You may know the name Invincible from the Amazon original TV series, the lengthy comic series, or of course, Fortnite. Either way, the superhero series has gained an increasing amount of traction ever since its TV debut in 2021, attracting audiences with a twisting story of betrayal and comedic commentary on popular superhero characters. After over two years of waiting, new episodes of Invincible have finally been released! But of course, there’s another hiatus over the holiday season before season 2 resumes in January. With the lack of Invincible content, it’s the perfect time to go over the series as a whole and try to predict what is next for the TV adaptation. For this, we’ll go back to the beginning.
In January of 2003, the first issue of Invincible was published by Image Comics. This comic company, like many in the early 2000’s, had been fighting an uphill battle as comic values tanked. Before the creation of Invincible, Robert Kirkman, a writer for Image at the time, had been pitching various ideas, landing on a series titled Tech Jacket. While this series only lasted six issues, it laid the groundwork for Kirkman’s Invincible. As Image released the first few issues of Invincible, Tech Jacket was still running. At this point in time, the company heavily tracked the sales of each series, trying to decide which should remain in the company’s superhero line-up. Ultimately, Invincible surpassed its predecessor in popularity, earning its place in comic stores across the country.
As the series progressed, it increased in popularity, eventually accumulating a grand total of 144 issues before the official conclusion of Invincible’s story in 2018. Along the way, Tech Jacket made multiple appearances, (as seen on the left of the above picture) as a nod to the close relationship of the two stories.
Now that the series has had a revival through the Amazon Prime TV show, Invincible’s popularity has reached an all time high.
It’s important to note that the comics spanned many years and followed various story arcs and characters. Considering that there are only 12 episodes out, the TV adaptation has barely scratched the surface of the Invincible story line. Before we continue into what the show has covered, I’m giving anyone who hasn’t seen the show a spoiler warning. Feel free to watch the show and come back later to finish reading!
Season one closely follows the first fifteen or so issues of Invincible, opening with a powerless Mark Grayson who eventually gains his powers and becomes a superhero alongside his father under the alias “Invincible." The first episode closes with Mark’s father, Omni-Man, wiping out Earth’s strongest superhero team with no elaboration as to why. From this point, the season progresses with more introductions and basic ground work being laid before the ultimate conclusion. In the final episode of the season, Omni-Man reveals his plot to take over Earth for his alien race, enlisting Mark to help him. After their eventual disagreement and fight, Omni-Man takes off into space, leaving Mark beaten and bloody. Despite the TV adaptation’s loyalty to the comics, there are some small tweaks made throughout this season for the betterment of the series. Overall, the first season sticks to the source material and introduces the main conflict of the entire series: the threat of the alien race from the planet Viltrum, which is Omni-Man’s home planet.
Season two opens with a very odd sequence, following Mark in an alternate universe where he sided with his father and conquered Earth for the Viltrumites. Immediately, this scene hints at the coming “Invincible War” that occurs in the comics, in which evil versions of Mark Grayson from parallel universes are sent to attack our Mark Grayson. This event is tied to Angstrom Levi, no doubt the upcoming focus of the show. Upon returning to the main universe of this story, Mark struggles to carry out his responsibilities as a superhero in the aftermath of his father’s attack. Eventually, Angstrom Levi is introduced, creating a machine to combine the consciousness of many versions of himself into one with the help of the previously introduced Mauler Twins. In the conclusion of this loaded first episode, Mark destroys Angstrom’s device, harming Angstrom’s physical appearance and recollection of the event. In a way, Mark creates his own enemy by giving Angstrom reason for a strong vendetta.
From here, the second episode of season two takes a detour, focusing more on Mark’s mother, Debbie, and her struggle with her husband, Omni-Man’s betrayal as well as a subplot following Atom Eve. While I thoroughly enjoyed the focus on these characters in episode two, they are not very relevant to the future of the Invincible series, so we’ll move on to the next two episodes.
The third episode features an important event from the comics, as Mark is retrieved by an alien to help save its race. Upon request for help, Mark leaves on a spaceship, set for an unknown planet. Once he arrives, it is revealed that Omni-Man, Mark’s father, is the ruler of this planet, concluding the episode with a cliffhanger as the two characters stand face to face after a brutal battle.
Immediately picking up where it left off, the most recent episode follows Mark’s interaction with his father on an alien planet that he is now ruling. Omni-Man explains why he brought Mark here, warning that Viltrumites from his home planet will be there soon to attack him and his “people." As the episode unfolds, mainly featuring a gruesome battle between the father-son duo and a trio of Viltrumites, it is revealed that Omni-Man has had a child with a woman (a bug lady) on this new planet. The episode closes with Omni-Man being taken away by Viltrum forces, calling out for Mark to read his books.
This wrap up of the first half of season two brings more questions than answers, ending with confusing events after Invincible and Omni-Man’s defeat. Despite the odd conclusion, it is clear that the series intends to closely follow an upcoming event in the comics that will redefine Mark’s character. Angstrom Levi’s introduction points to his eventual confrontation with Invincible, where he misguidedly attempts to get revenge on Invincible by harming him, his mother, and his new step brother. This event leads to Mark losing his cool and harming Angstrom out of rage.
It is also important to note the change in the Invincible title card, now black and blue instead of yellow and blue. This change in color hints at Mark’s upcoming super suit change, which defines an era of Invincible’s merciless and ruthless behavior.
Considering the upcoming events and teasers of the fan favorite blue suit, it is clear that the series will move in a direction that pushes forward a tougher, more hardened Mark Grayson, as seen in the comics. With this, we can expect the conclusion of the “Angstrom arch” in the new January episodes, and possibly hints pointing to the “Invincible War." Prepare for the next episode of season two in early January to find out!