Welcome back blog readers, today’s TV discussion is going to be about Amazon’s Invincible. The show has been out for a few years, and it’s relatively polarizing despite it being excellent in my opinion. The source material is derived from comic written by Robert Kirman back in 2003 and mirrors a lot of themes from another Amazon series, The Boys. To save some time, the premise is about the life of a young superhero and the consequences of the destruction brought on from their battles.

The first two seasons are focused on Mark (Invincible) learning how to be a superhero. His dad Nolan (Omni Man) is the universe’s most powerful hero, and most of season one is geared around Mark’s training. Both are pretty much Super Man without the laser eyes. Mark goes through normal high school drama and has to fight supervillains in his free time. Ultimately, it’s revealed that Omni Man’s motive is to follow his home planet’s (Viltram) directive of enslaving earth. A massive battle ensures between Mark and his dad and ends with Omni Man leaving Earth – not defeated but not ready to kill Mark yet.

The second season focuses more on Marks’ growth as well as showing Nolan’s banishment from Viltram as a result of him failing to enslave Earth. While trying to find his Dad, Mark finds out he has a brother from another plant – Oliver. A lot of fans did not like season two but it’s apparent now that everything was needed. There’s a whole bunch of side stories with Earth’s superhero team, they’re all fun but not the focus here. Mark’s brother Oliver is extremely powerful but lacks a moral foundation to make the right choices. Earth’s superhero mastermind, Cecil, is always operating in the shadows and Mark does not trust him.

In the third season, Mark is training to get stronger while also training his brother on how to be a hero. Mark begins a relationship with anther superhero, Eve, who’s been his friend and fought the villains with him for years. Cecil informs Mark that he implanted a weapon in Mark’s brain to hurt him if needed, which leads Mark to breakaway from Cecil’s organization and start a new one with Eve. The season progresses along with new villains and fights, but it’s all built around the finale. 

Before I get into that, let’s follow up with Omni Man. He’s being held captive on a spaceship with another character from earlier in the show (an Alien named Allen). Allen is turning Nolan away from the dark side and I hope we can get him back into the fold. Oliver and Mark do not agree on a lot of moral issues, but thankfully Oliver trusts Mark and his mom Debbie enough to follow their advice. Eve and Mark form a strong bond, and in my opinion are the best part of the show.

In the penultimate episode, a dozen Invincibles from alternate timelines invade earth and start destroying what they can. Mark and the rest of Earth’s heroes fight them off – taking heavy casualties in the process including fan favorite Rex-Plode who sacrifices himself to take down the last attacker. However, the episode ends with the arrival of Conquest, Viltram’s mightiest conqueror, who has been dispatched to finish what Omni Man started in season one.

Alright, if you made it this far thanks! Here’s what I wanted to talk about, the finale of season 3. Conquest is, quite frankly, an unstoppable unit. Mark, Oliver, and Eve band together and just get their asses beat. Indescribable destruction and death occur, and it’s some of the most brutally depicted animation I’ve seen (please note – this does not say BEST animation). Eve comes to save Mark and puts up a good fight before having her guts ripped out of her body. In a rage, Mark gives Conquest a brutal beating, but it still isn’t enough to eliminate him.

But then! Eve transcends into a more powerful version of herself (I don’t really have a way to describe what she does other than it’s kinda like the MCU’s Scarlett Which). She blasts Conquest before falling unconscious, later explained the government had nerfed her powers at birth but her death overrode those safety measures.  That opens the door for Mark to use his last functioning limb (his head) to finish off Conquest. An insane fight, that even with the subpar animation made for the one of the best things I’ve ever seen on TV. Pure adrenaline, and I didn’t realize how much I cared about the characters before this episode. 

The people who hated season two are QUIET now. The stage has been set. The Viltramites are going to be a problem, and we need to make sure Omni Man, Mark, and Oliver are all on the same team for when that battle occurs. Cecil’s dumbass also saved Conquest’s body and is rebuilding the other dimension Invincibles into his own army. That will obviously be another fight, I’m just not sure if that’s the endgame or if it’s the fight against the Viltramites.

This show rocks. Simple as that, it’s a fantastic story with great voice actors. I have been a fan of The Boys for years and I think Invincible is just an improved version of that.  It’s so grotesque that I can’t really recommend it to most people. But judging by the social media pulse and word of mouth, people agree with me there. Give it a watch and thanks for reading!

PS: Robot declaring at Rex’s funeral that he will now be called “Rex” is such a loser move. I won’t let it take away from my enjoyment of the episode, but lol.