Amazon's Powerhouse Animated Series 'Invincible' Punches Through Into New Territory

A powerhouse animated series, “Invincible” has set itself up as a force to be reckoned with.

This 8 part series follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson, son of the world’s premier hero Omni-man, as he discovered his powers and more importantly what it means to have them. The world-building that the producers take time to construct pays off richly as the show progresses. A world of superheroes and villains, clashing constantly and fighting for the soul of the world. From episode to episode we sent the scope of the world expanding with strong characterizations and clear vision. The layers of which prove to be quite satisfying as we are taken on a journey through Mark’s eyes. The characters themselves, lifted from the pages of Robert Kirkman’s comic, are reconstructed with great care.

Initially, meeting characters like the Guardians of the Globe (clearly Justice League analogs) might seem a bit too tongue in cheek to take seriously but that fades quickly as the show weaves them so well that you accept these characters, and begin to feel for them. None of the characters on the show are throwaways, they each add intrinsic value to the emotional spectrum in the series, shining brightly from moment to moment. The relationship that is constructed between Mark and his parents becomes the crux and heart of the show.

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A keen element to its success regardless of whatever over-the-top action is being thrown at you, you are still grounded through Mark and the volatile emotional elements his family begins to suffer through. As for the action, “Invincible” the comic makes no apologies for the visceral scenes of brutal violence and neither does the show. Nary a punch is pulled here. If ahead can be squished it will be. If lessons need to be learned they will most certainly be painful. More so than just for shock value the violence on the show is never delivered to the point that you are numb to it. There are devastating consequences to these violent scenes and you are made to feel this at every turn. Typically these scenes are coming from Mark, but as the show begins to expand the viewer is made to feel the weight of rampant destruction from key characters. The fight sequences themselves are wonderfully constructed with brutal abandon delivering the kind of guilty pleasure readers of the comics have come accustomed to.

The show took every bit of animation to my limits but what really came across as, the bar being raised, was the performance of the cast. J. K. Simmons was simply perfect as Mark’s father Omni-man. He was able to maintain a powerful, even foreboding tone throughout his performance, a powerful force on the cast. High marks to Sandra Oh for giving a real emotional presence as Mark’s mom. Her range is felt as the show progresses and her character’s arc develops. Steven Yeun shines as Mark Grayson. He really takes you on this journey with him, making the audience shutter and every impact or smile at the triumphs. The rest of the cast just poured their hearts into these characters and truly brought them to life.

It’s no surprise that “Invincible” has been renewed for seasons 2 and 3 respectively. It’s an animated show that dared to test the boundaries and punch right through them into new territory. All 8 episodes are streaming now on Amazon.