Invincible – Where I Really Come From review S1 E8
We had to sweat it out as it seemed to basically come down to the wire, but Invincible got renewed for two more seasons on the eve of the season finale, Where I Really Come From.
Given the magnificent way Where I Really Come From played out, not getting multiple seasons of Invincible announced would have been concerning. Thankfully all the decision makers at Amazon Studios can take a well-deserved bow for making what had to have been one of the easiest decisions they’ve had to make in terms of series renewals.
I’ve been saying it throughout this season, but Invincible is already shaping up to be one of the all-time great animated comic book series. It’s no great mystery and the series isn’t doing anything that other shows couldn’t have done. For whatever reason too many comic book cartoon series ditch the source material in favor of reinventing the wheel.
That approach can work see Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, but there’s something special watching classic comic book stories faithfully brought to animated life. The second season of The Fantastic Four was a great example and Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had an acclaimed two seasons simply from following the path already chartered by comic book legends.
So it’s actually possible to adapt straight from the comic and make a great series. Invincible is on a path to be the best example if the subsequent seasons stay on this course.
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Invincible writer Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) wrote this episode just for that final added measure of authenticity. Not surprisingly, Kirkman delivers all of the intended emotional notes and legit horror of two supermen battling around the world as Mark confronts his father, Omni-Man.
Like a good “villain,” Nolan takes time to explain Where I Really Come From in order to calm Mark down and prevent things from further escalating. Omni-Man and his fellow Viltrumites eschew Apocalypse’s creed of survival of the fittest and had a Thanos-style decimation of half their population to ensure only the strongest survive. The Viltrumites have happily spread their conquest throughout the galaxy decimating anyone that came across their path. And Nolan was assigned Earth.
This doesn’t work out so well setting up one of the most cataclysmic fights in superhero history. There’s always that question with Invincible if the violence is too much and if the action is just gratuitous for the sake of it.
Where I Really Come From leans hard into gory action, but the episode wouldn’t have been as effective if it went the standard superhero/supervillain slugfest route. It shows the repercussions of these kinds of battles on the random people caught in the middle.
Watching this play out in the comic is one thing, but seeing the full carnage in animated form is on a different scale. And the voice performances from Steven Yeun and J.K. Simmons was on another level as they bring out so many emotions from anger, disappointment, frustration and love.
This first arc is what really set Invincible apart from other non-Marvel or DC Comics as it doesn’t play out the way you’d expect. The episode allows for that emotional fallout from the big battle and doesn’t rush to establish a new status quo without taking into account how characters would realistically react. That’s especially true for Debbie and Cecil.
Kirkman also makes sure to spend some time with some of the established subplots and supporting characters while teasing a glimpse of what’s to come. And there’s so much more in store with a plethora of new characters, enemies and challenging scenarios for Invincible to face.
The future is bright for Amazon Studios’ new hit series and it’s on a path to a Hall of Fame of animated comic series run if this first season was any indication.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Photo Credit: Amazon Studios