Invincible

Invincible is a brand new superhero show on Amazon Prime Video and its based on the comic series Invincible by Robert Kirkman,

creator of the walking dead. Invincible is about a guy named Mark Grayson and his recently developed superpowers at 17, the only thing is that his father is the worlds most powerful hero, Omni-Man. But as the story develops he learns his fathers past may not be what it seems.  I must give you fair warning though, the show is rated Mature for Extreme Violence and language, so it is not a show everyone can enjoy due to those themes. I won’t being going into any major spoilers in this article, but I will be going into minor spoilers such as characters names and how Mark meets them and the very basics of their dynamic. So if you don’t want to get spoiled whatsoever I would highly suggest you go watch the show before reading this

The show has an absurdly unique way of telling the story because it captivated me from the very first episode, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary just basic introductions of the main characters and understand who they are and their some of the backstories behind them. It also sets up for the main plot of the season, but you will have to watch the show yourself to figure out what that plot it. The way they introduce Mark shows him as a normal guy wanting to be like his father and looking up to him and wishing he had powers like his father, but if you’ve watched the trailers for the show you know they do eventually kick in.

The dynamics of between the characters of the show is where you really start to see why people have enjoyed the show so much. My favorite dynamic is between two characters Mark and Samantha Wilkins, they are classmates and their relationship as classmates doesn’t really get expanded on very much until they reveal who her alter ego is and that is where their relationship really starts to kick off, she is the person who kind of shows mark the basics of being a hero in the action of things and they team up a couple of times throughout the show. Because of this the way they interact slowly becomes more advanced as they go to each other about the struggles of being a superhero and the stress that comes with it and the impact on their families. My least favorite dynamic is with a girl named Amber Bennet because the way they interact isn’t very good and their characters don’t interact very well but like all high schoolers, not all of us are meant to get along so of course it makes sense for some characters to have have good interactions all of the time, because of that fact I accept that she exists and makes the character better, I just don’t like her character.

Those are the more casual dynamics that every superhero show has and the fact that they are characters you see in nearly every single episode and you get to know them decently well and they have their own things happening even though Mark isn’t around them, for example amber works at a food kitchen and there’s scenes of her doing that without mark being anywhere in sight. It helps the show break away from the usual storytelling we are used to from shows where everything that doesn’t involve the main character is either stagnant or happens entirely offscreen. It really helps you understand that he can’t do everything no matter how many powers he has, he still has to pick and chose certain things to miss out on due to his responsibility of being a hero.

I asked two people for their reviews on invincible, the first person was Beckhem Gemerek he said,

“The show is really really good, I really enjoyed the first couple episodes and they proceeded to get me hooked on the show entirely. I still had a couple issues with a few characters but they weren’t big enough complaints for it to take away from my entertainment from the rest of the show.”

The other person was Victoria Parkes, she said

“The characters were very diverse, and well-written, the humor wasn’t crude or overused. It was all kept fresh and they didn’t reuse much. I really enjoyed the overall cast of voice actors and they all fit their roles very well. Especially JK Simmons, he did a wonderful job playing his character. I personally enjoyed the fight scenes which added the perfect oomph the show needed.”

Overall the show has a very strong first season and does a good job of showing the reality of being a superhero and the issues that they may face if they were in the real world. I would highly recommend this show to anybody who has enjoyed any type of superhero media and wants to see a more realistic take on the whole genre that subverts expectations that you have for every single type of show to fall under this genre.