“Invincible”: A Hero without Plot Armor | Teen Ink

“Invincible”: A Hero without Plot Armor

March 19, 2024
By DanielS_ BRONZE, North Hollywood, California
DanielS_ BRONZE, North Hollywood, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The dream every superhero fan has fantasized about having superpowers, the ability to fly, super strength, and resilience to everything that is thrown at you. Invincible, is an adult animated series based on the comic made by Robert Kirkman. Teenager Mark Grayson has always wanted to be like his father and other famous heroes, the Guardians of the Globe. After some time, Mark's powers kick in, allowing him to save people from crime as he’s always dreamed of doing. However, the superhero life isn’t what Mark expected. The show drastically turns from being a friendly neighborhood superhero story to a superhero still living a complicated teenage life. The series has 2 seasons with the 2nd still incomplete, but every episode has you invested in each second. The show approaches the superhero story opposite from studios such as Marvel and does so flawlessly.  Instead of a hero living their best life, encountering an enemy, and triumphing, Invincible shows the reality of what most likely would happen to a new superhero who is learning the ropes. 

Nolan Grayson is married to Debbie Grayson and their 17-year-old son, Mark Grayson. With a flashback from when Mark was an adolescent, his father, Nolan, explains that he is not from planet Earth. Nolan describes his home planet, Viltrum, as a perfect empire and society with people of extraordinary powers known as Viltrumites. Nolan tells Mark Viltrumite that blood is so pure compared to human blood that he is essentially fully Viltrumite, meaning he'll have powers.

After a dragging day of school, Mark drags himself to his job to finish off his day. As Mark takes out the trash, he lifts the bag of waste, swings it, and sends it into orbit like a rocket during liftoff. After work, ecstatic, Mark tells his parents his news during dinner however his father’s reaction isn’t what he expected. Nolan coldly questions Mark if he’s positive about his powers. The show shifts away from the Grayson family, introducing a series of superheroes known as the Guardians of the Globe, who all stop what they're doing to attend a meeting that's been called at their headquarters. All the superheroes arrive at the headquarters, but one of the members calls for a meeting. Nolan Grayson appears from the corner and butchers 6 allies without remorse, ending the first episode of the show in a bloodbath and leaving the viewer in a state of shock. The animated series Invincible brings a new approach to the superhero genre for superhero lovers to enjoy, with twists and turns at every corner and constant brutality, the protagonist endures and the childhood fantasy of owning powers slowly begins to fade.


The author's comments:

I’ve always admired the story that it takes you on because it's different from many other approaches to the super hero story. Invincible begins with a normal introduction however transforms to a complex story with a complex conflict, the protagonist's father killing off earth’s heroes for some unknown reason. I believe Invincible has been the most original superhero story in a long time since Marvel and DC have been making movies which tend to have many similarities. A difficulty I had writing this is containing all the information of the show leading to the main conflict while still being able to save words for subjective information. Although I know the story of the show and what events led to which, it's hard to explain the information that is needed to know without spoiling the show’s main conflict.


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