Invincible (TV series)
Invincible is an American adult animated superhero television series, based on the Image Comics series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video. The show follows 17-year-old Mark Grayson and his transformation into a superhero under the guidance of his father, Omni-Man, the most powerful being on the planet. During his transformation, Mark finds himself struggling between his personal life and superhero duties, where he will be forced to prove that he can be the hero that his father is. The series stars Steven  Yeun, Sandra Oh, and J. K. Simmons as the Grayson family, while the rest of the cast serve as recurring characters. Following its release, the series received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, with praise for its animation, action sequences, storyline, writing, performances, and faithfulness to the source material. In April 2021, Amazon renewed the series for a second and third season. Premise. Mark Grayson is a normal teenager, except for the fact that his father, Nolan, is the most powerful superhero on the planet. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own and learns  how to wield them with help from his father. Production. Development. On April 4, 2017, it was announced that a film about "Invincible" was being developed by Universal Pictures. It was also revealed that Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen would be the directors of the film after their collaboration on the AMC TV series "Preacher". It was also revealed that the film would be rated R, to keep its faithfulness to the comic series. Skybound Entertainment and Point Grey Pictures would be producing the film. However, when the series was announced, the film remained in hiatus, until on July 28 , 2021, it was revealed that the film was still in development and would not be connected to the series. On August 11, 2017, Robert 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 . Kirkman commented: "At Skybound Entertainment we strive to tell the best stories in the most unique and creative ways in an effort to always break new ground. A forward thinking company like Amazon is the perfect home for us. Sharon Tal Yguado has been an instrumental force in the success of The Walking Dead and Outcast from day one. Being able to not only continue that relationship, but also expand it into new territory with the vast resources of Amazon, means great things are ahead for myself, David Alpert, Skybound, and fans of awesome entertainment." 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. Casting. 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. Animation. When the show was confirmed to be animated, it was confirmed that Wind Sun Sky Entertainment and its partner company, Skybound North, would be animating the series. Catherine Winder, CEO and partner at Wind Sun Sky, commented: "We typically focus on creator-driven content for the global marketplace. There's nothing we love more than to partner with strong creative voices and visionaries around which we can build franchises." Title sequence. 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. Music. On December 2, 2020, it was revealed that John Paesano would be composing the score to the series. Release. When Amazon ordered the first season of the series, it was confirmed that the series would  be consisting 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. Reception. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating for the first season based on 66 critic reviews. The website's critical 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. 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 sated ""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." In other media. The series' eighth episode  spawned a popular Internet meme called "Think, Mark, Think". Controversy. "Invincible" creator Robert Kirkman was sued by comic book colorist William Crabtree, citing a rights and profits concern, on January 10, 2022.