Invincible’s Season 3 Premiere Is a Sharp, Violent Deconstruction of Heroism

Season two of Invincible left fans somewhat exasperated, with its contentious mid-season hiatus suspending the momentum of the show’s meditative premiere and melancholy conclusion. Instead of overcorrecting by rousing fans with its signature super-powered gore and violence, Invincible marks its grand return to Prime Video with an enthralling character-driven three-episode premiere that deliciously deconstructs heroism.

Like a Matryoshka doll of compounding tragedy, the second season of Invincible saw Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) perpetually on the back foot. Chief among his worries was having any semblance of closure with his father, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), cut short by a looming Viltrumite invasion; raising his half-alien half-brother Oliver (Christian Convery) to have a normal childhood; amicably breaking up with his first girlfriend, Amber (Zazie Beetz); and battling a multiverse-hopping arch-nemesis in Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown). As its fracturing title cards exemplified, Mark was in the blender last season and desperately needed stability.

Season three grants Mark reprieve as he pulls his punches on criminals and works at the behest of Guardians of the Globe’s no-nonsense leader, Cecil (Walton Goggins), and settles into his role as Earth’s defender. Since this is still Invincible, trouble doesn’t waste time showing up. Echoing the previous seasons’ mature adaptation of Robert Kirkman‘s comic book series, Invincible‘s premiere sharply puts Earth’s heroes’ “ignore the slaughterhouse to enjoy the burger” brand of justice into question. In its wake, its characters’ ideals of heroism are pushed to their absolute breaking point.

The central conflict in Invincible questions whether heroism can be simply divided into right and wrong or if the world is more complex, requiring violence and alliances with former enemies to maintain justice. As with the real world, progress isn’t linear in Invincible. Throughout the premiere, Mark stumbles just as often as he makes gratifying strides forward to avoid becoming another Omni-Man. Mark isn’t the only one getting a deep character study in Invincible. Cecil also gets more development this time around as the two trade verbal and physical blows over balancing idealism and practicality to uphold justice.

Invincible‘s thematic throughline doesn’t run out of narrative track to burn with its two leads. Their ensuing conflict reverberates as Oliver, Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs), Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas), Robot (Zachary Quinto), and the rest of the Guardians of the Globe figure out where their loyalties lie in the show’s moral quandary.

While action is not the primary focus in Invincible‘s premiere, the season opener is far from devoid of bloodshed. Instead of being used to embellish situations or a knee-jerk reaction to indulge in, violence serves as a cautionary consequence of conflict. Despite the thematic use of violence, when super-powered clashes occur, Invincible‘s action remains as pulpy and ultraviolent as in previous seasons. Also as with past seasons, writers Simon Racioppa, Helen Leigh, and Jay Faerber’s measured adaptation of the original comic’s oft-poorly aged and mean-spirited plot points is handled with a mature and engaging tonality for television.

Invincible season three takes time to build toward the impending doomsday clock of the Viltrumite army. In its three-episode premiere, the Prime Video animated series flexes its narrative muscles by rearranging its ensemble of characters, delving into their psyches, pushing them to their limits, and observing how they evolve before the Viltrum challenge them again. Hopefully, Invincible will avoid following in the footsteps of House of the Dragon by infusing its remaining episodes with plenty of spectacle and excitement rather than serving as a season-long buildup to an explosive future season.

The first three episodes of Invincible season three premiere on February 6 on Prime Video. Subsequent episodes will be released every Thursday until the season finale on March 13.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.