What if Superman was evil?
A super powered alien who came to earth not to bring peace but to simply take control of the world, killing all who got in his path because it was just quicker than talking it out. Well Invincible is the story of just that. Ethics and morals are posed against one another in this Amazon Prime hit series where heroes try to survive in a morally dubious world of powered people.
Invincible started out as a spin off story parodying many characters from popular media such as the Justice League from DC, but as the characters and the world itself grew complex it became a series of its own with novels and comics.
The story is set as the main character unlocks his powers which he got from his father, Omni-man a hero at the time, and how he struggles to maintain his life as a teenager while also trying to live up to his father’s image. Though behind the scenes his father would start secretly killing powerful heroes for his eventual plan of world domination. This would culminate in the season finale where the father’s acts would be discovered by the son and the two of them would have a destructive fight killing thousands in the wake.
Invincible is the culmination of a series of super hero comics and novels. The controversial take on how people view 'hero' figures in society is reflected upon over and over as we are reminded that even these god-like beings are not immune to normal issues no matter how far removed they are. Although this show is based in grim concepts it does not shy away from what this world could really be.
The show is certainly different from the typical superhero stories that prevail and yet it still follows a similar track at the same time. This difference is subtle but it lies within the motivations of each character as both the heroes and villains are written to mirror sensible people who are simply trying to survive and reconcile their powers with their way of life.
There is conflict between the heroes in more than just conflicting ideologies of how to handle crime, but in the little scandalous things which occur in real life. The story goes far beyond a ‘what if’ troupe as it instead focuses on fleshing out the characters in the most human light they can. Sure there are some joke characters here and there, but the majority of the people we see in the show aren’t just ‘good’ or ‘evil’ instead they work towards their own goals of survival and or happiness.
The main characters of the story certainly would be Nolan Grayson (Omni-man), and his son Mark Grayson (Invincible) who are Viltrumites, a super enhanced alien species which are very similar to humans in appearance. Mark grew up thinking that his father was the world’s strongest hero who would always be there to protect everyone, and as such he sees himself as needing to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a great hero. Omni-man, though, is far from a hero as he goes on to explain to Mark, his real reason for coming to earth was to take it over with an absolute rule in the name of the Viltrum Empire. I believe that each of these characters emotions and motives suit them as things they would realistically given their backgrounds.
Though not in the limelight for the majority of the episodes, the supporting cast has a depth of character which helps illustrate the world as a whole. Some notable side characters would be the heroic friends and acquaintances which Invincible makes and the villains he fights. Atom Eve is a teenage girl in the same class as Invincible who struggles to live a normal life knowing she has the literal power to shape things on an atomic level making her a pseudo-god stuck in the monotony of the life of a lower middle class 18-year old girl. The Immortal is a powerful man who has immense strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, and immortality. This is the oldest living hero on earth and he dedicates each of his lives to doing good even though his memory degrades with time.
The show is set in an animated world but it is far from the Sunday cartoons one would imagine when they hear that it is animated. The people behind the animation do not hold back when it comes to blood and brutality leaving often a stunned cast or audience at the more carrion aspects of the production. In a world with super heroes being commonplace and powers which many struggle to even control the possibility for bloody fights skyrockets. The series takes on the grim dark realities of a super society with everything from an agency created with the sole purpose of defending humanity from the mutates among them to something as simple as a ‘family of dead superheroes support group’.
So if you’re into the more realistic and sometimes gruesome reality of a world with superheroes then Invincible is the show for you.
