Invincible (TV series)

Invincible is an adult animated superhero television series created by Robert Kirkman for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video, based on the Image Comics comic book series of the same name he co-created with Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley. It is produced by Skybound Entertainment, Wind Sun Sky Entertainment, Point Grey Pictures, and Amazon MGM Studios. The series follows teenager Mark Grayson and his transformation into a superhero under the guidance of his father, Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. During his transformation, Mark finds himself struggling between his personal life and superhero duties, and is forced to prove that he can be the hero that his father is, unaware that there is a sinister conspiracy going on that threatens the world, and will leave him questioning the true nature of his role. Steven Yeun stars in the series as Mark Grayson / Invincible alongside Sandra Oh and J. K. Simmons as Mark's mother and father, respectively, while the remaining cast members have recurring roles.
Invincible premiered in March 2021, concluding its first season of eight episodes in April. Following the season finale, Amazon renewed the series for a second and third season. A prequel special, Invincible: Atom Eve, was released in July 2023, ahead of the eight-episode second season, which was divided into two parts; the first was released in November 2023, and the second from March to April 2024. The third eight-episode season premiered between February and March 2025. Three months after the second season finale, Invincible was renewed for a fourth season.
The series has received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, action sequences, story, voice performances (particularly Yeun, Oh and Simmons), and emotional weight.
Mark Grayson is a seemingly normal teenager whose father Nolan is the most powerful superhero on the planet. Shortly after his 17th birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own and learns how to wield them with help from his father, who turns out to not be as heroic as he thought, as he hides a dark secret, which starts to slip when he brutally murders the members of the world's greatest superhero team, the Guardians of the Globe.
A live-action film based on the Image Comics comic book series Invincible was revealed in April 2017 to be in development at Universal Pictures, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who were fans of the comics, hired as the writers and directors. The duo were set to produce the film alongside James Weaver through their company Point Grey Pictures, while Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman also joined to produce alongside David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst through his company Skybound Entertainment, which had a first-look deal with Universal for the film. However, when the series was announced, the film remained in hiatus, until on January 26, 2021, it was revealed that the film was still in development and would exist separately from the series. In a 2023 interview, Rogen stated that the animated series has had a strong influence on the live-action film version in development with Universal, which is essentially being developed as a live-action version of the animated series.
On August 11, 2017, Kirkman signed a deal with Amazon to develop various series for Amazon Prime Video, with his company Skybound Entertainment. However, it was revealed that series that are already in production or development with other studios, will not be developed for Amazon. Kirkman revealed that he was interested on developing a series of the Invincible comic series, but that would not be possible at the moment because Universal was developing a film based on the comic series.
However, on June 19, 2018, it was announced that Amazon had given a series order to the project for a first season consisting of eight episodes. It was also revealed that the series would be animated and its episodes would be hourlong. Simon Racioppa serves as showrunner for the series and also serves as executive producer alongside Kirkman, David Alpert, and Catherine Winder. Production companies involved with the series include Skybound. Coincidentally, executive producers Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (who also provides a voice on the show) are working on a live-action film adaptation of the comic, which is separate from the animated series, as co-directors, writers, and producers.
On April 29, 2021, after the release of the final episode of the first season, Amazon renewed the series for a second and third season. In April 2023, series creator Robert Kirkman stated that the second season would focus on Angstrom Levy, a supervillain with access to multiple dimensions. In April 2024, Amazon was reported to have renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season, although IGN subsequently reported this was not accurate. In May 2024, Ross Marquand said that season 3 "is nearly finished" and is to be released in early 2025. In July 2024, Amazon officially renewed the series for a fourth season.
On January 31, 2019, the cast of the series was revealed, with Steven Yeun to portray Mark Grayson / Invincible and J. K. Simmons portraying Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man. Sandra Oh, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Malese Jow, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder also joined the cast of the series. On July 18, 2020, Robert Kirkman confirmed the casting in a live video on Twitter.
