Invincible Animated Series

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Batgirl III
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Invincible Animated Series

Post by Batgirl III »

I had absolutely no idea that this was even in the works, but as a pleasant surprise it popped up on the top of my recommended list. But the wonderful Image Comics series Invincible is now an animated series!

My eldest Young Ward and I watched the first episode tonight. It’s not a straight page-to-screen retelling of the comic book, but it hits all the major story beats that the first 3-4 issues of the comic did. Robert Kirkman, who created and wrote the comic, is the sole writer credited for the first episode, which probably explains why it’s both so different from the comic and yet so true to the heart of the story.

The animation quality is top notch, the voice actors are wonderful (J.K. Simmons is Omni-Man! ‘Nuff said!) and the music is great too.
Spoiler
And the scene where Omni-Man massacres the Guardians doesn’t spare the audience from a single drop of the blood, gore, and entrails that the comic had. If anything, seeing it happen in motion makes it even more brutal.
I can’t wait to watch the rest!

Five out of Five Batarangs!
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Shock
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Shock »

Bleh, the gore was the biggest turnoff of the entire series for me and completely unnecessary.
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by MacynSnow »

I can understand why Kirkman did all the gore & such(he was deconstructing the Superhero genre, especially the "EXTREME!!" 90's), i don't like the thought of kids as young as 10-11 watching this stuff(noting Ironically that, as a child of the 80's, my opinions on popular media is definitely warped).
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Batgirl III
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Batgirl III »

Kids as young at 10-11 shouldn’t be watching this series, at least not without proper parental supervision. Just because it’s animated and/or about superheroes doesn’t mean it’s family friendly fare...

Amazon explicitly rates the series as 18+ and displays a banner across the screen that says “Warning: mature content: This animated series is intended for mature audiences only. Viewer discretion is advised.” before you even click on it.

Having already read the first several trade paperbacks of the comic, I figured that the warning was probably due to profanity and violence... and those aren’t things that I am worried about my teenaged sidekick seeing in animated form. Your mileage may vary, of course, so use your own judgement with your kids.
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Ares
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Ares »

I'm going to hold off on this one for a bit. I love flying brick superheroes and love the idea of the focus being on one, but if Kirkman is heavily involved, I think I'm going to stay away until I hear how things are working out.

I was a pretty big fan of Invincible initially. It felt like a real superhero series at a time when DC and Marvel felt like they were going off track (Avengers Dissassembled, House of M, and Identity Crisis were all happening around this time) and it was nice to see a series that embraced older comic fun. And while the series was definitely more violent and gory than I usually like, there were still plenty of fun superhero shenanigans to keep me entertained.

But as time went on, more and more things I didn't care for started to work their way into the story. The Viltrumites developed the "Kryptonian/Sayian" problem where they were more or less unstoppable, and if you didn't have Viltrumite DNA and weren't named Allen, then 9 times out of 10 you really didn't matter. Then things got darker, we got ass pulls on Robot being to take over, Mark never really seemed to learn from his mistakes, he gave up too easily at times, and after a certain point I just gave up on the book. When it ended I gave the issues I missed a read and . . . well, pretty much confirmed I was right to quit.

After a certain point, I couldn't decide if Invincible was a condemnation of superheroes in general, or if Mark is just a terrible superhero. Or maybe it's both.

Basically, Mark showcases why a secret identity is so important. Once Mark starts hanging around with superheroes almost exclusively, he basically ignores any normal people in his life save for his mom. He doesn't do normal things, he never has to come up with creative excuses to leave, he never has to work to protect his identity, he never learns how to juggle a normal life with a superhero life. He pretty much lives his life solely as a superhero, and it causes him immense problems.

Mark also never develops any independence. Once his dad gets exposed he starts working for Cecil, and gets used to being told what to do. He allows himself to be controlled, which allows him to be manipulated into doing terrible things by Dinosaurus and Robot. Ironically, the one of the only times he doesn't go with the flow is when some aliens give him the chance to go back and fix his mistakes, but he eventually chooses to return to the present. But throughout his life, Mark is basically told what to do by people in authority, which likely leads to him deciding that the world works best when there's one strong authority figure telling everyone what to do.

You almost can't blame Mark for coming to that conclusion, since there's this weird message throughout the book about how a benevolent tyrant is basically a good thing. When Robot takes over, most people are actually fine with it. Even the superhero resistance largely decides to go along with it. And in the end, because Mark is so disconnected from normal humanity, rather than try to integrate the Viltrumites with humans (humans having basically restored Viltrumite notions of compassion and empathy), Mark decides to become dictator, lead his people into space, and basically tell everyone else in the universe how to run their planets. So as long as the benevolent dictator is telling everyone to get along, I guess it's okay.

There was also a general dismissal of being a superhero in general, to the point that it felt like Kirkman was deconstructing superheroes and that, ultimately, they were a dumb concept that needed to be left behind.

