Invincible Season 3 review—A master class in world building

In an era shadowed by “super hero fatigue”, Season 3 of Invincible attempts, (and succeeds) to push new bounds into the super hero genre. The story juggles a wide cast of heroes, villains, and oddballs; all while managing to give each character their moments to shine. Whenever the story shifts away from primary protagonist Mark Grayson and his dual life as Invincible, it never felt like pointless side episodes- a problem a certain zombie show also adapted from Kirkman's work suffered from frequently. Each deep dive into a character’s motivations or backstory felt warranted and connected to the overarching plot. The world building has been the main highlight this season, and while no battles have been on the same tier as those in the first two seasons, the lore expansion and character moments throughout this third season more than make up for that.

Season three takes a step back from the various universe ending threats of seasons past, including past emphasis on the looming threat of the Viltrumite Empire, and side steps into more personal territory. The villains this time around aren’t hellbent on galactic conquest and are more grounded, often not posing much of a challenge to our heroes. This makes room for the ensemble cast to truly spread their wings and find their place in this chaotic world. If every single battle is a world ending threat, things get stale real fast, and said battles begin to lose their importance. That being said, with Invincible being a story set in a world of super powered heroes and villains, there will of course be some cliches and tropes that you have to look past in order to suspend your disbelief and enjoy the tale. 

In the same way you have to submit to the “rule of cool” in order to believe Batman could realistically beat Super Man, there were some similar moments where I audibly laughed at how quickly Mark gets defeated by street level foes or common henchmen. Then again, if Mark was just a bullet sponge who tanked every attack that came his way, that would be some bland storytelling. I’m perfectly okay turning a blind eye to the inconsistent power scalings if they continue to lend themselves to the dynamic storylines we’ve been getting this season. Now that these characters have been expanded on and have had expanded narratives, their fates- whatever they may be- will be even more impactful to the viewer.

There are several moments that pay close homage to the source material of the comics, and much like another popular Kirkman comic to TV adaptation, there are some liberties taken- for better or for worse. In the first two seasons, we saw characters like the ant man-esque Shrink Rae get a gender swap, while characters like the cyborg government agent Donald groomed to take over arcs of guest Image comics characters absent from the show due to rights issues, like Spawn or Tech Jacket. In season 2 we also saw the infamous cameo of Spider-Man and Doc Ock from the comics replaced by generic knock offs characters due to licensing issues with Marvel. Thankfully a let down of this severity hasn’t occurred this season- yet. 

While Invincible has always been a visually striking show, the animation seems to have been improved upon even more this time around. Each hero and villain once again comes decked out in extravagant attire, often distinctly original threads or some unapologetically inspired by famous DC or Marvel characters. There were some instances this season where Invincible looked eerily reminiscent  of DC’s Nightwing, but with goggles. While not exactly Dead Pool and Deathstroke levels of reminiscence, the fact both Nightwing and Invincible share the last name of Grayson doesn’t help the comparison either.  Atom Eve’s pink attire and energy based powers are clearly a nod to DC’s Star Fire as well. These aren’t merely rehashes of existing characters or ideas, more so loving tributes and homages. Regardless, the vibrant colors of the various costumes contrast nicely with the rather drab city scapes or government installations our characters often find themselves in. 

The voice work is nothing to scoff at either. The arrogant charm Jason Mantzouka displays in his voice work as Rex Splode was certainly a highlight. The soundtrack included some original tunes that were both heroic and atmospheric, which helped to accent both the drama and action. Some tracks had some of the similar gusto as John Williams’ Super Man theme, while others were more reminiscent of a Hanz Zimmer score. There was a nice variety of licensed music as well, including a fitting track by Run the Jewels that accompanied a major fight scene.

There is a strong emphasis this season on what makes someone a hero, a villain, or something in between. Sometimes in order to save the world, tough decisions, and often sacrifices have to be made, which is a revelation that haunts Mark. It’s a fascinating character study of a protagonist often regarded as something of a boy scout. Mark is just as much of a human as he is a Viltrumite- will this hybrid hero embrace his mother’s humanity, or succumb to his sinister and tenacious traits passed down by his other worldly father? 

While a special preview of the first six episodes was provided, this third season still has two episodes remaining. There are still plenty of opportunities for new interpersonal conflicts and grand battles to conspire, or for the plot to morph into a new beast entirely. Whatever happens, one thing is for certain- much like the titular heroes’ name, when it comes to ambition and execution- this series is simply Invincible.