Let us escape one overburdened world constantly under threat of impending disaster for another even more overburdened world under constant threat of even scarier impending disasters. Let us remind ourselves that bravery, determination and heroism matter, especially in the hardest of times, when our notions of heroism may no longer be so clear-cut.
The third season of Invincible definitely has the most going on. There’s not a straight plot this time around so much as there are many big events tethered together in a neat way. While it can at times feel a bit rushed or uneven, I think the creators of the show manage it pretty well. It might be my favorite season so far.
What's Going On
We return to Mark Grayson/Invincible, one of the most justifiably depressed superheroes. He’s still reeling after he beat Angstrom Levy to death at the end of last season. He's committed to disciplining himself to avoid losing control again, working with Cecil to train and get stronger as they prepare for the looming conflict with the Viltrumites.
It makes sense that this season is kind of a rollercoaster. The theme established in the beginning that is carried throughout is change. Change and the struggle that comes with acclimating to it. This is made apparent from the jump, when joke villain Doc Seismic blindsides and nearly kills every superhero on the planet. Things snowball from there.
Mark and Cecil have a falling out almost immediately over Cecil’s questionable employment of reformed villains, like Darkwing II or D.A. Sinclair’s zombie-cyborgs, the Reanimen. The way this escalates so dramatically so early into the season felt a little forced, and so did Mark and Eve finally getting together and being totally in love.
Luckily, I’m liking these developments in spite of their shaky premises.
And the split between Mark and Cecil gives us some insight into the latter’s backstory, which helped solidify Cecil as my favorite character. While he’s far from pure and makes a lot of reckless decisions, I enjoy Cecil and his dogged efforts to protect the world using every resource at his disposal. Walton Goggins is no stranger to iconic TV roles, but between Invincible and Fallout, he’s playing two of the most enjoyable morally grey characters around right now.
Anyway, like I said, there’s a lot going on. New characters, new complications.
Mark meets some time-travelers and goes to the future at some point. He and Eve fight a giant magical dragon. And he gets himself a nifty black and blue costume; very appropriate, considering the number of beatings this kid takes.
While there’s plenty of action and drama here, the stakes are pretty low for the most part. That is, until the last three episodes, which are back to back craziness, with skyrocketing levels of intensity.
Invincible gets a new would-be nemesis in the form of Scott Duvall aka Powerplex. Like Angstrom previously, he’s another example of collateral damage from Mark and his father’s actions that’s come back to haunt our hero. Powerplex’s arc goes from tragic to absurd to even more tragic.
And if that’s not bad enough, Angstrom Levy survived his apparent death from last season. His madness and misguided lust for vengeance against Mark leads the revamped Angstrom to execute one of the craziest plots in the show so far: the Invincible War.
Finally, this sick bastard Conquest drops in to remind us all why the Viltrumites and their intergalactic empire are still the biggest threat Mark has to face. That leads to some devastating yet exquisitely animated sequences, brought to us by a briefly met but extremely unnerving villain.
Invincible continues to impress me. It's building an enjoyably layered world that draws inspiration from many different avenues of speculative fiction, but one that is fueled by catharsis, powerful themes and a stellar cast of very colorful characters.
While the violence is often grueling, I don't think it comes off as gratuitously as it does in some other works with a similar amount of graphic destruction. The high-octane blood and gore rarely feels like it's there for shock value or black comedy giggles. Like Kirkman's other more well-known comic, it does sometimes feel as though its overdosing on the pain and suffering it inflicts on its characters, but I think he and the rest of the writer's room do a better job of framing that here than the The Walking Dead did in either the comics or the show. It's more palatable in a scenario where most of the characters are ridiculously superpowered and durable than it is in a story with average humans. And it balances the deliberate contrast between its cheesy superhero aesthetics and its truly dark narrative than something like The Boys.
Though not the most well-rounded in terms of plot, Season Three makes up for it in a big way with its intriguing succession of developments that kept me engaged throughout. There's a lot of great stuff here.
Bits and pieces:
* The casting adds more allusions to popular AMC shows. The Invincible vs. Conquest battle notoriously reunites Steven Yeun and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Glenn and Negan from The Walking Dead). Aaron Paul voicing Powerplex also means that the emotional core of Breaking Bad is pitted against the emotional core of The Walking Dead. Also, Jonathan Banks voices a hero named Brit.
