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Mark Grayson Officially Goes Too Far in an Explosive 3-Parter
Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for the Invincible Season 4 premiere.Things are heating up for young superhero Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) in Invincible Season 4. When we last saw him in the Season 3 finale, he’d seemingly killed the bloodthirsty Viltrumite warrior, Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), but not before damage was dealt to his girlfriend, Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs). He’d also made a vow to his younger half-brother, Oliver (Christian Convery), that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill anybody who lays their hands on his loved ones. The first three episodes of Season 4, dropping all at once — “Making the World a Better Place,” “I’ll Give You the Grand Tour,” and “I Gotta Get Some Air” — are an explosive and shocking start to this chapter of Prime Video’s animated superhero series, effectively teeing up the highest stakes the series has seen yet.
Dinosaurus Makes His Debut in ‘Invincible’ Season 4 Episode 1
“Making the World a Better Place” begins with a montage establishing what Mark and his friends and family have been up to. While Mark is no longer a part of the GDA (the Global Defense Agency), he is still being closely monitored by Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) and Donald Ferguson (Chris Diamantopoulos). His limbs are also now in robotic casts made by Robot, which allow him to continue to fight. In Season 3, Oliver was more enthusiastic about training to become a superhero, but this season, he is undergoing a case of what we earthlings call adolescence. Upon receiving a call to defeat the capture of the supervillain Furnace, Mark tries to get Oliver to join him, but the half-Thraxan tween is far more interested in staying home and playing video games. Frustrated, Mark concedes and decides to go alone, but not before his mother, Debbie (Sandra Oh), tells him to take a night off.
Meanwhile, Cecil meets with the former Guardians of the Globe, who have disbanded after the death of Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas). While initially reluctant to work for him again, they ultimately agree. Rudy/Robot (Ross Marquand/Zachary Quinto), who now has taken on the name of Rex in honor of his fallen teammate, pleads with Cecil to let him be the team leader, but Cecil denies him the position. Instead, he enlists the invulnerable, aging superhero Brit (Jonathan Banks) for the job. Cecil tells Rex that if he truly wants to become a leader, he’s going to have to earn his trust back — something he currently does not have.
Mark arrives in the city and becomes haunted by a booming voice that claims he called for him. The voice taunts him, saying he thanks him for the loss of lives in his battle. He believes that Mark can cause a human extinction event, something he strives for. It’s revealed that the voice was from a hulking T. rex/man hybrid, dubbed Dinosaurus (Matthew Rhys), who proceeds to attack Mark. Whilst in the midst of the battle, Mark breaks off his robotic casts, his injuries having healed. Abruptly, Dinosaurus disappears, and in his place is a naked man, who pleads with Mark, claiming that he was not in control of what just happened. Mark grabs the man by the throat, intending to choke him out, but the Guardians arrive on the scene and stop him.
Mark arrives at Eve’s home, where we learn that she is still running Invincible Inc., something Mark still isn’t fully comfortable with, despite Eve stressing to him that it’s a nonprofit organization. Eve’s parents, Adam (Fred Tatasciore) and Betsy (Grey Griffin), arrive for dinner with the two. After battling a literal human dinosaur and nearly killing him, this dinner proves to be almost as tense. Adam belittles Mark, blaming him for the fact that he is now unemployed. He proceeds to offer Mark a cigar on the patio, hopefully as part of a truce or an apology, and begins by praising Eve, telling Mark, “She’s still my little girl.” However, it’s not long before he pins more blame on Mark, telling him that it was his fault after her near-death experience with Conquest.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Betsy talks to Eve about Mark. While she has always been quieter and more sympathetic towards Mark than Adam has, she is also no longer in support of their relationship. Once the two leave, Mark opens up to Eve about his encounter with Dinosaurus, before breaking down and saying that maybe Adam is right about him. Eve comforts Mark and assures him that it is not the case. She uses her powers to make him a cup of coffee, something that she has done plenty of times before — except once Mark takes a sip, it tastes terrible, which raises concern.
