Season 2, episode 1 of Invincible on Amazon Prime changed things from the source material, but were they the right moves for the show?
Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible keeps producing amazing episodes. Part of what makes the show great are the way they alter certain moments from the source material. We saw that in the premiere, and now we’re seeing it again in the second episode.
Sometimes the moments are small and don’t mean much. For example, Invincible meeting the new Darkwing was changed a bit. The changes were so small, and things ended up the way like the comics anyway. However, these 5 moments were crucial to the story.
***WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE REMAINING EPISODES OF INVINCIBLE!***
5. Even didn’t help fixing the disaster
In the Invincible comics, Eve went to Africa right after she graduated high school. In the show, Eve stayed around to fix buildings Omni-Man destroyed. Because of Nolan’s attack, Eve’s father is working at Burger Mart to make ends meet. When she offered to help him, he stubbornly declined and even threw away the food she made. This wasn’t a necessary change, but a nice, nonetheless. It helps build the disdain between Eve and her parents. Something that wasn’t seen much in the comics.
Eve finding out that the park and building she made hurt people, she left her parent’s house and crushed her. This combined with how her father treats her will probably force her to leave the country to get better at using her powers.
4. Angstom Levy’s Multiversal tour
The mid-credit scene showed Angstrom Levy talking to an Invincible from an alternate reality. This one was captured and imprisoned after trying to take over the world. The comics didn’t show Levy visiting alternate realities. One day he just shows up with an army of Mark Graysons. The weird part is Angstrom didn’t take that world’s Invincible. He left him captured under the watch of that universe’s Cecil. That’s something that will likely be addressed in the next episode.
Seeing Angstrom’s recruitment process was something that should have been added to the comics. Thankfully, the creative team behind the show knows things like this are crucial to a character’s development. For Levy, it’ll highlight how his mind works and the lengths he’ll go to defeat Invincible.
3. Debbie learns about Donald
When Donald first appears in the comics, he’s a cyborg before Omni-Man’s attack. This time, he’s rebuilt after he tries to kill Omni-Man in an explosion (the season 1 finale of Invincible). However, one constant thing is how Donald finds out what he is. In both the source material and the TV show, Donald wasn’t told how he died or how he came back to life. His reaction to the truth should be interesting.
2. Trial by combat
Cecil Mark was told he had to marry the Queen of Atlantis after his father killed the queen’s husband (Invincible episode 1). Once upon a time, that was true. However, the Queen tells Mark that those ways are old and barbaric. Instead, he’d have to fight a sea monster to be absolved of his father killing their king.
This was one of the best changes from the comic book series. Marrying someone because their king died is an outdated tradition in the real world. A queen no longer needs a king to be a great ruler. The creative team adding this shows an understanding of their audience and how the world is changing. Staying to the source material would have hurt more than helped.
1. Cecil learns Invincible’s weakness
This was the most important moment of this episode. When the sea monster yelled, Mark was hurt and vulnerable. As soon as Cecil sees this, he has Donald notify his science team. In the comics, Cecil figures this out differently. It’s discovered that a Viltrumite’s ability to fly is helped by their inner ear equilibrium. Not only will a sound prevent them from flying, but it also hurts them as well. It’s a weakness that Cecil and another character exploits throughout the series.
What other changes were made in Invincible season 2? Have you been enjoying the second season?