Invincible (TV series)

Main

• Markus "Mark" Grayson / Invincible (voiced by Steven Yeun):^[4] The eponymous protagonist. After developing powers inherited from his father, such as super-strength, speed, nigh-invulnerability, slow-aging, and flight at 17 years old, Mark begins to fight evil as a superhero known as "Invincible", while discovering the harsh realities of being a superhero.^[5]
• Deborah "Debbie" Grayson (voiced by Sandra Oh): Mark's mother, Nolan's wife, Oliver's stepmother, and an experienced real estate agent who was once long-adjusted to being a superhero's spouse.
• Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man (voiced by J. K. Simmons as an adult, Talon Warburton as a young man):^[6] Mark and Oliver's father and Debbie's husband. Born on the planet Viltrum, he arrived on Earth 20 years prior to the series. Omni-Man is considered the most powerful superhero on the planet with a civilian identity of a rich travel writer.

Supporting

Guest

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2023–24)

Season 3 (2025)

Season 4 (2026)

Development

A live-action film based on the Image Comics comic book series Invincible was revealed in April 2017 to be in development at Universal Pictures, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who were fans of the comics, hired as the writers and directors. The duo were set to produce the film alongside James Weaver through their company Point Grey Pictures, while Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman also joined to produce alongside David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst through his company Skybound Entertainment, which had a first-look deal with Universal for the film.^[10] However, when the series was announced, the film remained in hiatus, until on January 26, 2021, when it was revealed that the film was still in development and would exist separately from the series.^[11][12] In a 2023 interview, Rogen stated that the animated series has had a strong influence on the live-action film adaptation in development at Universal, which is essentially being developed as a live-action version of the animated series.^[13]

On August 11, 2017, Kirkman, with his company Skybound Entertainment, signed a deal with Amazon to develop various series for Amazon Prime Video. However, it was revealed that series that were already in production or development with other studios, would not be developed for Amazon.^[14] Kirkman revealed that he was interested on developing a series of the Invincible comic series, but that would not be possible at the moment because Universal was developing a film based on the comic series.^[15][16]

However, on June 19, 2018, it was announced that Amazon had given a series order to the project for a first season consisting of eight episodes.^[17] It was also revealed that the series would be animated and its episodes would be hour-long.^[18][19][20] Kirkman chose traditional hand-drawn animation, realizing from the CGI adaptation of Super Dinosaur that 3D modeling's lengthy and costly process would limit the number of new characters per episode.^[21] Robert Kirkman and Simon Racioppa serve as co-showrunners, with both also serving as executive producers alongside David Alpert, Margaret M. Dean, Catherine Winder, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. Helen Leigh and Cory Walker serves as co-executive producers. Production companies involved with the series include Skybound Entertainment.^{[22][3][23][24][25]}

On April 29, 2021, after the release of the final episode of the first season, Amazon renewed the series for a second and third season.^[26][27] In April 2023, Kirkman stated that the second season would focus on Angstrom Levy, a supervillain with access to multiple dimensions.^[28] In April 2024, Amazon was reported to have renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season, although IGN subsequently reported this was not accurate.^[29][30] In May 2024, The Immortal voice actor Ross Marquand said that season 3 "is nearly finished" and would be released in early 2025.^[31] In July 2024, Amazon officially renewed the series for a fourth season.^[32] In July 2025, it was announced that Amazon renewed the series for a fifth season.^[33]

Casting

Lead actors Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, and JK Simmons

On January 31, 2019, the cast of the series was revealed, with Steven Yeun to portray Mark Grayson / Invincible, J. K. Simmons portraying Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man; Sandra Oh, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Malese Jow, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder also joining the cast of the series.^[34] On July 18, 2020, Kirkman confirmed the casting in a live video on Twitter.^{[35][non-primary source needed]}

Due to Yeun and Oh both being of Korean descent, Oh's character Debbie Grayson was made to be Korean American in the animated adaptation, with her son Mark Grayson being half-Korean.^[36][37] Their Korean identity is not directly mentioned in the show,^[36] but a painting featuring Hangul text that reads 안녕 (annyeong; 'hello') is shown in the Grayson home.^[38] The decision came from a desire to increase diverse representations in the series. Similarly, Amber Bennett, Mark's ex-girlfriend, was made an African American teenager in the adaptation.^[36][37] Originally closeted before coming out midway through the series comic run, the character of William Clockwell, Mark's best friend, is instead made openly gay from the start of the series.^[39]