Yeun and Oh are both of Korean descent. Oh's character Debbie Grayson was made to be Korean American in the animated adaptation, with her son Mark Grayson being half-Korean. Their Korean identity is not directly mentioned in the show, but a painting featuring Hangul (안녕, annyeong, 'hello') is depicted in the Grayson home. The decision came from a desire to increase diverse representations in the show. Similarly, Amber Bennett, Mark's ex-girlfriend, was made an African American teenager in the adaptation. The character of William, Mark's best friend, is openly gay.
In January 2025, it was announced that Aaron Paul, Simu Liu, Jonathan Banks, Kate Mara, Xolo Maridueña, John DiMaggio, Tzi Ma, Doug Bradley, and Christian Convery would join the voice cast for season 3.
In February 2025, Kirkman stated that Bryan Cranston was offered a role multiple times for three seasons, but turned it down.
When the show was confirmed to be animated, it was confirmed that Wind Sun Sky Entertainment and its partner company, Skybound North, would be co-producing and animating the series.
Robert Kirkman praised the work of the show's animation studio, Maven Image Platform. Kirkman noted in particular the Guardians' death at the end of episode 1, and the fight between Mark and Nolan in episode 8. Two additional animation studios were brought on for season 2 according to an interview with Margaret Dean.
The series title sequence is recognized by appearing right where a character would have said "Invincible" for the first time at each episode. However, the title sequence also becomes bloodier with each episode. Invincible's creator Robert Kirkman revealed that he wanted to represent the dark days that lie ahead by using the increasingly bloody title cards. Simon Racioppa revealed that he wanted each episode to be different from the previous ones to convince the audience to not skip it. The animation style borrows from the look of Saturday morning cartoons from the early 2000s.
The second season's title cards feature a similar progression, with a bloodied variant of the first season's title card cracking to uncover a black-and-blue design underneath.
The third season's title cards feature a glitch effect, followed by a completely new color palette and design of the title card from the previous episode, each representing an alternate version of Invincible's suits and respective variants.
On December 2, 2020, it was revealed that John Paesano would be composing the score to the series.
After Amazon ordered the first season of the series, it was confirmed that the series would consist of eight episodes. On January 22, 2021, during a live-stream celebrating the 18th anniversary of Invincible #1, Kirkman revealed that the series would debut on March 25, 2021 (midnight EST), with the first 3 episodes. The remaining episodes would release weekly thereafter. On January 20, 2023, a teaser trailer was released, in which Steven Yeun and Seth Rogen as Invincible and Allen the Alien respectively discuss the upcoming season. During San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2023, a second trailer was shown, and it was announced that part one of the second season would premiere on November 3, 2023, with part two debuting on March 14, 2024. It was also announced that a special episode, called Invincible: Atom Eve, would release later that day. The third season premiered on February 6, 2025, with its first three episodes, before the remaining episodes are released weekly.
The series received critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, performances, and writing. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Invincible holds a 98% approval rating, based on 88 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's consensus reads: "With bold animation, bloody action, and an all-star cast led by the charming Steven Yeun, Invincible smartly adapts its source material without sacrificing its nuanced perspective on the price of superpowers." Metacritic reported a score of 73 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews" for the first season. The second season has an approval rating of 100% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Still as bracing as a punch to the face and invigorating with its vivid worldbuilding, Invincible is practically impervious to disappointing audiences in this sterling sophomore season." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The third season has an approval rating of 100% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Muddying the waters of justice and adding droplets of blood for good measure, Invincible and its titular hero reach their prime with this epic third season." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "Generally Favorable".
Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the show a B grade, stating that "Kirkman's adaptation is provocative, surprising, and sometimes challenging, as it constantly tries to disrupt the accepted ideas of its genre, whether that's the superhero genre, the teen drama genre, or the misguided notion that animation is a genre unto itself." Kathryn VanArendonk of Vulture states "the series has a palpable 'more of an eight-hour movie' thing going on, and the potential of that model is that it will all coalesce in the end into this glorious, big, transfixing story" but also adds that "the pitfall is that it makes these opening episodes a little weaker; there are so many characters happening here, so many story threads to put in place, that it's hard to know what to invest in as a viewer." Caroline Framke from Variety commented: "Now, of course, Kirkman is the wildly successful co-creator and executive producer of 'The Walking Dead,' so even those who might not have picked up an 'Invincible' comic might be interested in this spry, hourlong animated series that somehow manages to be both snarky and earnest within the same breath." William Hughes from The A.V. Club praised the series for its animation and stated: "Funny, exciting, and emotionally smart—seriously, Sandra Oh is killing it here—Invincible isn't bulletproof. But, like its increasingly burdened hero, it's trying. And sometimes, in the superhero game, that's all you can really do." Bob Strauss from Datebook praised the show, commenting: "While you can't describe 'Invincible' as gritty, it does feel like the right kind of animated super-show for an era marked by Zack Snyder's dark-hued 'Justice League' reconstruction and Amazon's own, ultra-pathological take on the genre, 'The Boys.' It's as clean-looking as any program we grew up with, but it has the dirtier stuff we secretly wanted."
Siddhant Adlakha of IGN gave the first season an 8 out of 10, stating the season "is great, thanks to its unique action and strong character-centric gravitas" and that the show "combines familiar superhero tropes with unexpected gore and moving character dynamics, resulting in the year's most surprising superhero series." Alan Sepinwall from Rolling Stone stated: "As the series moves along, Kirkman and company begin introducing twists to what we think is the formula — perhaps too many. Even within three episodes, the number of reversals and secrets pile so high that it can be hard to invest in certain characters and scenes, rather than trying to guess what will come next." Roxana Hadadi from RogerEbert.com praised the series for its story and animation, commenting: "'Invincible' sets up those questions quickly and engagingly in these first three installments, wraps them in a mystery, and then splatters them with blood. It's not an entirely new approach for this genre, but the familiarity of 'Invincible' is forgivable in light of the confidence that both Kirkman and Yeun bring to the material. They're the reason to watch." Niv M. Sultan from Slant Magazine gave the first season 3.5 stars of 4, and commented "Invincible recaptures what our current glut of superhero fiction largely loses sight of: the pleasure that superheroes must feel when wielding their powers. Not the sacred satisfaction of helping the downtrodden, but the id-centered thrills of soaring through the sky and inflicting hurt on those deemed deserving." Louis Chilton from The Independent gave the series 3 stars of 5 and stated "Invincible often seems derivative; perhaps its ideas were more groundbreaking in the original early-2000s comics. Some of its characters are unapologetic parodies (the Batman facsimile "Darkwing", for example), and you could easily go through picking out elements or story ideas that have cropped up in Watchmen, or The Incredibles, or Sky High, or Misfits. But there are still some good bones to its premise, and just enough subversiveness to let you ignore the fact this is a story you've seen a hundred times before."
The eighth episode of the series' first season spawned a popular Internet meme called "Think, Mark". A 2022 promotional episode of the web series Death Battle! pit Invincible's Omni-Man against The Boys' Homelander, with Amazon Studios' Head of Marketing Adam Bersin having partnered with Rooster Teeth to promote their series, previously including the second season of The Boys, also produced by Amazon. Consequently, both Omni-Man and Homelander were made available as playable characters in the 2023 video game Mortal Kombat 1, with J. K. Simmons reprising his role as the former. In November 2023, a role-playing video game titled Invincible Presents: Atom Eve was released; the game is loosely based on the animated series' continuity with some alterations and a new original story. In February 2024, a mobile game RPG called Invincible: Guarding the Globe was released. In April 2024, Skybound was revealed to be internally developing an AAA video game based on Invincible. Over 30 employees were working on the game, which included industry veterans who had worked for Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and AMZ Games, while a fundraiser campaign was also being established.
Invincible creator Robert Kirkman was sued by comic book colorist William Crabtree, citing a rights and profits concern, on January 10, 2022. The case was settled on January 25, 2024.