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This review was made possible by screeners for Invincible. Invincible returns to Prime Video on Thursday, March 14th. New episodes are released on Thursdays.
The second half of Season Two of Invincible is almost here. Based on the popular comic written by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, and published by Image Comics. The animated series was created by Kirkman and follows teenager Mark Grayson aka Invincible (Steven Yeun) as he learns to develop his superpowers and live a normal life. The problem is his father Nolan aka Omni-Man (J. K. Simmons) is the most powerful hero in the world, that is until his plans to conquer the world to expand the Viltrumite empire comes to light in the most brutal and heart breaking fashion imaginable.
Spoiler Warning: This will include plot points from Season 1 and Season 2 Part 1 of Invincible
Season Two is buried in the weight of Mark’s fight with Nolan. After Nolan fled earth, the betrayal of Omni-Man reverberates through everything on the planet. Debbie Grayson (Sandra Oh) dealing with the loss of her husband, not to mention dealing with the fact the last twenty years of her life was a lie. The Guardians of the Globe are struggling to work together as a team. The planet tries to rebuild, but new buildings and fresh paint can’t cover up the blood-soaked imprint Omni-Man left.
BACK TO NORMAL!?
The second half of the second season picks up right where the mid-season finale left off. Mark left battered and beaten (again), Thraxa left in rubble and Nolan captured by the Viltrumites. Mark finally returns home after helping rebuild Thraxa, but he doesn’t return empty handed. He comes home with new responsibilities while having to navigate integrating back into normal life after being in space for months.
Tackling college, a girlfriend and trying to save the world is not an easy task. Especially while fighting the inner turmoil of generational trauma. The internal fight of not becoming his father Mark wages on is possibly the most important theme of the show. With the impending doom of the Viltrumite invasion on Earth and the pseudo face turn from his father on Thraxa, Mark must decide what kind of hero he will be. Not to mention there’s a certain multiversal baddie waiting in the wings for his time to enact revenge.
A MULTIVERSE FULL OF STORYLINES
One thing Invincible does better than almost any other series out there is juggling multiple plot lines at once without the story feeling overwhelming or confusing. The Lizard League, the Guardians of the Globe, Atom Eve struggling to be a hero, Debbie’s grief and overcoming it, Donald realizing he’s an android, face hugging Martians, Angstrom Levy’s (Sterling K. Brown) multiversal revenge tour, the Coalition of Planets, the looming galactic war with the Viltrumites, the list goes on.
The series weaves all these plot lines together in a way that’s so digestible, with just enough to keep you thinking “Oh yeah, that’s happening too”. It only makes the conclusions even more satisfying, with almost every ending creating a new beginning. Storytelling at its absolute finest.
THE WEIGHT OF CONSEQUENCE
This second half serves as a massive pay off in a lot of ways, while being a massive turning point in Mark’s journey. Every action is felt not only as a direct consequence but echoes through all the events afterwards. What comes next promises to be violent, emotional and shocking. The stakes only get higher and the twists and turns only get more surprising.
Invincible Season 2 Part 2 is the most brutal display of with great power comes great responsibility. It’s dense, bloody, dark and extremely profound. It stands tall as one of the best comic book adaptations ever. The series returns March 14th, 2024 on Prime Video.
