In the current age of television, viewers have begrudgingly come to accept long gaps between seasons of their favorite shows, typically two or three years. So the fact that Invincible Season 4 is arriving a year after the previous season should be considered a true blessing. Though by no means flawless, I contend Invincible still stands above the vast majority of other superhero fare in recent years.
As seen in the trailers and promotional material, the crux of this season is the “Viltrumite War” storyline from the original comic book series from Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley which sees the titular hero Mark Grayson depart Earth to take the fight directly to the Viltrum Empire along with familiar and unexpected allies. Those that felt the third season dragged as it built towards the epic “Invincible War” episode might regard the the first half of Invincible Season 4 the same way as it continues long brewing plotlines including the return of the inter-dimensional alien Flaxans as well as international crime organization known as The Order.
As if the animated series wasn’t dense enough, this season devotes an entire episode to a literal trip to hell for Mark thanks to former demon detective Damian Darkblood. It’s a storyline completely exclusive to the animated series inspired by an idea Kirkman revealed he had wanted to implement in the original comic book run but got sidetracked. Though not horrible by any means, I wouldn’t be surprised if the episode is divisive among the fandom as it completely disrupts the momentum of the season. It’s not dissimilar to the infamous Stranger Things episode “The Lost Sister” from the second season that many viewed as a backdoor pilot. If a tease from the end of the episode is any indication however, this hell storyline is more than just filler and will come into play further in later seasons.
In the same vein, those like myself who’ve been perplexed by Ka-Hor, the ancient Egyptian mummy whose attempts to escape his tomb have become a running gag since the first season, will be happy to finally see some development to this mysterious plotline. Where it’s leading, I still have no idea but it better have a worthwhile payoff.
One criticism the series has faced from fans over the years is the over-reliance of “sad roof scenes.” Not that there’s anything wrong with with deep heart-to-heart conversations, but it understandably becomes a bit of a trope when it takes place in the same location. Thankfully, the series restrains itself for the most part this season and keeps the sad roof scenes to a minimum.
This season also introduces a host of new friends and foes most notably Thragg (Lee Pace), regent of the Viltrum Empire and arguably the main overall antagonist of Invincible. Known for his acclaimed performances in projects such as Pushing Daisies and Halt and Catch Fire, Pace voicing Thragg is yet another instance of the show’s perfect casting. While his portrayal as Ronan the Accuser in the Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the film’s few weak spots and simply a case of MCU forgettable villain syndrome at the time, Pace gets much more to sink his teeth into as an actor with an intergalactic despot like Thragg.
Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman hasn’t been shy about his love of Star Trek admitting that the character of Battle Beast was written as Worf fan fiction. It was fitting then to cast Michael Dorn as the character. This season leans into Trek hard with a not so subtle pastiche of the Next Generation USS Enterprise ship crew. In addition to Dorn, Invincible Season 4 adds new Trek alumni to the already impressive voice cast including Kate Mulgrew and LeVar Burton.
Invincible has been praised as an incredibly faithful animated adaptation with images and dialogue lifted straight from the original comics. That said, the animated series isn’t afraid to add new ingredients to the pot such as the aforementioned hell storyline or deviate in surprising ways as long as it stays true to the spirit of the franchise. These changes have resulted in creating new dynamics for characters like Amber Bennett and Shrinking Rae as well as expanded roles compared into their comic counterparts. Moreover, it keeps diehard Invincible fans on their toes which continues throughout this latest season.
Recasting actors whether due to scheduling logistics or other reasons is not unusual for animated projects and Invincible is no exception. This season sees Ross Marquand, the voice of Rex “Rudy” Connors and various other characters, take over voicing the Robot drone from Zachary Quinto. While potentially jarring at first after three seasons of Quinto, the voice change isn’t distracting and actually makes sense from a creative and storytelling perspective. As set up in previous seasons, and based on the comics, it seems safe to assume Jason Mantzoukas will eventually take over the role of Robot/Rex once the character reaches adulthood in the cloned body of his deceased teammate. The only other real notable recasting is William Clockwell, Mark’s bestie previously played by Andrew Rannells. Considering that the character is in literally one scene this season, the switch in actors is logical.
When it comes to superhero shows with outstanding soundtracks of needle drop songs, Peacemaker and Creature Commandos have set the bar. I’m slowly coming to the Invincible animated as a worthy contender. This season comes strong right out the gate with the song “If I Get High” from Nothing But Thieves set to montage of various superheroes around the world trying to recover and adjust to some semblance of normality. Other notable standout song selections include “Do You Feel Me?” by Oliver Tree, Whethan and “Cool For You” by Haiku Hands. My favorite song from the first season has to be the 2016 indie-rock song “Tom Tom” by Holy F*ck utilized as a theme for the battle with the Flaxan aliens. With Invincible Season 4 featuring the return of the Flaxans, I was delighted that the “Tom Tom” accompanied them.
Prime Video only provided reviewers the first six episodes of Invincible Season 4. It’s not an unusual practice and was also done for the previous season last year in order to preserve some of the big surprises of the season finale, in particular the casting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the epic Conquest fight that reached a new level of brutality not seen since Omni-Man/Invincible battle from the first season. I can only assume that come next month when the last episodes of this of Invincible air, fans should prepare themselves to be in store for a real treat.
Invincible Season 4 premieres Wednesday March 18th on Prime Video
