Since its premiere, Amazon Prime’s “Invincible” has made a major splash within the superhero genre. In the first season alone, it garnered a huge, dedicated fan base due to its brutal action scenes and storytelling. The show’s mainstream boost stemmed from the “Think Mark” memes and Omni-Man’s murder of the guardians, which were shared on social media. Additionally, the show was fantastic on its own, which increased anticipation and audience endorsement to continue the show.
To summarize, Mark Grayson is a seemingly normal teenager whose father, Nolan, also called Omni-Man, is the most powerful superhero on the planet. However, his father is not as heroic as he initially believed and hides a dark past that drives the story of Season 1. As more seasons continue, Mark Grayson gains strength and matures into the hero Invincible. During all of this, he has to confront the startling reality that his father, Nolan Grayson, is a member of the Viltrumites, a vicious extraterrestrial empire. Mark must strike a balance between his bravery and the brutality he must use to save the people he loves, as he deals with numerous serious threats throughout the series.
The build-up of many plot elements comes into fruition in Season 3, which first premiered on February 6, 2025. Currently, the reception on pages regarding Season 3 of Invisible came with tons of support. Rotten Tomatoes boasts a strong 100% on the “Tomatometer” and 93% on the “Popcornmeter.” Adding on, other websites such as the Internet Movie Database, also known as IMDB, contains a grade B with its highest episode, “Invincible” Episode 8, “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up”, having a 9.9 rating.
My opinion does not stray from the norm; I believe that this Invincible season is really good, yet it has some flaws from being great. Without spoiling the entire story, Season 3 still lives up to the major hype that comes around regarding “Invincible.” However, one of those major critiques about the show that still hasn’t been fixed since the genesis of the show is the animation issue. I frequently see people say that because American animation and anime stress different things, we shouldn’t compare them. If it weren’t for the fact that “Invincible’s” animation is generally noticeably worse than that of other American animated series. A lot of the show’s animation seems choppy and rushed to quickly finish the season. It’s strange since “Invincible” takes years to animate, and still, the animation still seems subpar. One of the richest firms in the world, Amazon, produces the television program “Invincible,” which is a very successful show. You would anticipate that it would have a significant animation budget, given its popularity. However, “Invincible” still lacks in certain areas, such as general animation fluidity and fight choreography, despite other shows like “The Boys” showing great, highly produced cinematography.
However, I can confidently say that the writing and storytelling aspect is way sharper and more defined. Side characters that seemed to be background characters are now enjoyable to watch since Season 1. Notable examples are Rex Splode, who easily became one of my favorite characters to watch in the show. Earlier seasons needed to rely on a strong central theme like “Invincible’s” multi-layered narratives to show the best of this drama, such as Omni-Man’s encroaching shadow, Earth’s imminent destruction, and Mark Grayson’s identity crisis. Yet, now side stories are deep, emotional, and impactful.
Yet, I do feel that there is still a lot to work on the central plot. The season alternates between Mark’s psychological strife, the Viltrumite danger, Angstrom Levy’s retaliation, and Atom Eve’s personal development rather than concentrating on a single, overarching conflict. Even if each of these components is strong on its own, they don’t necessarily work well together. Some plots seem hurried, while others stretch on indefinitely with no obvious conclusion.
But still, Mark’s writing is still great and is one of the best things about this season. He is forced to confront his worst fears this season: Will he end up looking like Omni-Man? Or will the Viltrumite blood in his veins ever leave him? Mark makes the audacious but dangerous narrative decision to spend a large portion of the season reflecting on himself rather than acting. We get a Mark who struggles, doubts, and frequently feels helpless despite his abilities, rather than the lost young hero we saw in Season 1.
Other than the animation issue, the casting is still great as ever. Notable voice actors such as Steven Yeun, the voice of Invincible, are still amazing and start to get better as the season goes on. Gillian Jacobs as Atom Eve’s voice actor is also great. Not to mention the final villain voice actor is probably one of the greatest characters to come from the show. The best thing to come out of the season is its final episode. Viltrumites are still one of the best story points regarding the show, and it definitely delivers in its final episode. This season as a whole, in my opinion, stands quite strongly with Season 1, and I believe that “I Thought You’d Never Shut Up,” rivals the Season 1 finale as one of the best episodes of the show Moreover, the animation peaks in episode 8, where the choreography is at its best and its fluidity is at its strongest. It also delivers one of the best heart-wrenching writing in “Invincible.” The season’s themes, in my opinion, also permeate the final episode. For example, Mark’s journey of self-examination regarding his ideals and what it takes to be the best hero he can be is a beautiful result of the trauma he experienced at the end of Season 2, and it unfolds in such a natural escalation that every new event challenges those ideals from a slightly different angle, forcing him to consider more than just whether or not he has moral superiority. I believe you even felt off in the beginning episodes. The final episode is enough for all the time you dedicated to watching this show. This final episode is one of the best of the entire series.
Overall, the season is great, and it sometimes peaks higher than Season 1, yet it still has flaws. A compelling, emotionally complex, and brutally harsh chapter in Mark Grayson’s journey was presented, and it was what made this season so great. If you still like brutal fight science in a greatly written drama series, “Invincible” is still one of the strongest shows out right now.
