Another Robert Kirkman comic has been made into a TV show. Invincible is an innovative cocktail of satirizing and subverting every superhero trope there is. There will be spoilers past this point.
(Source: Screenshot from Amazon Prime Video)
Not unlike the Justice League or the Avengers, this universe has its own team to protect the Earth. What sets Invincible apart from some of the classic comic book universes is its willingness to explore the mundane along with the unexpected costs of being a hero. Secret identities, work-life balance, interpersonal relationships, and trying to pass high school are all themes undertaken by the showrunners. Invincible is a show that provides action, comedy, romance, and wholesome moments as well as the complete opposite.
When a nearly indestructible man crashes through a city, most creators tend to neglect or avoid the grim topic of collateral damage. Not invincible, in fact, the whole season seems to go out of its way to make this theme more apparent than even the original comics.
A common criticism or joke I’ve seen about Invincible is that Amazon Prime has an obsession with the evil Superman trope (looking at you “The Boys”). Omniman is undoubtedly harder to defend if all we have to go off of is the TV show, regardless, you can still tell his character is far more than that. He’s lived for thousands of years as a Viltrumite conqueror and has been exposed to human values for what? A couple decades?
Speaking of the Grayson family, we have the protagonist Mark Grayson, and his mother, Debbie Grayson.
Something novel about Invincible is the concept of a Superman-like figure constantly getting beaten by formidable enemies. Invincible reminds us that heroes should get their ass kicked now and then. I won’t call out any in particular, but characters that can do anything and beat anyone bore me due to the lack of stakes.
Nick De Moss 