Invincible – A Deal with the Devil review S3 E2

A Deal with the Devil is one of the layered episodes of Invincible’s three seasons. The episode looks at Mark and Cecil’s biggest fallout yet from two very different perspectives without establishing a narrative of who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s a more nuanced matter as both have strong convictions for their decisions yet can’t see the other’s point of view.

Instead of dropping right back into last episode’s cliffhanger, Deal with the Devil starts off with a flashback of a much younger Cecil who tangles with superpowered terrorists Knucklebuster (Kari Wahlgren) and Force Fist (Chris Diamantopoulos) who are intent on unleashing a devastating gas bomb that could kill thousands.

After enduring an intense beating, Cecil is able to trap the two in the gas holding chamber, but enough seeps out that it dramatically damages his skin. The only section that is not replaced by a second skin is the section near his cheek that he keeps as a reminder. Fast forward sometime later and Cecil is with Global Defense Agency supervisor Radcliffe (Bokeem Woodbine) trying to stave off one of the Lizard League.

Things aren’t looking great when suddenly Knucklebuster and Force Fist arrive to save them. Cecil is aghast that Radcliffe would bring back these psychopaths to offer them a shot at redemption not understanding his philosophy of how to make a deal with the devil. Rather than give him a chance to explain, Cecil shoots the would-be reformed villains in the head.

That can’t go unpunished, so Cecil is sent to a supervillain prison with a cellmate who murdered his last roomie. Three years later, Cecil has brought order to the prison like Radcliffe figured he’d do.

Radcliffe is getting a promotion and offers Cecil his spot and some sage advice: You can be the good guy or the guy who saves the world. You can’t be both.

That takes Deal with the Devil back to the present. Mark is enraged that Cecil would partner with Darkwing II and D.A. Sinclair to utilize the ReAnimen. Invincible has very personal stakes given what Sinclair did to Rick and William and isn’t interested in Cecil’s explanation in a very clear reversal of roles when Cecil saw Radcliffe’s vision.

MORE:

• Ready or Not 2 Here I Come review (2026)
• MOTU Masterverse New Etheria Hordak review (2025)
• Daredevil: Born Again – The Hateful Darkness review S2 E7
• Image Comics reviews 4/22/26 – Void Rivals 29, Corpse Knight 1

Cecil doesn’t want to hurt Mark, but his temper is clearly getting the better of him as he trashes the ReAnimen so he triggers a device that disrupts his inner ear balance. The GDA needed a device to stop a Viltrumite especially after the terror Omni-Man leveled against the city during his rampage.

Mark tries to get away, but Cecil has the GDA take him down though not until Invincible arrives at the Guardians’ HQ. While Cecil wants them to stay out of it, they help Invincible and Robot blocks the frequency of Cecil’s device. This leads to a very tense confrontation between Cecil and Mark, who warns him never to come after him or his family again.

Back home, Oliver wants to know why Mark didn’t just kill Cecil, which naturally concerns Debbie and Mark. Oliver’s more aggressive nature is very different from his brother’s and seems likely to cause problems sooner than later.

The Guardians are also trying to make sense of what happened as Immortal, Kate and Samson return. Most of the Guardians who were there for the battle –Bulletproof, Rex, Rae, Monster Girl and Robot — are rightfully concerned that Cecil could turn on them as easily as he did Invincible. Immortal might be the leader, but his heavy-handed approach just pushes the disgruntled Guardians further away and they leave the team leaving Immortal, Kate, Samson and Shapeshift behind.

Cecil knows the remaining Guardians are severely undermanned now and proposes Darkwing II for membership. Immortal has no problem bringing him onboard suggesting that he already understands the lesson it took Cecil years to get and Mark is still learning.

With his emotions tempered, Mark tries to smooth things over with Eve about starting a relationship. That doesn’t go over as well as telling William and Rick that Sinclair isn’t in prison. It almost felt like Mark didn’t need to pass that news along since he couldn’t provide any happy news or a positive outcome for them. In a lighter moment in Deal with the Devil, Debbie goes out on a date with Paul. These Debbie scenes aren’t full of action and suspense but shows the emotional toll a mother faces with a superhero son, which lends credence to the value of a secret identity.

Back to the flashback, Donald welcomes Cecil as the new GDA director. It definitely doesn’t seem like the staff are thrilled to see Cecil. He’s also getting irritated with the GDA staff and their lackadaisical approach to the workload, but it’s all hands-on deck when Omni-Man debuts. Cecil directly goes to meet him and breaks down their interaction with Donald afterward.

Proving he had the right mindset all along, Cecil immediately tells Donald he doesn’t trust Omni-Man’s stated peace mission, but he can be a valuable ally. As he walks off, he tells Donald the same message Radcliffe relayed to him: We can be the good guys or the guys that save the world. We can’t be both.

Deal with the Devil has an eventful post credit as Eve and Mark decide they do want to try a relationship. At least one of Mark’s relationships is heading down the right path. Deal with the Devil certainly left an open-ended question as to whose approach in this super-powered world is the right one and this season should prove fascinating in terms of who is correct.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: Amazon

Revisit Deal with the Devil and the rest of Invincible Season 3 now on Amazon Prime.

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.