Movies of War

The fate of the world is at stake in the premiere of Invincible season 4 — so Mark Grayson kills an innocent man. The reasons why are complicated (and spoilery), but with no other options available, the show’s teenage superhero protagonist makes a difficult choice that haunts him for the rest of the season. In the episodes that follow, Earth’s other superheroes debate whether Mark/Invincible (Steven Yeun) did the right thing. They all agree murder is bad, but at a certain point, you have to put down the worst threats for good. Otherwise, they’ll keep coming back… right? In a weird way, this pragmatic line of thinking also explains the biggest problem with Invincible right now. Robert Kirkman’s animated Prime Video series quickly established itself as an ultra-violent riff on the superhero genre that didn’t pull any punches. The mind-blowing season 1 reveal that the Superman-inspired hero Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) was actually a spy sent by fascist aliens to prepare Earth for invasion set the tone for an epic saga starring his half-human son, Mark. But in the years since, each new season has seemed more interested in expanding the world of Invincible than in telling the story that captivated audiences in the first place. And while some of those stories have been great (especially anything involving the Gillian Jacobs-voiced superhero Atom Eve), the result is a series that sometimes feels like it's treading water when it should be swimming forward at superhuman speed. Predictably, the first few episodes of season 4 bounce between different, familiar threats — a Martian hive mind, a gangster with rocks for skin, an alien insect invasion, etc. — as Mark goes through the motions of saving the day. For Invincible to evolve, someone or something needs to permanently eliminate those enemies so the story can move forward. After all, despite its brightly colored animation, this isn’t actually a Saturday morning cartoon where the status quo resets each week. Thankfully, season 4 does eventually sharpen into a more coherent point, with a plotline focused on the Nazi-inspired Viltrumite aliens who’ve been looming over Invincible ever since season 1. Still, it takes so long to get there that co-showrunners Robert Kirkman and Simon Racioppa may be forced to sprint through the most interesting part of their own story in the season’s final episodes. Image: Prime Video At the start of season 4, Invincible is still recovering emotionally from battling an army of evil multiversal variants of himself, and then almost dying in a fight against a beefy Viltrumite named Conquest, in season 3. Despite a growing sense of self-doubt, he’s thrown back into various world-threatening situations alongside the Guardians of the Globe, who seem to have finally gelled into a functional Avengers-style team despite some lingering internal tension over the group’s leadership. Omni-Man is out in space trying to make things right after countless years as an evil Viltrumite. Eventually, that first, Earth-bound plotline fades into the background as Mark and Nolan join forces and the story heads into space. While there are some detours along the way, a clear focus gives the next couple of episodes more momentum. It finally feels like the story is going somewhere, rather than just spinning its highly entertaining wheels. However, after watching the six episodes provided to critics (out of eight in total this season), I’m not sure there’s enough time left to wrap up this particular story in a satisfying way. When I first finished episode 6, I actually assumed its cliffhanger ending doubled as a season finale that wouldn’t be resolved until season 5. Once I realized there were two more episodes to come, I was initially relieved, but now I can’t help but wonder if Kirkman and Racioppa are rushing through what should be Invincible’s most important plotline. Image: Prime Video Pacing issues aside, there’s not a bad episode in Invincible season 4 (at least so far). The opening batch are entertaining in a familiar way, balancing high-concept science fiction with grounded and realistic characters. Even Mark’s human mom (Sandra Oh) gets a meaty new story as she finally begins to move on from the trauma inflicted on her by ex-husband Nolan. Speaking of which, Omni-Man gets the most interesting arc in season 4. After going into hiding for much of the show, he resurfaces here determined to redeem himself for the damage he’s done. Watching the superman-but-evil character slowly transform into someone actually heroic is riveting, and Simmons pulls it off with a layered voice performance that always feels natural. We also get a closer look at the rest of the Viltrumite society through a mix of flashbacks and exposition, which combine to reveal a more nuanced (but still extremely evil) alien species. You’ll root against the Viltrumites whenever they show up onscreen, but you may feel the tiniest bit of remorse the next time one of them dies. Image: Prime Video Invincible still packs a punch, but in season 4, the series appears to be going through growing pains. While Kirkman and Racioppa may have decided it was finally time to tell the show’s most important story — the one that will push Mark to his limits and promises redemption for Nolan — a slow start to the season holds them back. Can they stick the landing and set up Invincible for future success in season 5 and beyond? Or will season 4 end in disappointment? I’ll be watching with everyone else to find out. And loving every minute of it. The first three episodes of Invincible season 4 premiere March 18 on Prime Video. Reviews TV Entertainment Follow Followed Like Share Facebook X WhatsApp Threads Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit Flipboard Copy link Email Close Most Popular Felicia Day will crowdfund a movie spin-off of The Guild this summer Resident Evil Requiem’s Grace reveals why she let Leon have all the one-liners Amy Madigan’s Oscar win revives a villain tradition the Joker made famous Firefly returns as an animated series with controversial creator Joss Whedon's blessing Jackbox Games gets into publishing with a truly absurd game: 'We applaud the baby-slapping' Xbox is bringing main character energy See More Trending Now Critical Role just changed a classic D&D spell for the better Brandon Sanderson's love of fantasy rules makes him a great sci-fi writer too The king of isekai is back with a season 4 release date