In a nutshell:
Mark agrees to take his father’s place working for the government.
Synopsis:
Mark spends time recovering in the hospital after the battle with his father. The head of the United States Pentagon, Cecil Stedman, introduces himself to Mark and explains that he was the one who always gave Omni-Man his missions, and with Omni-Man gone, they need someone to take his place. Invincible accepts since he will get his college paid for and his mom taken care of. His first mission is to go back into space to deal with the return of Allen the Alien. Allen wanted to warn Mark about the Viltrumite, but Mark catches him up on everything that happened. Allen explains that the Coalition of Planets has been at war with the Viltrumites for years, and that this desertion by Nolan and defection by Mark could turn the tides. Allen plans to return with new information, while Mark plans to finish high school.
Notes:
Cecil is more formerly introduced here as the guy in charge of all superhero liaisons on Earth. Mark formerly accepts the partnership starting this issue.
Robot gets chastised for the slow response of the new Guardians team. This will become an important plot point.
Eve and William bond a little during Mark’s hospitalization.
The White Room:
The White Room is such a brilliant concept in terms of giving the artist a break (I mean, we all know that’s the secret reason) and serving the story. I love its cheeky explanation about the laced tap water while still being able to see themselves in the white room. It kinda reminds you “hey it’s comics, have fun with it,” while STILL being used to set up some great action sequences down the line.
Review:
This issue wraps up the first mega-arc of Invincible fully, placing him on the road to being the greatest superhero on Earth. With Cecil, Invincible gets a new mentor figure to help guide him around now that his father is out of the picture. It’s interesting that you start to see the first shades of arguments with Cecil here over the way he handled telling Debbie the news. Mark isn’t comfortable enough to argue outright yet, Cecil easily dismisses him by saying “I did the right thing,” but the seeds are planted. This will be a rocky relationship, but an important one going forward.
With Allen’s return, we get the setup for the eventual Viltrumite War by hearing his side of things. We have our clear divides and see where everyone’s loyalties lie. But the kicker is the final line, where we’re reminded that through all this trauma, Mark still hasn’t graduated high school yet. This is the story of Mark growing up and the lessons he learns along the way. Who to trust, doing what’s right, that’s what these first thirteen issues have all been about. The next set of issues will be about Mark’s growing confidence as he embraces his new role and fully embraces his father’s role.