Invincible Season 1 Review: A Spectacularly Hyper-Violent Gruseome Reimaging Of The Super Hero Trope!

Invincible, an American adult animated superhero television series, based on the comic book character of the same name by Robert Kirkman was a surprise hit no one saw coming! From the first episode to the last one in season 1, every episode left you in awe and wanting more!

Amazon’s Invincible took us for a rollercoaster of emotions, never once taking their feet off the pedal. From the sombre moment of Mark starting to learn about his powers and the heavy responsibility that comes with it, being trained by Nolan during the more upbeat moments, to the encroaching dark reality that Nolan himself presents in their world was all satisfying. Invincible showed us that the superhero trope still has gas left in the tank to tell compelling stories if you’re creative enough! The fight scenes were so gruesome and grotesque, never once pulling any punches and I liked every single moment of it. Every fight was meaningful and carried weight I felt. It wasn’t just explosion and blood for blood’s sake!

This is was “what if Superman really never held back” done right! Watching Nolan reveal himself slowly and his lack of empathy for humanity scared the crap outta me. I mean, who can really stop something like him? And knowing that there’s more to him, compels you to want to see how Mark will face up to all that! The only downside is that it can be cliche at times, you know being that it’s a superhero show! But that’s my only gripe, which, judging from the direction, we won’t have to worry too much about that.

Mark as a character was fun to follow, however, the other cast also held their own too and were interesting in their own rights. I never felt annoyed when one of them had the spotlight, instead, I felt intrigued to learn more about them. They all felt real and grounded, which made their struggle all the more engaging. The presentation which is part of the satire may deceive a lot of people, including myself into thinking Invincible is a light-hearted story, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I really thought the colorful style would have meant a simple, child-like story but instead helped illustrate the narrative more. Animation-wise was great at times, and average at worst. The voice acting was great too, with Nolan’s performance being the star, helping it make it difficult to read his character, adding to the unease when you see him.

Sometimes they had to use CGI but they were far in between to the point that you wouldn’t have noticed. Now when it comes to the source material, they’ve deviated quite a lot yes, but I think it was for the best as now they have room to flesh things out if need and surprise fans! Overall, without spoiling too much, this has been a phenomenal season 1 and I’m glad that seasons 2 &3 have been announced!