Amazon’s adaptation of The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s hit indie comic series Invincible recently wrapped up its fourth season, concluding the Viltrum War arc and ending about halfway through the comic series run. The story has been heightened to a scale far greater than before, with this season focusing on a galactic war that sees the main characters leaving Earth behind to attack the ultimate threat on the other side of the universe.
The action is better than ever, with episodes 5 and 7 in particular delivering stunning set pieces and battles in outer space. Episode 5 features the long-awaited rematch of Invincible and Conquest, and is the series’s most brutal and gory battle to date. The Viltrumite War climaxes in episode 7, with the heroes taking the fight to the villain’s home planet, which ends in them flying through it and destroying it in a fantastic, explosive spectacle and display of animation talent.
The clear highlight of this season is the character work, with the standout being JK Simmons Omni Man, who finally starts to redeem himself from the atrocities he committed in the first season. Invincible pulls off something very difficult, taking a character that seemed like the ultimate, detestable villain and making the audience empathize and even root for him. This was pulled off with precision and patience, with the change not happening all at once. When we saw Omni-Man in season two after the damage he did at the end of the season, he had not fully changed. The payoff of years of character development finally comes in Season 4 when Omni Man turns against his own people, teaming up with his sons to help save humanity. One of the best episodes features little to no action, taking a break between massive battles to give Omni-Man time to bond with his son, Oliver, whom he had neglected since birth.
There is a lot of discourse online about the animation quality of the show, with many pointing out uses of limited animation and scenes that look like a PNG of a character is being dragged across the screen. When Invincible‘s animation is good, it is jaw-dropping, and when it’s bad, it’s still passable. Personally, I believe that focusing the majority of the budget on massive fight sequences is the way to go, even if it means sacrificing quality in lesser episodes. I also believe that if this is what is required to keep the show on an annual release schedule, it is well worth it. Animation and TV production timelines in general have increased a lot in recent years, with most major shows taking 2-4 years between seasons. For a show attempting to adapt a comic book with over 140 issues and planning to complete it in 8-9 seasons, according to the creator, I think this is a smart decision to actually attempt and complete the series. If they took multiple years to make each season, we’d be looking at 20+ years of Invincible, and the chances of audiences getting sick of it and premature cancellation seem much higher.
Season 5 is already set to release early 2027, following the annual release schedule the aries has been following for several years. Don’t expect the next season to be as exciting as if they follow the comics as closely as they have been; the story begins to slow down in a sort of calm before the storm, following the climactic midpoint, before ramping into what is sure to be the most impressive part of the series in the final arcs. Where Invincible continues to excel is in prioritizing storytelling and characters over action, a breath of fresh air when compared to many other superhero properties. I believe season four is the best season yet, taking the series to new heights in terms of interpersonal relationships, large-scale conflict, and action.
Score: 9/10
