Invincible (Season 1)

MOST OF MY REVIEWS HAVE SPOILERS, BUT DUE TO THE FIRST EPISODE TWIST, I IMPLORE YOU TO WATCH THE SHOW BEFORE READING THIS REVIEW.

Invincible is a superhero show on Amazon Prime based on the comic of the same name, and it made a lot of buzz when it was airing. So, I thought I'd finally give it a watch, and I think it mostly lives up to the hype.

Invincible is a show about Mark, the son of a Superman-like hero named Omni Man, who gains his own powers and has to adjust to life as a superhero. Meanwhile, the Guardians Of The Globe (the show's version of the Justice League) has been killed by Omni-Man, so there's also a big subplot about everyone trying to figure out who did it. Generally, I found the Omni Man subplot a bit more compelling and interesting, but there's a charm to watching Mark learn how to use his powers that reminds me of the origin story movies from the 00s, like Spider Man and Iron Man. Both storylines manage to coalesce by the end of the season resulting in a phenomenal final episode. But even before then, I feel like the show juggles the background conspiracy and Mark's origin story pretty well, with the only storyline that falls short is the romance stuff, and I mean most of it. I think Debbie's relationship with Omni-Man is compelling and heartbreaking, but otherwise, subplots like the romance between Mark and Amber is kinda dull, especially around the middle of the season where it pretty much comes up all over the place.

The characters are all pretty great in this series. Obviously, Mark is the highlight and the star of the show, but Omni-Man is also fascinating to unpack. Most of the heroes and villains like Atom Eve, Robot, and Titan have well-defined personalities and cool powers, with their gimmicks used both for jokes and for genuinely cool fights. The high school kids are a bit weaker, but even though William fits the gay best friend trope to a tee, he does have some of the show's funniest moments and exudes serious Wallace Wells energy at times. Debbie is probably my favorite character, though. While Omni-Man's storyline is amazing, easily the most compelling part is his own wife learning the truth about him. Speaking of which, the animation is also pretty good, looking straight out of the comics the show is based on. The action scenes are especially impressive, they're fast-paced and exciting,  jumping between genuine combat and saving people. There's a lot of gore in this series, but it's mostly used when the show wants to shock or surprise the audience, rarely feeling overdone. I think Invincible does a good job of being an adult animated show that doesn't go to South Park levels of "maturity". My only gripe with the animation is the infrequent usage of CGI backgrounds that don't mesh too well with anything else, but it's not as distracting as it might be in a lot of anime with the same problem.

When Invincible is good, it's really good, particularly in these highlights:

It's About Time: If you've seen this series, you already know why this episode is a highlight. I'm a big fan of First Episode Twists and this might be one of the best. Most of it's a solid and well-written origin story for Mark, and then it hits you with a whammy of an ending that turns your preconceptions of the entire series upside down. It's shocking, it's gory, and it left me breathless, an amazing hook for the series.

That Actually Hurt: This episode feels like it was targeted towards a lot of modern superhero movies, exploring how some superheroes are so focused on the larger stakes that they forget about the little guy, they forget about saving people. Titan is a super compelling and interesting character, and the near-slaughter by Battle Beast is nearly as shocking as devastating as that first episode twist.

We Need To Talk: Kickstarting the amazing two episodes that nearly end off the season, We Need To Talk has the mysteries start to be revealed, with everyone knowing Omni-Man is the killer (including Mark and Debbie) and Robot getting and revealing his new body, and Cecil throwing everything and the kitchen sink at Omni-Man to no avail. What other way could there be to kill Superman? His son, maybe?

Where I Really Come From: See, Marvel? This is how you end a superhero show! The final battle is shocking (the train scene), action-packed, climactic, and emotional, but this episode also makes time to resolve things for pretty much every single character. It doesn't feel rushed or watered down, it feels like everything this season has been building up to, the fight between Mark and Omni-Man was more than worth it. It's a great finale that ends this stellar first season the highest note possible.

Overall, Invincible's first season is a strong start for the series, a compelling superhero tale that explores the genre in interesting ways and builds to an amazing ending, even if it suffers from some weak romance subplots.

4/5 Stars