MANILA, PHILIPPINES — After a long wait, Invincible season two has finally been released on Prime Video. The story of a young hero discovering his powers and the superhero universe around him was a big hit and drew eyeballs to the source comic. Written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Cory Walker and then Ryan Ottley, Invincible turned out it’s a high-quality superhero comic, and here are five reasons why.
Heads up: this list contains major spoilers.
1. The Killer Twist
At the start of the series, Invincible is about Mark Grayson (Invincible’s secret identity) inheriting the powers of Omni-Man, his father, and learning the ropes. However, the main hook of the comic and where it really gets interesting is the discovery that Omni-Man is from a tyrannical alien empire preparing Earth to be conquered. It gives the comic a father-son conflict on a very massive scale.
2. Relatable Hero
Mark is a compelling character because, like most children who idolize their parents, he wants to live up to his father’s legacy of being a great hero. Then the rug is pulled under him when he discovers Omni-Man’s true nature. Twisting the knife further, Omni-Man beats Mark to a bloody pulp, with lots of collateral damage, and is only spared when Omni-Man realizes he can’t kill him. Filled with trauma and grief, Invincible’s role as a hero takes a deeper meaning as he seeks to prove to the public that he’s not his father and atone for his sins.
3. Intensity Level
The distinct art style has a very clean look about it almost like an animated cell for a cartoon show for young kids. It’s betrayed by the oft ultra-violent battle scenes that frequently occur, with bones graphically breaking and blood spilling by the gallons. Ottley and Walker deliver powerful panels that feel like the combatants are bursting out of the pages!
4. One Universe One Comic
These days Marvel and DC stories tend to overlap into one another to give it that sense of interconnectivity. Invincible is a throwback title to a time when all you need to read is in that one book, which is quite impressive because the Invincible universe has a massive cast.
5. High stakes
The Invincible series ends by issue 144, unusual for a commercially and well-received comic. This gave character fates real gravity in the Invincible universe making it stand apart in a genre filled with reboots, retcons, deaths, and resurrections.
