Invincible 2 Review: superheroes from Prime Video rock
After the college excesses of The Boys Gen V spin-off (here is our review of The Boys Gen V spin-off), on the on-demand streaming platform Prime Video return the adolescent ones of the Invincible animated TV show, which after its great success in 2021 with the first season, finally returns with a new cycle of episodes consisting of eight new installments to be released in two parts starting from November 3.
Based on the pioneering comic book by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, the story centers on 18-year-old Mark Grayson, who is like any other boy his age except that he is the son of Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. Omni-Man comes from a distant world and, in addition to leading the supergroup known as the Guardians, leads a ‘normal person’ existence as a husband and father behind the private identity of Nolan Grayson. Mark has lived his whole life waiting to be able to reap his legacy, and, as planned, shortly after his seventeenth birthday he begins to develop the super-powers hidden in his genetic makeup, overlooking a world of crime-fighting, terrestrial and alien.
Today, still deeply shaken by the dramatic events of the first season finale (about which we make no spoilers), Mark struggles to get going again: finding himself facing a whole range of new threats, Omni-Man’s son will face his greatest fear, that of the risk of becoming like his father without even realizing it.
Invincible 2: the Multiverse trend continues
Invincible is yet another reimagining, with a realistic and ultra-violent flair (and just a few years after the horror film Brightburn), of the story of Superman and the Justice League or, more specifically, of an eventual son of Superman and the other young superheroes who gravitate to the Justice League.
The most eye-opening aspect of Invincible 2, amid exciting twists and turns, alien invasions, and plenty of other superheroes, is how it manages to show and give glimpses in the few episodes that make up the second season, a complex world that goes far beyond Mark and his growing reputation as Invincible, a name that will give rise to many amusing jokes about a perhaps totally misplaced belief.
Invincible 2 also convinces from the point of view of animations, which while never stunning are held to a good standard – however far from the artistic excellence of Blue Eye Samurai (if you missed it, here is our review of Blue Eye Samurai) – and excels in terms of vocal performances, thanks to a first-rate cast that includes Steven Yeun, J. K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Ezra Miller, Mahershala Ali, Jon Hamm and Clancy Brown, among others.
A New Kind of Superhero
It is undeniable that Invincible is able to offer the public a new kind of superhero, at the same time recognizable and different from anything live-action and non-live-action cincomics fans have known over the years when the superhero figure has become increasingly central to popular culture.
This second season also succeeds in tapping into one of the big trends of the moment, that great open-ended storytelling of the Multiverse that we have seen in recent months both in Marvel’s house with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (here is the review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) and in DC’s house (The Flash). Imagine a version of Peter Parker’s teenage troubles squeezed between alien plots, conspiracies and the over-the-top violence of The Boys and you’re only halfway there.
Leave a Comment