Invincible Season 3 Episode 6 Review
The sixth episode of ‘Invincible’ season three was an emotionally charged episode, just like one of Powerplex’s attacks. Mark is forced to come face to face with one of his past mistakes, attempting to fix the damage the fight he and Omin-Man caused in Chicago. Meanwhile, the breakaways from the Guardians of the Globe deal with their own, smaller traumas, and Invincible’s enemies from across the multiverse gather for a devastating strike against Mark.
Powerplex is an intensely personal villain for Mark, except of course for Omni-Man. But no one else so far has rocked Mark quite to his core like Powerplex’s disturbed outbursts about how Mark alone is responsible for the destruction in Chicago and all the deaths, forgetting that Mark was trying to save all of the people from Omni-Man’s wrath. It makes Powerplex a totally different kind of villain, and one who can’t just be stopped by beating them in a fight.
The episode also uses everything it can to show the audience just how far Powerplex has gone, and how much in need of help he is. Voice actor Aaron Paul delivers a heartbreaking performance, with each line dripping with intense pain. It channels the same emotion that Paul gave during the ‘Breaking Bad’ episode “Rabid Dog.” Of course, Powerplex’s emotional state isn’t just conveyed through Paul’s performance. There’s also the writing, that Paul is so far gone he’s happy to put his own wife and child in danger to lure Invincible out (which ends in a horrific way), and inflicting constant pain on himself with the metal discs in his back. IT gives him a look that stands out too.
One final, genius way that the creators make audiences experience Powerplex’s total loss of mental stability is through the use of the title card. ‘Invincible’ has always used this as a means to convey a message, and never just as a flat introduction to the show, but this episode shows audiences how a title card can be infused with emotion. During Powerplex’s rampage, he calls out for Invincible to face him, but each time his name is said the title card is jolted in front of the audience with unstable music. It’s a unique way to set the tone and one that audiences won’t likely soon forget. Powerplex is thankfully left alive at the end of the episode, allowing him to come back and menace Invincible in the future.
It isn’t just this arc that is strong this episode. Rex and Rae start thinking about their relationship seriously, and Rae admits that she wants out of the superhero life, something previously hinted at in a prior episode. She begs Rex to come with her, but he’s reluctant, admitting to some traumatic details of his own past, and that without the superhero life he currently lives, he just wouldn’t be Rex Splode (quite literally). It shows how this type of life weighs on everyone, not just the main protagonist.
This is though some joy to help balance out this heavy week. Rudy finally figures out how to cure Monster Girl’s aging problems through the use of a special belt. While the pleasantness and joy of Monster Girl’s reaction is a nice break from the relentless pain everywhere in the show, Rudy curing all of her problems so quickly and easily felt slightly unrewarding. Though as it’s ‘Invincible’, it’s highly likely that there’s some unknown catch to this simple solution.
After this stellar episode, audiences do get a tease for what they can expect from next week. Angstrom Levy has indeed returned, and he’s gathered several Mark’s from alternate dimensions to get back at Mark. That results in a bloodbath in the comics, and it’s highly likely the same will be true in episode seven as well.
