Comic book fans carry a strange mix of patience and impatience. On one hand, a month is a while to wait between updates and for the most part we bear it with grace. But then watch those 22 pages go past without an appearance from some particular fan’s prized side character and the wrath will be endless. All that to say, you have done well, dear reader, in getting through the wait for Invincible season two. I am sure you took it with dignity and grace, and for that I gift you with a spoiler warning.
1. What we have after not quite 500 years
This debut episode works hard to make a range of its merits clear very quickly, and probably the most apparent is the sheer quality of animation and prestige TV it is angling for. There is a lush environmental design that quickly comes into sight. It really feels like the entirety of the art team have their fundamentals locked down; each stray bottle of wine has a still-life quality to it, perspective is daunting and effortless, and the populated world knows just how much detail to imbue in the everyday before it becomes clutter. If I had to gripe though, there are some moving objects that feel as though they have a different texture to them. Cars, clouds and anything with a more fluid shape or movement that doesn’t match the sleek design this capes-first world slants towards can feel at times like a straight import from a 3D model catalog.
The second investment to style that the premiere thrusts towards the viewer is its cast. I was immediately drawn to the lavish vocal chords of Sterling K. Brown, who has made the most graceful addition to the already star-studded ensemble. The one introductory scene with an alt-Earth Omni-Man was also just a great reminder of how effortlessly brutal the one-liners of J.K Simmons can get. It could be weird to see how the show fills that role of a hero with superman level confidence without Omni-Man assumedly around episode-to-episode. The show has always thrived on having at least one person in the room who can relish in just how nonchalantly they can bring the architecture of this world crumbling down.
The voice cast feel especially well-composed in how it balances the celebrity heads with career VAs. Actors with a mile-long resume in animation are snuck throughout the episode, constantly challenging the Hollywood arrivals to provide just as strong of a performance. It’s a reassuring act of quality control in an era where we see so many middling efforts to bring celebrity talent into animation (I still lose a part of my faith in the world when I hear Megan Fox in Mortal Kombat I). Without getting into the genre of trailer review, I do think you see how special that value of talent is when the initial cast announcement gave Peter Cullen such special mention. The talent of all fields are valued here.
2. Guarding the Globe
“A Lesson for Your Next Life” does not present a remarkably different Mark Grayson than the one we left behind. He’s more sullen and guilt-ridden, but the emphasis is mainly put into showing how he processes the last month of grief since the departure and forged death of his father. Where season 2 does make clear overhauls is in its wider world. Mark shares far more of the show’s screentime with those on his periphery. We get to see a fun reintroduction for Olga, Rex Splode’s continual quippy exposure of a total lack of self-awareness, and the arrival of a top-tier flavor-of-the-month villain with The Giant.
When reading the original comic, I always liked when it would reach one of those right-of-passage plotlines. Something like a first superteam love triangle, the first hero-villain team-up, or first time-travel retcon origin. So opening with a cool Dystopian alt-timeline where everyone has buzzcuts and guns for arms is a very big milestone for the show. Again, we’ve cut some of the Invincible from Invincible, but I’m not seeing any detriments to that from the outset.
3. Karma Police, and other associated authorities
We touched on it a little earlier, but in terms of the plot and story threads on display here, Kirkman and co have presented a confident, if a bit banal, first chapter. The episode plays to its plot, allowing the debut to set up moving pieces for later in the season, rather than changing the status quo or placing a primary emphasis on spectacle. It also seems too early to give a genre-twist episode, like the “Akira” injection to the Atom Eve special.
That said, there are great moments here. The Karma Police montage really sticks out, highlighting the way Mark is now floating instead of flying. He no longer flies from human angles, instead remaining off-axis and at an angle from the world as he observes more like an alien than a human conforming to up and down. I also did not have a Radiohead revival via superhero soundtrack on my 2023 bingo card, but here we are. I’ve got to rate Karma Police above the more popular, especially for dejected hero Rocket Raccoon, Creep, but it’s not quite beating out my favourite underdog, Man of War. Anyhow, we are firmly off course, Invincible always makes me think about music in-depth.
Also of note was the mindblowing chance for Mauler and Rex Splode to actually say ‘Invincible’ out loud without a massive title-card just blaring over the screen. We didn’t get the logo until after the credits had begun! Is that even legal?!
4. Hitting the Mark
We are treated to a skull crushing within the first minute and a half of the new season. A sign that this show is absolutely back with its best. Overall, the show is very adamant to drive away any last squeamish fans with this episode. I took a bit of sadistic joy in watching the Mauler Octuplets wailing on Mark. I don’t think anyone can fault me on that delight either, I’ve had to wait two and a half years to watch a superhero get beaten this severely again. Let me enjoy my gory aperitif. I do love, additionally, the quirk of Angstrom not seemingly getting that much smarter from his botched mass-mind-meld, and instead taking on the spite of a thousand haters combined. He is prepped to be an absolute weapon of a main antagonist.
Even the title card seems aware of how decadent the cartoon-cruelty has gotten, swapping the blood-soaked logo of season one for a black cracked industrial look. It feels quite fitting, the creatives built all these fun toys last season, and while still introducing some newbies, are now relishing the chance to absolutely eviscerate their collection.
5. Sophomore year
Before we wrap up, I thought it was worth taking a long-view look at what could be coming up. It’s hard to tell how much of the comic plot has been chewed up so far, since the past season grabbed some arcs ahead of where it was ‘up to’ in order to flesh out episodes. That said, I feel like we’re most likely to see this all lead to a knock-out drag-out confrontation with Angstrom Levy, and Conquest waiting until season 3 for his turn. There’s likely to be some Coalition of Planets stuff, hopefully a bit of Multi-Paul sprinkled in, and maybe we could meet Oliver. Although the latter would likely get left to the very end of this season or the beginning of the next.
Entirely selfishly, I am hoping the second season leans away from the monster of the week format, and lets its longer character arcs mature. I like seeing Mark on Mars,and there’s plenty of stuff to adapt from the comic, but I feel like being impatient. We have only three more episodes before the hiatus, and it could be hard to keep people engaged enough to wait for the second half if they are only given chaff following a significant wait. This is a very generous show though, and it isn’t as if a slower, quirkier second season could hurt the show in its long-term narrative.
And that’s a wrap! What a fun return to form, and I hope you all can make it through the few sleeps until episode 2. Do something relaxing, save the blood and guts for Mark.
