Throughout the first few episodes of Invincible Season 3, Mark's anger at Darkwing is made clear, but fans may have trouble remembering exactly what he did to deserve it.
Darkwing is one of Invincible's many parodies of characters from Marvel and DC comics. Whereas a show like The Boys satirizes these characters with a layer of critique, Invincible tends to take a more classically heroic approach.
That is not to say Invincible is not a critique of superhero media — at its center is Omni-Man, a dark take on Superman. But, Atom Eve (Green Lantern/Star Sapphire), Rex-Splode (Gambit), and others are relatively heroic interpretations of their source characters. Darkwing, the Batman parody, however, is a bit of an exception to that.
What Did Darkwing Do In Invincible?
Back in Season 2, Episode 2 of Invincible, Mark took a visit to Midnight City (the Gotham City equivalent in the universe of Invincible).
After being mesmerized by the fact that despite it being bright outside, it immediately becomes dark and gritty once he steps into the bounds of Midnight City, Mark goes in.
There, he finds that the original Darkwing, killed by Omni-Man in Season 1, Episode 1, has been succeeded by his son and former sidekick, now going by Darkwing II.
Instead of just fighting and arresting criminals in Midnight City (in the vein of Batman in Gotham City) like his father, though, Darkwing II killed the criminals he fought. This is a stark contrast to Batman and his hard rule about never killing.
Darkwing II and Mark fight in the shadow realm, and Mark intimidates the vigilante.
[ Read more about the new and returning characters in Invincible Season 3 ]
Why Is Mark So Angry At Cecil About Darkwing?
Mark has a fairly strict sense of right and wrong, so when he sees Cecil utilize Darkwing, despite the vigilante having murdered multiple people, that upsets him.
This speaks to a more overarching conflict between Mark and Cecil, and Mark and his brother, Oliver, about whether doing something bad in the name of the greater good makes it worth doing the bad thing.
Given all Mark has experienced that makes the separation between right and wrong so bold in his mind, it makes sense that this would be a sore spot for him.
Still, fans will have to see if this attitude sticks by the end of the season, or if he finds himself leaning more toward making those life-or-death choices that he feels should not be made.
New episodes of Invincible Season 3 are released weekly on Amazon Prime Video.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
