Invincible – Deconstructing the Ideal Parent By Conrad Gardner
Poster for season 1 of Invincible
The idea of having a superhero for a parent can seem appealing. As children, many of us may have viewed our parents as superheroes. Growing up, we realise that they are human and flawed. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, but the question remains: what would having a superhero for a parent be like? If Amazon’s Invincible is anything to go by, it would be terrible.
An adaptation of Robert Kirman’s (The Walking Dead) comic-book series of the same name, Invincible arrived to delay the oncoming fatigue of the superhero genre. The trope of ‘grounded’ takes on superheroes is well-worn, but Kirkman’s world, which he adapted for the screen, is imaginative enough to stand on its own. The series revolves around teenager Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) as he develops superpowers from his alien father, Nolan Grayson (known as Omni Man, voiced by J.K. Simmons). Invincible follows what starts as a traditional superhero journey, but takes a heel-turn into darker, and much more violent, territory early on. What the series does best is explore the relationship between a son and his father, who happens to be a superhero and terrifying force of alien-nature. This piece will contain story spoilers for the first season, but won’t mention any events from the comics.
Invincible’s premiere episode was enjoyable for me, since I knew where the story went, but a little frustrating at the same time. At least until the last ten minutes of the episode, where Omni-Man, who up to this point has seemed like a caring father with his son’s best interests at heart (he punches him once, as preparation for his training), kills the Guardians of the Globe (this universe’s premiere superhero team). The blood-soaked violence feels like it comes from a different show. What makes this worse is that the character executing these superheroes is the protagonist’s father. Of course, villains being the hero’s father are nothing new, but introducing Nolan as a good parent and superhero made his several-minutes-long massacre more shocking. Mark is unaware of his father’s true nature until the season finale, which makes these events more difficult to bear.
As the episodes progress, various people, including Mark’s mother Debbie (Sandra Oh), become suspicious of Nolan. As any unaware child would, Mark continues to idolise his father. Suspicion and pressure begins to mount on Nolan. He makes threats to some people that are investigating him, but is still yet to snap. Mark’s being oblivious to the situation is not due to his stupidity: he has his own distractions, being a teenager who is trying to balance all the things that superheroes in these typical stories try to do (a girlfriend, a social life, saving the world).
We are told by Nolan himself that he came from the planet Viltrum to protect Earth, so seeing his darker side clash with his father image makes us feel betrayed. The sense of inevitability begins to ramp up over time. After Nolan has been discovered and is being hunted by authorities, he begins to wreak violent havoc. Mark soon learns the truth about his Nolan: he may be a superhero, but that doesn’t make him a good person. In fact, Nolan’s sheer power makes him more horrifying than Mark and the audience could have imagined.
Mark learns that Nolan was sent to colonise and rule Earth for the Viltrumite Empire. Mark initially rejects his father’s violence, believing it to be a trick, but Nolan assures him, ‘It’s me.’ Nolan’s revelation impacts Mark, who has not seen what the audience was aware of for most of the series. The pedestal he put Nolan on starts to crumble. Hearing his father describe Debbie as being ‘More like a pet’ is too much for Mark to hear, and he tells Nolan to stop touching him. Nolan strikes his son, and Mark is forced to fight his father, who, moments ago, was his hero as well as his parent.
Invincible’s deconstruction of the idyllic parent makes the show stand out among the crowded superhero market. The relationship between Mark and Nolan was the show’s soul, enhanced by a suite of brutal fight scenes. Now that their relationship’s foundation has been destroyed and Omni-Man has left the planet, the show, Mark, and the audience are left wondering: what happens next?
Words by Conrad Gardner
Edited by Marshall Moore