Invincible: Season 1 - Review(Spoiler-Free) | Eager Lad

The title card of Amazon Prime Video's animated superhero series "Invincible" does this adorable thing that, as great title sequences always do, gradually comes to describe the story's mood. The title isn't shown before an actor mentions the word "invincible," and even then, you don't hear them utter it — the episode just cuts away to a full-screen screenshot of "Invincible" in neon yellow font against a sky-blue background.

Invincible manages to transcend some sloppy scripting and character sidelining over the course of its eight episodes and deliver a charming first season.While it is more than willing to flirt with adult material, Invincible does not over-egg its moments of wanton subversion, preferring to keep these cards close to its core. Don't get me wrong: these elements aren't minor; there are lots of smaller moments in this section, such as Duplicate cloning herself for sex, but just a few that would make the viewer mutter "blimey."This is a positive thing, because the faux-comic excessive-violence schtick has been done to death recently (injected with vigour into the media by the excellent The Boys), and it was exciting to see an adult superhero display that didn't explode a character as a punchline or coat our protagonist in blood and guts only because it might. Extreme moments carry weight, culminating in a genuinely stunning finale whose scenes will undoubtedly remain etched in the memories of invested audiences for a long time.

The writers of "Invincible" obviously intended for these heroes to be reminiscent of their more prominent forefathers, for motives that are at least partly revealed by the episode's conclusion. However, before the shocking surprise in the final ten minutes, the show takes Omni-Man home to visit his 17-year-old son and series lead, Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun). Mark is an average geeky teen in several respects. He reads comic books, attends high school, and has uncomfortable crushes on women. But he's still been waiting for his own superpowers to manifest themselves, thanks to his super-powered father's genes. His mother, Deborah (Sandra Oh), is human, but his father, Nolan (when he's not dressed up), is from a distant planet called Viltrum. Viltrumites are endowed with supernatural powers and are tasked with using them to shield worlds throughout the galaxy. Nolan was granted Earth, which he intends to hand on to his son someday.

Positives:-

The show is bright and colourful, a welcome change from recent live-action franchise films. Snyder's grimdark world-building or the muddy concrete graphics of certain MCU brands are absent, and Invincible is the better for it. As a result, the series' extreme gore is more disturbing, and the carefully drawn action is more eye-popping. The visual appeal spreads to a brilliant cast of characters, each with its own unique look and set of superpowers. From Machine Head's autotuned dialogue to Doc Seismic's funny "gender stereotypes" quip, the display regularly spits imagination. The role of Robert Kirkman as an executive producer explains the faithful translation. There are a couple of duds — Rex Splode is particularly irritating — but Invincible has a mighty ensemble, brought to life by a frankly ludicrous cast (seriously, Google it). The occasional cheap graphics will distract from this by underselling some key dialogue, but this becomes much less apparent as the series progresses.

Negatives:-

The episode-to-episode format may also be sloppy; it switches between villain-of-the-week and straight plot, often liberally, which can take some getting used to. It doesn't help when the show's several plotlines are occasionally left unfinished: if it's the pointless Mars cliffhanger or Titan's subplot, a ton is built but not often rewarded. The lack of concrete resolutions elsewhere may disenchant fans, given that the season's core mystery weaves a tidy plot thread through each episode. As a part of this, I believe Mark has been marginalized. Despite being an entertaining lead, I felt there should have been more about him by the end of the season.

Ratings

However, Invincible is well worth the time. It is very original and a little derivative at once, but it is enough convinced that its many problems do not hamper a pleasant sequence of animations. I will look forward to the next round of events as a friend gives me comics – and reflects on the lovely moustache of Omni-Man.