Invincible is an animated superhero show that focuses on Mark Grayson, the teen son of the world’s strongest and most celebrated superhero Omni-man. An Amazon Original, the first half of the second season was released between the 3 and 24 November to excellent reviews. Similar to The Boys,where superheroes are not exactly paragons of peace, Invincible is known for its dark take on superheroes. The superheroes in this world appear good, just, and righteous to the public eye, but behind closed doors a different story unfolds.
After an agonising two years of waiting due to the animation process, large cast, and COVID-19, the first episode of season two dropped at the beginning of November.
Season two starts off slow, but picks up almost exactly where season one left off – in the aftermath of the fight between Omni-man and Invincible. Both Mark (voiced by Steven Yeun) and his mother, Debbie Grayson (Sandra Oh), are trying their best to move on with their lives, going back to school and work. The audience watches Mark deal with PTSD and immense guilt over the lives lost during the fight with his father. Despite this, he is still trying to be a hero. Meanwhile, Debbie finds solace at the bottom of her wine glass and comes to terms with the fact that her husband of many years viewed her as little better than a pet. It’s heartbreaking to watch her try to be strong for her son and herself as they both come to terms with their new reality.
The episode also introduces new troubles for the second generation of the Guardians of the Globe, consisting of Rex Splode, Rudy/Robot, Dupli-Kate, Shrinking Rae, Monster Girl and Black Samson. In a fight scene, we see that it takes the Guardians too long to defeat monsters and it costs lives. Furthermore, leadership issues start to arise within the team and significant changes are made. Whilst it’s nice to see how they have overcome their mistrust of each other from season one when they were just getting to know each other, it’s hard to watch as you realise that team solidarity just isn’t enough.
The introduction of Angstrom Levy, a character from a different reality who can create portals to different dimensions, promises something much greater on the horizon. Levy is this season’s “big bad” and with his power set you can already tell that we’ll be in for a ride. Levy’s role throughout the episode makes it clear that he is a man with big ideas and dreams, and is willing to do anything to save his Earth. He sets up the premise for the coming season, and his involvement in the end-credit scene leaves room for much anticipation for what’s to come. Perhaps an epic clash that will be nothing short of world-altering?
However, I have some apprehension that the plotline of alternate realities could fail just as it did in Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where there was just too much happening at once. Let’s hold onto the hope that they will pull it off like the producers of Everything Everywhere All at Once,and somehow weave in touching moments between Mark and his friends and family.
It showed us ongoing trauma recovery, incredible fight scenes and new powers.
The slowness of the season two opener of Invincible has allowed the showrunners to come up with a strong and coherent start, unlike some other recent superhero shows such as Marvel’s Loki. Rather than being catapulted into a hectic scenario, Invincible season two eases viewers into the situation, and sets the stage for exciting developments.
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode of Invincible. In just 49 minutes,it showed us ongoing trauma recovery, incredible fight scenes and new powers, whilst maintaining the tone we know and love from season one. The episode really gets the audience to feel for Debbie and Mark as they pick up the pieces of the season one finale. Furthermore, we are left with tons of questions about what the future entails for the Guardians of the Globe and how our Invincible will fare against the looming threat of Angstrom Levy.
As always, the voice acting is amazing. In particular, the raw emotive performance by Sandra Oh adds significantly to audience empathy for Debbie’s situation. Overall, the writing and pacing of the episode was very well done, and I’m excited for what the show’s producer and creator Robert Kirkman will show us next. Considering Invincible’s amazing twists, I can’t wait to see what’s in store.
I recommend this show to those who are 18 years or older, as there is quite a bit of blood and gore, and to those who love all things superheros and sci-fi, as well as fans of The Boys and other adult animation such as Vox Machina and Rick and Morty.
