Invincible, the new Amazon Prime Original, released on March 25th to astounding success. The series is based on a comic of the same name published by Image Comics. Image Comics is most known for its comics like The Walking Dead, Spawn, and Kick-Ass. The publisher is known to have outlandish and violent comics, and Invincible and its show are no exception. 

   The series follows Mark Grayson, your average 17-year-old kid in most ways, except for one. His father is the world-renowned superhero Omni-Man. Once Mark develops his powers of super strength and flight he becomes the superhero known as Invincible. He begins training under his dad, meeting other superheroes, and trying his best to figure out how to be the best hero he can be.

   While this show’s premise seems to be almost ripped off from other characters like Spider-Man and Superman, that is almost the whole point. By the end of the first episode, the show takes a shocking turn, making it truly unforgettable. 

(FROM HERE ON OUT THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW)

  At the end of the first episode, Mark’s father brutally murders a team of superheroes known as the Guardians of the Globe. The rest of the show’s plot follows characters trying to figure out who killed them and why. It was a very interesting narrative choice to have the viewer know what exactly went down, but for the characters to have no idea. It creates a strange sense of suspense as you know that Omni-Man is evil, but you have no idea why. Framing the story in this way makes the season finale one of the most gut-wrenching and emotional reveals on television in a long time. 

   The reveal that Omni-Man was sent from his home planet of Viltrum to enslave Earth, and now is asking his half-human son to help him take over was shocking. What was even more shocking was how he reacted to Mark’s response. Mark stays true to his morals and stands up to his father, but Omni-Man will not take no for an answer. What follows is an incredibly violent battle between father and son that results in the death of thousands of civilians. By the end of the fight, our main character is beaten beyond recognition, and his dad realizes what he has done to his son and that Mark might be right about him, and flies off into space. 

   The show holds nothing back. It is incredibly violent, from decapitations to superheroes punching holes through one another. The show’s title card gets increasingly more bloody as the show goes on to represent how the show and characters in it are getting progressively more brutal. The violence in the show is used as shock value most of the time, but by the end, it is used to show how evil Omni-Man truly is. The amount of gore and blood may be a pro for some, but for most, it could be a con, as it does not shy away from what people of this power could do with their abilities.

   The story the show tells is a great one, a tale of a boy learning to be the best version of himself, and finding his place in the world, and then all that being torn down by the evil intentions of his father. The show’s huge roster of characters is great, and they all have something to love, and any comic book or superhero fan will love the witty references to heroes from bigger comic books such as Marvel or DC. The voice cast is stellar and full of big names. Invincible is played by Steven Yeun, and he does an amazing job at portraying the emotion behind the character, but the show-stealer is J.K. Simmons as Omni-Man. He almost has to play two roles, Omni-Man as a superhero, and Omni-Man as a supervillain, and he does it perfectly. 

   The series certainly is not perfect. There are some subplots throughout the series that do not end up having much to do with the main plot, but these may come up in later seasons of the show. The show’s animation also can look cheap sometimes and can be distracting. Hopefully, these problems will be improved as the show progresses.

   Invincible is a fantastic show that fans of the comic, and any fans of the superhero genre will love. It features a fantastic story and cast, and its fantastically violent style keeps you hooked as you watch. The season one finale is a total cliffhanger, which makes the recently announced season two and three some of the most anticipated television seasons in recent memory. All episodes of Invincible are now streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.