Based on a comic book series by Robert Kirkman (creator of The Walking Dead), Invincible follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson as he develops superpowers and begins learning how to use them from his father, the most powerful superhero on Earth.
Invincible is an animated show, which does immediately separate it from many of the other superhero shows out there right now. But it's rather interesting that it's on Amazon Prime, which is also home to the subversive (and awesome) The Boys -- a show that started strong and kept getting better by messing with genre tropes. Invincible does include some surprising story developments, but it's also generally playing it pretty straight. Invincible is a very earnest show that I occasionally found myself comparing unfavorably to The Boys -- unfairly, as the two have pretty different aspirations.
Invincible is quite good at doing what it wants to do. It has a likeable hero at the heart of an engaging superhero origin story (yes, engaging even though you've seen dozens of superhero origin stories). There are mysteries to ponder... which get answered quickly as the 8-episode first season unfold.
And the cast is exceptional. Steven Yuen voices Mark Grayson, bringing just the right combination of youthful energy and adolescent angst. J.K. Simmons is perfectly cast as his father, Omni-Man, a character with a lot of layers for the season to mine. Sandra Oh is great as Mark's mother Debbie; the "unpowered" character in the superhero show is usually a snooze, but the Debbie gets a great story line in the season, and Oh winds up playing the most complex emotions of anyone of the show. The extended cast features Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Walter Goggins, Zachary Quinto, Jason Mantzoukas, Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown, while guest stars include Jon Hamm, Mahershala Ali, Seth Rogen, Nicole Byer, Mae Whitman, Reginald VelJohnson (at the center of a great in-joke), Michael Dorn, Ezra Miller, Jonathan Groff, Justin Roiland, and half the cast of The Walking Dead. It's unreal how deep the "bench" is on this show.
I like Invincible, and the announcement that it was picked up for at least two more seasons was welcome news to me. But I also hope that when those seasons do come around, I'm not juggling it with the latest Disney+ Marvel show, whatever DC is now doing on HBOMax, and more. I think I'd give Invincible a B+, but it might feel even better if it were not squeezing onto a crowded stage.
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