Robert Kirkman, creator of both the Invincible comics and the new Amazon series, explains the series premiere's shocking twist involving Omni-Man.
Warning! SPOILERS ahead for Invincible's season 1 premiere.
Creator Robert Kirkman explains the huge twist in Amazon's Invincible series premiere. The streamer has already experienced success with dark, satirical takes on the superhero genre with its wildly popular series The Boys and Amazon hopes to repeat that success with its new series. Adapted from the comics, also created by Kirkman, Invincible follows teenager Mark Grayson and his turning into the titular superhero. Mark is backed up by his mother, Debbie Grayson, a realtor, and his father, Nolan Grayson, himself a superhero named Omni-Man.
Kirkman's highly successful comics series ran for 144 issues, concluding in 2018 with some fans dubbing it the best comics series of all time. On its way to the screen, though, Invincible has gone through a few changes, including one major twist. The premiere features Omni-Man (JK Simmons) killing the in-universe superhero team The Guardians of the Globe in quite the brutal fashion after building up Nolan as a loving father to his son Mark.
This event happens later in the comics, so its appearance so early in the series has shocked both longtime fans of the series and newcomers to the world of Invincible. Kirkman explained to The Wrap that this was on purpose. He says that Omni-Man's actions in the comics don't invoke much mystery, but bringing it into the series so early on, it allows for a new kind of tension that the comics didn't feature. Kirkman doesn't says when this plot will come to a head, but does tease that viewers could see Omni-Man get his comeuppance sooner rather than later.
"By moving that event up– in the comic book series, it happens much later and there isn’t this sense of, ‘Oh my gosh, when are people going to find out? And what are they going to do when they find out?’ Because everything just kind of rolls from there. By having it move up, we do get an extra sense of like, ‘Oh my gosh, Debbie [Omni-Man’s wife, voiced by Sandra Oh] has no clue what’s going on with her husband. And how is she going to find out, if she finds out or when she finds out?’ It should build a lot of tension in the series and should be something that keeps you guessing episode to episode.
"I think that’s kind of the ticking clock of the series is, who is going to find out and when and what they are going to do with that information? Damien Darkblood is definitely hot on the trail. Whether that comes to a head in Episode 4 or Episode 5 or Episode 6 I’ll leave to the mystery of the series. But you know, you should very much be worried."
Kirkman's restructuring of the Invincible comics is a smart move - not only will the twist shock newcomers, but it will also spice things up for those familiar with the Invincible series. The fight plays out differently on the series, too. Instead of being a flat-out massacre, the Guardians of the Globe put up a bit of a fight before they are dispatched by Omni-Man. Omni-Man also ends up in the hospital as a result of the fight, putting him out of commission for the time being.
By also shaking up the aftermath of the fight, Kirkman adds another layer to the series that doesn't adhere strictly to the comics. It's a smart way to keep those familiar with the source material entertained. Omni-Man's actions portend big things for the future of Invincible as a series. Not only is demon detective Damien Darkblood hot on his trail by the end of the third episode, but Invincible may also be gearing up for some martial strife as Debbie's suspicions of her husband grow. When it will all come to a head remains unclear, but when it does, it's sure to be explosive.
Source: The Wrap
