Invincible Season 2’s 10 Biggest Changes To The Comics

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Invincible season 2 and the comics!

Summary

• Thaedus’ interactions with Allen are shadier in the TV show, setting up a future storyline with a mole in the Coalition of Planets.
• Shrinking Rae doesn’t die in the TV show, leading to potential big plans for her character in future episodes of Invincible.
• Invincible’s Image Comics crossover characters were cut from the show, hinting at potential alterations to other storylines in the series.

Despite being fairly faithful to the source material, Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible season 2 made several alterations to the original comic book series, and here are the season’s 10 biggest changes to the comics. Although the Invincible TV show generally follows the same overarching narratives as the comic book series, changes are made throughout to make the adaptation run smoother while also improving on Robert Kirkman’s original comics. Because of this, Invincible season 2 made several big changes, and here are the 10 most significant ones from Amazon Prime Video’s newest batch of episodes.

Invincible season 2, part 2 is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of Amazon Prime Video’s critically acclaimed adaptation of the beloved superhero comic series of the same name now released in full on the streaming service. Invincible season 2, part 2 picks up right where Invincible season 2, part 1 ended, with Mark Grayson returning home from Thraxa and dealing with new villains like the Sequids and Angstrom Levy. Invincible season 2 covered some of the most popular arcs from the original comic series, but here are 10 major ways in which the same stories were changed.

10 Thaedus’ Interactions With Allen Are Shadier

Teasing A Future Storyline

Invincible season 2, part 1 saw the introduction of Thaedus and the Coalition of Planets, but Thadeus’ interactions with Allen the Alien were a lot shadier in the TV show than they were in the comics. In the comics, Thaedus is fairly straight forward with Allen, with him giving Allen a new and improved body and sending him on a journey to recruit Omni-Man and locate Viltrumite weaknesses from across the galaxy.

In the TV show, however, Thaedus is seen pulling the plug on Allen the Alien’s life support, causing some fans to speculate that Invincible season 2 was turning the character into a villain. However, it is later revealed that Thaedus did this to secretly test if Allen the Alien was truly as strong as a Vilturmite, with his shady methods of doing so setting up the future storyline of a mole being within the Coalition of Planets.

9 Shrinking Rae Doesn’t Die In The TV Show

Season 3 Could Do More With Her

The battle between the Guardians of the Globe and the Lizard League is one of the most tragic moments in the Invincible TV show, but it is even more tragic in the comics. Invincible season 2, episode 5 sees the Lizard League seemingly kill Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Rae, although it is later revealed that both of the heroes are alive, with Shrinking Rae recovering from the battle.

This differs from the Invincible comics, as the battle with the Lizars League actually features the real death of Shrinking Ray in the source material. Upon being eaten by Komodo Dragon, Shrinking Ray is dead for good, with him never returning in the Invincible comics. Since Shrinking Rae is still alive at the end of Invincible season 2, it is possible that the series could have some big plans for her going forward.

8 Debbie Grayson’s Spouses Of Superheroes Support Group

Giving Debbie More Development

Invincible season 2, part 1 gives Debbie Grayson a little more development, with the TV show following her as she attends a support group for the spouses of superheroes after Omni-Man’s betrayal in Invincible season 1. While Debbie is at the support group, she makes some good connections with other superhero spouses. However, things all go downhill when one member finds out that she is Omni-Man’s wife.

This arc isn’t in the Invincible comics at all, with it being a fantastic way to flesh out the character. The comics don’t spend nearly as much time exploring how Omni-Man’s betrayal impacted Debbie, with this being one of the best new storylines in Amazon Prime Video’s Invincible adaptation. Although this storyline is ignored in the latter half of the season, it is always possible that it could come back in future episodes of Invincible.

7 Invincible’s Image Comics Crossover Characters Were Cut

Where Was Brit At?

Although the story of Invincible is fairly self-contained early in the story, the Invincible comics feature a lot of Image Comics crossover characters, with many of them playing major roles in some of Invincible‘s most important storylines. It had already been discussed that many of these Image Comics characters may not appear in the Invincible show due to rights issues, and this started to become true in season 2.

In the comics, a superhero named Brit is the one who finds Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, and Shrinking Ray after their battle with the Lizard League. The Invincible TV show, however, simply swapped Brit out for some nameless GDA soldiers. This sets up a pattern that may continue in the future of Invincible, with the series potentially making alterations to other storylines involving Image Comics crossover characters.

6 Atom Eve Doesn’t Move To Africa

Missing Out On A Major Story Beat

Invincible season 2 explores Atom Eve’s desire to stop being a superhero, although it does it in a completely different way in the comics. In the Invincible comics, Eve decides to run away from home, with her flying to Africa and using her powers to try and help people within the country. Eve stays in Africa for a while, with Mark and Amber even visiting her before she moves back home.

Interestingly, Atom Eve’s Africa arc isn’t mentioned at all in the Invincible season 2 show, with her instead running away and building an elaborate tree house. The Africa storyline is a major part of Eve’s character arc in the Invincible comics, so it is a strange choice to omit it from the Amazon Prime Video TV show, ignoring a major corner of the Invincible universe.

5 Season 2 Places The Sequid Invasion Earlier In The Timeline

It Now Comes Before Angstrom Levy

The Sequid invasion of Earth is one of the biggest storylines in Invincible season 2, but it is placed much earlier in the timeline in the TV show than in the comic series. In the comics, the Sequid Invasion doesn’t happen until after Mark’s battle with Angstrom Levy, with Oliver Grayson getting his powers in the issue after Rus Livingston is defeated. However, this isn’t the case in the TV show.

In the TV show, Mark Grayson and the Guardians of the Globe are tasked with taking down the Sequids in Invincible season 2, episode 5, with this being well before Mark’s battle with Angstrom Levy. Although this doesn’t have a huge impact on the overarching narrative of Invincible, it does show that the series is going for a different pace than the original comics.

4 Invincible Season 2 Cut The Gary Storyline

Giving Mark & Amber’s Breakup A Different Reason

Mark and Amber’s breakup is one of the biggest moments in Invincible season 2, but it is drastically changed from what is seen in the comics. In the TV show, Mark and Amber decide to break up due to the stress of Invincible’s superheroics being too much for the couple. Amber being threatened by Anissa is the real breaking point, with her deciding that she simply can’t deal with it anymore.

In the comics, however, another character plays a big role in their breakup: Gary. Gary is a college friend of Amber’s who becomes close to her while Mark is on Thraxa, with him being incredibly jealous upon returning to Earth. When Mark and Amber break up, Amber quickly starts dating Gary, with their relationship connecting to the story again a couple of issues later.

3 The Immortal & Dupli-Kate’s Marriage Is Skipped

But Their Relationship Still Exists

The Immortal and Dupli-Kate’s relationship is one of the biggest arcs within the Guardians of the Globe, and while it is explored in the Invincible TV show, it isn’t nearly as prominent as in the comics. In the comics, The Immortal and Dupli-Kate actually get married ahead of Dupli-Kate’s death at the hands of the Lizard League. The Immortal is initially unaware that Kate is still alive, with their marriage making the impact of this death hit even harder.

While The Immortal and Dupli-Kate are in a relationship in the TV show, they aren’t married. However, the Invincible series goes through many of the same beats, including The Immortal’s heartbreaking speech at Kate’s funeral. The Immortal and Dupli-Kate’s marriage still hasn’t happened in the TV show, although it is possible that it could occur sometime in season 3.

2 Angstrom Levy’s Fight Scene Features Flashbacks To Levy’s Other Invincible Encounters

Fleshing Out Angstrom’s Motivations

Invincible season 2 also attempts to make Angstrom Levy a bit more sympathetic, making his motivations a little clearer to viewers. In the comics, Angstrom Levy’s battle with Mark Grayson is pretty straightforward, with Angstrom not being seen during the scenes in which Invincible is trapped in another dimension. Angstrom is seemingly killed before he is developed any further, leaving some Invincible comic readers scratching their heads.

However, the Invincible season 2 finale treats Angstrom and Invincible’s battle differently, allowing the audience to spend some time inside Angstrom’s mind. The episode features several flashbacks that show different variants of Angstrom Levy having friends and family killed by evil versions of Mark Grayson. This highlights that Angstom is only doing his evil deeds due to the overwhelming influence of these variants, not because he wants to.

1 Spider-Man Is Replaced With Agent Spider

Undercutting An Incredibly Hyped Crossover

One of the coolest moments in the Invincible comic series is the crossover with Marvel Comics, in which Invincible meets the real Spider-Man. In his comic book battle with Angstrom Levy, Angstrom sends Mark to the Marvel universe, with Mark accidentally taking down Doc Ock during a battle with Spider-Man. A crossover issue sees Spider-Man and Invincible work together to get Invincible back home, with him meeting several key Marvel characters along the way.

The Invincible TV show doesn’t feature Spider-Man at all, with him instead being replaced with a parody named Agent Spider. This change was most likely made due to rights issues, but it is very clear a homage to the Spider-Man scene from the Invincible comics. It would have been nice to see Invincible interact with the real Spider-Man, but at least the Agent Spider scene in Invincible season 2 is close enough.