* As a horror fan, I was tickled to see Bruce Campbell voicing a demon from Hell in the finale. As well as Doug Bradley voicing the Technicians, who have more than a bit of a Hellraiser vibe.
* Lots of relationship updates this season, in addition to Mark and Eve. To my surprise, I enjoyed them all. Debbie is now dating her colleague Paul, who is pretty charming despite feeling insecure about the world of superheroes she lives in with her boys. Rudy/Robot and Amanda/Monster Girl get more serious after Rudy is able to counteract the curse that makes her get younger every time she uses her powers. The Immortal and Dupli-Kate return and get engaged. The most popular was probably Rex Splode and Shrinking Rae, who have a bittersweet romance this season.
* I love all the visual call-backs in which Mark and Oliver mirror their father.
* For a pretty minor villain, Multi-Paul (Dupli-Kate’s evil twin brother; not to be confused with Debbie's boyfriend, Paul) has one of the goriest scenes in the show. That’s… certainly one way to open a door.
* There’s a few characters who die, and I was rather bummed in each case. For example, Oliver killing the Maulers early into the season; hulking megalomaniacs, I know, but damn if they weren’t amusing. Of course, given their habit of cloning and the fact that this is a superhero show, their deaths could be undone or subverted in some way later on.
* Nolan and Allen the Alien only appear briefly in this season, but their interlude is one of the best parts. These two teaming up (with Battle Beast as a moody third wheel) is one of the coolest moments in the show so far.
Quotes:
Rex Splode: “Okay, mine’s down, by the way, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Invincible: “Hey, I’m trying to hold back. I don’t want to hurt him too much. I think he’s just a normal dude.”
Dropkick: “Normal THIS!” (Hits Invincible with a punching combo)
Invincible: “… Yeah, totally normal.”
Invincible: "You're not supposed to win..."
Doc Seismic: "Things change."
Cecil: “We can be the good guys, or we can be the guys who save the world. We can’t be both.”
Mauler 2: “Oh, we’re so much worse than supervillains now.”
Both Maulers: “We’re businessmen.”
Mark/Invincible: “Life is precious. We don’t just… take it!”
Oliver/Kid Omni-Man: “It isn’t precious! People kill each other all the time, and most people aren’t even special like us, they’re just normal!”
Mark/Invincible: “… You sound just like Dad.”
Battle Beast: “Viltrumites. At long last, my thirst for battle can be satiated.”
Allen the Alien: “Forgive him, he’s a fan. He’s been really wanting to meet you guys.”
Battle Beast: “Long have I waited for such a worthy challenge. I will savor this. And if this conflict brings about the end of my life, I will savor it all the more.”
Mark: “I don’t want you getting hurt because I made a mistake.” Eve: “Mark, we’re in a relationship now. That means that we help and support each other, especially when we screw up. Besides, I bet we can charge more if there’s two of us.”
Mr. Liu: “I will show you the error of your name.”
Invincible: “You’re not the first person to point that out.”
Powerplex: "For the pain you've caused. For the lives you've taken. For everything you've done. Die!"
Stripevincible: “PATHETIC! I wouldn’t even keep you as a slave in my empire!”
Omnivincible: “Hey there. These two giving you trouble?”
Hoodvincible: “Fuck off! I got this.”
Omnivincible: “Swearing doesn’t make you cool.”
Movincihawk: “Mom? I’m hurt. I need you! Mom...? Ah, shit. I was really looking forward to killing her again.”
Technician One: “You work for us now. Accept that, and we will tend to your wounds. Refuse, and your remains will gift us endless fascination.”
Conquest: “Stand ready for my arrival, worm.”
Conquest: “You think I'm gonna give you the chance to surrender? I am having the time of my life here! Hey. Hey. Don't give up yet. You can still do this. You've still got a chance. You just need... the right motivation.”
Conquest: “Now while I have your attention, I want to thank you, Mark. Really. You know, it’s not often I get to cut loose like this. Usually, there are so many mission parameters, so many things not to destroy. People not to kill. But for whatever reason, and I don’t really care why, I was ordered to take control of Earth by any means necessary. You did something to piss us off and I thank you for it. This has been an immense joy.”
Invincible: “I don’t care how strong you are. I don’t care how fast you are. I can see the future. You don’t live to see tomorrow.”
An awesome third outing for Invincible, with the promise of greater things to come. Five out of five cities repeatedly destroyed.
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