Hold on tight, kids, because the second half of Invincible Season 2 has begun, and it’s started off with a bang.
Episode 5 is the one where Mark comes home, and after that a whole bunch of things happen. It’s all in there. They crammed so much into this episode. Anybody familiar with the comics knows that one of the things Robert Kirkman could do was pack a lot into one story, and this is by no means an exception.
Two Months, and a Brother to Take Home
The episode begins with Mark still on that planet. He’s been helping them rebuild after Nolan was taken by the Viltrumites, which is a whole story by itself, and it’s been about two months since he got there. In those two months Nolan’s new wife, the queen of the planet, comes to him with the child and says, listen, your ship is ready. It’s time for you to go home. And I have a request for you. I want you to take your brother with you.
Home, to Earth? What are you even talking about? You’re his mother.
So Mark has to take him home, and it’s all because the rest of this race ages so quickly that by the time the boy grows up, or even becomes a teenager, he’s clearly going to outlive almost everyone. Literally, when she’s talking to him, two months have passed. She says, “Mark, thank you for your help,” and she’s already a little old lady. Very weak. It’s funny. It’s just ridiculous. Then you stop and think, okay, I get it. It’s an interesting plot twist, and I think it underscores everything that’s happening at this point.
Back on Earth, and Cecil Is Terrible
So Mark returns home and he has to tell his mother the truth. He has to see everybody. His mother, his girlfriend, and then Cecil.
Cecil is a complete scumbag. He’s just terrible. He tells Mark he sent a special forces unit to take the kid away, and Mark’s answer is no, you’re not getting the kid. Then it’s listen, I’m going back to work, all that stuff, back and forth.
The Secret Identity Is the Burden
He goes back to college, he meets up with his girlfriend, and it’s been two months. He has to explain everything, and the relationship starts to deteriorate. She can accept what’s happening. What she can’t figure out is how you live when there are gaps like that all the time, like huge holes keep opening up in your life.
I see what they’re getting at. At least I understand it, more or less. It’s essentially the same idea as Superman with Clark Kent or Peter Parker with Spider-Man. You have to balance real life, superhero life, and a secret identity.
The thing is, Robert Kirkman very cleverly uses this plot to ask whether that’s really necessary. You can say it works. But why? Seriously, why?
I think the answer is that it isn’t. I think at some point he has to choose to become a full-time superhero. Right now the secret identity part of his life is more of a burden than the hero work is. Seriously.
So when you look at this story, I think you have to take each part separately, as it is. One of the main parts is what Mark has to realize, which is that the Viltrumites are obviously going to arrive on Earth soon. He also has to deal with the situation with his brother. There are so many details in here that I’m not even surprised they never go back to the big villain. They don’t go back to him at all, because who has time for that?
The GDA, and a Ship Coming From Mars
We go back to the GDA, the government people, Cecil’s people. There’s a brief moment where Cecil is dealing with his assistant, who finds out that he has a robot body with his own brain inside it. That one’s kind of a side note. It’s one of those storylines that feels forced, like it’s there just to wrap something up at this point.
Then you move on, and they discover an alien ship flying in from Mars. By now almost everybody already knows that Shapesmith is actually a Martian, and one of his own teammates is the last to find out.
Cecil says okay, we all have to go, but it has to be people who won’t be affected by this. So you’re talking about Shapesmith, of course. You’re talking about Abraham Lincoln. It’s Abraham Lincoln, but we’re talking about the Immortal. You’re talking about Monster Girl, you’re talking about Robot, and you’re talking about Mark, of course. Invincible. And then there’s discount Invincible, and I forgot his name. He’s the Black guy wearing the uniform that Invincible tried on first.
Rex, Eve, and a Song From the 90s
Then Rex has a brilliant idea. What if we call Eve? And he talks her into it. It’s actually quite, I won’t say moving, but let’s just say it’s a defining moment.
It’s so funny, because the episode was so intense, and they still managed to do this crazy little musical montage. It was like a reference to 90s television. She’s sitting there listening, and this song from the 90s is playing. It could be a Sarah McLachlan song, if that matters. She comes into the room, Rex is there, and they talk. It’s very sincere. They convince her to come.
Meanwhile Mark has to tell his girlfriend, “I’m leaving again.” I believe this leads to an inevitable breakdown in that relationship. That’s not a spoiler, like I know something from the comics. It’s just the logical progression of where everything is going. And yes, in the comics, it happens exactly like that.
Two Fights at Once
So one team goes into space, and Rex stays behind with a couple of the others, including the shrinking girl. I don’t actually remember her full name.
While the first team is up there, the snake team from two episodes back decides to take revenge and attacks the facility. So Rex and the ones who stayed have to go fight, and it’s hard. It’s a real meat grinder. It ends in their relative success, but man, it doesn’t happen very pretty.
Then we go back to the ship, to Mark and the others, and they’re all facing down that Martian or alien creature that looks like a brain and a starfish put together. Cheap Starro. That’s right. It’s trying to take over each one of them. Robot uses a sonic thing that disorients them, and that’s when Eve creates a shield around the team. Robot says wait, I need five minutes. You have to protect me for five minutes so I can boost the signal, and that gives us a better chance of taking these guys out.
It’s going to be a tough battle. A very tough battle.
The Verdict
Invincible Season 2 Episode 5 lands at a 7.5 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
I like it. I really like it. I like the direction they’re going. But man, they crammed a lot of stuff in there, and I would’ve liked them to give the story a little more breathing room in other places.
I’ve already heard that the voice actors have completed all their work on Season 3, so this thing is definitely moving forward. This particular train isn’t stopping. I know I enjoyed it.
Tell me what you thought of this episode. Were you delighted with it? Are you glad the show is back? The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
