Amazon’s original series called Invincible debuted earlier this month and it’s now my favorite superhero show by far. The show is based on Robert Kirkman’s (The Walking Dead) own comic book of the same name. It follows a young man named Mark Grayson (aka Invincible) as he attempts to grow into his new-found abilities, courtesy of his Viltrumite father, Omni-Man. While this may just seem like a regular old run-of-the-mill superhero show, Invincible does something that not many television shows in general – let alone superhero shoes – do, and that’s make a character that is nearly 100% relatable to the target demographic. So what exactly do I mean by this? Why do I think Invincible is the realest and most relatable superhero of all time? Also, as always, there’s a bunch of spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched and/or read Invincible….stop reading and come back later.
Age
Mark “Invincible” Grayson is a nearly 18-year old teen who goes to high school and is almost ready to go off to college. The humor in the show is clearly geared towards young adults around this age, which makes Invincible the perfect superhero to relate to, because he is exactly the same age as the targeted demographic. He goes to high school, he has painfully awkward conversations with his parents, and most of all….he’s awkward around every single person he meets. Invincible’s age is absolutely spot-on, and so is Steven Yeun’s take on the character.
Personality
Steven Yeun literally breathes life into Mark Grayson as he provides the voice for all of Invincible’s grunts, groans, gargles, and even some voice lines here and there. Yeun, known by many as Glenn from The Walking Dead, is the perfect choice in casting for the series’ title character. His voice is exactly how I would expect a nerdy teenager with superpowers to sound, and I just can’t get enough of it. Yeun brings Invincible’s personality to a whole new level and it’s just amazing how perfect it is. Invincible’s personality is also exactly what you would expect a nerdy teenager with brand-new superpowers to be – he’s awkward, a little full of himself at times, and just wants to do good in the world. He wants to think that he’s funny and tough, but when it comes down to it – he’s just another kid. Except…he’s a kid with near invincibility and super speed that can fight aliens in space. When Mark is faced with the toughest of enemies on the battlefield, he manages to take care of them with (relative) ease, however there is one opponent that he just can’t seem to defeat. Women. Mark Grayson is the epitome of a teenage boy who wants so desperately to just talk to girls, but just can’t quite seem to get the words right. Eventually he finds a way to circumvent this, but I can already tell that it’s only going to get worse for him from here on out. Especially if he keeps reacting to situations the same way he is right now….
Reactions
Mark has spent his entire life waiting for his powers to manifest within himself, so that he can become the next greatest superhero just like his father, Omni-Man. The only problem is that it’s been nearly 18 years and Mark’s powers still hasn’t taken into effect. After a while, he finally gets his powers, and what does he do? He throws a trash bag into space at work. Sure, it was unintentional, but that’s exactly what I would have done had I been in his position! Mark’s reactions to almost everything in the show are priceless, and are exactly what I would expect from a kid his age. Would you expect a 17-year old kid to remain completely calm while he flies a dying old lady away from a massive army of aliens invading from another dimension? No, of course not, and that’s exactly what doesn’t happen in the show. He completely panics and exclaims a whole lineup of various expletives throughout the entire show as he still manages to get a hold of his new life.
Invincible is by far the most real and relatable superhero of all time, or at least right now, and no one can convince me otherwise. I’m loving the show, I love the characters in Invincible, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season to premiere on Amazon Prime. I guess the only thing I can do now is to read the entire comic series, right?
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