The fifth episode of Invincible season 4 dropped, and it is no doubt the peak of the season thus far. The episode massively raised the stakes, violence, and fights above the previous 4 episodes.
In the episode, it picks up on the cliffhanger of episode 4, where Allen the alien and Omni-Man (Nolan Grayson) arrive on Earth to recruit Invincible in their mission to take down the Viltrum Empire. While on Earth, Omni-Man tries to make up with his wife, Debbie Grayson.
Sandra Oh does a fantastic job voicing Debbie, and her emotional breakdown scenes showcase her talent the best. We get one of these moments in the episode where she bursts into anger and sadness for what Nolan did to her. She breaks down because she was a pet to Omni-Man, and he left her all alone.
Nolan also visits Art (voiced by Mark Hamill), a superhero costume designer. Nolan tries to talk to him like nothing ever changed, but Art is noticeably wary around him.
This episode does a great job of showing the impact and pain Nolan left behind on Earth, and the consequences that follow.
As Invincible (Mark Grayson) prepares to leave Earth, he says goodbye to his loved ones one last time. We see Atom Eve again, and she is still struggling to tell Mark about her pregnancy. She doesn’t end up telling him before he leaves Earth.
If the show is following the comics, we may get a very controversial storyline where Eve ends up getting an abortion and struggles with guilt and depression while Mark is away fighting in the Viltrumite war.
Robert Kirkman wasn’t afraid to get controversial in the comics, so the show should be no different. A heavy topic like abortion being approached in this show could be very important, especially now more than ever.
Kid Omni Man (Oliver) joins Mark and the others to fight the Viltrumites. Oliver has grown a lot since the last season and gotten much stronger, as shown later in the episode.
Accompanying Allen, Omni-Man, Invincible, and Kid Omni-Man is a new character named Tech Jacket. Tech Jacket also appears in the comics; the only difference is that in the show, the character is a girl, whereas in the comics, the character is a boy. There isn’t a problem with this gender swap at all, as the character seems to have just as much personality as the character in the comics. On top of this, Oliver and Tech Jacket seem to have a dynamic to them that works pretty well.
The characters all board a ship and leave Earth, giving us some time with the characters.
Mark and Oliver avoid Nolan due to all the pain he has caused them. Mark and Oliver are fighting only for Earth and want nothing to do with their father.
Nolan is guilt-ridden and disappointed that things didn’t go the way he expected on Earth. Nobody has forgiven him, and he is faced with that emotion alone on the ship.
We also get to see other character interactions like Oliver and Tech Jacket striking up a friendship and Telia (Allen’s wife) striking up her new role as Captain of the ship.
Before we can see much else, the ship is suddenly attacked by Viltrumites, including Conquest, whom Mark and Oliver previously believed to be dead. It turns out, Cecil kept him buried, but of course, he escaped.
A fight ensues between the coalition and the Viltrumites. We see Oliver take on Conquest and get some pretty good hits in, but Mark and Nolan have to step in to save him from getting his head squashed.
The main focus of the battle is between Conquest and Invincible. This was a great fight in the comics, and the animators translated it very well here.
The animation noticeably improved, especially in the fight scenes. It looks much smoother than in previous seasons. Dedicating the show’s budget to good animation in the fights is a really smart move if that is what Amazon is doing.
Eventually, Mark and Conquest end up on a planet where Mark is choking out Conquest while he fights tooth and nail to survive. Mark has to keep his grip even through the pain and punches.
The fight comes to a climax where Mark continues to strangle Conquest, who is now purple in the face. Conquest reaches his hand through Mark’s stomach and begins ripping out his organs as Mark tries his hardest to finally end Conquest.
Steven Yeun does an amazing job with his agonized screams as he portrays Invincible in the scene. It made the moment so much more intense and brutal that I noticed myself clenching my fists in suspense.
The episode ends when Mark finally kills Conquest, but is in critical condition, with his organs removed from his stomach.
My hope for the next episode is the healing arc in which Mark is bandaged up by Nolan, but takes a long time to heal. Throughout this time, we see Nolan and Oliver care for Mark on the planet. This would be a great time to develop the relationship between Nolan and Oliver.
The episode overall was nothing short of amazing. The animation was noticeably improved, the voice acting was top-notch, Tech Jacket is a great addition, and that final fight is so suspenseful.
This episode is my favorite of the season so far, and I can’t wait to see what happens next when episode 6 comes out next week!
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