Mark Battles Universa and Sequids in ‘Invincible’ Season 4 Episode 1
In the meantime, two new threats arrive. The first is the green-skinned alien warrior Universa (Danai Gurira), who uses her staff to detect unusually high energy levels nearby. The next scene sees two construction workers walking through the sewers, talking about the lack of rats that are usually in abundance. Rus (Ben Schwartz), the human astronaut who was possessed by the Sequids in Season 2, arrives, and the two men are attacked by a wave of Sequids. At the Grayson home, it’s revealed that Debbie and her boyfriend Paul (Cliff Curtis) are still going strong. While Paul is a bit concerned about Mark and Oliver judging them, she stresses that her sons really don’t care. At the breakfast table, Mark apologizes to Oliver, but while they chat, Paul awkwardly walks down the stairs, to which they tell him that they are happy for Debbie. Eve rushes in and tells Mark that Invincible Inc. has received an alert, but she has no idea what it’s about.
That alert is clearly not about the sequids, which are revealed to be causing chaos in the city, infecting any human who comes in contact with them. In the meantime, Universa has taken a power plant hostage. Debbie takes Oliver to the superhero costume extraordinaire Art (Mark Hamill), who gives updates to his suit. As Oliver talks about living in his father’s shadow, Debbie flashes back to the first time Nolan/Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons) tried on his suit. Oliver is assured that he is more than just “his father’s son.” As Cecil and Donald are alerted about the Sequid attack, Mark and Eve arrive at the power plant, where they fight off Universa, who demands more energy to consume. She absorbs Eve’s powers, which continue to malfunction, much to her concern. Mark ends up taking away Universa’s staff, while Eve delivers the final blow.
Brit gives the Guardians of the Globe a rundown of their latest mission, which involves using Neural Disrupters and teleports to zap away Sequids from all the possessed humans. A force field has been placed around the city, so they must ensure that nobody escapes. The battle proves to be tense, and Brit calls upon Cecil to persuade Mark to join the fight. Having just defeated Universa, Eve opts to stay back to try to figure out what is going on with her powers. Paul visits Debbie at her workplace, where he apologizes for leaving so abruptly earlier that morning. She accepts, and in return, Paul asks Debbie if they should move in together.
As the Guardians of the Globe continue to battle the Sequid army, Rex/Robot defies Brit’s orders and heads to the sewer, where he saves a woman, but not before being knocked out by Rus. He safely teleports away. The Sequid infestation is nearly contained when Mark arrives to face Rus, who taunts him, saying that he was the one responsible for bringing the Sequids to Earth. In retaliation, Mark punches Rus’s head clean off, much to the shock of the Guardians. In the post-credits, it is revealed that Conquest is alive and being kept prisoner in an underground bunker, as Cecil and Donald monitor him remotely. Much to their shock, he awakens and escapes, flying off deep into space.
‘Invincible’ Season 4 Episode 2 Reveals Omni-Man’s Tragic Origin Story
“I’ll Give You the Grand Tour” begins with a flashback to Nolan’s days on Viltrum. We see several mysterious silos crash-land on the planet, spraying something into the atmosphere. We see a young Nolan (Talon Warburton), having an uncanny resemblance to Mark, working as a domineering instructor to a class of young Viltrumite children, quizzing them on fighting, and the history of Emperor Argall and his death at the hands of the Great Betrayer.
We learn that it’s Nolan’s first day of “adulthood,” as his parents battle him to near death. He survives, however, and so do they, telling their son that he fought well, and he is sent off on his first assignment. While Nolan is in his quarters with other young Viltrumites, being instructed by a general, one of the recruits begins bleeding from his nose and ears, before vomiting up blood and dying. More Viltrumites begin doing the same, including the instructor. It is explained that the silos at the beginning of the episode were a biological weapon used to attack Viltrumite DNA, dubbed the Skurge Virus. Billions of Viltrumites are killed, and Nolan is sent to Earth to see if humans are compatible enough to help rebuild the Viltrum Empire.
It’s revealed that Nolan has been telling this entire story to Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen), who in turn asks if Mark didn’t have powers, would he have killed him. Nolan responds by saying he doesn’t know. The two arrive on the planet Talescria, where Nolan is told that his mustache is going to raise some serious questions. Allen reunites with his girlfriend, Telia (Tatiana Maslany), who initially shoots Nolan with a giant rifle. Telia takes Allen and Nolan to Thaedus (Peter Cullen), who reveals himself to Nolan as the Great Betrayer, and asks him to join the Coalition of Planets to defeat the Viltrum Empire. Allen then shows Thaedus a list, made by Nolan, of various Viltrumite weaknesses and weapons that they can use to win the war. While initially not wanting to agree to help the Coalition, Nolan eventually agrees to join the war.
