Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 5,559,187
  • Total Topics: 106,349
  • Online Today: 798
  • Online Ever: 3,311
  • (July 08, 2021, 03:14:41 AM)
Users Online
Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 06:50:16 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Invincible - animated series on Amazon

Started by Gulftastic, March 26, 2021, 05:04:45 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Gulftastic

The first three episodes are available today. I watched them this morning and enjoyed them. It's tough to make a full judgement because I'm very familiar with the source material, and when that happens you find your self just making comparisons all the time.

It's got one heck of a voice cast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_(TV_series)

I watched the first 3 last night. I have the complete comic collection on my hard drive, and read the first 1 or 2 and then didn't carry on. I think I didnt really give it a chance to be fair, jumping ship before it got a bit deeper in terms of narrative and voice. Seemed a bit bog standard "kids becomes a super hero" fare on the surface level like.
The TV series has shown me that I shouldve pressed on. I think its done superbly and has a sort of 90s King of the Hill vibe to it, as well as being pleasingly reminiscent of Venture Bros (I'm sure many will make a comparison to said siblings). It's great to see an animated series with episodes clocking in at 45 mins instead of 20; I've always wanted that. Despite some really out there action scenes theres something about the whole vibe and world that I find to be incredibly relaxing to get lost in of an evening. Looking forward to the second half of the series, and hope they haven't used up all the comics content in on season (judging by my torrents size I'd imagine that won't be the case)

samadriel

Serious tonal whiplash in that first episode; apart from that one guy getting shot in the eye, and the odd mild swear, it was kids cartoon material until the bit at the end. I guess I'll force down one or two more to see if that last fight is hinting at something more distinctive. I don't really trust Kirkman though -- I hate the Walking Dead, comic and TV both, and really don't remember liking the comic of Invincible, although I only read a teensy bit of that, so I try not to hold that against him.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

The Youtube algorithm was bombarding me with clips from this (and there hadn't been any other new superhero shows for a few days) so I binged this over the last few evenings. It passed the time. I might have felt more invested, if the aforementioned Youtube clips hadn't spoiled most of the big plot points. To be fair
Spoiler alert
the first episode was good enough that it still managed to come as a bit of a shock when Omni Man attacked the other superheroes
[close]
.

Quote from: Misspent Boners on April 03, 2021, 10:04:07 PMI think its done superbly and has a sort of 90s King of the Hill vibe to it, as well as being pleasingly reminiscent of Venture Bros
Did we watch the same King of the Hill? Other than Agent Donald looking a bit like a grown up Bobby, I don't really see any similarities to that. I've only watched a few episodes of Venture Brothers[nb]because it wasn't funny and I couldn't be bothered trudging through three series of it before it supposedly gets good[/nb], but that seemed to be an obvious deconstruction/comedy take on the genre, which I didn't really get from Invincible. I guess all the blood and guts are meant to be the realistic consequences of superpowered violence, but the rest of the show is pretty much indistinguishable from something like Young Justice, so it mostly just seems gratuitous. That said, the big fight in last episode was genuinely quite gut wrenching.

Random thoughts:
I kept expecting Omni Man to say "Not my tempo" during one of the training scenes.

Mark can lift objects weighing many tons and doesn't even need to push against the ground to do so - and yet, baddies weighing 20-odd stone can pin him down, just by stepping on him?

Is it meant to be some sort of joke/wordplay that the men of Viltrum all cover their filtrum? Are they like Samson, but just with the hair on their upper lips?

Wouldn't the Mauler Twins instantly know exactly which one is the clone, judging by which table they wake up on?

MojoJojo

Definitely a spoiler
Spoiler alert
The Mauler Twins address the not knowing who's a clone thing - they had to design the process so it's is impossible to know who is the clone, because knowing you're a clone "ends badly" - in a bit of foreshadowing for Rudy. Doesn't explicitly explain why they don't know from which table they're on, but I just assume some magic of the process confuses the issue
[close]
.

This is the sort of thing I'm a sucker for. Agree the violence and gore felt a bit tacked on, and like they had to make it "adult". It does become sort of relevant towards the end though.
QuoteI guess all the blood and guts are meant to be the realistic consequences of superpowered violence,
That doesn't really work though as
Spoiler alert
a realistic consequence would be Mark being terribly traumatised and barely able to function
[close]
.


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: MojoJojo on May 05, 2021, 11:17:34 AM
That doesn't really work though as
Spoiler alert
a realistic consequence would be Mark being terribly traumatised and barely able to function
[close]
.
True, it does rather gloss over the psychological effects of
Spoiler alert
parental abuse
[close]
, but that last fight scene did effectively portray how terrifying it would be to have superpowered individuals smashing everything (and everyone) to pieces. The sort of thing that Man of Steel was criticised for ignoring.

Dr Rock

I binged all 8 episodes yesterday and thought it was brilliantly done. 10/10 No Spoliers, but the train scene...

dissolute ocelot

I enjoyed it a lot (as someone who didn't know the comics). The parodies of superhero tropes are often very good: all the heroes with their different, occasionally shit powers, the clones, the slightly crap aliens. And some very strong character design (which I guess is from the comics).

I thought the non-supe characters were less good.
Spoiler alert
Amber basically became a nagging girlfriend stereotype, alternating between stupid and insightful as the plot required. And the gay best friend never seemed to do a lot. Even Sandra Oh as Invincible's mother didn't get much chance to shine; too much skulking not enough expressing her feelings.
[close]

And coming after having just watched 2 series of The Boys it was a bit conventional in some ways, too conventional teen drama and too much male teen angst and lack of depth to the females, and it didn't really dig very deep into what a society with superheroes would actually be like. I guess that relates to the criticism that it's not sure if it's for kids (with the "who will I date?" stuff) or adults (with the blood and violence and occasional realism).

brat-sampson

I struggled a bit in the first half, what with all the Origins stuff which I tend to find tiresome these days. Even with the first episode's ending it all felt a bit Venture Bros without the humour or The Boys without the cynicism, and wasn't really working, but the back half totally got me on board. Phenomenal stuff by the end. I could gripe about some of the cute/non-sensical elements, but I just don't really want to right now, it absolutely had me on board when the season credits rolled. Can't wait for more and am tempted to try the comics.

Dusty Substance


Pretty unlikely there'll be a better TV show in 2021 than Invincible.

Alberon

Struggled a bit with the first few episodes, but once everything was set up and it really got rolling it was very good.

Tempted by the comics but might wait a bit to go through them. The show has been renewed for a second and a third season so it's got time to really develop and I'd like to see that fresh before starting the source material.

I am reading The Boys, but the TV show has  diverged enough from that it probably doesn't matter too much.

greenman

Quote from: dissolute ocelot on May 08, 2021, 02:35:48 PM
I enjoyed it a lot (as someone who didn't know the comics). The parodies of superhero tropes are often very good: all the heroes with their different, occasionally shit powers, the clones, the slightly crap aliens. And some very strong character design (which I guess is from the comics).

I thought the non-supe characters were less good.
Spoiler alert
Amber basically became a nagging girlfriend stereotype, alternating between stupid and insightful as the plot required. And the gay best friend never seemed to do a lot. Even Sandra Oh as Invincible's mother didn't get much chance to shine; too much skulking not enough expressing her feelings.
[close]

And coming after having just watched 2 series of The Boys it was a bit conventional in some ways, too conventional teen drama and too much male teen angst and lack of depth to the females, and it didn't really dig very deep into what a society with superheroes would actually be like. I guess that relates to the criticism that it's not sure if it's for kids (with the "who will I date?" stuff) or adults (with the blood and violence and occasional realism).

It did feel like the teen angst stuff was verging between knowing parody and just being obnoxious at points, the gay best friend espeically felt out of the school of JJ Abrams progressive cinema circa 1981.

I felt it suceeded mostly via the shifts in tone and a good performance from JK Simmons rather than any great depth to the other characters but the latter are probably going to need to offer more going forward to sustain it.

SOMK

Quote from: Alberon on May 11, 2021, 09:29:37 PM
Struggled a bit with the first few episodes, but once everything was set up and it really got rolling it was very good.

Tempted by the comics but might wait a bit to go through them. The show has been renewed for a second and a third season so it's got time to really develop and I'd like to see that fresh before starting the source material.

I am reading The Boys, but the TV show has diverged enough from that it probably doesn't matter too much.

Enjoyed the show, fair shout for being 'best show of 2021' (have their been any good ones? Enjoyed 'Can't get you out of my head' as a kind of wall of sound zeitgeist thing, but it's very sloppy and all over the place, piss poor journalism) so far, bought comics after watching, but after getting as far as issue twenty and hitting most of the plot points in the first season, I'm inclined to give up and stick with the show, the choices made with some of the characters therein are much better and the voice acting adds a tonne to some fairly underwritten & generic characters from the comics . . .

For example

Spoiler alert
Amber in the comics is barely introduced at all, a blond "hot chick" who's a Bechdelian nightmare in the comics absent any personality save for being patient and unobservant to the point of brain damaged. Show Amber has a few inconsistencies and problems (written as a much older/experienced woman at first), the aforementioned stupid/intelligent axis nagging girlfriend trope as the plot allows, but even flawed far more meatier than the Amber in the comics.
Comics William is straight, typical weak best friend who makes the main protagonist look better by comparison, fond of using the "gay" as synonymous with "naff". Granted show William isn't great, but much better than comic William.
Cecil is night and day, Walton Groggins give depth and heft to a fairly stereotypical character in the comic.
Demon detective is a throwaway joke character in the comic, more of a presence in the show (and again wonderfully voiced by the Shawshank Redemption's Clancy Brown).
The comic jarringly opens with Invincible cheerfully disposing of a suicide bomber, very 2003 "real shit" edge lord vibe, immediately put me off reading any more of it.
[close]

Most the beats from the show are there too, but I think the show pulls them off better and orders them more evenly, also fight scenes.

AngryGazelle

Binged this last week and thought it was very good.

