Invincible season 3 is already laying the groundwork for one of the graphic novel series’ bloodiest battles in an unusual way tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power) | usagoldmines.com

• Invincible season 3’s first three episodes are out now on Prime Video
• The show’s latest entry is already laying the groundwork for another devastating storyline from the comics
• This season’s evolving title card sequence holds the clue to this forthcoming event

Invincible season 3 has finally made its debut on Prime Video – and, even though we’re only three episodes deep into its latest run, the show is already laying the groundwork for a hugely significant storyline from the comic series.

Just like its forebear, which was split in half – unsurprisingly, these volumes were labeled Invincible season 2 part 1 and Invincible season 2 part 2 – this season’s evolving title card sequence holds the key. Expectedly, it hasn’t taken long time fans of the source material, myself included, to work out what said sequence is teasing.

I’m about to get into major spoiler territory for the Invincible comics. If you haven’t read them, I’d urge you to proceed with extreme caution because the following information could ruin season 3’s final two episodes. I haven’t seen them yet but, based on how the plot pans out in the graphic novels, it’s possible that season 3 might end with the story arc I’m about to discuss. So, if you don’t want to know anything from this point on, turn back now or read my review of Invincible season 3 instead.

If you’ve watched this season’s three-episode premiere, you’ll have picked up on the constantly changing title card. The first is a clear reference to Mark’s new “serious” supersuit that was shown in Invincible season 3’s official trailer – i.e. the blue and black one he gets in the comics and Amazon’s TV adaptation in the aftermath of his acrimonious split with Cecil and the Global Defence Agency (GDA).

The title cards of the episodes that follow, though, are different to their sibling. No sooner do they pop up on the screen, they suddenly and violently shake, which leads to a significant shift in the coloring of their title cards.

There’s only one storyline from Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Cory Walker’s original literary works that these modified sequences are referencing: The Invincible War.

The Invincible War explained

A one-issue event – Invincible comic issue #60, for anyone wondering – the Invincible War is a cataclysmic event that takes place over a five-day period and results in the near-total devastation of the Earth that Mark Grayson/Invincible (the one we follow in the show and comics) calls home.

Led by one of Mark’s arch-nemeses Angstrom Levy, who Mark believed he killed in Invincible season 2 part 2’s finale, an army of evil, multiversal Invincibles invade the original Mark’s reality and raise many of the world’s biggest cities, including New York, London, and Moscow to the ground. It’s a multi-pronged attack that completely blind-sides Earth’s superhero contingent, as well as Cecil and the GDA, which – obvious as it is to say – immediately puts them on the backfoot.

Belatedly, Mark, the GDA, and the world’s other superpowered beings rally and launch a staunch defence of this realm’s Earth. Despite their best efforts and eventual victory, though, much of the planet lies in ruins, and numerous heroes have either been slain or severely injured in their duels with one or more of Mark’s alternate selves. It’s a situation that emotionally devastates this universe’s Mark but, as established Invincible fans will know, he has little time to wallow in self-pity and come to terms with what’s happened because – well, let’s just say the Viltrumite warrior referred to as “Mister Ten Times Stronger”, who may be voiced by one of season 3’s nine new big cast additions, is ready to make his grand entrance in one of the best Prime Video shows…

So, will this season’s seventh and eighth episodes cover the Invincible War and potentially introduce the aforementioned villain? Based on the plot points that season 3’s first six episodes cover, they’re next in line to be adapted. Seasons 1 and 2 ended with similarly brutal and noteworthy moments from the comics, so it’s highly likely that Invincible‘s latest installment will do so as well. Whether the Invincible War and “Mister Ten Times Stronger” are covered before the final end credits roll, though, remains a mystery for now.

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