What to Watch: Invincible a superhero animation with an emotional centre
When animated series Invincible flips the Superman story on its head, planet-shaking melodrama and mayhem ensues.
Let’s face it - if superheroes really existed, us boring regular humans would probably be pretty screwed.
Based on the hit comic series by Robert Kirkman, creator of the Walking Dead, the animated series Invincible flips the Superman story on its head.
Instead of a friendly alien orphan landing amongst us mere mortals, it tells the story of Omni-Man (voiced by JK Simmons), the most powerful superhero on Earth, who turns out to be the vanguard of an authoritarian alien army that conquers everything it sees - or destroys it.
Omni-Man’s half-human son Mark Grayson (Stephen Yeun) is only just discovering his own superpowers and takes on the hero name Invincible, but when he discovers his father’s true mission on Earth, chaos, carnage and betrayal ensues.
Invincible is the superhero story written as planet-shaking melodrama, with a level of scale live-action comic book movies simply can’t match. It shows the horrible impact a real-life superhero battle would have on our fragile human world, with innocent bodies flying and buildings toppling.
Yet while it’s intense and action-packed, Invincible also carries a decent amount of emotional weight - Mark has learned everything he thought about his father is a lie, and the stakes of his struggles just keep rising as the challenges grow.
Invincible is packed with a vast cast of fellow heroes, supervillains, aliens and government agents and a story that constantly swerves in new directions.
It feels truly epic, over the three seasons to date, and anyone could die at any time. It packs a kick that too many of the more assembly-line superhero movies and cinematic universes are lacking lately.
Invincible raises the stakes in a crowded genre of entertainment with astonishing visuals and enough honest emotion to keep it from being a non-stop punch-a-thon. Frequently shocking and definitely not for young cartoon-watching kids, it’s powerful stuff.
Don’t watch it if … Intense cartoon gore and violence triggers you.
If you like Invincible, what should you watch next?
The Boys: An even more nihilistic take on heroes, starring Kiwis Karl Urban and Anthony Starr, it’s a very black comedy with a lot of echoes of modern politics to boot. (Amazon Prime)
What If?: This animated Marvel spin-off imagines alternate universes where things often go very badly for our heroes. (Disney Plus)
My Adventures With Superman: If you’d like clever superhero animation with a bit less violence, this anime-styled take on a young Superman is worth watching after you finish up with Superman’s recent movie. (Neon)
