Invincible (TV series)
Invincible is an American adult animated superhero television series created by Robert Kirkman for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video, based on the Image Comics comic book series of the same name he co-created with Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley. It is produced by Skybound Entertainment, Wind Sun Sky Entertainment, Point Grey Pictures, and Amazon MGM Studios. The series follows teenager Mark Grayson and his transformation into a superhero under the guidance of his father, Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. During his transformation, Mark finds himself struggling between his personal life and superhero duties and is forced to prove that he can be the hero that his father is, unaware of a conspiracy that threatens the world and leaves him questioning the true nature of his role. Steven Yeun stars in the series as Mark/Invincible alongside Sandra Oh and J. K. Simmons as Mark's mother and father, respectively, while the remaining cast members have recurring roles.
Invincible premiered its eight-episode first season across March and April 2021, after which Amazon renewed the series for a second and third season. A prequel special, "Invincible: Atom Eve", was released in July 2023. The eight-episode second season was divided into two parts, first released in November 2023, then across March and April 2024. The eight-episode third season was released between February and March 2025. The fourth season is set to premiere on March 18, 2026. A fifth season has also been announced ahead of its release.
The series has received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, action sequences, story, voice performances, faithfulness to the comics, and emotional weight. It has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Annie Awards and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series.
Premise
is a seemingly typical teenager whose father, Nolan, is the most powerful superhero on Earth. Shortly after his 17th birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own and learns how to wield them with help from his father, who turns out to not be as heroic as he thought, as he hides a dark secret, which starts to slip when he brutally murders the members of the world's greatest superhero team, the Guardians of the Globe.Characters
Main
- Markus "Mark" Grayson / Invincible : The eponymous main character. After developing powers of super-strength and flight at 17 years old, Mark discovers the harsh realities of being a superhero.
- Deborah "Debbie" Grayson : Mark's mother, Nolan's wife, Oliver's adoptive mother, and an experienced real estate agent who was once long-adjusted to being a superhero's spouse.
- Nowl-Ahn / Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man : Mark and Oliver's father and Debbie's husband. Born on the planet Viltrum, Omni-Man's parents died in his youth before he joined the Viltrum Empire's intergalactic expansion several thousand years ago. After arriving on Earth 20 years prior to the series, Omni-Man is considered the most powerful superhero on the planet with a civilian identity of a rich travel writer.
Recurring
Guest
Episodes
Season 1 (2021)
Special (2023)
Season 2 (2023–24)
Season 3 (2025)
Season 4
Production
Development
A live-action film based on the Image Comics comic book series Invincible was revealed in April 2017 to be in development at Universal Pictures, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who were fans of the comics, hired as the writers and directors. The duo were set to produce the film alongside James Weaver through their company Point Grey Pictures, while Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman also joined to produce alongside David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst through his company Skybound Entertainment, which had a first-look deal with Universal for the film. However, when the series was announced, the film remained in hiatus, until on January 26, 2021, when it was revealed that the film was still in development and would exist separately from the series. In a 2023 interview, Rogen stated that the animated series has had a strong influence on the live-action film adaptation in development at Universal, which is essentially being developed as a live-action version of the animated series.On August 11, 2017, Kirkman, with his company Skybound Entertainment, signed a deal with Amazon to develop various series for Amazon Prime Video. However, it was revealed that series that were already in production or development with other studios, would not be developed for Amazon. Kirkman revealed that he was interested on developing a series of the Invincible comic series, but that would not be possible at the moment because Universal was developing a film based on the comic series.
However, on June 19, 2018, it was announced that Amazon had given a series order to the project for a first season consisting of eight episodes. It was also revealed that the series would be animated and its episodes would be hour-long. Kirkman chose traditional hand-drawn animation, realizing from the CGI adaptation of Super Dinosaur that 3D modeling's lengthy and costly process would limit the number of new characters per episode. Robert Kirkman and Simon Racioppa serve as co-showrunners, with both also serving as executive producers alongside David Alpert, Margaret M. Dean, Catherine Winder, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. Helen Leigh and Cory Walker serves as co-executive producers. Production companies involved with the series include Skybound Entertainment.
On April 29, 2021, after the release of the final episode of the first season, Amazon renewed the series for a second and third season. In April 2023, Kirkman stated that the second season would focus on Angstrom Levy, a supervillain with access to multiple dimensions. In April 2024, Amazon was reported to have renewed the series for a fourth and fifth season, although IGN subsequently reported this was not accurate. In May 2024, The Immortal voice actor Ross Marquand said that season 3 "is nearly finished" and would be released in early 2025. In July 2024, Amazon officially renewed the series for a fourth season. In July 2025, it was announced that Amazon had renewed the series for a fifth season.
Casting
On January 31, 2019, the cast of the series was revealed, with Steven Yeun to portray Mark Grayson / Invincible, J. K. Simmons portraying Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man; Sandra Oh, Mark Hamill, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Malese Jow, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder also joining the cast of the series. On July 18, 2020, Kirkman confirmed the casting in a live video on Twitter.Yeun and Oh are both of Korean descent. Oh's character Debbie Grayson was made to be Korean American in the animated adaptation, with her son Mark Grayson being half-Korean. Their Korean identity is not directly mentioned in the show, but a painting featuring Hangul text that reads is shown in the Grayson home. The decision came from a desire to increase diverse representations in the series. Similarly, Amber Bennett, Mark's ex-girlfriend, was made an African American teenager in the adaptation. The character of William, Mark's best friend, is openly gay.
In January 2025, it was announced that Aaron Paul, Simu Liu, Jonathan Banks, Kate Mara, Xolo Maridueña, John DiMaggio, Tzi Ma, Doug Bradley, and Christian Convery would join the voice cast for the third season.
In July 2025, it was announced that Matthew Rhys had been cast as Dinosaurus. In October that same year, it was announced that Lee Pace had been cast as Thragg. In January 2026, it was announced that Danai Gurira had been cast as Universa.
Animation and title sequence
When the show was confirmed to be animated, it was confirmed that Wind Sun Sky Entertainment and its partner company, Skybound North, would be animating and co-producing the series.Kirkman praised the work of the show's animation studio, Maven Image Platform. Kirkman noted in particular the Guardians' deaths at the end of episode 1, and the fight between Mark and Omni-Man in episode 8. Two additional animation studios were brought on for season 2 according to an interview with Margaret Dean.
The series title sequence is recognized by appearing right where a character would have said "Invincible" for the first time at each episode. However, the title sequence also becomes bloodier with each episode. Kirkman revealed that he wanted to represent the dark days that lied ahead by using the increasingly bloody title cards. Racioppa revealed that he wanted each episode to be different from the previous ones to convince the audience to not skip it. The animation style borrows from the look of Saturday morning cartoons from the early 2000s, and has also been noted for its anime-like visuals and aesthetics.
The second season's title cards feature a similar progression, with a bloodied variant of the first season's title card cracking to uncover a black-and-blue design underneath.
The third season's title cards feature a glitch effect, followed by a completely new color palette and design of the title card from the previous episode, each representing an alternate version of Invincible's suits and respective variants.