It feels as though commenting on the violence in Invincible would be a bit disingenuous at this point largely because, well, people kind of want to see violence in superhero movies and shows. The life of a hero is well-known to be a rough one and when a fist hits a face it’s pretty well-known that unless the individual being hit has skin that’s hard to penetrate, they’ll show evidence of having been hit. In other words, the realism that Invincible brings in such a big and gory way is definitely over the top, but it’s done in a way that makes a person understand that it’s for effect and possible because the super-powered beings that are doing the hitting aren’t holding back, meaning that their strength is easily enough to shatter bone, pulverize tissues and organs, and do all kinds of nasty damage.
There’s even the understanding that the characters will be seen leading a rather normal life since to be fair, a lot of comic book-based stories don’t necessarily show images of a character sitting on a toilet like anyone else. Has anyone ever noticed that? Many movies and series don’t always get down to the nitty-gritty parts of life that pretty much everyone has to deal with, but it’s a little understandable since one has to wonder just how a superhero would really find time and the ability to wriggle out of their spandex and hit the head when they really need to. Perhaps their internal systems have an automatic shut-off valve or are just so finely attuned that they don’t loosen until a battle is over. The implications of that kind of thing are among the many things that people don’t tend to think about, and if they do it’s a brief and awkward thought. But this is where Invincible has come in at least to kind of iron out a few of those moments that normally don’t get talked about or shown on screen.
The fact that it tells an extremely violent story doesn’t appear to bother people too much since it eventually also balances itself out, kind of, by expanding the story in different ways that go beyond the mere idea of good versus evil. The story incorporates the lives of the characters from the most mundane and sometimes gross moments to the most grandiose and disturbingly violent. Thinking that two super-powered beings are about to collide and that one might actually become a bloody, crumpled mess isn’t always what we see on the screen since in some instances the bad guy will get pummeled, the hero will get pummeled, and they’ll either heal from their wounds and come back stronger, or they’ll show grit and determination and continue the fight. There’s rarely any sense of danger or immediate urgency in a lot of hero movies and shows.
It’s when the actual horror that comes from seeing blood, seeing people dismembered, beaten to death and having to suffer such a severe beatdown that people perk up a bit. Instead of just throwing punches and showing off impressive moves, Invincible gets down and dirty with its material, and the results are that people do get seriously injured and even die since there are moments that they can’t come back from, like having one’s head crushed or literally punched off of their body. But as morbid as it is, people actually find it interesting and get into a bit more since despite being quite graphic it does feel a little more true to what should be happening than the touchy-feely hero stories in which the villains are beaten down and then jailed. This is where a lot of frustration comes in with a number of fans when it comes to superheroes, the fact that many of them are not willing to cross that line and realize that villains can’t always be rehabilitated, and are bound to keep being a danger as long as the catch and release system is in effect.
Invincible might not seek to kill off every enemy that comes his way, but the fact is that the program is still one of those that gets bloody and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the fights that are seen to happen between various characters. The character is shown in a light that doesn’t exactly paint him as the best person in the story, but someone that’s trying to come to grips with who he is and what he can do. Along the way, he has hard decisions to make like any hero, but it’s not quite the same as many hero stories since this one gets pretty brutal after a while and isn’t bound to slow down just because some folks need to excuse themselves from the violence. It’s a nice switch without a doubt, but it’s likely not for everyone.
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