‘Invincible’ TV Show Review: Love Hurts

“I’ve had guys throw punches for me before but you were the first one that stood there and took them.”

Superheroes have been given much emphasis for years. It feels like every other month, a new show or film is coming out dealing with super-powered individuals.

Invincible was no different, and for weeks all I saw on social media was “have you seen the new episode of Invincible” or “did the new episode come out yet?”. It was an internet phenomenon but did it live up to all the hype?

Overview

Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) is the son of the most powerful superhero on earth, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), and after finally getting his powers at 17 years old, he must learn how to protect the planet from all threats.

Wow… Didn’t See That One Coming

With such an abundance of superhero media, these days it’s safe to say that the plotlines never get too different from the expectation. The good guy fights the bad guys. The good guy usually wins, then a sequel might come out a couple of years later.

At the start of Invincible, you’ll love the familiarity. It still feels fresh while capturing what makes young superheroes dealing with high school, bullies, their love lives, etc., fun while also saving cities from destruction.

Not far into the show, the direction they take is very drastic, and after that point their off to the races. From episode to episode, you’re trying to figure out what will happen next, and the show never really takes its foot off the gas.

They’re Not Supposed to Be This Good

One of the most surprising aspects of Invincible is that minor characters are being flushed out. A random villain with less than five minutes of screen time will be fun to watch in combat and just a joy to have on your screen.

This is at the sacrifice of characters who are reoccurring who don’t get too much depth. With that being said, the story only had eight episodes, so in the future, the characters who didn’t get much back story may be explored more intensively.

Don’t Spoil Yourself

I believe Invincible is best watched blind, knowing nothing too specific, just diving on in and binging the show. The plot is hugely appealing and not at all what I presumed the show to be about. Which admittedly makes it very unconventional compared to most superhero media these days.

No One’s Perfect

Love interests are where so many entries in this genre drop the ball. The writing for the lover of the protagonist will consist of them getting captured and needing to be rescued.

At other times they’ll complain that they don’t have a stable relationship because their superhero significant other has to protect people from losing their lives. Needless to say this is very drawn out and tired.

Invincible stumbles here and will have audiences wondering just why Mark deals with what he does. Sadly this isn’t a problem that fixes itself either. It gets worse as the show goes on.

Conclusion

A fresh take on the superhero genre while also retaining what makes us like these kinds of shows is why Invincible has its reputation. The hype was indeed warranted and delivered a story that comes out of left field. 

Having such a colorful universe with equally colorful characters goes a long way. Just your everyday run-of-the-mill villains might end up being some of your favorite characters, but that is at the expense of more dominant roles.

This show functions best without knowing precisely what’s going to happen, in my opinion. Watching the story unfold was such a delight.

One of the only stumbles is just how they deal with Mark’s love life. She had potential but ends up just coming off as unreasonable.

While also not being so special herself. The show could’ve done just as well if she didn’t exist. That’s a problem since she’s in much of the first season.

Ultimately, Invincible is a solid cartoon. If you needed a new superhero binge, certainly check it out it’s well worth the watch!

Verdict 9 out of 10 Stars

Now available on Amazon Prime!