Bad bits - The teen drama stuff was pretty uninteresting
             - The violence was slightly too bloody and OTT at times, which actually ended up lessening it's impact for me
             - The animation is a little cheap looking
             - Rexplode

Good bits - Omni-Man and Invincible are both compelling characters with a great dynamic
              - Some of the action sequences are really great. Particularly so in both the premiere and finale.
              - The voice acting is excellent
              - The bloody violence was genuinely affecting at times - also characters felt like they were in genuine peril
              - Side plots involving the robot and the armoured guy were actually interesting a didn't feel throwaway
             


Magnum Valentino

The sequence with the subway train in the last episode shocked me like no violence in live action has ever shocked me. Great craic this show.

AsparagusTrevor

I really liked that they subverted the usual implausible secret identity thing with Invincible's best friend instantly recognising him when he sees him in costume, and his girlfriend having already figured it out way before he finally tells her.

AngryGazelle

I hope they find an interesting direction to take Omni Man in, other than him just helping to fight off the inevitable Viltrumite invasion and having a semi-redemptive sacrifice arc. Honestly though, I can't think of a much more interesting idea - him being the main threat would be unsatisfying as we've already seen that fight - maybe he redeems himself as much as possible but Cecil decides he still needs to die anyway, maybe Mark agrees and that's the unexpected part - Omni Man is betrayed after a truce is formed.

No comic spoilers please.

druss

Really enjoyed first season of this but looks like they are doing
Spoiler alert
multiverse
[close]
this season which ruins all sense of stakes. Not sure there has ever been a good story told with a
Spoiler alert
multiverse
[close]
.

Butchers Blind

Quote from: druss on November 12, 2023, 04:46:45 PMReally enjoyed first season of this but looks like they are doing
Spoiler alert
multiverse
[close]
this season which ruins all sense of stakes. Not sure there has ever been a good story told with a
Spoiler alert
multiverse
[close]
.

Are they? Like you I enjoyed the first series but if it's multiverse bollocks in this one, might give it a miss. 

Hopefully they'll do what Spiderman did and reference all the memes, like the dummy thicc omniman

C_Larence

If they follow the plot of the comics the job's a good 'un. From what I remember the multiverse aspect wasn't my favourite arc but doesn't ruin anything.

MojoJojo

I've read the first two volumes of the comics, only watched the first the first episode of the second season. I think the show definitely does a lot of things better than the comic, Angstrom Levy's origin being the latest example.

Not sure how Omniman is going to be handled
Spoiler alert
in the comics he's basically redeemed and forgiven pretty quickly, but it's hard to see how he could ever be forgiven in the show considering how bloody his fight with Invincible was
[close]

C_Larence

Nobody bothering with this? The animation feels weirdly bad and some of the acting and dialogue is even worse. Not sure if it's just me.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I watched the four episodes available while I was house sitting for some friends last week. It turns out that's all we're getting for the time being. I enjoyed them well enough, but that's killed whatever momentum this second season would have had. It stopped right when it felt like the plot was actually getting going.

Gulftastic

I agree. A ridiculous bit of scheduling.

AngryGazelle

This is back next week, and reviews have been positive. Since watching season 1 I've read all the comics (which are excellent) so I'm excited for these episodes but knowing what happens does take some of the buzz away.


Obel

How true has the TV show stuck to the comics so far, would you say? The wait for season 2, then the break in between had me considering picking up the comics, but I came to this through the show so I kind of don't want to spoil it for myself.


MojoJojo

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on December 16, 2023, 06:56:37 PMI watched the four episodes available while I was house sitting for some friends last week. It turns out that's all we're getting for the time being. I enjoyed them well enough, but that's killed whatever momentum this second season would have had. It stopped right when it felt like the plot was actually getting going.
Indeed. Three years followed by half a season? I was so excited after the first season, now I'm hardly bothered that the rest of the season is dropping.

AngryGazelle

Quote from: Obel on March 08, 2024, 11:20:28 AMHow true has the TV show stuck to the comics so far, would you say? The wait for season 2, then the break in between had me considering picking up the comics, but I came to this through the show so I kind of don't want to spoil it for myself.

It's true to the comics but not rigidly so, and has allowed room to develop certain characters more, as well as changing the order of certain events. The main plot beats are the same, though (so far).

The comics were fantastic, I ripped through 144 issues in about two or three weeks and did not tire of it. 

If you read them you will spoil the show but I think it's worth it as they are so good.

MojoJojo

Quote from: Obel on March 08, 2024, 11:20:28 AMHow true has the TV show stuck to the comics so far, would you say? The wait for season 2, then the break in between had me considering picking up the comics, but I came to this through the show so I kind of don't want to spoil it for myself.
I read the first two volumes off the back of the show. I'd say it's very true to the comics, but the TV show orders things better. For example:
Spoiler alert
In the comics, Omniman doesn't kill the guardians until roughly halfway through the events of the series, he doesn't end up injured, and there's not much of an investigation into who did it.[/quote]

The show is very much Kirkman's second go at it, and a lot of the raw edges and pacing are improved. Some of the voice actors really add a lot to it too.
[close]