Through three episodes, Amazon Prime Video’s INVINCIBLE series has remained true to its comic book source material. The universe is filled with vibrantly colored superheroes and the action doesn’t hide any of the destructive violence. Episode four brings another hallmark of the comic book to the fore – morally ambiguous characters. Characters like Omni-Man, Robot, Cecil, and Damien Darkblood are seemingly good guys, but they have an undercurrent of bad, or at least moral compromise in the pursuit of what they think is right. These layers provide a nice contrast to the genuinely nice guy Mark Grayson (Invincible).
INVINCIBLE is also a great long form storytelling vehicle, dropping hints here and there that end up becoming major plotlines later. Robot’s plot is slowly being teased out while the investigation into what happened at the end of the pilot is still the focus. The events of this episode foreshadow things that comic book readers know will come into play later. The show is also doing an admirable job of introducing and gradually developing its supporting characters, like Atom Eve, Monster Girl, and Rex Splode. Everyone is given just enough screen time to build their character and at the same time allow the main story to progress at the proper pace.
With all of the head exploding, eye popping out violence grabbing my attention, I have neglected to discuss the show’s soundtrack (I think it finally was noticeable because this episode has comparatively less violence). The songs chosen fit the scenes well, particularly the bass thumping beats used during action scenes. I’d be curious to see if there is an track list for the songs used somewhere. I’ve also failed to mention how genuinely funny this show can be. I usually am bored when shows show how the superhero tries to balance his/her social life with the challenges of being a superhero. INVINCIBLE handles it quite well, and Mark’s awkwardness provides some humor to the series.
While this episode lacks the complete shocker of the pilot, there’s plenty of surprises and plot movement in store. Fans of the superhero genre should definitely check INVINCIBLE out.
The fourth episode of INVINCIBLE premiered on April 2nd on Amazon Prime Video. Check back soon for my thoughts on episode 5 of the series.
Are you watching the series? What do you think so far? Let us know in the comments!
If you’d like to write opinion pieces about pop culture topics or reviews, reach out to us using the contact us form.
