Invincible S4 Ep 5 Review
It’s time, everyone. The most important story arc of Invincible, the Viltrumite War, is upon us! Now, I do not approve of war in the slightest. In war, people are killed, maimed, and mentally and physically scarred. Only a fool or a battle-crazed nutjob would welcome war. But there also times when you need to fight and kill to survive and protect what you love. With the Viltrumite Empire remaining the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over Earth, the planet won’t be safe until it’s dealt with for good. And so, Mark and Oliver have to join their dad, Allen, and a newcomer to fight an intergalactic war for the fate of the universe. But first things first: Nolan has to face the music.
Mark Joins the War
So, right as Eve was about to tell Mark that she was expecting, Nolan and Allen show up to recruit him to fight the Viltrumite Empire. Calling the reunion of father and son awkward would be an understatement, though. Mark had made peace with the idea that his dad was likely dead. He acknowledged that he still cares about him, but that doesn’t mean he’s letting everything he did slide! And he doesn’t want to leave his Mom and Eve now! But he also knows that if he doesn’t do this, the Coalition of Planets will lose, and Earth will be royally screwed. So, he’s in.
The worst part about this, though, is that Eve can’t work up the nerve to tell Mark she’s pregnant. She concludes, and not without reason, that telling him he could be a dad soon would convince him to stay behind and raise their child. The universe can’t afford to wait on that. However, after listening to some video essays and thinking it over for myself, I think Eve made a mistake not telling him. Knowing that you’re about to be a parent can be a very good motivator for someone about to go to war. Mark already has skin in the game protecting his home planet, but knowing it would be so his kid could grow up safely would make him fight harder and tank the hits even better. It’s something that I wished the show had changed from the comics, especially given how this episode makes several other changes from the source material.
Time to Face the Music, Nolan
Now that Nolan is back on Earth, he has to face the music for being a planet-sized jerk in the first season. Against everyone’s advice, he decides to speak to Debbie, own up to everything that he did, apologize, and hope to whoever runs the universe that she will forgive him. Or at least make peace.
This is where we get a major change from the comics. In the original story, the two’s reunion is hardly given any time. In the animated series, though, we get several long, awkward minutes as we watch Debbie verbally tear Nolan a new one. For killing all those people. For lying to her and Mark for years and emotionally scarring them. And especially for hooking up with Andressa just a few months after leaving Earth.
You can’t help but cringe as Nolan tries to apologize for everything, especially about the Andressa part where he says that was a mistake. She was willing to accept Oliver and not see him as a sign of infidelity. But to hear him calling Andressa a mistake? That’s basically the same as him saying Oliver was a mistake. One of the cardinal sins of parenting is saying that your child was a mistake!
Ultimately, Debbie will not forgive Nolan for what he did. I’m willing to accept that he’s trying to change, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to forget what he did, and his apology only digs himself deeper. If he was as terrified about Mark getting his powers meaning he would have to go through with his mission, then why did he go through it? He could have told the Guardians of the Globe and the GDA everything and had them start making countermeasures while he left Earth to draw his people away! At least that way, Mark wouldn’t have had to deal with everything the way he did!
Oliver isn’t Happy with Nolan, Either
Speaking of which, another major change to the story has to revolve around the relationship between Nolan and Oliver. In the comics, one of the first things Nolan does is meet his youngest son and ask him to go with him. Instead, he tried to distance himself from Oliver, which comes back to seriously bite him. Once Oliver learns his dad came and didn’t see him, he forces himself onto the march to war, and he’s not happy with Nolan for trying to leave him behind. In other words, Nolan just damaged the one relationship with his family that remains relatively positive. Good going, Nolan!
At least he’s trying, though.
Tech Jacket Deserves her Own Show
The last major change is one that, at first glance, doesn’t make as big of a change as the actual changes to the plot. Enter Tech Jacket, a superhero who is a fusion of Iron Man, the Blue Beetle, and Green Lantern, as well as another creation of Robert Kirkman and the star of their own comic book series. In the comics, the character was a human teenager named Zack Thompson who found a crashed spaceship with a dying alien known as a Geldarian. Incredibly smart but physically weaker than humans, the Geldarians built these high-tech suits of armor to defend themselves, called a Tech Jacket. With the dying alien passing their suit onto Zach, he became stronger than any Geldarian, and became their champion, protecting Earth as well as fighting their enemies, the Kresh. Who, as Omni-Man revealed in ep 2 of the season, were hired by the Viltrumites to do so. In addition, it should be noted that we saw Tech Jacket fight the evil Marks during the Invincible War and managed to kill one of them. That alone makes them a powerhouse.
The main difference? In the show, Tech Jacket is gender-swapped to be a girl named Zoe Thompson.
I have nothing against gender-swapping or gender-bending characters. I’ve seen it before, and when done right, it can open up new avenues for storytelling. And the show didn’t change Tech Jacket’s gender for diversity’s sake. Robert Kirkman himself made this decision, as in the comics, Zach both looks and acts a lot like Mark, but with less trauma. Thus, by making Tech a girl, the show helps to make the character stand out more. And while part of me thinks that the show did this to ship her and Oliver, I forgot a key detail: Oliver ages super fast. He’ll soon be physically older than Zoe, and unless they choose to wait three years, it will be doomed. This show is willing to do a lot, but I think jailbait is one line it won’t cross. Everyone has standards.
A War needs More People to Fight
One thing that wasn’t changed from the comics that I wished was, though, is how few people go from Earth to help fight in the Viltrumite War. Given how big a threat the Empire is, you would think that Cecil wouldn’t take any chances and offer to send the Invincible Reanimen that Sinclaire’s been working on as back up. They might not be able to do much, but having a bunch of elite mooks as backup could help in a scrap. A fact that becomes glaringly obvious in the final third of the episode when the worst happens: the group is ambushed by a Viltrumite Cruiser. And Conquest is one of the three Viltrumites aboard.
Uh oh.
You would think that the rematch between Mark and Conquest would be every bit as epic as round one, but it isn’t. At least, not as good as it couldn’ve been. Given how their first fight broke the Internet, you would think that Amazon would allocate more of the budget to making their rematch even better-looking. But no. The only good thing was seeing how Mark ended their fight…and Conquest.
According to TV Tropes, even the show’s staff and voice actors felt nauseous with what happened. I dont think anyone can blame them, either! The fact that Mark was able to tank that and kill Conquest is the biggest example of how he deserves the name Invincible! AND HE BIT CONQUEST’S THUMB OFF!
Glenn Rhee, thou art avenged. For real this time.
Begun, the Viltrumite War Has
The protagonists ultimately won, but the fact that Mark has his internal organs hanging out of him doesn’t make it feel like much of a victory. Nolan and Oliver will have to look after him, and Zoe and Allen had to pull a Han Solo to hide until they can slip away. The whole thing is a mess, and the Coalition is down three Viltrumites it badly needs. The Viltrumite War has begun, and they’re already at a disadvantage. And we only have three episodes left in the season to get everything done. Amazon is up against the clock and fan expectations for this, and I hope to heaven that they know what they’re doing.
