The Sneaky Invincible Comics Hints You Missed In Season 2 So Far
Spoilers for "Invincible" follow.
Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley's "Invincible" is an unusual superhero comic. It blends the genre's aesthetics and tropes together into a mighty sweet cocktail, yet it eschews the storytelling mode of these comics: the "floating timeline," where no characters age and the status quo remains supreme. No, "Invincible" is the rare serialized superhero story with linear, forward-moving storytelling and, ultimately, an ending.
Not to worry, though; the first season of Prime Video's "Invincible" series mostly adapted the first 13 issues/three volumes of the comic, out of 144 issues/25 volumes. Even with season 2 finally premiering, the series is nowhere near the comic's conclusion. If all goes as planned, fans will be watching the animated adventures of Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) for many more seasons.
That's not to say season 2 hasn't already teased future storylines. Thus far, "Invincible" has taken an adaptation approach similar to "The Walking Dead," the other TV show based on a Kirkman comic. Namely, the TV series uses the broad outline and beats of the comic but fills in or rearranges some details along the way. So, bear in mind that these easter eggs aren't necessarily spoiler giveaways.
Invincible's new nemesis
The "Invincible" season 2 premiere, "A Lesson For Your Next Life," introduces Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown), a man who can open green-colored portals to alternate dimensions. An attempt to imbue himself with the knowledge of all his multiversal counterparts fails due to Invincible's intervention. The accident leaves Levy deformed (engorged brain tissue grows down from his head across his back and shoulders) and swearing revenge.
Multiverses are the big thing in superhero media right now, but Angstrom's introduction isn't "Invincible" jumping on a bandwagon. No, this episode is largely an adaptation of "Invincible" issue #24 (published in 2005). Levy is also the most prominent non-Viltrumite villain in the comic series. He's the Doctor Octopus to Invincible's Spider-Man; not necessarily the hero's most dangerous adversary, but definitely his most persistent. Leaving him out of the series is simply not a possibility, for it would close the door on too many storylines.
Across almost 80 issues, Levy enacts revenge scheme after revenge scheme. Thanks to his world-trekking powers, he easily learns Mark's secret identity and can strike close to his loved ones. Like any comic book supervillain worth their mettle, he also has a nasty habit of coming back from the dead.
Speaking of, that desolate alternate universe where Angstrom first takes the Mauler Twins? In "Invincible" issue #33, Mark and Angstrom conclude their first real battle in a similar wasteland world, if not the exact same one. Only 2024 will confirm if "Invincible" season 2 ends at that point.
An Invincible universe
Speaking of Levy, the opening of "A Lesson For Your Next Life" adapts issue #16 of "Invincible." That issue opens with a world where Invincible and his father Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) conquered Earth, while Robot and the Immortal lead a resistance (the episode throws in an alternate Atom Eve [Gillian Jacobs] too). The "main" Angstrom rescues his counterpart from that universe.
Angstrom notes that in most universes, Mark teams up with his father and becomes Earth's conqueror, not its hero. This likely sets up one of his future plans to take revenge on Invincible. In the storyline "Invincible War" (unfolding in comic issue #60), Angstrom brings forth evil, alternate versions of Mark from other dimensions. The Mark seen in issue #16/the season 2 premiere had the same suit as his "primary" self, but in "Invincible War," each version has its own distinct costume (to tell them apart in crowd shots). One has the classic Viltrumite look, complete with the mustache, for instance. It takes a full alliance of Earth's heroes to beat this Invincible army back.
"Invincible War" certainly has to be on the docket for an eventual animated adaptation. Whether the show will hold it for a future season or move it up as Angstrom's endgame plan in season 2 remains to be seen.
A new Invincible on the block
A common (temporary) shake-up in superhero comics is to have the lead take a hiatus while someone else steps into a familiar costume. Peter Parker's clone Ben Reilly briefly became Spider-Man during the 1990s, Dick Grayson graduated from Nightwing to Batman when Bruce Wayne was presumed dead following "Batman R.I.P.", etc.
"Invincible" did one of these storylines and the show just introduced the eventual Invincible 2.0 in the season 2 premiere. Who is it? Bulletproof/Zandale Randolph (Jay Pharoah), who lives up to his name via kinetic energy absorption. He's brought onto the Guardians of the Globe by Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) as "extra muscle." The episode doesn't show much beyond him bantering with Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas), but big things are in his future.
Around the midpoint of the "Invincible" comic, Mark gets taken out of action, so Zandale fills in as a new Invincible. He gets a replica costume from Art Rosenbaum (Mark Hamill); the cover of "Invincible" #89 is his suited-up debut and Zandale carries on as Invincible for about 10 issues. A cheeky hint of this is that Zandale's Bulletproof costume is the one that Art first suggested for Mark back in season 1.
Back-up clones
One of the Mauler Twins survives Angstrom's explosive experiment but gets half of his body burned (his scarred skin has faded from blue to grey). This sets up the King Mauler arc, where this scarred Mauler decides to make multiple clones of himself instead of sticking to only a pair of twins.
Speaking of clones and miraculous survivals, Cecil's right-hand man Donald Ferguson (Chris Diamantopoulos) is shown alive and well during "A Lesson For Your Next Life." However, his last appearance during season 1 was being vaporized during a suicide bombing to disable Omni-Man. Even the "Invincible" Twitter account and Kirkman have gotten in on joking about fans' bafflement.
Well, the answer lies in the comics, where Donald is (unbeknownst to him) a cyborg. The obvious answer is that this is true in the series as well. Whether he was already one during the first season or was made one after his death is unclear. Just like how the Maulers refuse to know which one of them is the clone, even Donald himself may not have the answer to his survival.
Eve's concealed powers
Mark is currently with Amber (Zazie Beetz), but sorry (or congratulations) shippers, Invincible/Atom Eve is the series' romantic endgame. Even without knowing that future is ahead of them, Mark and Eve are still close friends. So much so that he could never kill her even if he turned evil. The operative word being kill.
Fitting with the episode's alternate universe opening including Eve, there's a beat (absent from the comic) where Mark snaps her neck to paralyze her from the neck down. She won't back down and he doesn't want to kill her, so permanently incapacitating her is this brutal third option.
Since Mark doesn't fatally wound Eve, the show holds back a revelation about her powers. Eve's ability to rearrange molecules extends to her being able to heal herself; this survival instinct superpower kicks in during near-death experiences. This ability gets her out of a lethal jam more than once and ensures she and Mark live a long life together. However, the show still has a while before it gets to that happy ending, much before it reveals Eve's ability to defy death.
"Invincible" is streaming on Prime Video.