Invincible – A Lesson for Your Next Life review S2 E1
It isn’t very long into A Lesson for Your Next Life to realize that Invincible is back. And might be exactly what the suddenly tumultuous comic book TV and movie landscape needed.
The secret for Invincible’s success isn’t exactly complex. Robert Kirkman and artists Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley created inarguably the greatest superhero saga outside of the Marvel or DC bubble. And it’s fair to place Invincible’s 144-issue run as at least one of the top five superhero stints of the last two decades.
Unlike most live-action adaptations, Invincible has thrived from a simple idea: using the comic book as the TV series’ North Star and don’t stray far from it.
Given the success of the MCU, which at least through The Infinity Saga thrived from picking and choosing interesting elements of the source material, sticking so slavishly to the comic narrative might seem risky.
But Invincible was beloved by its readership so showrunner Simon Racioppa stuck with what worked. And it’s working big time.
Mark Grayson (Steven Yuen) thought everything was going perfect for him. His parents, Nolan and Debbie (J.K. Simmons and Sandra Oh), were madly in love and he’d found his own romantic connection with Amber (Zazie Beetz).
Even better he’d inherited the powers of his father, who as Omni-Man was the most powerful hero on the planet. Mark adapted the code name Invincible and met a network of super-powered peers including the likable Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs). In all obvious ways, Invincible was playing out like your standard superhero origin story. And then things went disastrous.
Nolan was revealed as the killer of the planet’s greatest protectors. Omni-Man was the advance agent for an alien race focused on conquest. Despite his significant lack of experience and neophyte power development, Invincible battled Omni-Man. This wasn’t some issue where Mark simply wanted it more — Nolan massacred people sometimes taking advantage of Invincible’s abilities to do so — it was the unexpected reality that Nolan couldn’t bring himself to kill his son.
In the aftermath, Mark is still adjusting to life post Omni-Man. His PTSD is very real. Outside of the superhero community and Amber, everyone thinks Nolan died in Omni-Man’s assault.
There’s legitimate emotional weight here as Mark aimlessly helps people in need and stops criminals without sticking around to receive the accolades of being a hero. For him, his role in the loss of lives far outweighs any efforts he does now.
Beyond having such a layered main hero, Invincible’s strength has always been its expansive and deep cast.
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Even better the hourlong format of the show allows these supporting characters like Debbie to have actual compelling subplots. Debbie is angry and hurt over how Nolan humiliated her giving her space for real agency beyond a quick clip begging for more emotional exploration. Mark’s ally, Cecil (Walter Goggins), is leery of letting him back into the field and Guardians of the Globe leader Robot (Zachary Quinto) is feeling the side effects of becoming fully human.
While keeping up with who’s who can be challenging for some, Kirkman, Ottley and Walker’s world building was on the level of Kirby/Lee and Claremont/Byrne. It expands further in A Lesson for Your Next Life but not in a way that’s overwhelming.
Multiverses are all the rage these days and Invincible’s Season 2 kickoff shows it’s got a better handle on the concept than the MCU and ironically is crafted on the same high level of skill as Miles Morales’ Spider-Verse saga.
The Mauler Twins (Kevin Michael Richardson), the humorous brutish-looking genius brawlers get sprung from police authority by Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown). Levy is a smooth talker capable of teleporting throughout the multiverse. In exchange for their aid to help build a better future for humanity, naturally starting with this world, the Twins get their choice of worlds to lead.
Invincible crashes in without fully understanding what’s happening setting up a classic origin story in its own right. Invincible frequently takes these comic book tropes and alters the expected payoff. But sometimes Kirkman just goes the traditional route to tremendous effect.
There was no comedown from the stellar animation. The last episode of Season 1 aired in April 2021. That’s a lengthy wait but if that was due in any part to ensure the animation looked this crisp, the flying so smooth or the fights so forceful than it was worth it.
A Lesson for Your Next Life kicks off a ride that is going to make for an amazing Season 2. The approach and track record thus far all but guarantees this is going to a very memorable and unforgettable season.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Photo Credit: Amazon
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