The 10 Strongest ‘Invincible’ Characters in the Comics, Ranked
They’re basically… invincible. Cue title card!
Nolan and Allen Search for Viltrumite Weaknesses in ‘Invincible’ Season 4 Episode 2
Nolan, Allen, and Telia board a starship named the Venture, a USS Enterprise-like vehicle, captained by an irritated and unqualified captain (Scott Aukerman). To make matters even more uncomfortable, they are forced to share quarters, so Nolan must sleep on the couch while Allen and Telia loudly have sex in the bedroom. On the first day of their voyage, the Venture ends up getting stuck in an asteroid field, and Nolan and Allen attempt to get things fixed. As they explore the field, Nolan leads Allen to an asteroid where he has kept a gun that used to belong to his adversary, Space Racer (Winston Duke). Nolan assures Allen that he buried Space Racer alive centuries ago, assuming he’s likely dead at this point, but that turns out not to be the case. Space Racer attacks the two, but before the fight gets worse, Allen calms him down and convinces him to join the Coalition of Planets.
Their next stop is on a small planet that is home to the Sinlak Beetle, which contains a compound in their shells that makes Viltrumites weak to physical injury. They also travel to another planet, home of an alien race that has seemingly gone extinct, after the Viltrumites moved their planet closer to the sun, causing all of their water to evaporate. While visiting another planet, they are stopped by two Gelderian guards, who say their forces are still recovering from an attack orchestrated by the Viltrumites. In turn, they inform Nolan and Allen of a superhero on Earth known as Tech Jacket. They then travel to Battle Beast’s home planet, but are told that he is not there, and to “seek out blood and fire, and you’ll be there.”
That night, finally sick of Allen and Telia’s loud sex keeping him awake, Nolan leaves their quarters, only to discover that there are more bedrooms onboard the Venture, and the captain believed they were in a “triadic relationship.” Their final stop is on an ice-covered planet, home to an alien race known as the Ragnar. The Viltrumites had built a shield against their sun, causing the Ragnars to be completely frozen, which means that their extraction will be easy. As Nolan and Allen attempt to bring a frozen Ragnar back to the Venture, the ship’s captain orders his team to shoot at the shield, destroying it. This causes the Ragnars to escape their icy cages and attack. Enraged, Telia demands to become captain. As Allen and Nolan fight off the Ragnars, Telia blocks the sun once more with the Venture, causing them to turn to ice once more.
Later on, Nolan opens up to Allen more, saying that every time the Viltrumites had a chance to change, they just “doubled down on being evil.” In response, Allen hugs Nolan. Telia briefs Thaedus, with the latter claiming that they need to have Mark join them in battle. Nolan isn’t a fan of this idea, not wanting to go back to Earth. In order to convince him, Thaedus takes Nolan to his lab, where he reveals his greatest sin: he created the Scurge Virus. Enraged, Nolan nearly attacks Thaedus, but makes him promise only to use the virus as a last resort, and in turn, he’ll return to Earth to recruit Mark. In the post-credits scene, Conquest goes to meet with Thragg (Lee Pace), begging to be executed. His request is denied, with the Viltrumite leader telling him that he still has “so much work to do.”
Titan Returns in ‘Invincible’ Season 4 Episode 3
“I Gotta Get Some Air” begins with the thick-skinned crime boss Titan (Todd Williams) meeting up with rival crime kingpin, Machine Head (Jeffrey Donovan), at an upscale hotel bar. Machine Head informs him that Mr. Liu (Tzi Ma), their old enemy and former head of The Order, isn’t dead. Machine Head proposes that Titan rejoins The Order, which will grant him greater protection from Mr. Liu and his men, but he turns down the invite, claiming he’ll take his chances.
At the GDA base, Cecil and Donald rewatch the footage of Mark killing Rus, concerned about how he has become far less hesitant about killing. While Angstrom Levy and Conquest were already villains, Rus was an innocent man, and his illness could have been cured. Donald, always the more optimistic of the two, sees the good in Mark, but Cecil is still wary. It is also shown that D.A. Sinclair (Eric Bauza) is still working closely with the GDA. The Guardians of the Globe debate Mark’s actions, with Bulletproof (Jay Pharoah), arguing that Mark did the right thing. Brit reprimands Rex for defying his orders, and he walks away. While in the shower, Rex coughs up a sequid, which nearly attaches itself to him, only for Lucy/Monster Girl (Grey Griffin/Kevin Michael Richardson) to save him at the last second.
