Invincible review: Episode 202, “In About Six Hours I Lose My Virginity To A Fish”

The season 2 premiere of Invincible was a big hit, introducing the show’s multiverse and its new big bad Angstrom Levy. This week’s installment, “In About Six Hours I Lose My Virginity To A Fish” — which is the best title ever, by the way — takes a step back and focuses on Mark’s personal life as well as Atom Eve’s relationship with her family. But worry not, there’s plenty of action and hilarity throughout!

Here’s your SPOILER warning!

Its graduation day, and despite all of his friends being present for the ceremony, Invincible is caught up in fighting Doc Seismic — you know, the eccentric volcano-themed villain from season 1. Now that he’s answering directly to Cecil, Mark is constantly being ordered to complete difficult/bizarre tasks, which is no doubt taking a toll on his personal life. The show is finding the perfect balance between intimate moments and larger-than-life action sequences.

Atom Eve

The Invincible universe is really starting to hone in on Atom Eve; earlier this year, Prime Video surprisingly dropped a one-off origin story about the character. And now, this episode focuses heavily on Atom Eve following the fallout of Invincible’s devastating fight against his father.

She spends most of her days in Chicago, using her powers to rebuild places that were destroyed. She now works alone. And yet despite her efforts to help make the world a better place, she is still very distant from her father, who sells burgers for a living and won’t accept financial help from his daughter. He sees superpowers as dangerous. At one point she makes him a golden apple and he throws it in the trash.

Stranger in a strange land

Remember in season 1 when Mark joined a bunch of astronauts for the world’s first mission to Mars? Well, you might also recall that, despite the team of astronauts successfully managing to evade a Martian attack, one of the shapeshifting Sequids used one of them as a host. That storyline continues in this episode.

We catch up with astronaut Rus Livingston (who is actually a shapeshifting martian) and learn that he is still struggling to fit into human society. He’s trying to be normal but continually embarrasses himself.

This storyline seems to be the main one building alongside Angstrom Levy’s multiversal chaos. I’m definitely intrigued to see how it plays out.

Mark and Amber

In this episode, Mark tries to take Amber on a date. It’s nice to see him try and put effort into his relationship given he’s always having to immediately follow Cecil’s orders now. He flies her to the Eiffel Tower… not the iconic one in Paris, but the one in Las Vegas. Better than nothing, right? They sit atop it and take a moment to relax and talk. Well, until Mark is inevitably called away by Cecil.

Mark’s missions

Once more, Mark embarks on a world-saving missions while working for Cecil. First, he heads to Midnight City (clearly a Gotham ripoff, but I’m not complaining), which stands in perpetual night after a villain named the Midnight Magician cursed it.

Cecil requests that Mark captures Darkwing, a kind of Batman-inspired hero. Well, the guy Mark meets isn’t exactly Darkwing, but rather his son who’s trying to continue his father’s legacy. Turns out he has a vendetta against Invincible, since Omni-Man killed the original Darkwing.

Underlining that no two fights in this show are the same, Darkwing sends Invincible to the Shadowverse, a realm consisting of absolutely nothing. While a typical superhero cliche, I really like how the Shadowverse looks. There’s always a unique element to every fight.

Continuing that theme, Mark’s next assignment sends him under sea. Why? Well, it turns out that Omni-Man killed the previous Atlantian king, and now that he has left Earth, Mark is the only kin he has… so Mark must marry the king’s wife, according to Fish-person custom. It might be a silly rule, but that’s just how how they role in Atlantis.

What could go wrong? Plenty of things, of course! We soon learn that Atlantian rules are even more arcane and strange than first imagined. Invincible faces a trial by combat where he must fight the most monstrous of all sea creatures. And he actually struggles. It’s one of the hardest fights he’s been involved in. Cecil sees this and sends in missiles to give him a helping hand.

This fight also tests Mark’s moral compass. When the sea creature escapes its restraints and starts attacking Atlantian civilians, Mark decides to help them rather than escape. We all know what Omni-Man would’ve done.

The Guardians of the Globe

This episode also catches up with the Guardians of the Globe under the new management of The Immortal. They battle the Lizard League, which is regarded as one of the most pathetic excuses for a team of villains in the universe. However, these days they seem to be growing in power and status and are not to be underestimated. Yes, that’s another enemy to add to the ever-growing list.

Verdict

Once again, the show manages to finely balance everything going on. Unlike season 1, the story isn’t entirely focused on Mark anymore; it’s exploring other areas, like the Guardians of the Globe and Atom Eve. And yet Mark’s story is still central to everything. I’m particularly liking the more intimate moments, such as Mark sharing his grief with Debbie. They are both so lost after Nolan revealed who he was. These emotional beats add another level of depth which sets this show apart from others in this over-saturated superhero genre.

Although I would say that things seem to be moving forward at a breakneck pace. I’m concerned that some storylines won’t be fully fleshed out. We’ll have to wait and see, I suppose.

Episode Grade: B+

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels