Invincible Season 3 Grows Darker
Voice Actors: Steven Yeun, Gillian Jacobs, Walton Goggins, Christian Convery
Cecil: “Mark, we can be the good guys, or we can be the guys who save the world. We can’t be both.”
Invincible is flying high. The first two seasons showed Mark Grayson becoming a hero in the face of disaster and betrayals. Fights have grown more deadly as a war with his fathers’ people, the Viltrumite Empire, looms ever closer. So is Invincible season 3 prepared for new threats or is it vulnerable? Let’s find out.
Scene Select
Last Time on… Invincible
Mark was guilt-ridden over failing to defeat his father, Omni-Man, and began working for government agent Cecil Stedman as penance. The Guardians of the Globe recruited several new members, but fractured from infighting after a tyrannical new leader joins them. Tensions grew until a disastrous mission maimed two Guardians and led another to fake her death.
Invincible and Omni-Man were reunited when he was tricked into a space mission. They defended an alien world from Viltrumites to save Mark’s younger brother, Oliver. They lost, Omni Man was imprisoned, and Invincible was ordered to conquer Earth. Invincible returned home and was attacked by his multiversal nemesis, Angstrom Levy. Mark murdered Levy, leaving him questioning his future and ideals.
The Good
A World of Heroes
Oliver: “Alright, get ready cause [steps out in costume] Kid Omni-Man is here!”
“You Want A Real Costume, Right?” (Season 3, Episode 3)
Art: “Ah jeez. He told me the “O” was for Oliver.”
Invincible already has many characters to feature. They can always add more, but Invincible season 3 chose to limit the new additions and develop the existing ones.
Infant Oliver Grayson ages at an accelerated rate and already has powers equivalent to a 10-year-old. He becomes Kid Omni-Man to fight as Invicible’s sidekick, but his family keeps him on a short leash because Oliver hasn’t had time to mature. A Viltrumite’s power and a child’s view on morality is a terrifying combination.
Atom Eve begins dating Invincible, helping him stay balanced as disasters pile up. Fighting alongside him helps Eve improve her powers as she fights foes outside her weight class. That causes issues with Mark when he keeps her away from fights he doesn’t believe she’ll win.
Rex Splode is on a self-improvement kick after his near-death experience. He catches himself acting like a snarky jerk and tries being more friendly. Invincible Season 3 gives him a show-original romance with fellow survivor Shrinking Rae as they debate quitting superheroics.
The penultimate episode is an all hands on deck situation that forces the Invincible universe’s heroes to team-up. Many of the publisher’s characters like Spawn and Team Youngblood couldn’t appear because of copyright issues, and were substituted by series creator Rob Kirkman’s heroes. The Astounding Wolf-Man, Best Tiger, and Tech Jacket make their screen debut in cameos.
He Who Fights With Monsters…
Cecil: “Who are you helping right now? You see things one way and won’t make room for any other viewpoint. You threaten people who disagree with you-”
“A Deal With The Devils” (Season 3, Episode 2)
Invincible: “I don’t threaten!”
Cecil: “No? Because you’re scaring the shit out of me right now.”
Invincible season 3 explores heroism more deeply than most superhero shows. Many settle for good guys vs. bad guys or teams of anti-heroes whose morality overlaps with what’s best for them. Invincible is willing to debate the meaning of justice.
An early episode features all of Earth’s heroes in a death trap. Cecil rescues them by deploying repentant murderer Darkwing and a squad of superpowered zombies called Reanimen. Invincible is outraged because he caught Darkwing and the scientist who created the Reanimen by experimenting on teenagers.
Viewers learn Cecil’s backstory and see him deal with a similar situation in his youth. Cecil settled on ends justifying the means, but Mark insists on black and white heroics because of his trauma over killing Levy. Their argument escalates until Invincible is tearing his way through Reanimen while Cecil tortures him with an implanted weapon.
