Amazon has released the first three episodes of Invincible’s third season, and so far, it’s living up to the hype. SPOILERS AHEAD!
In 2021, Amazon shook up the superhero landscape with its animated series Invincible, based on Robert Kirkman’s comics. After the shocking revelations about Omni-Man and his conquering race at the end of season 1, fans had to wait patiently to see what would happen next—specifically the long-awaited, much-feared reunion between Mark and his father.
Thankfully, the wait for season 3 wasn’t quite as long. Released less than a year after season 2, it promises to push the stakes even higher, further blurring the lines between good and evil, hero and villain. But the real storm is still to come.
The Imbalance of Power
The last time we saw Invincible, he was in a pretty rough state after his battle with Angstrom Levy, the mad scientist who made the mistake of targeting Debbie and Oliver. After losing control and killing his foe in a fit of unimaginable violence, it was clear that Mark’s potential fall from grace would be a key theme in season 3, especially in contrast to the anticipated redemption arc of his father.
And that theme of change is exactly what marks the first three episodes. Up until now, Mark has been the imperfect, yet utterly reliable hero, but the tone shifts slightly in this new season. A darker suit, even more power, a legitimate rage, another violent outburst against an army of robots, and a sequence from the perspective of two pathetic criminals…
The episodes skillfully tease the possibility that yes, Mark could turn against humanity—or at least cause irreversible damage to it—whereas in the first two seasons, there was never any doubt about his virtuous nature.
The young man with the big heart is under immense pressure, facing disappointment and betrayal at every turn, but he clings to a narrow, sometimes immature worldview—classic ingredients for a possible villainous shift. So, is Mark truly a multiversal anomaly, or is he fated to take on his father Nolan’s mission, a man he’s learned to forgive?
Unless the real danger comes from elsewhere. Viltrum is still a looming threat, but there’s also Thraxa to consider. Oliver, once a chubby baby, has grown up to be a slightly too eager child with newfound powers. But beyond his recklessness, it seems everyone has overlooked the negative influence his father may have had on him. Oliver shows signs of psychopathic tendencies, which, once again, validates Cecil’s concerns.
Civil War
The episodes adopt, at least in part, the perspective of Cecil, who, like a fearful Bruce Wayne worried about Superman, fears that such power might become uncontrollable. And so, he prefers to act preemptively rather than risk everything later. For the first time, the series gives us a deeper dive into Cecil, beyond his role as an unsympathetic, inscrutable director, whose approach was always on the brink of becoming villainous. A sequence devoted to his past plays cleverly with our almost total ignorance of his backstory, making us briefly wonder if he might have been a petty criminal at some point (which is somewhat true, but in a different context).
Mark now embodies the Cecil figure, or rather, the embodiment of all the ideals Cecil had to abandon to fulfill his mission. His mantra—be kind or save the world, but not both—applies just as much to Mark as it does to himself.
It’s also a classic case of the snake eating its own tail: in trying to control Mark and have the means to neutralize him if necessary, Cecil only exacerbates the situation, setting off the very escalation he feared. Especially since the ideological conflict has split the Guardians of the Globe into two factions, potentially setting the stage for a clash of beliefs—much like in Captain America: Civil War. Both sides have a very clear idea of justice, and neither is completely right or wrong.
The real question remains: can both sides compromise? Mark hasn’t really crossed any moral lines (even Rex has been just as threatening toward Cecil). But the fact that the world’s fate might hang on such fragile trust—on both sides—is unfortunately a pessimistic outlook. And it’s not as if the series has ever been one to exude optimism or naive hope.
The first three episodes of Invincible season 3 are available to stream on Prime Video as of February 6.
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A passionate journalist, Iris Lennox covers social and cultural news across the U.S.