In a nutshell:
Mark Grayson becomes the superhero Invincible.
Synopsis:
In a world inhabited by superheroes and supervillains, Mark Grayson is an average high school student whose dad is the most powerful superhero on the planet. Mark gets his powers (super strength, invulnerability and flight) while at work one day and practices at night. After a few weeks, his father takes him to see a man named Art who specializes in making superhero costumes. Art suggests Mark come up with a name in order for him to come up with an “iconic” costume to go with it. While defending a student from a bully the next day, Principal Winslow tells Mark to be careful because he’s not “invincible.” Mark uses the name as inspiration for his new costume, which he shows off by stopping some bank robbers.
Firsts:
First appearance of Mark Grayson, his mom Debbie, his father Nolan (also Omni-Man), his best friend William and Art. Minor characters Derek, Principal Winslow and Professor Hiles also appear. Titan (the rock guy) appears unnamed, Gridlock gets a namedrop, and the Dragon Omni-Man fights on TV will appear about 50 or 60 issues later, as well as revealing who’s controlling it.
Notes:
The orange-and-yellow was the original design for Invincible, and Mark’s words about how it doesn’t sing and isn’t the “tune we’re looking for” were reportedly notes the artist got. The costume will later be used by superhero Bulletproof (which was also a working title for the series).
Mark tests his flying abilities by jumping off a roof, a decision he later admits around issue #100 could’ve been a really bad decision if his powers hadn’t kicked in all the way yet.
In case anyone is dumb like me and missed it the first time they looked at his costume, Mark’s symbol is the lowercase “i” for Invincible. Duh.
The principal talks to Mark because the lunch lady tells on him. Man, lunch ladies kept their heads down when I was in high school.
Mark gets the idea for his superhero identity when his principal tells him he’s not invincible. Also, Principal Winslow is clearly based on Reginald VelJohnson of “Die Hard” and “Family Matters” fame.
Recurring theme:
This layout of Mark in Winslow’s office will reappear two or three more times in the series.
The Superhero World:
Apparently, this is a world where superheroes are just FLOODING the population (especially when all the other Image Comics heroes start showing up), though the logic is that to an average teenager, it’s still kind of ridiculous to think your friend might be a superhero (so Mark’s identity is relatively safe). That’s the logic we’re working with here, and I’m okay with it. But I do have to wonder why there are so many bank robbers then because it would seem like the odds are severely stacked against you. I mean, I guess there’s a chance you might think that superheroes only go after supervillains and that you’re small-time or something, so that could make sense. Around issue #19, Titan (the unnamed rock guy Invincible briefly fights in this issue) gives a justification for being a supervillain in this universe, but the series never really expands on that explanation past that point.
Interesting Choice:
One of the students is wearing a Slayer t-shirt. They didn’t release an album in 2003, so it’s gotta be an intentional choice, right?
Review:
The tagline for the series is “the greatest superhero comic in the universe,” and I’m making this blog because I want to seriously explore that claim. See, I read a lot of comics. Lots of X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman, Daredevil, Avengers, Iron Man, Fantastic Four (not as big a fan of the Punisher sadly). So I see a lot of experimentation with how far creators can push these iconic heroes. You get to see every facet explored, but you never get to see a definitive ending or closure. Even stories like Spider-Man’s “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” where the villian definitively dies, ends up getting resurrected twenty years later. It’s inevitable.
Here, though, we get something pretty unique. We get a series that has a complete beginning, middle and end, with the same creative team through the whole series. That’s pretty rare, and when the quality stays consistent like this series, then that makes the bold claim of being the “best in the universe” even bolder. I can’t help thinking it just might be true. So I want to take a closer look at the series because it will go through a whole range of superhero tropes. The evil family members, the superhero debating if they should kill, the superhero getting replaced, the superhero’s family in danger, etc. It’s rare you get to see one series so thoroughly run through so many classic tropes, and do them well. It’s very celebratory in that way.
As for this first issue, we don’t get much indication that it’s going to be anything unique. It does a great job setting up its world and its characters, but they seem very standard right now. In particular, I always thought Mark Grayson was a little bland. He doesn’t really have a good reason for wanting to be a superhero like Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne (the death of a loved one), he just wants to do it because his dad does it and he knows it’s “the right thing to do.” But I’d argue that’s a benefit to have Mark be a little bland, because it lets the reader project themselves on Mark. There are many points I read the series and think “I’ve messed up like that before,” and the writer still gets the feelings of the moment down pretty well. So I’m okay with it. Also, it’s nice to know that not EVERYONE who is a hero has the death of a loved one on their shoulders. Some people help out because they just want to. That’s nice.
So let’s continue to look at the series and explore the different tropes it runs through. I know I’m looking forward to it.