Season 3 of Invincible showed viewers a lot of the darkness that’s coming to the life of Mark Grayson. Fans of the comic book series knew it was happening for two reasons beyond seeing where they were in the timeline.
First, it was the blue and black costume. Whenever Mark put that particular suit on in the source material, something bad was going to happen - there's even a time when he goes back to the yellow and blue and reverts to the blue and black. And, yes, tragedy struck then, too. The second reason was seeing Scott Duvall, a.k.a. Powerplex, being cast. A story that’s so dark that it has caused actor Aaron Paul to step away from the show and not return for Invincible season 4.
During an interview on the Kinda Funny Gamescast, the former Breaking Bad and Bojack Horseman said the role was “too gruelling on my psyche," and that he “didn’t feel comfortable” returning. And, to be honest, I commend him for understanding where he was emotionally with a character with such a grim and depressing story.
"The thing is, everyone involved in that camp is amazing. But what it did to me, I didn't like, so I couldn't continue."Aaron Paul
It’s easy to forget that there’s someone behind the character in an animated project and that it takes time to get scenes just right. Now, imagine you’re Aaron Paul, and you’re forced to portray the torment of the repeated deaths of your character's wife and daughter. While he is playing a fictional character, there’s still a lot of emotion that goes into that role (and sometimes the body's response to acting and reality can indeed be the same). It’s understandable why he’d only want to do this once.
The gift and the curse of Powerplex's story
Scott Duvall’s story was complex. On one hand, you understood where he was coming from. People he loved died thanks to the fight with Omni-Man and Invincible, and neither of them was held accountable. Mark was fighting to protect humanity, but Powerplex didn’t know that. All he knew was that his family had been killed during a superhero fight that may have been staged (even though it wasn't).
When the chance to get revenge came around, of course, he'd take the opportunity. Sadly, it ends with him accidentally killing his family. Even after he clearly caused his family's death, he still blamed Invincible. This leads to Scott being arrested and later breaking out of fighting Mark after the Invincible War.
*** This article contains potential SPOILERS for Powerplex's arc in a future episode of Invincible ***
As much as I understand Aaron Paul’s choice, one thing about it is sad. There’s a moment in Scott’s story where he becomes a hero. And, maybe more importantly, he takes responsibility for everything he’s done. It's an emotional moment that Paul would have rocked if he were voicing the character beyond season 3. And after everything that he went through during the bad times of Powerplex, it would have been nice for him to experience the good.
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