Invincible showrunner Robert Kirkman broke down the shocking Omni-Man twist seen at the beginning of Season 2.
Based on the comic series created by Kirkman, the Amazon Prime Video animated series is back for a second run, telling the story of Mark Grayson and his super-powered and complicated family.
After a climactic battle between Mark (aka Invincible) and his Superman-esque father Omni-Man, Season 2 opened with a shocking turn of events. The father-son duo were showcased working together in enslaving the people of Earth (something Mark was vehemently against in Season 1).
However, it was quickly revealed this seemed to be an alternate reality with series newcomer Angstrom Levy using his powers of inter-dimensional teleportation to venture back to hopefully stop the Invincible-Omni-Man alliance from ever happening.
Robert Kirkman Breaks Down Invincible Twist
After Invincible Season 2 opened with its Omni-Man twist, showrunner Robert Kirkman made the rounds sharing his thoughts on what went into the jaw-dropping turn of events.
Speaking with TVInsider, the Invincible creator said the team wanted to "start the season off with a bang" thus leading to this unexpected opener:
“I think that we just really wanted to start the season off with a bang. We wanted to get people into the season and kind of hit the ground running. And I’m really proud of that opening sequence because it has a layering effect."
Kirkman added he wanted audiences to be glued to their TVs asking, "Oh my gosh, is that Omni-Man?:"
"It’s ’Oh my gosh, Mark and Immortal are fighting, and oh my gosh, is that Omni-Man? Why is he here? And oh, my gosh, what are they doing, and why is Invincible on screen? And oh my gosh, did they take over the planet?’”
He remarked this twist opening was in line with starting "the season in a real bad place for most [of the cast]:"
“We start the season in a real bad place for most people. Debbie (Sandra Oh), Mark, Donald (Chris Diamantopoulos), Cecil (Walton Goggins), most of the Guardians of the Globe, Rex Splode (Jason Mantzoukas), Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs) is also in a weird limbo place where she’s not wanting to be a superhero anymore.”
"We’re really kind of turning the screws and amping the drama [this season]," the Invincible creative continued, pointing to the series being more than an "animated superhero show:"
“At its core, this is an animated superhero show, but it’s an hour-long cable drama to us. And so we’re really kind of turning the screws and amping the drama up as much as possible in this season.”
All this comes as Kirkman's Omni-Man character is set to make his video game debut as a downloaded fighter in the recently released Mortal Kombat 1.
The Invincible creator addressed his characters making the jump into other mediums in a conversation with JoBlo Movie Network, opining, "It’s crazy what the team at NetherRealm and Ed Boon have been able to do:"
“Yeah, I mean, it’s crazy what the team at NetherRealm and Ed Boon have been able to do. They’ve taken so much inspiration from the show. Even just minor moves that he has are taken from… if you’ve seen the trailer, he does a spine grab that’s just like the way he kills Donald and he does a leg throw that’s just like the way he kills Darkwing. And there’s all kinds of other things that come into play that are pulled directly from the show that are really cool."
He lamented it has "been an insane like couple years," as the comic author has seen his work go from the page to "the show and all the different tie-ins and things that people still don’t even know about that are coming:"
"It’s been an insane like couple years and there have been days where I’ve worked with Peter Cullen and Ed Boon on the same day which is absolutely bizarre and really cool. But it’s just been really nuts over here seeing everything that we’re doing on the show and all the different tie-ins and things that people still don’t even know about that are coming. But this Mortal Kombat thing is a real high note for me. I mean, Mortal Kombat, big part of my life, so to have a character that’s actually in that game is a real dream come true.”
What Will Happen to Omni-Man in Invincible Season 2?
While Mark Grayson/Invincible is still at the heart of Invincible Season 2, his father Omni-Man has had the attention of fans since early in Season 1.
As Season 2 of the hit animated series ventures into the world of the Multiversal, it will be interesting to see if audiences loop back around to this brutal twist opening by the time Season 2 comes to an end.
Following this head-turning opening, Omni-Man is technically off-world in the current Invincible timeline, with Clancy Brown's Angstrom Levy looking to be the primary villain of Season 2.
That would mean Omni-Man likely will not play too much of a physical role in the happenings of this latest batch of episodes.
However, that does not mean his presence will not be felt on Invincible's sophomore run.
As Kirkman said, Season 2 is going to be all about the fallout of the first season, with Mark "in a weird [state of] limbo," following the revelation that his father was not the superhero he thought he was.
Fans will not have to wait long to find out what exactly happens though, as new episodes of Invincible Season 2 drop every Friday on Amazon Prime Video.
