"Invincible" Season 2 Continues To Be Stronger
It really is one of the most faithful comic adaptations to ever exist.
The success of Invincible’s first season marked it as one the most faithful comic book adaptations to date, and Season 2 continues this trend by showing the aftermath of Omni-Man’s (J.K. Simmons) attack on Earth as Mark (Steven Yeun) struggles with who he is as a hero as he doesn’t wish to become a villain like his father.
In the absence of Omni-Man, Cecil (Walton Goggins) works to regain control of their new reality and threats like the Sequids and the Lizard League with the help of the new Guardians of the Globe. Continual global security causes Cecil to constantly call upon Mark, bouncing him between his responsibilities of being a hero, comforting his mother Debbie (Sandra Oh), attending college, and sustaining his relationship with Amber (Zazie Beetz).
In case that wasn’t stressful enough for Mark, Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown) also arrives to cause further chaos. Luckily, the show manages to avoid being bogged down with too many storylines by balancing the seasonal arc of Invincible vs. Angstrom Levy with smaller arcs like Omni-Man’s road to redemption.
With the guiding hand of comic-based source material, plot points in the comics that weren’t fleshed out are given more time to be developed or altered to fit the animation medium of storytelling. For example, the comics have a joke about reusing panels to make the creation of issues easier. The same joke is adapted in the show but now revolves around cutting corners with animation, namely having characters talking without their mouths being present on screen.
Apart from the comic adaptations being perfectly executed, the animation is arguably the best part of this show as everything flows together beautifully. However, Season 2’s animation falls off compared to Season 1 as there are multiple points where Invincible’s costume would change design mid-scene.
I typically wouldn’t care so much about this one animation mistake it if it wasn’t so distracting. Every time the mistake occurred I couldn’t help but stare at it and wonder, ‘Was that how it always looked?’ Making matters worse, the mistake always happened during important times of exposition which made me miss important details, resulting in me rewinding scenes to try and capture all the important information.
However, animation is nothing without its accompanying voice acting. Steven Yeun takes center stage as he finds his cadence during mental/emotional breakdowns, fights, and tense scenes. Yeun finds a way to perfectly capture a broken teenager at Mark’s lowest points and a graphic hero in Mark’s most uncontrollable state. Another stellar voice is Sterling K. Brown as Angstrom Levy. His early portrayals of Levy showcase a man who truly wants to improve the world but slowly morphs into a man of pure hatred by the finale. Both are stellar on their own, but putting them in scenes together results in a true vocal spectacle.
Speaking of the finale, I expected it to be a lot more violent and filled with gore, especially since the title of “I Thought You Were Stronger” tells you everything you need to know, especially if you’ve read the comics. Without spoiling what that scene entails as it is one of the best moments in Invincible, the gore of it is oddly omitted, save for the blood that ends up on Mark.
I at first found this decision odd as Season 1 showed us the Guardians of the Globe being slaughtered by Omni-Man in full display, but then I took the context into consideration. If the show purposely avoided showing something graphic that was seen in the comics, it must’ve truly been horrific to actually see. Or it could’ve just been to help make future storylines like the Invincible War more plausible.
Luckily, the show does still utilize gore to its advantage. There were mutliple times where my jaw would drop at the gore on screen as it was used less often than Season 1 in order to heighten the stakes and drama within scenes and fights, most of which already had me on the edge of my couch in anticipation for what would happen next.
Invincible Season 2 refused to hold back with its stellar animation and voice acting, making it one of the most faithful comic book adaptations of all time. I don’t think another adaptation will come anywhere near this show’s faithfulness, resulting in its legacy being one that’s truly…
Invincible (Season 2) — ★ ★ ★ ★
Release Date: Nov. 3, 2023
Creator: Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Cory Walker
Runtime: 50m
Rating: TV-MA