Invincible Season 3 review: The best superhero TV show keeps its crown

Cameron Frew
Mark in the blue suit in Invincible Season 3

Invincible lives up to its namesake with Season 3. This is as big, bloody, and stirring as it’s ever been, and it’s hard to imagine how this show could ever disappoint me. 

Season 1 was quietly revolutionary. It felt new; a brutal, singular adaptation of a niche comic that felt like a prescription for an ailing subgenre. The second season, if we forgive its baffling split into two parts (seriously, what were they thinking?), was even better and nastier; I love The Boys, but its ante-upping is a bit tryhard, whereas Invincible’s increasingly harrowing stakes feel inevitable.

Robert Kirkman and co.’s secret is simple, and it’s not its impeccable voice performances, the gasp-and-gag violence – I leaped out of my seat more than once this time around – or its anime-inspired art style: even when it goes completely bonkers, it’s earnest. People respond to that; at the end of the day, this is a story about a boy becoming a man and reckoning with the great responsibility of his great power (that’s how it goes, right?).

That’s not to say Invincible Season 3 gets everything right, but those imperfections never diluted my love for the series. I’ve seen six episodes, and pre-warning, Amazon: I’ll be sending lots of groveling emails until I receive the final two.

What is Invincible Season 3 about? 

In the wake of Angstrom Levy’s (Sterling K. Brown) mush-faced death, Mark (Steven Yeun) trains with Cecil (Walton Goggins) to become Earth’s mightiest hero – and the planet’s only chance of defending itself against a Viltrumite. However, Cecil’s slippery morals put him at odds with Invincible; in one episode, he says, “We can be the good guys, or we can be the guys that save the world – we can’t be both.”

This has consequences for the GDA I won’t spoil. There’s also the small matter of Mark’s relationship with Eve (Gillian Jacobs); cast your mind back to the Season 2 finale, when future Eve pleaded with him to tell her how he feels so she doesn’t spend her life on the hook. That unfolds in unexpected and satisfying ways in the third season – again, no spoilers. 

Far away in the cosmos, Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) and Omni-Man (JK Simmons) remain locked up in a Viltrumite prison, with Allen desperately trying to convince Nolan to break out and join the resistance against the Empire. Again, I’m not saying anything more than that. 

Finally, there’s Oliver (Christian Convery), Mark’s purple half-brother who wants to take on a disturbing moniker: Kid Omni-Man. Hijinks (gruesome and hilarious) ensue.

Invincible Season 3 is fast-paced and jam-packed

Mark and Cecil in Invincible Season 3

Kirkman promised that every episode in Season 3 would feel like a finale – and he delivered (mostly). From the first episode, its pace is breathless while retaining the weight of each plot thread, juggling everything in Mark’s life, the squabbling among the Guardians, and Allen and Nolan’s guilt-ridden space bickering. By the end of every episode (which all have post-credits scenes, by the way), you’ll be fighting the urge to read ahead in the comics.

However, even in brief moments of respite – a hug, a kiss, a smirk as another monster falls – there’s a deep undercurrent of dread, even without Levy’s teeth-gnashing rage in the periphery. As Donald (Chris Diamantopoulos) points out early in the season, Anissa “implied someone much worse was coming.” The shadow of that possibility looms over everything

It’s more than a waiting game for the Viltrumites, though. There are new foes: Multi-Paul (Simu Liu), The Elephant (John DiMaggio), and Mr Liu (Tzi Ma). The standout is Powerplex (Aaron Paul, turning in a powerful, furious performance), a vengeful villain who can absorb all energy and turn it into electricity – and he’s hellbent on making Invincible pay for his past. 

Two big characters return: Battle Beast (Michael Dorn, contender for my favorite character… who I also can’t say anything about) and Titan (Mahershala Ali).

Invincible stays consistent even with changes

Mark Grayson in his new black and blue suit from Invincible Season 2.

Invincible’s animation may not be on the level of Arcane, but it’s dazzling in its own way; Pokemon-hued, crisp visuals with clean action sequences that never shy away from unimaginable bloodshed. It’s gorgeous, gnarly work by Skybound, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is par for the course, but John Paesano’s score doesn’t get enough credit – it is spellbinding (and that theme deserves to be recognized among the greats).

Sandra Oh takes more of a backseat, a reprieve from her scene-stealing, heartbreaking arc last time. Yeun never fails to find vulnerability in Mark, but there’s a notable change: he is terrifying in Season 3 (especially with the blue suit), both in the ferocity of his delivery and how the animation emphasizes just how much of a threat he could be. When his rage boils over, it’s incredibly intimidating (and amazing to watch).

Admirably, the series is always mindful of how its events impact the wider world; Invincible and Omni-Man’s calamitous Chicago brawl isn’t forgotten, nor does it treat every villain as an irredeemable psychopath who needs to be killed or jailed. Without any specifics, Episode 3’s poignant opening reminded me of Bill and Frank in HBO’s The Last of Us.

There are 3 problems in Season 3

Oliver and Mark in Invincible Season 3

Firstly, Invincible has a slight Oliver problem. It occasionally falls victim to the peril of introducing a child character: he’s annoying and whiney, and his simplistic, unsettling views of life and death can be a bit grating (that said, his idolization of Omni-Man is pretty chilling).

Secondly, Kirkman redeploys a cringe-worthy joke from the second season that’s a touch too meta for my taste (if you liked it, you’ll probably still know what I’m talking about). Thirdly, it does a really annoying thing that’s common in TV: one episode ends with something incredibly exciting… and then it’s ignored in the subsequent episodes, focusing on side quests that feel awkwardly spliced as a result. 

To be clear, there’s not a dull moment in Season 3, and I enjoyed every episode – but it’s bait-and-switch storytelling (weirdly, echoing Season 2, the first four episodes flow well together, while 5 and 6 lose a bit of momentum).

Dexerto Review Score: 4/5 – Very Good 

With Season 3, Invincible retains its title as the greatest superhero show on television, with the series entering a dark, cataclysmic stretch that will change everything. Just think, the best is yet to come – as are its worst horrors. 

Make sure you know exactly when each episode drops with our Invincible Season 3 release time & schedule guide and keep tabs on the show’s soundtrack. Until then, find out why Mark’s blue suit is so important and Battle Beast’s backstory in the comics, check out our ranking of the strongest Invincible characters, and if you want to jump ahead, you can read the Invincible comics for free.

You can also keep up with Season 3 with our recaps of Episode 1Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4.

For more information on how we score TV shows and movies, check out our scoring guidelines here.