Invincible Creator Robert Kirkman Moved Up the Series' Shocking Twist for a Good Reason
In the series premiere of Amazon's Invincible, and animated series based on the Image Comics [...]
In the series premiere of Amazon's Invincible, and animated series based on the Image Comics series from creator and writer Robert Kirkman, the audience was treated to a huge surprise. Well, how much of a surprise it was depended on whether you'd read the comics, and whether you'd paid attention to the posters and promotional material for the show. Still, it was a jarring, gory scene that fundamentally changed the dynamic that the entire premiere episode had been setting up. And even fans of the comic, who knew it was coming eventually, likely didn't expect it quite so soon in the show.
Acccording to Kirkman, though, it was a decision made with a lot of consideration as to how it would set up the series. He said in a new interview that it was to change the way certain characters were presented early in the series.
Spoilers follow.
In the pilot, Omni-Man (Invincible's father, played by J.K. Simmons) brutally slays the Guardians of the Globe, leaving the Earth unprotected against most threats that require a superhuman response. It's a story that took place a number of issues into the comic, and was a huge surprise at the time. For the TV show, it was in the pilot and the image of Omni-Man standing over a bloodied Invincible was the series' poster.
"By moving that event up– in the comic book series, it happens much later and there isn't this sense of, 'Oh my gosh, when are people going to find out? And what are they going to do when they find out?' Because everything just kind of rolls from there," Kirkman told TheWrap. "By having it move up, we do get an extra sense of like, 'Oh my gosh, Debbie [Omni-Man's wife, voiced by Sandra Oh] has no clue what's going on with her husband. And how is she going to find out, if she finds out or when she finds out?' It should build a lot of tension in the series and should be something that keeps you guessing episode to episode."
"I think that's kind of the ticking clock of the series is, who is going to find out and when and what they are going to do with that information? Damien Darkblood is definitely hot on the trail," Kirkman added. "Whether that comes to a head in Episode 4 or Episode 5 or Episode 6 I'll leave to the mystery of the series. But you know, you should very much be worried."
You can see the first three episodes of Invincible now on Amazon Prime Video.
