‘Invincible’ Season 1 Review

Outside of DC & Marvel, there are plenty of original superhero stories involving original heroes & villains. Some great examples of these are The Boys & The Incredibles. These stories often bring in a unique perspective to the superhero genre whether it be satire or commentary on the genre as a whole. Amazon’s latest series, Invincible, brings a unique story to the vision, while also falling prey to some of the less interesting tropes seen in superhero comics & movies.

Premise

Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) is your average 17-year-old, who does have one big secret: his dad is Omni-man (J.K. Simmons), the most powerful superhero on the planet. When Mark finally gains his own superpowers, he faces a series of challenges that will test his will and teach him what it means to be a hero. Mark has to make plenty of sacrifices as he must decide between his commitment to being a hero and the people he loves. 

Amazing voice cast

Invincible has one of the best voice casts in any animated series. Yeun does a great job at making Mark an easy character to root for. He’s trying so hard to be a hero but is having a difficult time balancing so many different things in his life. Simmons is so good as Omni-man. He’s a character who’s not from this world, and Simmons’s powerful voice gives Omni-man the booming presence he deserves. 

Other notable cast members who provide great voice work are Sandra Oh as Mark’s mother, Gillian Jacobs as Atom Eve, Walton Goggins as Cecil, and Zazie Beets as Amber. The cast is even larger with many famous voices appearing to voice recurring or one-time characters including Jason Montzoukas, Seth Rogen, Andrew Rannells, Mark Hamill, and Zachary Quinto. 

The star-studded cast adds to the overall spectacle of this series. Each character is unique and have their own characteristics that make them instantly recognizable. Some villains are likable, and some heroes are easy to dislike. I loved learning more about this world. While there are characters who are clear parodies of well-known superheroes, there is enough that makes them their own characters and not just cheap rip-offs. 

One of the most brutal shows streaming right now

For those who have seen The Boys, it’s hard to believe that there could be a show more violent & twisted than that. While it may not be as twisted, Invincible certainly gives The Boys a run for its money in terms of sheer violence & gore. The first episode gives the series an appearance of a standard superhero show. However, one scene in the end credits in the first episode reveals Invincible’s true colors and immediately had me hooked. 

I had no idea how violent this series was, but damn. It can be tonally inconsistent as it’ll go from Mark dealing with teen high school drama, and then cut to somebody getting their head chopped off. The violence is never gratuitous. While there is a lot of it, it serves as a way of kicking up the drama & the emotion. Mark goes through some trauma during this series and kicking up the violence allows us to go through the trauma with him. 

The moments that are meant to be more shocking really work because Invincible does not hold back at all. Since it’s animated, it allows the series to go even further with the violence than many others. The action itself is well done, even if the animation itself does often appear low-budget. The camerawork during the action does a good job at capturing the epic fights between incredibly powerful characters as they knock each other around. 

The show struggles with its pacing

As I said earlier, the first episode ends with a moment that immediately hooks you and makes you want to bingewatch the whole show. After this moment, it does take a while for the series to get cooking once more. The earlier episodes deal more with Mark trying to balance his social life & superhero life. This ends up being a weakness as this doesn’t vary too much from other superhero properties that deal with this

You’ve seen it in Spiderman and now it’s being done here. It’s never as interesting as the more mysterious storyline surrounding Omni-man. That’s where the show is strongest. The other stuff isn’t bad, but it’s never as strong as when Mark is dealing with other villains or when Omni-man works his way into the story. 

The side characters are strong, but not all of their storylines pay off. There’s another superteam that’s trying to figure out how to be an effective squad. Their story never feels as important to the main one involving our main characters. However, around episode six, the show fully locks in on what makes it great and delivers one of the best season finales I’ve seen in a while. 

Final verdict

Amazon needs to keep adapting superhero properties because they’re doing a tremendous job. I’m thrilled the series has been picked up for two more seasons as I would love to see where the story goes from here. From what I understand the series is a mostly accurate adaptation of the comics, so I may have to give those a read. If you’re looking for a new superhero world to get invested in, certainly choose Invincible. You will have to deal with some superhero cliches, but it’s incredibly rewarding to stick with it. 

Final score: 9/10