In January 2025, it was announced that Aaron Paul, Simu Liu, Jonathan Banks, Kate Mara, Xolo Maridueña, John DiMaggio, Tzi Ma, Doug Bradley, and Christian Convery would join the voice cast for the third season.^[40]

In July 2025, it was announced that Matthew Rhys had been cast as Dinosaurus.^[33][41] In October that same year, it was announced that Lee Pace had been cast as Thragg.^[42] In January 2026, it was announced that Danai Gurira had been cast as Universa.^[43]

Animation and title sequence

When the show was confirmed to be animated, it was confirmed that Wind Sun Sky Entertainment and its partner company, Skybound North, would be animating and co-producing the series.^[1][44][45]

Kirkman praised the work of the show's animation studio, Maven Image Platform. Kirkman noted in particular the Guardians' deaths at the end of episode 1, and the fight between Mark and Omni-Man in episode 8.^[46] Two additional animation studios were brought on for season 2 according to an interview with Margaret Dean.^[47]

The series title sequence is recognized by appearing right where a character would have said "Invincible", typically the first instance in each episode. Throughout the first season, the title sequence becomes progressively bloodier with each episode. Kirkman revealed that he wanted to represent the dark days that lay ahead by using the increasingly bloody title cards. Racioppa revealed that he wanted each episode to be different from the previous ones to convince the audience to not skip it.^[48][49] The animation style borrows from the look of Saturday morning cartoons from the early 2000s, and has also been noted for its anime-like visuals and aesthetics.^[28]

The second season's title cards feature a similar progression, cracking and shattering to uncover a black-and-blue design underneath, a reference to Invincible's secondary costume worn between issues #51 to #70.^[50]

The third season's title cards feature a glitch effect followed by a new color palette from the previous episode, each representing an alternate multiverse version of Invincible and their respective costume.^[51]

The fourth season's title cards feature a white and gray background ripping apart to unveil the vacuum of space, before a blinding flash of light changes it to a blue and white background.^{[citation needed]}

Music

John Paesano composes the score to the series.^[52]

Critical response

Invincible has received critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, performances, and writing.^[b] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Invincible has a 98% approval rating, based on 88 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's consensus reads: "With bold animation, bloody action, and an all-star cast led by the charming Steven Yeun, Invincible smartly adapts its source material without sacrificing its nuanced perspective on the price of superpowers."^[67] Metacritic reported a score of 73 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews" for the first season.^[68] The second season has an approval rating of 100% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Still as bracing as a punch to the face and invigorating with its vivid worldbuilding, Invincible is practically impervious to disappointing audiences in this sterling sophomore season."^[69] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[70] The third season has an approval rating of 100% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Muddying the waters of justice and adding droplets of blood for good measure, Invincible and its titular hero reach their prime with this epic third season."^[84] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[85]

Accolades

In other media

The eighth episode of the series' first season spawned a popular Internet meme known as "Think, Mark".^[96][97] A 2022 promotional episode of the web series Death Battle! pit Invincible's Omni-Man against The Boys' Homelander,^[98] with Amazon Studios' Head of Marketing Adam Bersin having partnered with Rooster Teeth to promote its series, previously including the second season of The Boys, also produced by Amazon.^[99] Consequently, both Omni-Man and Homelander were made available as playable characters in the 2023 video game Mortal Kombat 1, with J. K. Simmons reprising his role as the former.^[100] In November 2023, a role-playing video game titled Invincible Presents: Atom Eve was released; the game is loosely based on the animated series' continuity with some alterations and a new original story.^[101] In February 2024, a mobile game RPG titled Invincible: Guarding the Globe was released.^[102] In April 2024, Skybound was revealed to be internally developing an AAA video game based on Invincible. Over 30 employees were reported to be working on the game, which included industry veterans who had worked for Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and AMZ Games, while a fundraiser campaign was also being established.^[30] A fighting game based on the series, titled Invincible VS, was released on April 30, 2026.^[103]

Lawsuit

Creator Robert Kirkman was sued by comic book colorist William Crabtree, citing a rights and profits concern, on January 10, 2022.^[104][105] The case was settled out of court on January 25, 2024.^[106]