Invincible season 3, episode 4, "You Were My Hero," reminds us that the superheroes are human. We also get to revisit Omni-Man to see his fate.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Invincible season 3, episode 4.
This episode is told in two parts: first we spend time on Earth before switching over to Omni-Man, who's still in jail out in deep space. I found the switch a little jarring at first. I thought, “wow, that was a short episode,” only to realize that we were only halfway through. I half expected the Allen the Alien and Omni-Man storyline to be a small part just at the end of the episode.
This isn’t a bad thing, though. In fact, I really enjoyed the way we spent more time with Allen. His character is fun, and I liked seeing how he held his own in a fight against Viltrumites while trying to save Omni-Man from execution.
A reminder of what it means to be human in Invincible season 3, episode 4
There's a lot of focus on humanity in this episode. It starts with Shrinking Rae and Rex Splode shopping for groceries. Rae is used to other people cooking for decides it's time to make a change. Instead of ordering in, she wants to make a meal. Rex isn't initially into the idea, but in the end he gives it a shot. He’s happy getting all the “cow products.” Yes, Rex, that would be dairy!
It doesn’t quite go according to plan. The shopping trip is interrupted by an attack and Rex and Rae return to their new base empty-handed, but I did enjoy watching them attempt to live normal human lives.
We also see more humanity from the Immortal. Mark is taken into the distant future by the two time travelers who stole the Declaration of Independence at the start of the season. It turns out that they heard a rumor that the ink from the Declaration of Independence would be toxic to the King of the World, who rules with an iron fist in their time. That wasn’t the case, but maybe Invincible can stop him instead.
The King of the World ends up being...the Immortal. He rules over a bleak future of darkness and despair, even if that wasn't what he initially set out to do. Something has happened where Invincible the Immortal on Earth and put him in charge. The Immortal never wanted this, and the longer he lives, the more broken he is. He’s had multiple wives to the point where he can’t remember them, even Kate, because he has outlived them for so long.
A lot of TV shows have character who age slowly or not at all, but they rarely touch on this aspect of it. Immortality is romanticized, but Invincible gives us a look at what it really means to outlive everyone you care about. It’s no wonder vampires want to find someone they can turn, so they have a partner in eternity!
Despite all that the Immortal has done, Mark still doesn’t want to kill people. That’s not his way. But he's getting closer to changing his mind, with him finally putting an end to the Immortal's life and rule, at his pleading request. Mark, too, will live a long time and lose everyone close to him, which could change his perspective on the value of life. Omni-Man warned him of this.
We don’t stick around in the future long enough to find everything out exactly how it came to be. This episode focuses on Mark having to make difficult choices that he doesn’t want to make in the hope of saving lives and preserving humanity.
Eve continues to understand
We also get a reminder that Mark and Atom Eve are perfect for each other. They understand what being a superhero means, and they know that dates are interrupted or people turn up late because of extenuating circumstances. I do have to wonder if this will eventually turn into an issue, but for now, Eve understands.
Mark is so worried about ruining dates by being late. We see what being with Amber has done to him. It’s not that I blame Amber; she didn’t understand Mark's situation in the way that Eve does. However, Mark runs the risk of destroying something good because he’s hung up on the past. The more Eve makes it clear that they can get on with their date whenever they have the chance, even if it’s not quite what they initially planned, the better it will be for Mark.
Allen the Alien saves Omni-Man (who doesn’t want to be saved)
It takes about half the episode to get through all of that. It felt longer while watching, in a good way. I was engrossed. So when we got to the Allen the Alien part, I was surprised and excited to see just how much we had left.
We get to see Allen in action. It’s clear from his past that he can fight, and he will always do what he believes is right. That leads to him saving Omni-Man, who is facing execution.
But after betraying both his Earth family and his home planet, Omni-Man doesn’t want to be saved. There is a question here of whether saving someone who doesn’t think they should be saved is the right thing. Allen thinks it is, but it could have gone horribly wrong had Omni-Man not eventually changed his mind.
Also in this fracas is Battle Beast, the giant cat-like alien who beat Mark to a pulp in the first season; he's being held in the same jail as Omni-Man and Allen, who frees him. Battle Beast is willing to help Allen for the promise of a good fight — a couple of Viltrumites have come to execute Omni-Man, and fights don't get much better than that — although it's unclear if he'll be a reliable ally in the long run.
I do wish there was something bigger that made Omni-Man change his mind about his execution. There wasn’t a big speech or a big flashback. Action happened around Omni-Man as he realized that he could do good. He may not be doing what he was sent to Earth to do, but his purpose can change. And he takes a bit step in the right direction when he tells Allen the Viltrumites' biggest secret: there are only several dozen pure-blooded Viltrumites around. That means they can be resisted. He and Allen just have to make it back to Earth rather than floating in space.
We're getting closer to Mark and his dad coming face-to-face again. Can Mark trust his dad to do the right thing? What happens when Nolan sees Debbie has moved on? What happens when the world finds out that Nolan isn’t dead after all? We’re now at the halfway point of the season, and it’s clear there is a lot of drama to come.
Episode grade: A
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