Invincible S3 Eps 1-3 Review

April 4th, 2024: Invincible crossed a line he swore never to cross. Thanks to Angstrom Levy’s utterly misguided vendetta against Mark, the young hero seemingly beat the man to death. After a whole season trying to prove he wasn’t like his father, he failed. He can be just as violent and bloodthirsty as Nolan and many of his multiversal counterparts! Now, he’s left dealing with one of the biggest questions a superhero can face: is he justified in taking another’s life? And if he does, can he live with the potential consequences?

Consequences seems to be the big theme of the three-part premiere of Invincible’s third season. Not only does Mark face the consequences of his actions, but so do many of the supporting cast. As a result, the ever-changing status quo gets shifted up again, and not always due to Mark’s doing. Character dynamics change, loyalties change, and even the question of morality seems to change during these three episodes. And you do not need to read the comics to know that the consequences could be disastrous.

Cecil F**ked Up

Three months have passed since Mark’s fight with Angstrom, and he’s settled into a new routine. He’s left college to work on being a full-time superhero, training with the GDA and getting stronger. He’s moved back in with his mom to look after his now pre-teen brother, Oliver, who’s already manifesting his powers. It seems like things are going his way.

But then, during a mission to stop Doc Seismic, Cecil reveals two secret weapons: Darkwing II and D.A. Sinclair’s Reanimen. Despite both being killers, they’re now working for Cecil, something he kept Mark in the dark about. In addition, when confronting Cecil over these secrets, the GDA’s leader reveals he put a device in Mark that can disrupt his inner ear and cause him immense pain! When Mark escalates things, Cecil uses the device and nearly kills Mark before it gets shut off.

The consequences of this incident are immediate and far-reaching. Mark cuts all ties with Cecil for letting people like Darkwing and Sinclair not rot in prison and for putting that device in his head. This leads to a domino effect for the Guardians of the Globe, who saw enough of what happened to get the general idea. Coupled with learning that Dupli-Kate is alive, this leads to a schism with half the team quitting. Rex, Robot, Rae, Monster Girl, and Bulletproof go off on their own, leaving only Shapesmith, Black Samson, Kate, and Immortal. The consequences of that are that the Guardians are weaker than ever, something made obvious in the third episode.

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Cecil Still Should’ve Done Better

The show does try to show that neither Mark nor Cecil were wholly right or wrong with what happened. Mark has every right to object to Sinclair and Darkwing being allowed free and having a weapon put in his head. Given what happened with Omni-Man and what Mark is like across the multiverse, Cecil isn’t wrong to take precautions. However, viewers know that Cecil’s precautions won’t amount to much against an adult Viltrumite. Nor is his case helped by the reveal that he used to share Mark’s objections against giving killers second chances.

Besides the consequences of one’s actions, a major theme to these first three episodes centers around the right to take someone’s life. Throughout comic book history, many superheroes have grappled with whether or not they have the right to kill the villains they face. On the one hand, it could save countless lives in the future. On the other hand, letting them live could lead to them changing for the better in the future, which has happened. Truthfully, though, there is no right or wrong answer, with it depending on the circumstances.

Oliver Has Empathy Issues

This idea of morality serves as the driving force of the dynamic between Mark and his brother, Oliver. Mark tries to train Oliver as best he can, but it’s harder than he thought. Like most kids, he has trouble listening to orders. Worse, he gives himself the superhero name of Kid Omni-Man, so he has no idea how bad that is. But the worst part? When the two get into a fight with the Mauler Twins, Oliver actually kills them! Straight-up kills them! One of them even begs him to show mercy, and he still does it!!

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Mark is naturally aghast at this, but the worst part is that Oliver doesn’t understand what he did wrong. Not helping is when he points out how Mark killed Angstrom and asks how that’s any different. And Mark really has no idea how to give him a proper answer. All he and his mom can do is try to teach him empathy.

Not helping matters is the fact that this episode marks the start of Mark getting a darker costume. It’s meant to reflect the darker worldview that Mark is ultimately leaning towards, which makes his arguments lose some effectiveness.

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Mark+Atom Eve 4EVER

The one genuinely good thing that happens to Mark in these three episodes revolves around himself and Atom Eve. After breaking up with Amber and learning from Future Eve that she always liked him, Mark decides to take a chance. Unfortunately, Eve is none too happy about what the future version of her said, as it makes her feel like she has little agency in matters. Given how little agency she’s had in her life until recently, it’s a sore subject.

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Thankfully, the near-death experience with Cecil manages to affirm Mark’s feelings for Eve, and the two do become a couple. Honestly, with everything that Mark has had to go through, he deserves to have something good happen to him. If you’ve read the comics, you know how important this relationship will be to his life going forward. Hopefully, the cartoon will not deviate from that outcome too much, as Mark deserves a happy ending.

Sadly, those consequences just won’t leave Mark alone. The final scene of the third episode winds up revealing that Angstrom is alive and still out for Mark’s blood, meaning his family is still in danger!

These first three episodes of Invincible were wild, plain and simple. The change in the status quo was handled well. The characters got some great moments. And above all, the drama keeps hitting the right spots. Even counting the criticisms of the animation quality, this is still a great show. We’ll be eating pretty for the next few weeks!

I Give “You’re Not Laughing Now”, “A Deal with the Devil” and “You Want a Real Costume, Right?” a 4/5 Each