherited powers, to join the fight and discover the world’s many outlandish secrets.
For those who aren’t familiar with the show, I’ll say this first: Don’t read any further. One of Invincible’s best moments comes at the end of its first episode, and if you somehow haven’t seen it online already, it’s worth going in blind. This review will cover the first three seasons in broad terms, but there are mild spoilers that can’t be avoided.
The most notable of these is the real hook of the show: huge amounts of gore and violence. Series like The Boys have tried before to show what superheroes would be like in a less ideal world, but Invincible takes it to an entirely new level. Almost every episode sees a new way to eviscerate our heroes, tearing them limb from limb or torturing them with a variety of creative sci-fi and fantasy weapons. And of course, as the aptly named hero “Invincible,” Mark takes the brunt of much of this punishment. It may not be a totally original concept, but like with much of the show, the genius comes from the execution.
In the first season alone, there are dozens of unique and interesting characters to get to know, from the heroes to the villains and everyone in-between. Considering how long superheroes have been around, it’s impressive to see ideas that don’t feel ripped from any established material, from the molecular powers of Atom Eve to the blasting flair of Rex Splode.
But at the same time, the sheer size of this cast can also be a detriment. I’ve never seen a show introduce so many world and character concepts at once and expect the audience to keep up. This is why I compare it to the MCU rather than any one of its pieces. It’s as if they skipped Batman and Superman and went straight to Justice League; messy and overwhelming at the start.
However, the further in you get, the more it all begins to click. The story dedicates just enough time to each character to get you invested, and it certainly helps that their individual plots are all well-executed. Once you get to know them, heroes like Robot and Allen the Alien become just as memorable as anyone you’d get from Marvel or DC. Combine this with the chance that they could die at any moment, and you’ve got a recipe for visceral, high-stakes action. No threat is too small to potentially kill someone off, and with how erratic the worldbuilding can be, minor fights can escalate extremely fast.
It’s all engaging and fun to watch, though there is one small wrinkle: characters rarely stay dead for long. Even if their head gets chopped off or their entire body is burned to ash, you’d better believe they’ll find a way to return at some point in the future. This noticeably weakens the majority of fights, since even if a character valiantly sacrifices themselves or is brutally murdered by a villain, it’s hard to believe it really matters. This especially harms the few times when a death is legitimate, since there’s no telling if it’ll stay that way.
The presentation on offer is solid overall, though with a few prevalent flaws. Visuals have a simple and clean style that contrasts well with the show’s violent nature while maintaining its comic book feel. Character designs are the same, being basic but mostly appealing and unique. There isn’t anything to write home about cinematically, which is a shame given the legacy of the genre, but it doesn’t noticeably harm the show.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the animation. The standards of the medium have risen substantially with the increased popularity of anime in the west, but even compared to other western productions, Invincible is basic. Most shots lack complex movement, and when it does appear, it often leaves out frames or minor details. It’s also only marginally improved as the show’s continued, despite its widespread popularity. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it negligent, as I can tell the creators are doing the best with what they have, but it comes off like the work of a very inexperienced team. As sad as it is, the fan nickname “PNG Show” isn’t totally unwarranted.
Thankfully, this is largely remedied with stellar audio design. The show finds a great balance between the classic superhero scores of the past and its own modern sensibilities. Orchestrated music is used for many of the fights and more serious moments, bringing to mind the best of characters like Batman or Spawn, and the motifs like the main theme are catchy and memorable. When focus is given to the more casual and fun side of the show, modern rock and hip-hop are used to great effect. I’ve added multiple songs to my regular rotation after hearing them here first, and that’s about as high as compliments get.
Even better is a top-notch batch of voice actors that do their characters justice in every regard. Usually, I like to pick out just one or two favorites from among a cast, but these performances are so consistently awesome that I just can’t choose. Steven Yeun as Mark, J.K. Simmons as Omni-Man, Seth Rogen as Allen, Jason Mantzoukas as Rex, Sterling K. Brown as Angstrom, and Walton Goggins as Cecil are just a few of the standouts. For a cast as vast and varied as this one, it would have been easy to phone it in, but this genuinely feels like everyone got equal attention. Technically speaking, it’s the most impressive thing this show does.
There are so many small moments that really sell the identity and passion behind the show. At the beginning of each episode, the series title card is always placed just when a character says the word “Invincible,” and the ways in which they use this throughout the series are both hilarious and harrowing depending on the situation. The logo also has a visual motif that evolves as the episodes continue, such as blood splattering in the first season or color changing in the third. It never fails to get me hyped, and the creativity they put into it gives me faith in the team at Amazon MGM.
These small touches also extend to the story, which has seen noticeable improvements over the comic source material. Storylines are reworked or streamlined to fit the silver screen, aiding the pacing and character portrayals significantly. It also helps to create a more timeless feel, as the comics had a strong dose of mid-2000s humor. Kirkman has gone on record stating that he considers the show “a second draft” for the series, and after comparing the material, it’s easy to see what he’s learned.
The central threads that tie the story together are simply awesome. The first season in particular has a fantastic throughline involving Mark and Omni-Man, and it culminates in one of the best TV episodes I’ve seen in recent memory. Villains like Angstrom Leevy and Conquest also rank among the top tier of the industry. Themes of death and moral responsibility are grappled with by the characters directly, and with so much violence, I can’t think of a better avenue to explore these ideas.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the show is flawless. Among such a large group of characters, there are bound to be a few duds, and examples like Amber, Dupli-Kate, and the Immortal show this. There’s also a tendency to chase smaller plotlines instead of focusing on the main story, which is usually fine but begins to hurt more when it comes at the detriment of the narrative. Season one has such an amazing buildup with its conflict and main villain that it’s difficult watching the follow-ups lose that driving force. At the end of the day, these are only nitpicks, but still worth bringing up when everything else is so great.
Verdict
True to its name, Invincible has proven an unmoving pillar in a genre that’s been languishing for years. It acts as proof that superheroes never really went out of style, but were instead starved of creativity and solid writing. Even with its issues in terms of animation and its occasional plotting missteps, this is strong enough to rise above almost all its current contemporaries.
Frankly, the idea of launching a new superhero universe on the heels of the MCU still sounds like a recipe for disaster, but there’s no denying the results. With great writing, stellar sound, and charm to spare, you can make a series that’s well and truly Invincible.
