Everything around you is cloaked in a silver shroud of mystery, as though a thick fog is layered over what semblance of understanding you once had of your family. Your father has killed thousands of innocents, but is now imploring you to fight on his behalf for a planet of insectish creatures. Moments later, a humanoid alien that claims to share a home planet with you is angrily attempting to end your life. For Mark Grayson, or, under the iconic goggled mask, Invincible, the superhero life is nothing like the comics; it’s depressing. Painful. Confusing. Season 1 of the show adapts the brutality of superhero life depicted in the comics brilliantly, in a way that left me debilitated when it was announced that there would be no new episodes for over a year. My disappointment was immeasurable. But now, having seen the product of that long year, I see why.
The long-awaited newest installation in Amazon Prime Video show Invincible threw everything it had at me, including the animation budget. With every booming blow taken or given by the titular character, you feel the impact, see the trauma, and taste the blood. You see the literal impact of Mark's superhuman father, Omni-man; a smoldering crater and scores of bodies. The family life of Mark, or his alter-ego, Invincible, following the brutality of his nationalistic (planteristic?) father and former hero has suffered a similar, somber fate.
Always a skeptic, I didn’t think it would be possible for Invincible to avoid the classic pitfalls of the second season, much less live up to or outperform the first. How wrong I was.
When you watch Invincible, you can feel the humanity ooze from the screen, watch the mechanisms of human nature flow through every character, even if they’re not actually human. The fluid animation transforms the characters from the pulp of the comic strip to live-action actors. Every frame has a necessary emotion or expression that submerges you in the depths of the main characters’ depression or triumph. Each member of the Grayson family’s struggle is compelling in their own fascinating, melancholic way. Somehow, the show flawlessly depicts the interconnectedness of grief in a shattered family, and as I watched the individual sequences, many without dialogue, I found myself grieving alongside superhumans and mere mortals alike.
My enjoyment of Invincible’s second season lies not in singular excellence, but in its all-encompassing perfection. In action, animation, and acting, Invincible is faultless. For any person wanting to become a superhero, watch this first. I promise it’s worth it.
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