Stand ready for the arrival. Enough time has passed since the release of the last season of Invincible, so our team is ready to tackle the latest chapter in Mark Grayson’s story. We’ve covered the first two seasons already, feel free to check them out if you’re interested in reading up on them. But now it’s time for Invincible Season 3!
Introduction & Recap
Since we’re covering a new season the team and I are going to do what Amazon did and give you a recap of last season. Following the departure of his father, Nolan Grayson, a.k.a. Omni Man, Mark Grayson, a.k.a. Invincible, has worked to hard prove himself as a hero, independent of his father’s now tarnished legacy. He thought he was prepared for anything, reuniting with father on the planet Thraxa, and finding out that he has a half-brother, but having a proper fight with Viltrumites proved that despite his claims, he is not ready. Upon seemingly killing his first super villain in defense of his mother and half-brother, Mark begins training in earnest for the inevitable arrival of the Viltrumite empire.
Synopsis & Writing
Our story begins with Mark training with Cecil and the Global Defense Agency in order to prepare for the arrival of new threats, Viltrumite and others. Unfortunately for Mark, the Viltrumites aren’t the only threat preparing to invade. Mark, Eve, the guardians of the globe, and all heroes of the planet must prepare for all-out war.
As the title reflects, the core theme of this new season is change. Mark’s entire world has been flipped on its head since he gained his powers, and his father revealed his true agenda. Not only does he now have a little brother to protect, but that brother, Oliver has also accelerated aging and has now developed super powers of his own and wishes to follow in both Mark and Nolan’s footsteps. Between that and the constant threats on the horizon one of the few solaces than Mark relies on is his new relationship.
Mark isn’t the only character going through changes as change is afoot for nearly everyone. Rex is rethinking his entire life after his near-death experience last season, Nolan is slated for execution by the Viltrumites for failing to take over earth and rebelling against the empire, and the guardians of the globe are being ripped apart from the inside due to internal strife over Cecil’s methods of protecting the planet.
The pacing of this season is rather breakneck, Season 1 had a complete story it was telling from beginning to end, whilst Season 2 felt more like several stories stitched together. That format did make a degree of sense regarding, adapting a wide array of stories. This season is doing the same but feels much more connected with a solid through-line, which is change.
In fact this season doesn’t give Mark, and by extension the audience, a moment to breathe, being rather non-stop. For keeping audiences engaged this is very beneficial but for letting a story breathe, not so much. This season gave us an adaptation of the Invincible War from the comic series and while it was handled very well the fact that it was only the focus of a single episode really hurts the storyline because it feels like an event that was meant to close out the season. To be fair, the finale of this season is a cataclysmic event that I would never take away from this series, and it does reinforce the themes of the season. But it is A LOT, and one could wager that the point is that regardless of how ready our characters are, the threat they’ve been preparing for is now here.
This season is also the most substantial of the series by making changes from the source material, chiefly among them Shrinking Ray being kept alive to facilitate the heart crushing emotional arc regarding a fan-favorite character this season. As a comics reader I knew that this moment was coming, but when it came to adapting it I thought we would have more time. But the way they did it was equally heartbreaking and effective.
Narratively speaking this is the strongest season since the opening season of the series. Season 2 was by no means bad, but it was more of a transition between storylines that are iconic with the source material and of delivering certain themes. Whereas Season 3 is at this point the climax to several plot lines that had been building to this point, and without getting too heavy into comic material, are still to come. In terms of adapting the comics, we are halfway through all of the material that Kirkman and team had written. This season is by no means hurt by the return of a certain fan favorite who has been absent since Season 1, and his return certainly put a smile on our collective faces.
One of the core issues with the adaptation that rears its head this season is in the cast. A comic book has much more time for vignettes about various characters within the universe than a show with only eight episodes per season. This is most glaring during the events of the Invincible War when characters we have literally never seen in the show are now capable of going head-to- head with Viltrumites. The show is a masterclass in how to adapt across entertainment mediums, but for this season more than any other I wish we had more than eight episodes per season. The world of Invincible would benefit from more narrative exploration, which a longer season could provide.
Performances & Presentation
The series has been no stranger to strong performances even going back as far as Season 1, but Season 3 only ups the ante. Among the new names added to this cast we have Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks, and most famously Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a character that comic fans have been waiting a long time to see. J.K. Simmons once again is a big highlight of the voice cast even if he isn’t as present in this season as he was in the two seasons prior. Steven Yeun continues to grow with the role of Mark as the events of this season allow him to show off his range as a performer and take a swing at some of the comics’ most iconic lines.
The show’s storyboarding is strong, even if its animation isn’t always putting its best foot forward. For example, we get plenty of frames this season in which the characters’ mouths are blocked in certain scenes, so people won’t notice that those mouths weren’t animated. Now, while there are animation errors and shortcuts to hide quality, even those with plenty of critiques would not begrudge this season’s finale as it presents some of, if not the best, animated sequences in the entire series. Season 2 had little to no sections like this despite having 2+ years between the first and second season. But with a shorter gap between Season 2 and 3 they delivered a sequence that puts much of the show to shame. I only wish we got sequences like this more often in the show, I understand why we don’t but it’s still a reminder of what we could have had when they give us a sequence like we got in the finale.
Season 3 also leans into a side of the show that we’ve not seen since the first season, and that is the momentary ultra violence. Invincible is 100% not a show for children, but this level of brutality was largely absent from the second season and is back in full force this season. And I’m not just saying that because Battle Beast is back, I’m no stranger to gore and brutality in media but Season 3 does have a couple moments that made me wince, particularly in its finale, which may make the more squeamish want to turn away.
Conclusion
The continued success of properties such as Invincible and The Boys really goes to show that so-called “Superhero fatigue” is a bunch of nonsense. Respect your audiences and give them entertaining material and they’ll keep coming back. Invincible has clearly proved this as it’s been confirmed that it will be coming back not only for a fourth, but a fifth season as well. I highly recommend Invincible Season 3 as a wonderful piece of character-driven action television!
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