Worth the wait?
Season 2 of Robert Kirkman’s adaptation of his comic has come to a close in an epic finale. But was it worth the wait? For a quick recap, Invincible is a TV show about a young superhero named Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) who discovers his father’s sinister and alien heritage. In the finale of Season 1, he is at the receiving end of a savage beatdown from Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) after he refuses to join his Viltrumite conquest. Invincible fans were clamoring for where the shocking story would go from here. During this time, fans received a special that focused on Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs) and gamers could play as Omni-Man in Mortal Kombat 1’s DLC. In addition, Mark, Atom Eve, and Omni-Man were featured as Fortnite skins. So during this time, Invincible wasn’t faded from the public memory at all. Season 2 picks up shortly after when Mark is ready to return to heroism. But after a two and a half year wait and these two items, was it worth the wait? This review will take each episode into consideration for the overall narrative and the overall quality of the episode.
Episode 1: A Lesson for Your Next Life-9/10
The first episode opens with a perfect setup to Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown) and showing that the main universe Mark is truly heroic and refused to join his conquering father. A montage of Mark’s journey back into heroism is met with Radiohead’s Karma Police as Mark secretly saves several lives around the city. He’s moving so quickly and doesn’t even stick around to show people it was him. Mark isn’t showing people they’re safe in his hands. He’s trying to prove to himself that he’s not Omni-Man. The first episode is a brilliant start to the epic season. The second the viewer hears Karma Police, that’s when we knew Invincible was back. The story was set in motion and gave a wonderful introduction to the main recurring threat of Angstrom Levy.
Episode 2: In About Six Hours, I Lose My Virginity to a Fish-7/10
Well Mark finally finished high school. This episode is mostly a filler one as the only major development we get is a tender moment between Mark and Debbie (Sandra Oh), who has been haunted by Omni-Man’s actions. The animation seems almost stiff here at some points, most notably when Mark is fighting the kaiju under the water. There isn’t too much to say about this episode because there wasn’t much that happened. It’s almost comparable to the college episode from Season 1 (You Look Kinda Dead) where the plot was barely advanced outside of a few moments.
Episode 3: This Missive, This Machination!-8/10
We finally get some backstory for our favorite Unopan, Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen). Fun fact: Robert Kirkman has gone on record that Allen is his favorite character of the Invincible comics. Allen’s backstory was revealed to be a tragic one, as he was brutally attacked by three Viltrumites looking for Mark. At the end of the episode, we get one of the biggest cliffhangers thus far: Mark is finally reunited with Omni-Man on the planet Thraxa, an alien planet populated by insect-like creatures. Which leads us to…
Episode 4: It’s Been a While-9/10
It certainly has, Nolan. We see two beautiful montages of Omni-Man and Debbie dealing with their own grief. These montages are set to Nick Cave’s cover of Avalanche (originally Leonard Cohen) and Olympus by Blondshell. These parallel shots show how torn up both spouses are about Omni-Man’s departure. When Mark sees his father, he immediately yells at him for his actions. He finds out that Omni-Man married and had another child, a half-Viltrumite half-Thraxan son. Mark doesn’t have too long to be angry as they get attacked by three Viltruimites. After a grueling battle, Omni-Man is sentenced to execution and Mark is told he must prepare Earth for Viltrumite take over. The episode ends on a major cliffhanger as Mark is stranded on Thraxa. This episode holds a lot of tearjerking moments as the consequences of Omni-Man’s actions are strongly felt in this episode. After the mid-season break, we then continued the journey where it left off.
Episode 5: This Must Come as a Shock-8/10
Mark helps rebuild Thraxa after the previous Viltrumite attack and returns to Earth, only to immediately go back to space. Cecil Steadman (Walton Goggins) talks about a Sequid invasion, a plot leftover from Season 1. The episode contains fast action and plenty of intense moments as the new Guardians of the Globe are at a breaking point with the Sequids. It was a very simple episode, but it helped set up the next three episodes that happen at a breakneck pace.
Episode 6: It’s Not That Simple-9/10
Who knew an episode with very little action could be one of the best of an action-oriented show? After an intense battle featuring multiple deaths, Debbie decides to raise Omni-Man’s hybrid son, naming him Oliver. Mark’s relationship with Amber (Zazie Beetz) gets strained as he has to continue to prioritize hero work over their relationship. This episode’s writing shines as it focuses on the characters and brings them to the forefront, a specialty of Kirkman’s. The final cliffhanger we’re left on is Angstrom Levy returning to the main universe, or as he says, “visiting an old friend.” We will soon find out what that means.
Episode 7: I’m Not Going Anywhere-9/10
A sweet montage, a brutal fight scene, and a shocking cliffhanger. Everything great about Invincible is present here. Mark and Amber finally enjoy some alone time until it’s interrupted by a dreadful sight: a Viltrumite soldier. Anissa (Shantel VanSanten) gives Mark one more chance to surrender Earth to the Viltrumites, which he refuses. This episode struck a perfect balance of heartfelt moments and the amazing story. Mark and Amber break up as they both realize that Mark’s hero work puts her in danger. Mark receives a call who he thinks is from his mother. Once he answers, Anstrom Levy greets him and is holding Debbie and Oliver hostage.
Episode 8: I Thought You Were Stronger-10/10
One of the most iconic moments in the comic is brought to life in a shockingly brutal fashion. This episode is mostly a fight scene between Mark and Angstrom, but the set pieces show off true creativity. Mark lands in worlds where humans are extinct and dinosaurs rule the world, one where zombies take over (no doubt a reference to Kirkman’s The Walking Dead), a cameo from a certain bat-themed Caped Crusader, and a knock-off of Spider-Man. Each of these worlds also show off a world where Invincible did side with Omni-Man. In every universe, it becomes apparent that Angstrom and Mark will always be on opposite sides, only this universe had Mark as the hero and Angstrom as the villain. After Debbie and Oliver get injured during their fight, Mark decides to finish the fight. He brutalizes Angstrom and kills him. He then says the title and the iconic line: “I thought you were stronger…” Mark is horrified at what he’s done. On one level, you can tell he’s saying it to himself. Omni-Man stopped beating down Mark at the last moment. Mark didn’t stop with Angstrom. The beatdowns are even framed the same way. Mark has an emotional breakdown set to Final Days by Michaeel Kiwanuka. He declares he’ll have to drop out of college just to train and prepare for the impending Viltrumite invasion. The final scene is Omni-Man having a shocking epiphany: “I think I miss my wife.” Even the smallest moment in Omni-Man’s long lifespan had the most significant effect.
Conclusion: 9/10
Mid-season break aside, Invincible gives us amazing characters and writing that shows us the true downsides of being a hero, but showing why someone would do it anyway. The writing is great, the fight scenes are frantic and entertaining, and the music, both John Paesano’s compositions and licensed tracks, top it all off. Season 2 of Invincible proves there is no superhero fatigue at all. Only fatigue of mediocre stories.
