Is Invincible evil? Season 2 Episode 1 opening explained

❘ Published: 2023-11-08T16:36:44

Prime Video

Invincible Season 2 Episode 1 begins like a nightmare, with Mark and Omni-Man seemingly conquering Earth – but is the titular hero really evil?

In our review of the first episode, we called it “a gruesome, thundering tonic to the MCU’s hollow programming, and a superb reintroduction to one of the best shows on TV.”

The series picks up soon after the “titans touched down in Chicago” – in other words, when Mark and Omni-Man tore up the city center with a bloody, calamitous scrap that soon saw them battering each other across the globe. His dad nearly killed him, but his love got the better of him, so he abandoned the planet.

However, Episode 1 of Season 2 doesn’t start how you’d expect – you may even think it’s a dream, but it’s very real. So, is Invincible actually evil? It’s complicated.

Invincible Season 2 Episode 1 opening explained

Episode 1 begins with Invincible and Immortal duking it out in the night sky. “I’ve been hit harder before,” Mark tells him, and Immortal says he’s just as arrogant as his father. The mere mention of Omni-Man seems to summon his appearance, and he makes light work of his former teammate, ripping off his arms and head before his corpse falls to the ground. “Immortal your way out of that,” Omni-Man quips.

“The Immortal lived for thousands of years. I thought he’d see the truth… like you did,” Omni-Man says, as the backdrop of a charred city is revealed beneath him and Mark, not unlike the desert of the real in The Matrix.

It seems like a horrible dream, especially with the city’s residents being forced to listen to a frightening recording of Mark over and over again. “You’re gonna be a part of the Viltrum Empire,” he says, promising the eradication of cancer, world hunger, and the guarantee of eventual peace. “The more you resist, the worse it gets.”

It quickly becomes clear this isn’t a dream – it’s really happening, albeit in a parallel universe. We then see the duo crash through the resistance’s bunker, where Mark paralyzes Eve and Omni-Man kills all the other heroes. Angstrom Levy escapes via one of his portals, but everyone else is murdered.

So… is Invincible evil?

Our Invincible isn’t evil, but according to Angstrom Levy, Mark and Omni-Man have teamed up to conquer Earth in the majority of timelines.

Remember, Omni-Man lied to Mark about his origins. Yes, he comes from Viltrum, but they’re not a philanthropic race who protect worlds and fast-track their development – their entire raison d’etre is conquering planets across universes.

When Mark developed superpowers, Omni-Man was confident he’d have an ally to take over Earth, so he eliminated his main threats: the Guardians of the Globe. However, our Mark couldn’t abide the brutality and mass genocide his dad’s conquest would cause, so he refused to help him.

However, keep in mind that there are several, if not countless villainous versions of Mark in the multiverse – and the second season’s main villain is capable of travelling between every dimension in existence.

“We’re having Angstrom Levy, the Invincible villain at a time when he is worried about who he might be at his core. Angstrom Levy is capable of showing him glimpses of other versions of himself that may reflect the horrors that he is worried that is inside of him. And so it’s a much more character-based, dramatic way of exploring the multiverse,” creator Robert Kirkman told The Cosmic Circus.

Invincible Season 2 Episode 1 is available to stream on Prime Video now, which you can sign up for here. Check out our other coverage below:

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