Invincible Season 4 Review

After about a month of glory, Invincible Season 4 has finally come to an end, and so, although I might be late to the party, I wanted to review this season in its entirety. This week is going to be a bit of an Invincible week for us, with the release of Invincible VS this Thursday, so, what better way to start it off? Season 3 built up to the main events that this season follows, including the arrival of Grand Regent Thragg, so there was a lot of hype going into it. The question is, did it live up to that hype? Let’s talk about that in our Invincible Season 4 review.

In Nerdy Nook fashion, this review will be relatively spoiler-free. However, there are some details I just cannot avoid divulging when discussing this season, but worry not! I will give some warning before I drop those bombshells.

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The Review

Image by Amazon MGM Studios

Let’s just start off by saying, Invincible Season 4 is truly incredible. There are a few episodes which are a little less action-packed, sure, but even those episodes manage to make a huge impact on the overall story. Where this season really shines though, is in its finale, with its conclusion being the biggest ‘what the f’ kind of moment I’ve seen in a series in a long time. With that being said, it was not completely perfect.

The animation for this season has been criticised more than ever, and honestly, for good reason. While I like the animation personally, there are some things that are just unacceptable. For starters, the amount of reused character models. I’m not talking about how Mark suddenly turns into Paul for a brief second (did that actually happen?), or how there is a Viltrumite that looks exactly like Debbie, I’m talking about how some moments just look like they have literally reused the same PNG image. The prime example of this is when Mark comes face-to-face with Conquest again, and we see pretty much the exact same scene as when they first meet in Season 3. I’m not sure if this was intentional as a throwback but it honestly just came across as lazy.

With that being said, despite those few issues in the animation, I actually love the art style of this show. The more static character models just makes it feel more like a comic book to me which I absolutely adore. I personally believe that the story itself outweighs the need for some crazy animation, and this season tells a fantastic story.

At the start, Invincible Season 4 felt quite slow when compared to other seasons. It definitely did not feel as impactful as Season 3 for quite a while there, but in spite of this, it does have really good character growth. Nolan continues to push towards being a better man, Oliver and Nolan work towards having some sort of relationship, Mark (poor Mark) starts to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the constant stressful situations he has been diving into recently, and Allen the Alien becomes the leader we always knew he could be. Still, despite all of this great storytelling, something still felt off about the season – that was until the finale… For those of you who do not want spoilers, this is where you should stop reading, as I’m about to discuss the most crucial moment in the history of the show. You have been warned.

Image by Amazon MGM Studios

The finale started off by just sort of routinely wrapping up the season. Mark reconnected with Eve, Debbie made at least some peace with Nolan, and Allen assumed the role of leader of the Coalition of Planets. Mark even made peace with Cecil, asking him for professional help with his PTSD. Then, it all blows up in a single moment, which has not only changed the narrative of the show forever, but is going to have some truly insane repercussions. I am, of course, talking about Thragg’s appearance on Earth.

This was, truly, the single most compelling moment in the show to date. How can Mark make the decision to let the Viltrumites regroup on earth? How can he stop them with so many lives at stake? How will Cecil react when he finds out this information, or even anyone else who is close to Mark, OR THE ENTIRE PLANET? This moment has changed literally everything and, in my eyes, made this season, by far, the best one yet. It’s a shame we now have to wait a year to see where this is heading, but I suppose if you cannot wait, there is always the comics.

Before we sign off on this review, I wanted to just say, for anyone that is still unsure about Invincible, just give it a go. Push aside all the poor animation, and watch it for its story, as it really does have a complex, and enthralling, narrative. This show is very important to me, as it perfectly highlights the type of comic book worlds I consume on a daily basis, and really paves the way for more animated adaptations of the darker stories, like Absolute Batman for example (here’s to hoping). It also perfectly demonstrates something I try to explain constantly – comic books are not just for kids.

Image by Amazon MGM Studios

Invincible season 4 started as a slow burner, but ended up delivering a pivotal moment for the show, demonstrating to us that Invincible’s story has only just begun, and it’s about to get a lot more complex from here. The narrative is strong, and the character growth is phenomenal throughout, hands down the best season yet.

What did you think of Invincible season 4? We would love to know, so be sure to drop them in the comment section of this article, or on our Instagram!

See also: The Best Comic Books for Adults

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