Morality is a struggle for other heroes. Half of the Guardians quit in disgust over Cecil’s actions and their leader’s blind loyalty to him. Kid Omni-Man doesn’t get into the argument, but sparks his own when he murders a pair of villains in cold blood.
Ever-Growing Danger in Invincible Season 3
Conquest: “They send me from planet to planet committing atrocities in their name. And as I get better at it, they fear me more and more. I am a victim of my own success. Conquest. I don’t even get a real name. Only a purpose. […] Take it to your grave.”
“I Thought You’d Never Shut Up.” (Season 3, Episode 8)
Invincible is already powerful, but he’s been training for the inevitable Viltrumite War. There are many threats closer to home that even a Viltrumite may not be able to overcome.
The first half of the season alternates between past enemies and introducing new ones. The Mauler Twins and Doc Seismic have upgraded into significantly more deadly threats. Viewers learn of a coalition of supervillains called The Order who nearly kill Invincible to retrieve one of their agents.
The last group of episodes introduce more personal threats. Powerplex (Aaron Paul) blames Invincible for his sister and niece’s deaths during Omni-Man’s rampage. He wages a one man campaign against Invincible while sinking into madness.
Angstrom Levy somehow survived Mark pancaking his head and hatches a new plan. He recruits eighteen evil Invincibles from across the multiverse and sends them to destroy everything. Steven Yeun has the time of his life overacting as the villainous variants toying with outgunned victims. He gets extra credit for giving each one a distinct voice and personality.
Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a Viltrumite sent to see if Invincible obeyed his orders to conquer Earth. As the second-strongest Viltrumite, he demolishes Invincible and Earth’s remaining heroes. Conquest adores fighting strong opponents and massacres, but occasionally laments his purpose as a weapon.
The Bad
Vincible
Cecil: “Now. This has to happen now of all times. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me! I’ve got probably the strongest superhuman I’ve ever seen beating the living shit out of definitely the strongest superhero on this planet!”
“I Thought You’d Never Shut Up” (Season 3, Episode 8)
Invincible never made bones about Mark’s alias being ironic, but season three takes that irony a step too far.
Invincible’s training has made him the strongest hero on Earth. The first episode breaks down the numbers on how much he’s improved. But the crowing feels like window dressing when Invincible gets his butt kicked every episode by people who shouldn’t be on his level.
The show tries explaining the mismatch, often implying that Mark is holding back or being blindsided by stronger enemies than he expected. That stretches credibility when he’s gruesomely beaten or fails every time.
Duplicity in Invincible Season 3
Dupli-Kate: “I went through just as much as you and Rex. More, even.”
“A Deal With The Devil” (Season 3, Episode 2)
Many heroes benefitted from increased screen time during Invincible Season 3. The show also failed one by making her the superhero version of Mean Girls’ Regina George.
Dupli-Kate is problematic again. She was at the center of multiple sex scandals, including one with her boss, The Immortal. The Guardians never knew her clones interacted with them while her real body remained safe. When all of the clones were destroyed during the disaster, Kate allowed everyone to believe that she was dead.
Dupli-Kate returns in the first episode to stop her brother from killing Rex, then acts indignant when Invincible arrests him. Kate’s icy, self-centered attitude grates on her former friends, culminating in cruel taunts about their near-death experience while whining about her hive mind feeling her duplicate’s deaths.
Invincible season 3 upstages Dupli-Kate by introducing her brother, Multi-Paul (Simu Liu). He’s an assassin with a better grasp on their shared powers and a consummate professional attitude. Paul’s loyalty to The Order mirrors Kate’s blind faith in Cecil, but he recognizes that they’re both pawns. It wasn’t wise to introduce an evil counterpart to Dupli-Kate when she’s acting like a bully.
The Verdict
Invincible Season 3 continues improving the series. Other heroes step into the spotlight, villains rise to oppose them, and moral conflicts flesh out the story. Kate’s character derailment and unclear power levels for Mark are irritating, but not a dealbreaker. Invincible Season 3 is worth your time.
More Invincible
Season 1 Review
Season 2 Review
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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