Invincible: 10 Ways It’s The Most Realistic Superhero Show

Though Amazon produced an animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker’s comic series of the same name, Invincible is ironically one of the most realistic superhero shows currently airing. The show follows the exploits of Mark Grayson, a seventeen-year-old who has just discovered he inherited his alien father’s incredible powers.

To be a hero like his dad was all Mark ever wanted, but unfortunately for him, it’s not quite that simple. The villains, and sometimes the heroes, Mark and his friends fight don’t pull any punches. Mark quickly and harshly learns that the world of superheroes is not as glamorous as it looks.

10 A Teenager’s Reaction To Getting Powers

Mark’s father is the most powerful and experienced hero on the planet and, yet, one of the first things Mark does when he gets his powers is to ignore his father’s direction. Mark’s youth and inexperience are obvious in a lot of the decisions he makes, but he still originally rebels against training. Cecil jokingly tells Omni-Man, “You’re the most powerful man on the planet, but even your kid won’t listen to you.”

Mark reacts to his new abilities like a lot of teenagers probably would if they suddenly found themselves to be “invincible.” He stands up to the school bully, goes looking for a fight, obsesses about being the best, and takes his phone on a mission to space. He also finds that, despite his name, he cannot immediately handle the pressure, blood, and violence that living the life of a hero puts on him.

9 Cheesy One-Liners

No matter who the superhero is, they have a catchphrase, gimmick, or string of one-liners. Heroes like Spider-Man, Deadpool, and others are especially known for their quick wits that help keep battles interesting for readers and watchers.

Invincible and his villains are surprisingly self-aware about this common trope, however. When Invincible battles “Doc Seismic” in episode 3, he confesses that he has been putting a lot of effort into his one-liners but they still need work, as do his foe’s comebacks.

8 Having Competition From Fellow Teams

The inadequacy of the superhero team “Fight Force” is a running joke on Invincible. Rival superhero teams are not uncommon in the comic book world. While there can be competition between heroes, they are often pretty evenly matched. Rivals can fight or team up as necessary, but there is a begrudging respect underneath the initial dislike.

Though the viewers never actually see Fight Force in action, the Teen Team turned Guardians makes it clear that they are hardly “rivals” or “competition.” Nobody likes them or takes them seriously, which is what one should expect in a world full of superheroes – somebody has to be the worst.

7 Mark’s Priorities

Even before getting his powers, Mark had a lot going on in his life. His best friend, William, complains that Mark always has to work, to which Mark replies because “comic books are expensive.” Mark eventually quits his job after saving the world causes him to be late repeatedly, but the rest of his life doesn’t get any easier.

He’s predictably bad at juggling his responsibilities as a hero with school, dating, and friendships. His relationships and grades suffer so much that he considers giving up being a superhero. Invincible is a great example of a very human response to conflicting priorities, especially when so much pressure is placed on a teenager.

6 The Explanation Of Secret Identities

Atom Eve doesn’t wear any kind of mask when she is using her powers, but she also doesn’t employ the typical glasses and ponytail routine often used by heroes to conceal their civilian identities. Her name, Eve, is even the same as her hero name, but only Mark makes the connection between the two when he sees Eve at school after fighting beside her.

Mark poses the question that has long been a joke among comic fans when it comes to superheroes’ identities: why does no one recognize heroes through their simple disguises? Eve explains the concept to Mark, and viewers, logically by saying, “It’s a psychology thing. If you don’t expect to see a superhero in your school, you don’t see a superhero in your school.”

5 Mark Misuses His Powers

Comic fans have often wondered how heroes like Spider-Man and Superman can lift buildings but also have the control to punch people without killing them. Invincible shows what happens to people when Mark gets carried away or isn’t trying to pull his punches. At one point, he absentmindedly kicks a rock and sends it into someone’s house, taking a section of the roof off before the rock continues into the sky.

In episode 6, Mark is emotional from a recent battle and break-up and backhands the villain he is fighting, knocking his jaw out of place. Viewers see in the final episode of season 1 what unfortunately happens when regular people crash into Mark and he isn’t able to soften the impact.

4 Humanitarian Missions

Atom Eve has the ability to alter the subatomic structure of organic and inorganic matter. After spending several years as a traditional hero, she realizes that her powers could easily be used for much more and sets out to “make the kind of world [she wants] to live in.”

She saves people from natural disasters, helps provide much-needed resources, and generally spreads goodwill. Given the powers and resources of many comic characters, you would think that humanitarian goals such as Eve’s would be a higher priority on heroes’ lists, but they rarely seem to see past their current bad guys.

3 The Family Dynamics

Mark may have near god-like abilities to rival his dad’s, but at the end of the day, he is still a kid. He finds that becoming a superhero didn’t change the fact that sometimes he just needed his mom’s help. Mark’s mom, Debbie, tells him that his dad doesn’t talk about his feelings much, but that doesn’t mean Mark can’t share how he’s feeling with her. She is always there for him, even if she sometimes feels left out because she doesn’t know what it’s like to have powers.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Eve’s parents do not understand her powers at all and they don’t want to. They strongly disagree with her choice to be a hero. They fear her, but they believe that they can control her. “Controlled and misunderstood” is a common backstory for villains, but it seems like heroes rarely have such unsupportive families.

2 Heavy Amounts of Casualties

In episode 2 of Invincible, aliens invade the planet for just a few minutes before realizing they can’t spend an extended amount of time on Earth without aging rapidly. Even in that short time, though, they manage to kill 338 people. Invincible is not shy about portraying heavy casualties.

Mark quickly has to come to terms with the fact that every fight the heroes participate in has collateral damage. Showing the immense devastation caused by battles is something other superhero media often avoids, but like the show’s opening title card, Invincible and its characters get progressively bloodier as the show goes on.

1 Characters Who Aren’t Oblivious

Amber, Mark’s girlfriend, figured out early on from Mark’s constant tardiness and lame excuses that he was Invincible. In her own words, she saw through his lies “because [she’s] not an idiot.” She waits to tell him she knows his secret, though, because she wants him to trust her with it. Unfortunately for both of them, he waits too long and, by the time he tells her the truth, she has had enough. To Mark’s dismay, both William and Eve agreed with Amber that the charade he had tried to keep up was stupid and unfair.

Amber doesn’t automatically forgive Mark because he comes clean, understandably being hurt, but she does come around later on when she realizes how much he had been going through. Amber is a refreshing superhero love interest in that she’s not a pushover who is willing to accept any lie she is told, but she seemingly accepts that she doesn’t understand the position the hero is in where they have to make hard decisions.

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