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98% Tomatometer 88 Reviews 93% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings Mark Grayson, 17, is just like every other guy his age -- except that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet,...
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- March 26, 2021
99% Avg. Tomatometer 124 Reviews 89% Avg. Audience Score 2,500+ Ratings Mark Grayson, 17, is just like every other guy his age -- except that his father is the most powerful superhero on the ...
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- One of the year’s most surprising superhero series.
- What's your favorite adult animated show?
- How Invincible Became a Modern Superhero Icon
- Verdict
By Siddhant Adlakha
Updated: Nov 4, 2022 12:25 am
Posted: May 5, 2021 12:00 am
This is a spoiler-free review for Season 1 of Invincible, which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Invincible was always going to be a tricky show to pull off. Based on the early-2000s Image comic by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, the Amazon Prime adult animated series enters a media landscape that’s markedly different from two decades ago. Its three-episode premiere, while intriguing, seemed unable to strike the right tone with its animated gore, especially since the show takes a straight-faced approach to its satirical source material. The whole endeavor felt less like a response to the existing superhero zeitgeist — the way the comics were at the time — and more like just another cookie-cutter cape story with a few violent flourishes. However, the show began to find its footing as it went on, one episode at a time.
By the time the first season reached its eighth and final entry, it managed to convincingly earn its Season 2 and 3 renewal, going out on an incredible high note, thanks to both its unique action and its character-centric gravitas. All in all, it’s pretty great.
While the first three episodes meander a bit, they’re at their most interesting when they focus on this mystery element. However, starting with episode 4, the show seems to undergo a stylistic metamorphosis. It begins to feel more fun and energetic without sacrificing its emotional core, and by episode 5, the series begins to feel fully-formed, not only telling stories that evoke 1970s superhero comics and their transition to more serious social subjects, but using its over-the-top violence in ways that feel pointed and impactful.
The sixth episode, however, takes a bit of a tonal detour and falls back on some of the bad habits in those early episodes. A problem plaguing the show is that it occasionally relies on stilted, dryly edited dialogue scenes to deliver exposition and emotional information. These sequences can be a bit of a drag, and it doesn’t help that the all-star cast largely comprises famous screen actors without much voice acting experience. The result often feels rote, like the audience is sitting in on a table read rather than being told a meaningful story. However, as the show progresses, the visual storytelling becomes more polished, employing live-action cinematic techniques like rack-focuses to really bring out the subtext. This especially stands out in episode 5, during a simple dinner sequence between Mark, Nolan, and Debbie, who are all keeping information from each other and wrestling with important decisions. When the show tightens up its animation, it feels laser-focused.
Episode 6 takes a bit of a tonal detour and falls back on some of the bad habits in those early episodes.
The main cast is rounded out by Zazie Beetz as Amber, Mark’s romantic interest and a headstrong character who challenges his commitment to his cause, and by Gillian Jacobs as Atom Eve, a fellow teenage superhero and eventual third wheel, who’s forced to blaze her own path. There are a few other highlights along the way, like Mahershala Ali as Titan, a thoughtful street-level super-criminal who helps expand Mark’s worldview, and Ezra Miller as the cackling mad scientist D.A. Sinclair, although few of the show’s performances hold a candle to Mark Hamill as Art Rosenbaum, tailor to the superheroes, Nolan’s long-time friend, and a man who seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Admittedly, Art doesn’t play a large part in the plot, but Hamill — a performer whose career in animation predates even Star Wars — voice-acts circles around much of the cast, putting his entire vocal toolbox on display for a relatively simple part.
The show is also occasionally bogged down by a secondary mystery, which pales in comparison to the central plot. It involves a couple of Mark’s fellow superheroes on the Teen Team, a lively group reminiscent of The Teen Titans and the Young Avengers, but it’s scattered across the season in the form of mid-episode hints (if not mid-credit stingers), and it’s unable to form a solid narrative base in the process.
However, the show is also strong enough to overcome most of these problems by its final two episodes. They play like a single, extended action climax, and by the time the finale begins, even the season’s inadequacies begin to feel worthwhile. The eighth episode is one worth waiting for, not only for the way it evokes real-world images of terrorism and natural disasters — its violence is uniquely disturbing for western animation! — but because of its poignant storytelling, which brings Mark face to face with his ultimate physical and emotional challenges. Without getting into too much detail, it has a scene involving Mark, Nolan, and a train collision that’s both emotionally riveting and visually jaw-dropping. You’ll know it when you see it.
After a shaky start, Invincible’s first season gradually finds its footing, and eventually ends on a stunning high. Based on the early 2000s Image comic, the show combines familiar superhero tropes with unexpected gore and moving character dynamics, resulting in the year’s most surprising superhero series.
- Siddhant Adlakha
100% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 87% Audience Score 500+ Ratings Mark Grayson, 17, is just like every other guy his age -- except that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man...
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- March 26, 2021
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Apr 4, 2024 · Answer. See Results. Steven Yeun delivers equally stellar work, bringing Mark closer to the brink of explosion the more Levy threatens his family. By the end of their confrontation – set in an...
- Siddhant Adlakha
Mar 25, 2021 · tv review Mar. 25, 2021. Invincible Offers Superheroes With a Side of More Superheroes. By Kathryn VanArendonk, a Vulture critic who covers TV and comedy. This is only a fraction of the...
Oct 30, 2023 · Coming after the season 1 finale and the astonishingly punchy Invincible: Atom Eve special from earlier this year, Invincible definitely feels like it’s pumped the brakes just a bit as its...