I've got no interest in seeing an animated series that goes down a similar route, especially if Kirkman is writing it. I might give it a watch later on depending on what I've heard, but for now I hope everyone that's enjoying it continues to do so.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Batgirl III »

I’ve only seen the first episode of the three available so far. I’m hoping that Kirkman has decided to revisit some of the storylines from the comic... There are enough changes between the first episode and the first couple comics issues to make me think that this isn’t going to be a straight re-telling. With only eight episodes to work with, hopefully there will be a tighter focus on a single narrative through line and less need to resort to some of the padding and “writing myself into a corner” that the comics had.

It’s definitely deconstructing of some of the same superhero tropes the comic did, but that’s kind of expected.
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by MacynSnow »

I will say this about Kirkman, he tries to make his Television/Animated stuff different from his Comic stuff.The Walking Dead is a fantastic example of this, btw. Daryl(played with perfect Redneckness by Norman Reddus) doesn't exist in the Comics; Andrea got a lot more Character development in the Comics; Carol was killed off in the first 12 issues(wherein the TV she's really important), etc.

Main point is, hopefully the man'll change enough of it to make it more hopefull.
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Uncanny »

I'm fan of the first 3 episodes, and the soundtrack slaps. The gore isn't a turn off, and the voice acting is superb
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Ares
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Ares »

So despite that big long rant I went on earlier, I decided to give the show a try, and found myself quite enjoying it. The animation and voice acting is top notch, the fight scenes are kinetic and well choreographed, and I find the show vastly improves the comic it's based on.

One thing I actually appreciate is how the power gap between the Viltrumites and other heroes isn't as big as in the comics. When the Guardians of the Globe fight Omni-Man, they put up a damn good fight. You actually get the feeling they could have won . . . if Red Rush and Darkwing weren't a couple of morons who decided to CQC the Superman Expy instead of contributing in other helpful ways. The fight was brutal, but at least the heroes went down swinging. Further, I liked the fight between the Guardians and the Mauler Twins, it was nice to see a team of heroes actually being professional, heroic and prioritizing evacuation before fighting the bad guys.

The series does a lot to make certain characters more likable. The scene where Robot basically mercy kills his original self is treated as genuinely tragic and heartbreaking. They also play up his awkwardness and make him more likable and relatable when he tries to explain his situation to the team.

Immortal's solo fight with Omni-Man is probably one of my favorite Flying Brick fights in animation. It looks great, and once again, Immortal gives a damn good showing during the battle. It manages to convey both that Omni-Man is more powerful, but that Immortal is still powerful enough to hurt and fight him. That moment where he goes for Omni-Man's eyes while still impaled on his fist made me cheer for the guy, even though I knew what was about to happen.

Take away Immortal getting holes punched in him and dismembered, and that fight was basically the Flying Brick equivalent of a Hulk vs Thing fight.

On the other hand, when the show doesn't want you to like a character, they're REALLY unlikable. Rex Splode is . . . well, it's always satisfying to see him get put in his place. My favorite might be the bit with Black Samson.

Samson: "I've been with the Guardians since Day One."
Rex: "Thanks 'Dad'. Maybe if you hadn't lost your powers, you'd have been able to help the Guardians on their LAST day."
Samson: "I don't know you. So I'm going to assume that was a joke so I don't have to beat your ass until you want to call me 'Dad' again."

I mean, damn.

Amber also comes off as basically a huge, ungrateful b**** for how she treats Mark. Plus William blaming Mark for what happened to Rick, but the Reani-Man who captured William WAS Rick, so it was already too late to save him. Mark screws up a bit, but he keeps getting blamed for stuff that really isn't his fault.

Having Omni-Man kill the Guardians off at the start was definitely the right move, as it lends to the mystery aspect, allowing other characters to figure it out, and it makes the reveal of Omni-Man's villainy something several people figured out and is what pushes him to start behaving more erratically.

Overall, the series is a definite improvement over the comic, and I can't wait to see this week's episode.

There's still some weird choices, such as the whole "we changed the ethnicity of the character to match their voice actor" bit. I mean, the whole point of voice acting is so that you find the right voice for the character, not that you change the character to fit the voice. Otherwise Samurai Jack would have been black, ditto Penny, etc.

It's also funny reading the shows TV Tropes page. You get people talking about how Doc Seismic is some "Hidden Depths Villain" because he minored in Women's Studies and starts spouting off things about Eve's costume and the Patriarchy like this makes him a more complex villain, rather than realizing that they're making fun of those kinds of people.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Batgirl III »

I’m not sure why they decided to muck about with the characters ethnicities (e.g., Amber is now black) or sexes (e.g., Shrinking Ray is now Shrinking Rae), but I don’t think the show suffers for it in any noticeable way.

