Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 4.5/5 Episode 2 – | Review Score – 4/5 Episode 3 – | Review Score – 4/5 Episode 4 – | Review Score – 4/5 Episode 5 – | Review Score – 5/5 Episode 6 – | Review Score – 3/5 Episode 7 – | Review Score – 5/5 Episode 8 – | Review Score – 4.5/5 Forget The Falcon and the Winer Soldier. And forget WandaVision. Invincible is the superhero show to beat in 2021. This stunning display of storytelling, bloody violence and enthralling action combines to create one colourful animated adventure. Invincible essentially takes everything great about other superhero shows and dials that up to 11. Tonally, the two shows are very similar but unlike The Boys, Invincible is much more gore-splattered and daring, allowing the animators to really push what’s possible for this medium. Playing out as part-parody and a more straightforward superhero thriller, Invincible is faithful to its source material for the most part. For those unaware, Invincible is set in a world where superheroes and humans live side by side across the globe. Numerous heroes and villains battle it out across the cities but there’s one who stands tall above them all. Omni-Man (or Nolan to his friends and family). Declared the strongest and more powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man helps the Guardians of the Globe to thwart any threats that come their way. In the midst of all this action is Mark Grayson, Nolan’s son. He’s starting to develop his powers now and looks to his Father for guidance. The only trouble is, his Father’s keeping a pretty big secret of his own. To give much more away would be a disservice to this show. The first episode ends with a bloody shocking twist and from here the show builds up layers of character development across both the hero and villain spectrum. There are numerous different subplots that crop up across the episodes too, including shadowy Robot and his ulterior motives. The Mauler Twins are recurring antagonists too, while Mark’s love life is explored through Amber and Eve, playing out as an unconventional love triangle; it’s a difficult balance being struck between hero and teenager. Ultimately though Invincible is really about the Father/Son bond between Mark and Nolan. Both characters have quite the journey across the season and the ending is every bit as shocking and action-packed as one may expect. Given the length of each episode, there’s very few lulls although episode 6 is probably the slowest of them all. There’s not much that happens here but on reflection, it feels needed to act as a proverbial deep breath before the final two episodes. And boy are these chapters good. The show is packed with memorable fights too, right the way through to the final episode where everything explodes into a bloody, violent mess and an open conclusion. Given two more seasons have already been green-lit, it’s easy to look past that fact. Invincible is quite simply a fantastic show. It’s a brilliantly paced slice of animation that makes the most of its medium to deliver one of the best series of the year. Given the wealth of superhero content out there, the fact Invincible manages to stand out next to them all is testament to the great work done on this. This show may not be completely invincible to criticism but it is an absolute must-watch.
