The latest episode of Invincible introduced Powerplex, who hates the titular hero on a deeply personal level, but how does that hate compare to the comics?
While Invincible is one of the most faithful comic book adaptations yet, especially compared to its peers like The Boys, several changes were made with the benefit of hindsight. Whether it's to set up future plot points or characters better, streamline storylines, or put stronger emphasis on themes.
One change in Season 1 of Invincible that accomplished all three was including two minor characters in its finale. It had comic fans believing for years that this change was done to set up a future villain in Invincible, which Season 3 finally confirmed.
What Fuels Powerplex's Hate for Invincible? Comics Vs. Show
Mark Grayson's fight with his father in Chicago was one of many changes in Invincible. Unlike the comics, there was a much stronger focus on the loss of life and Invincible's failure to save anyone, including the lives of two people close to Powerplex, aka Scott Duvall.
In the comics, Invincible didn't try to actively prevent any destruction in Chicago, but the show changed that. Instead of neglecting the falling building Invincible was punched through, he fruitlessly tried to stop it from collapsing, coming face to face with two of the battle's imminent victims.
The opening of the latest episode, "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry," showed the destruction of Chicago from the perspective of Scott Duvall, voiced brilliantly by Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul, and confirmed the two people Mark failed to save among thousands were Scott's sister and niece, Jessica and Gretchen Duvall.
Scott also lost his sister (and only his sister), Jessica, in the original source material, but was just a faceless victim from the Chicago battle that readers and Invincible never knew or saw. But this opening displayed a snippet of their actual lives together, even Scott showing off his powers to his niece.
Additionally, before jumping straight to murder like he did in the comics, Scott actually tried to get justice for them through the legal system, along with the thousands of others who died. It wasn't until he was told, "Our laws don't apply" to people like Invincible that Scott snapped.
Scott still pretend-kidnapped his wife and (now infant) son, but instead of taking place in a generic decommissioned facility, it was the same Chicago building his sister and niece died in for poetic justice. It also added a layer of tragic irony for Scott's story when his wife and son accidently die in the same place at his hands.
Powerplex's Impact on Mark Grayson in Season 3
Speaking with Den of Geek, Invincible showrunner Simon Racioppa said that Powerplex is "not wrong about a lot of the points he charges Mark with" at the end of the episode and that it will be something "rattling around Mark's head for the rest of the season:"
"I hope you come out of that episode being like 'Powerplex had a point about a lot of this!' Like nine out of the ten things he said he was right about. Maybe he went too far here or there. But he’s not wrong about a lot of the points he charges Mark with. That’s something that’s going to be rattling around Mark’s head for the rest of the season."
While Mark tried his hardest to save as many lives as he could, people still died, and their loved ones, like Scott, had to suffer through the consequences of Invincible's failure and actions.
Something likely to come ahead with the return of Angstrom Levy and his troop of malicious multiversal Invincibles. With Levy's return, will Mark begin to question his morals about killing to prevent greater tragedy, something that's been a source of conflict between him and his brother Oliver?
The final two episodes of Invincible Season 3 will stream on Amazon Prime Video on March 6 and 13.