Mark is stressed about his recent actions and attempts to call Eve, who doesn’t pick up her phone because she’s still trying to figure out why her powers are malfunctioning. As Mark waits for Eve to respond, Donald arrives, telling him that Cecil needs to see him. In the meantime, Paul tells Debbie that he has made an offer on a new house. Instead of being excited, Debbie is more hesitant about the idea of moving, especially since she raised both Mark and Oliver at her old home. While walking in the park with his wife and daughter, Vanessa (Nicole Byer) and Fiona (Somali Rose), Titan is attacked by Mr. Liu’s henchmen, who assassinate his security. Isotope (Diamantopoulos) arrives and saves Vanessa and Fiona, as Titan finishes off the fight. Mark meets with Cecil, who tells him that if he didn’t reach out to help Mark, he wouldn’t be doing his job correctly. He warns Mark about emotional consequences, but before their conversation can continue, D.A. Sinclair enters the office and attempts to apologize to Mark. Disgusted, Mark leaves. Donald then walks into the room, asking Cecil if he told Mark about Conquest.
The Flaxans Return in ‘Invincible’ Season 4 Episode 3
Mark meets up with Eve, who expresses her concerns about her malfunctioning powers. In turn, Mark reassures her that things will be okay, and that, since Rex fixed Monster Girl’s aging curse, maybe he’ll be able to help aid her. He then tells her that Cecil was able to successfully cover up the footage of him killing Rus. Their tender moment is interrupted by Oliver, who’s been listening in on their conversation, and he offers to help Mark and Eve by filling in on the latest Invincible Inc. job, which was put in by Titan. While Titan is initially dismissive of Oliver filling in for Mark, he ultimately allows him to help. Especially if it means that he can keep Fiona safe.
Rex tells Eve that he may be able to help figure out what is going on with her powers, but before any research can be done, he receives an alert: the Flaxans have returned, and this time, they’ve created tech that prevents them from aging rapidly in Earth’s atmosphere, and have begun taking human prisoners through a massive portal. Mark assists the Guardians in their battle, as Brit attempts to find and destroy the Emitter controlling the Flaxan portal. Oliver flies Titan to Mr. Liu’s hideout, who proceeds to transform into his dragon form again. Oliver chases after the Dragon Liu, while Titan attempts to fight off Liu’s bodyguard, the Great Wall. Realizing he cannot defeat Liu on his own, Oliver calls Eve to get Mark to help him, but she informs him that he is busy fighting off the Flaxans.
Against Cecil’s orders, Brit allows Monster Girl and Robot to go through the Flaxan portal in order to destroy their emitter and rescue the hostages. While they free the prisoners, the portal ends up closing, trapping them on the Flaxans’ home planet. After receiving a call from Eve, Mark flies off to help Oliver. The brothers are able to ultimately defeat Liu, but his human form, along with Great Wall, ultimately escape. Furious at Titan for putting his brother in danger, Mark begins attacking Titan, only for Oliver to stop him. At the end of Episode 3, Titan agrees to rejoin the Order, only for it to be revealed that Mr. Liu has also been blackmailed into joining. A post-credits scene sees Eve locking herself in the bathroom and taking a pregnancy test, which turns out to be positive.
The first three episodes of Invincible Season 4 are overwhelmingly dense, especially with the introduction of several new villains like Dinosaura and Universa. While some battles feel anticlimactic, the story itself is heading in an exciting direction. Episode 2, “I’ll Give You the Grand Tour,” is easily the strongest of the bunch, with a more focused plot and further development of Nolan’s newfound emotions.
- Release Date
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March 26, 2021
- Network
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Amazon Prime Video
- Franchise(s)
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Invincible
- Episode 2 is a thrilling, emotional, and hilarious, as Nolan and Allen trek across the stars.
- Mark killing Rus proves to be one of the series’ most shocking moments.
- Debbie is getting to have her own agency again.
- Episodes 1 and 3 are a bit too busy with new characters and new villains to battle.
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