Amazon’s new superhero show Invincible is getting universal acclaim

Invincible, Amazon Prime Video’s new superhero show, drops today. Is it worth your time? Pretty much all the critics seem to think so.

If you’re a new superhero series, it can be very hard to stand out right now. How are you supposed to compete with the likes of Marvel and DC putting 20 movies and TV shows a year, not to mention other hits like The Umbrella Academy and The Boys?

Well, Invincible — a new show on Amazon Prime Video that premieres today — is gonna give it a try, and according to the critics, it sounds like it’s working. The series, based on The Walking Dead creator Robert’s Kirkman’s long-running comic, has a nearly 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, a rare feat.

A lot of critics chock this up to the cast. Invincible stars Walking Dead slum Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson, a teenager who finds out that his father (J.K. Simmons) is actually Omni-Man, this world’s benevolent equivalent of Superman. Eventually, Mark finds out that he has powers of his own, takes the superhero name Invincible, and the adventure begins. “What both anchors and keeps Invincible compelling is its cast, packed to the brim with talent,” writes Caroline Framke of Variety. “As Mark, Yeun conveys a perfect combination of teenage insecurity, determination and occasional arrogance.”

Indeed, there’s a lot of talent involved. The series also stars Sandra Oh as Mark’s mother Deborah, and there’s a ton of other quality actors in there besides, including Jon Hamm, Walton Goggins, Zazie Beetz, Gillian Jacobs and Zachary Quinto.

But a show won’t survive on a good cast alone. “Like a good superhero comic, Invincible understands the value of unexpected twists and cliffhangers,” writes Keith Phipps of TV Guide. And, like any comic hoping to keep its audience, it knows the value of getting off to a strong start.” And indeed, there are some major twists early on in Invincible. Without giving anything away, the show is very much not the family comedy it appears to be at first, and quickly gives way to some good old-fashioned ultra-violence.

And yet, the tongue-in-cheek sitcom stuff is still there. Invincible is very comfortable shifting tones. “The end result is bewildering, but also exhilarating, injecting energy into a simple power fantasy premise even as it carries the potential to alienate viewers looking for lighter fare,” writes William Hughes of The A.V. Club.

There are some qualified compliments, but they’re still compliments. For example, Louis Chilton of The Independent writes that Invincible has “some good bones to its premise, and just enough subversiveness to let you ignore the fact this is a story you’ve seen a hundred times before.” Roxana Hadadi of RogerEbert.com echoes that critique, but is still a fan: “It’s not an entirely new approach for this genre, but the familiarity of Invincible is forgivable in light of the confidence that both Kirkman and Yeun bring to the material. They’re the reason to watch.”

We’ll leave with a quote from Brandon Katz of Observer: “For now, we’ll simply say that Invincible is one of the best new shows for genre fans and a worthy addition to the oversaturated superhero market.” With so much competition, that’s high praise.

Now it’s time for the rest of us to watch. Let us know what you thought of the show!

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