However, the animation format enables Invincible to do things The Boys couldn't. Both shows share executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (who are also developing a live-action Invincible movie that won't hook in to the series), so it stands to reason that they'd share a similar sensibility. The show's portrayal of superheroes as horny, arrogant, and worse may remind viewers of Amazon's other series in the genre: The Boys, which dropped its second season last fall and is currently staffing up its college-set spinoff series. Without spoiling any plot twists in the early episodes, Invincible doesn't regard superheroes as an unmitigated force for good in the way that Invincible himself does - or did while he was anxiously waiting for his superpower puberty to begin. All of this happens just in time, because the episode closes with the Justice League-esque Guardians of the Globe all getting drawn into a trap and killed. Nolan starts training Mark, Mark settles on his superhero handle - Invincible - and even gets fitted for a sharp blue and yellow supersuit. Fortunately for those of us watching, this occurs not too far into the series premiere, as Mark attempts to heave a bag of trash into the dumpster at his fast food job and, instead flings it into orbit. Since Debbie is human, the family hasn't been certain when or how Mark's Viltrumite powers will kick in. He's known since childhood that his father is not human: Nolan is a humanoid extraterrestrial of the Viltrumite race, and he's come to Earth to defend it from threats as his alter ego, Omni-Man. But Mark has more reason than most teens to fear this last possibility. Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun) is an ordinary high school student: annoyed by his mother Debbie (Sandra Oh) and her failure to respect the boundary of a closed bathroom door when he's just trying to do some morning business and read his favorite comic book, Séance Dog beset by bullies at school who have no compunction about coming at him in front of Amber (Zazie Beetz), the girl he likes worried that he'll never be a worthy successor to his father Nolan (J.K. The tropes are so well established that deviating from the formula even slightly makes a superhero story feel bold and fresh, and Amazon Prime Video's Invincible does a lot of zigging where more traditional stories zag. From there, all they need is a stretchy suit, an alter ego, and a talent for hiding their exploits from their loved ones - for their own safety, of course. The details vary, but: a person is ordinary until something crazy happens, and suddenly they have supernatural powers and a drive for public service (and/or vigilantism, depending on your perspective). Now that we're into Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most of us know quite well where superheroes come from.
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