I really hope they can continue this level of quality in future seasons.
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

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Batgirl III wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:46 pm I’m not sure why they decided to muck about with the characters ethnicities (e.g., Amber is now black) or sexes (e.g., Shrinking Ray is now Shrinking Rae), but I don’t think the show suffers for it in any noticeable way.

I really hope they can continue this level of quality in future seasons.
The show doesn't suffer for it, but it's still weird to me. But I tend to stick with the notion of "stick with the source material unless you've got a good reason not to". And with Shrinking Ray and Green Ghost I at least understand wanting to add some more women to the series and both of those characters were very minor ones, so the changes aren't as huge as it could have been.

I do hope the shows continues this level of quality and improves on the source material. Honestly, I'd have no problem with the show completely re-writing later events rather than how Kirkman took things, given he clearly lost interest in the series at a certain point. you saw shades of it following the first Viltrumite War, and it had definitely set in by the time Robot became full on evil, which I hope they avoid.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Ares »

Jesus. That was an emotional rollercoaster.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by MacynSnow »

Welcome to Whedon Television: Your Emotional pain gives Joss & Kirkman Strength! :D
The man wrote in a scene where a BABY gets gunned down in a Comic, what didja expect, Happy Hugs&Kisses?!
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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Ares »

MacynSnow wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 10:48 pm Welcome to Whedon Television: Your Emotional pain gives Joss & Kirkman Strength! :D
The man wrote in a scene where a BABY gets gunned down in a Comic, what didja expect, Happy Hugs&Kisses?!
Honestly, the scene that really got me had nothing to do with the blood, the violence, the gore, the innocent death, etc. It was . . .
Spoiler
. . . that flashback where Nolan watches Mark play baseball.

It was basically written in such a way that I think even people without children would understand on some level what being a parent is. If you had to show aliens something about humanity to sell us on not being completely terrible, this would be a good choice.

You see an alien with a truly alien mindset, someone who measures his lifespan in multiple millennia, who viewed children as more of a responsibility than a miracle of life, finally get it. Finally drop his guard and really connect with someone completely.

It cements Nolan's journey throughout Season 1 as the tragedy it is. We've seen that when Nolan is being himself, he's a good husband, a good father, a good hero, a good friend and a good man. But he's someone who's been conditioned to believe that when you live for thousands of years in an empire that doesn't value an individual beyond their strength, then he believes all he has to live for is that empire. After all, the empire is the only thing that will be around even after your gone, so what else could you possible live for?

And so a good man does terrible thing after terrible thing, trying to convince everyone (especially himself) that he's still the loyal Viltrumite soldier, that he doesn't care about his wife or his son or his friends or even people in general. He forces himself to be the most absolute worst version of himself because to do otherwise would be to admit that the empire was a lie. That who he is isn't carved in stone. That beings whose lives are measured in decades could change someone who hasn't changed in millennia.

So when he tries to do the one thing that he knows would cement this, to kill his son and just start over with a new one . . . he can't do it. There's a moment when he looks at Mark and just realizes the horrible thing he's done to his son, and he has to look away. But then you see him force himself to get angry, to push that emotion down and try to make it Mark's fault for not simply accepting the Viltrumite way, for not accepting all the things Nolan himself was taught. Only for Mark to cut through all of the Viltrumite indoctrination, through hundreds of years of cruelty and every lie Nolan has told himself since he first killed the Guardians: Instead of living for an empire, he could have been living for his family. That even after hundreds of years, they could have still had each other.

And the animators just capture the moment when Nolan breaks completely. It's AMAZING to watch all of the emotions just flood through him and he realizes just what he's done, what he made himself do and how he traded his happy, wonderful life for an empire he isn't truly a part of anymore.

It's heartbreaking to watch just how much damage this man did to his family, his friends, his world and to himself in pursuit of a dream he didn't realize until the very end that he'd stopped believe in.

It reminds me so much of that Invincible issue where Mark is sent back in time and is able to stop his dad from killing the Guardians of the Globe, and once Nolan calms down he is just broken. He's horrified by what he did in his anger, what he almost did to Mark, his friends, and he THANKS Mark for stopping him from becoming that worst version of himself.

Incidentally, that storyline was basically a perfect example of why comics Mark sucked at being a hero.

But yeah, that whole trip with Omni-Man and Mark, that weak "You, dad. I'd still have you" that is just heartbreaking, the whole thing was just an emotional gut punch that leaves bruises.
All that said, I hope the show continues on as it is and continues to improve on stuff the comics tended to mess up. I honestly hope we see some more drastic changes to the story, possibly avoid the more frustrating aspects from later on in the series (Robot going evil, Mark abandoning Earth, Mark being an idiot, etc.).
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Invincible Animated Series

Post by Curbludgeon »

Having never read the comic, and acknowledging there are differences, I'm curious as to roughly which issue the season reached.
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