After a two-and-a-half year hiatus, the Amazon Prime original animated series “Invincible” is back for its second season. Many fans of the series have been eagerly waiting after the teaser trailer dropped in late January. They were pleasantly surprised when the studio dropped not only the official trailer for season two with its release date in late July, but also a one-hour character special for Atom Eve along with it. Both gave fans a taste of what they could expect for the upcoming season with its story and increased animation quality. Spoiler warning for those who have not watched the first four episodes of the new season.
One of the things both the comics and show does well is subvert viewers expectations. The first of them being the intro fight between Invincible and Immortal. The dialogue was the perfect fake out for both comic readers and show watchers alike. Both are led to believe that the fight takes place right after Omni-man leaves earth.
Though this belief quickly vanishes as fast as he swoops in to take off Immortal’s arm. Immortal’s dialogue further emphasizes our surprise of seeing Omni-man so soon, the “You!” and “Yep” were just perfect. I knew exactly what was happening when we heard Invincible’s announcement to the citizens of Earth. This is an alternate reality where Mark joins his father in the conquest of Earth for the Viltrum empire. It’s cool to see the creativity the show can bring off of a single comic panel.
One might get annoyed at this intro, as many superhero fans have what could be referred to as multiversal fatigue. However, “Invincible” handles this recurring comic trope well as it is only used to set up the origin for a villain our Mark will have to deal with later on.
One of the other subversions would be the show teasing us with dramatic pauses before saying our hero’s nickname for the title card, which doesn’t happen until the very end of the episode.
Aside from getting mauled by the Mauler Twin variants, Mark seems to be getting stronger and holding his own quite well in the first two episodes compared to the first season.
The narration in episode three was pretty unexpected but hilarious. I enjoyed seeing Allen the Alien’s origin and more about the Coalition of Planets. It’s cool to see Thaedus being voiced by Peter Cullen, the voice actor for Optimus Prime. It was rough seeing Allen getting ganged up on by the Viltrumites, but he’s a hero through and through, self-sacrifice is part of the job. The scene again came straight out of the comics perfectly. I was pretty surprised that the episode ended with Mark reuniting with his father. I thought it would happen during the season’s semi-final.
Episode four was pretty rough for everyone. I really liked the parallel of Nolan flying and Debbie walking, both doing so aimlessly. In the comics, Nolan became the ruler of Thraxa in order to lessen his sentence for abandoning his post. Instead, I like how they used Thraxa to further humanize Nolan who was struggling with his feeling of empathy for others that all other Viltrumites lack. I wonder if he is famous on Viltrum, as all the other Viltrumites we meet call him the Great Nolan.
My favorite part of the episode would have to be the showdown with Mark and Nolan against the Viltrumites, an awesome scene taken from by far one of the coolest comic book pages. The Viltrumites in the comics are a bit more merciful, as while taking Nolan away they also patch up Mark because he proved himself in battle. Instead, in the show, they not only left him there to bleed out, but hit him while he was down.
I’m looking forward to learning more about the Viltrumites’ culture and Nolan’s life serving as one of its trusted agents throughout the galaxy. I’m sure all of the fights we see in the first half of the season ultimately foreshadow an event to come in the finale. One of which probably involves the Shapesmith. I’m especially excited for what the new title card effect is hinting towards.
5/5 Stars
Featured photo courtesy of @invincible.hq, Instagram
