![]() The performances and casting are solid all around (Simmons and Oh are the TV parents we never knew we needed), and Yeun does a nice job of capturing Mark’s awkwardness without making him come off like a wimp. The cast is stacked, with the surging (and now Oscar-nominated) Yeun leading the charge, supported by a litany of recognizable players like Simmons, Oh, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen (who also serves as an executive producer), and more. One of the most striking differences between the show and the books is just how much the voice acting elevates the story. And if the show is as in-tune with the books as it seems to be from the first few episodes, we can expect to meet an enormous cast as the story unfolds. It’s as much a domestic family drama as it is a sprawling intergalactic adventure, and the characters are written and drawn simply but distinctively, to the point where even the most minor characters are memorable. There are several moments throughout the story that play with the superhero myth, but at its core the show is about Mark and his relationships with those around him. Expect big plot twists early on, and even bigger twists just a little further down the road. Without getting into spoilers, you can be sure that any initial resemblance the show’s characters have to popular superhero stories is promptly shattered to pieces. These references are intentionally on-the-nose and feed into the brilliance of Invincible, which is that it subverts everything we’ve come to expect from superhero stories, and in brutal fashion no less. ![]() The show even features the Guardians of the Globe, a Justice League proxy whose members include “Red Rush,” “Darkwing,” and “War Woman” (resembling The Flash, Batman, and Wonder Woman, respectively). ![]() There are clear parallels to be drawn to other superhero myths here, with Superman being the most obvious comparison. Like a lot of dads, Nolan employs a tough-love approach to raising Mark that sees him push his son to his physical limits to prepare him for the hardships of being a superpowered protector of Earth. When they finally do, he’s thrust into a new world of superheroics that he isn’t quite ready for, all while attempting to navigate the brambles of teenage life.Īs Mark learns to control and harness his new abilities, his relationship with his dad begins to take on a new complexion. Mark’s mom, Debbie (Sandra Oh), is human, which means Mark is only half Viltrumite and has been waiting since he was a child for his powers to manifest. ![]() Simmons), a super-strong, super-fast, extraterrestrial superhero from the planet Viltrum. Like the books, the show centers on Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), an ordinary high schooler with an extraordinary family tree. This adaptation captures both the aesthetic and tone of the comics well, with animation that effectively mimics the book’s original art by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, and a level of violence that has earned the show a TV-MA rating. The blood and guts splattered across the panels were a constant reminder that this superhero story had real stakes.Įighteen years later, Invincibleis now an animated Amazon Original, with Kirkman attached as writer and executive producer. And the violence wasn’t for show-unlike most popular superhero stories, characters in Invincible die all the time, and for the most part, they stay dead. But back in 2003, when Robert Kirkman’s Invincible debuted on comic shelves, it was unique in its juxtaposition of startlingly vivid violence and gore with colorful, Saturday morning cartoon imagery. Ultra-violent superhero stories are anything but uncommon these days.
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