Hello all! We are BACK with our coverage of Invincible after the very Kirkman-ish surprise release of an extra-length episode at this year’s SDCC. A blast from the past, Invincible “Atom Eve” takes viewers back to the birth and heroic beginnings of Samantha Eve Wilkins, at the same time showcasing the growing confidence of the show in its own presentation, and the assertion that the series is looking to paint as sprawling a landscape as it can. Spoilers ahead as we see what it takes to be Atom Eve.
1. Secret Origin
It’s a rare showing when the release of a show has more shock value than the contents of its story, but if you’re looking for something truly novel you aren’t going to find it on the surface level of “Atom Eve.” The episode takes the bulk of its 45 minute runtime to tell a pretty by-the-numbers story, starting at the protagonist’s birth and moving dutifully through the milestones from there. Invincible, in both comic and show, has always had a fairly candid form of storytelling, opting to leave more in rather than less, and letting its twists reveal themselves consequently from there, but when Atom Eve takes this approach it ends up being too formulaic for the majority of its screen time, cramming its most poignant and novel arguments into its clipped conclusion.
I reckon there will be a charm for viewers introduced to Eve’s upbringing through this episode, it’s not that revelatory compared to the source material, but it is ultimately more genuine, even if the emphasis on parents who just can’t understand and monologuing American generals feels ripped from the most landmark coming-of-age genre flicks like E.T and The Iron Giant. That said, when this showcase lands decisively into its visceral conclusion. There’s a really harrowing family portrait put on display here, and that lengthy preamble makes it feel deserved. So don’t expect an origin story that can reinvent the wheel, or even reinvent the similarly familicidal story we were presented with in the first season of Invincible, but for those who like a narrative that can very precisely inform the backing of a character, this is a strong explanation for Eve’s MO, mentorship to Mark, and natural huskiness.
2. Style to spare
Where Atom Eve really does excel is in its absolutely pitch-perfect presentation. Its style is never decadent, but constantly engaging, providing a natural escalation in design and emotion with spikes throughout to heighten any emotion of the moment. I want to focus on the soundtrack first, which I actually forgot had been consistently great for this show until I came back for this interlude. The first of these is a touching montage to the tune of Alice Phoebe Lou’s Witches, followed with a first flight scene backed by Le Tigre’s Deceptacon, which confidently matches season one’s Broken Boy costume reveal scene. Not only are both tracks spookily ripped straight from my regular playlists, but it shows how the show can augment the indie pop/indie punk sound of season one to fit Eve perfectly. I spoke in the first point about how the story’s main focus was on encapsulating this character as holistically as possible, and that absolutely extends into presentation elements like this.
“Atom Eve” also manages to hold up the sublime quality of action choreography and character design on the show, with costumes and creatures popping off the screen with a mix of iconic simplicity and unsettling anatomy. We get the latter with the usual swollen faces and broken limbs of Invincible’s bare-knuckle fight scenes, and also with the introduction of Phases Two through Five, Eve’s sororicidal siblings. They have a real Akira vibe to them, which is on full display through the episode’s sublime highway fight sequence. It’s a dynamic sequence that feels like it’s learnt the best tricks that fighting games can bring to animation. Every hit lands with a satisfying kineticism thanks to small rumbles of the camera, crunchy frames and showy telegraphs before every move. It’s a really schmick use of the environment in conjunction with creatively freeing power sets, all framed with a defiant willingness to go wider.
3. “Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power”
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“Atom Eve” was very successful at reminding me of how effortlessly it sits head-and-shoulders above the majority of its competitors in the genre. By leaning into a simpler story, it sacrifices some space that could be used for formalism, but it also wastes nothing on MacGuffins or chaff. There’s a real noticeable lack of neon laser beams or multiverse portals. It’s also consistently surprising how well this show attracts a pedigree of voice talent for every role, almost distractingly so. This time around we get the late, great Lance Riddick, accompanied by the ever-excellent Stephen Root and Tatiana Maslany. When accompanied by the crazy reveals in the trailer for season two (Tim Robinson, Sterling K. Brown, Rhea Seehorn, Lea Thompson, Josh Keaton, Ben Schwartz, PETER CULLEN), you have to wonder who Kirkman doesn’t have blackmail on in Hollywood.
The final distinguishing feature to this episode that I think really highlights its healthy future in the TV landscape, is the willingness to produce it in the first place. The creators trusted that audiences would be there to wait for them after its extended hiatus, and with that patience comes a real smorgasbord. We’ve had unique animation for trailers, a two-season renewal, and now an interlude. ‘Quality over quantity’ is an adage wheeled out way too often, but it does fit snugly here. I really hope we have a few more interludes like this to peak into some unexplored corners of this universe, hopefully there’s one or two between every season.
4. Cameo-ver and over
“Atom Eve” still isn’t immune to some of the endemic cliches of the superhero genre, however, with its cameos very methodically clawing the show down to a safe ground level of familiarity. The opening The Guardians of the Globe vs Lizard League fight is a bit of fun, but is genuinely useless in the scheme of the episode. By the time we meet any characters relevant to the episode, we’re miles from the preceding action, but at least the audience has been fed with some recognizable characters on screen, and J.K. Simmons on the audio. Mark’s cameo at the end is equally charming and useless, feeling almost arbitrary, an excuse so that Steven Yeun can appear on the entire episodes list when some fan scrolls through IMDB in the years to come. That force-fed approach to cast inclusion feels especially baffling when no effort is made to include original Atom Eve voice actor Gillian Jacobs in the episode, instead staying rigidly with some younger facsimiles.
5. State of the Animation
In a reckless act of egg-counting I feel like going on the record and saying, by the time Invincible Season Two drops in November, fans of superhero animation might have had one of their best years ever. I would pretty confidently argue that it’s because these projects are actually letting comic creators into their creative process now. Between Corey Walker and Rob Kirkman’s contribution to this show, Kris Anka on Spiderverse, and Jake Wyatt on My Adventures with Superman, we’re seeing incredibly talented visual storytellers straddle the line between comics and animation. We’re living in a period where creators are being criminally underappreciated for their contributions to the biggest franchises in the world, and at least a handful are starting to be paid their dues in animation. Speaking of My Adventures with Superman, in conjunction with the sneaky easter egg in this episode, I think we can confidently say that we’re living in a golden age for Sailor Moon superhero costume transitions.
Well there we are! I hope to see you all again in November for Season Two, and I’m sure when we all say hi to Eve again we can have a bit of sympathy for her, she’s had a rough go of it. That said, it wouldn’t be Invincible if we weren’t all feeling a bit of sadistic joy watching these characters get dragged through the mud.
