Five years in, most animated shows start to show their age. “Invincible”, on the other hand, does the opposite. Season four is the show at its most confident, delivering some of the most emotionally gutting and viscerally exciting storytelling it has ever produced. The character development cuts deep, wrestling with questions of morality and mortality that lead to some of the season’s most devastating moments. Season four is, without question, one of the best in the series, and it is worth talking about why.
The series follows Mark Grayson, who inherits superpowers from his father, Omni-Man, only to discover his dad is actually an agent of the Viltrum Empire, a civilization that conquers planets. Over three seasons, Mark evolves from a wide-eyed kid learning to fly into a hero facing multiversal threats, brutal alien warriors, and the impossible weight of protecting everyone he loves. Season four picks up where season three left off, with Conquest escaping from Earth after having seemingly been defeated. The threat of an all-out war with the Viltrumites hangs over everyone, including Mark, his family, and his allies. However, the more pressing battle is the one happening inside Mark himself, as he struggles to define what it means to be a hero.
From a technical and storytelling aspect, season four is not far from being a masterpiece. The plot itself strikes an almost perfect balance between a non-complex and linear story. However, the story still delivered a handful of curveballs that always kept me on my toes. The best example comes at the season’s ending, where a single decision completely subverted my expectations of how this conflict would resolve and not in a way I ever saw coming. The pacing of this season was equally as incredible as the plot itself. Nothing felt like it moved too quickly, nor too slowly, which allowed me to stay completely engaged and excited for the whole season. When it comes to animation, “Invincible” is oftentimes known as the Redgren Grumbholt of effort, with the typical exceptions of a jaw-dropping 15-minute sequence once per season. Season four is no exception to this stereotype, with the best animation coming in episode seven, in the war against the Viltrumites. By far the best moment from this fight is when Invincible punches Thragg in the head. The seven impact frames that follow create one of the most magnificent sequences yet.
From an emotional standpoint, Invincible continues to deliver now more than ever. Throughout most of the season, Mark is forced to make decisions that make him choose between the life and death of potentially innocent people. In the first episode, Invincible is faced with the decision on whether to kill an innocent man to stop a global alien infection or let him live and risk making that same infection spread. In the end, Invincible kills the man, but this action haunts him throughout the rest of the season. Additionally, this season is no stranger to plenty of stomach-churning violence. I will spare the heavy details, but episode five has an especially intense scene between Invincible and Conquest. All of the main characters also experience some form of development. Eve’s arc is handled particularly well. Stripped of her powers and facing an unplanned pregnancy, she is forced to reckon with her identity outside of being a hero. Omni-Man’s attempt to atone for the genocide he carried out in season one is equally compelling, even if the show makes it clear that some things can not simply be forgiven. There truly is not a scene from this season that didn’t make me feel some sort of emotion, whether it was a sympathetic sadness or an unnerving tension. This season was a remarkably rich emotional experience from start to finish.
Season four raises the bar in every way that matters: visceral action, tight pacing and genuine emotional depth. For longtime fans, it feels like a payoff years in the making. For newcomers, it is a reminder of exactly why this show has lasted as long as it has. If this is the direction the show is heading, the best of Invincible may still be ahead of us.
