Invincible's gore is a reminder that superhero fights often gloss over the violence

The Mary Sue

"When it comes to violence and gore, I think that having a narrative purpose makes it more effective than just being gore porn, and while, in many ways, Invincible crosses that line often, when I actually thought about it, the violence is reflective of the actual carnage that superhero series so often gloss over," says Princess Weekes. "I grew up watching Justice League, and there were countless battles in that series—Superman flying through buildings, battles that would bleed into the streets, and superpowered beings attacking each other with murderous intent. While there would be injuries and maybe even a singly bloody trickle on their jawline, the cartoons were made for children. They were never going to highlight the true brutality this would do to their bodies. Even in The CW’s DC TV shows, where people do die and terrible things happen to people, the violence is watered down and brushed aside as much as possible. People recover from what should be long-term injuries within a few weeks. Mind you, that is not a criticism, but just like one of my biggest issues with PG-13 films is that they turn violence into a bloodless enterprise, when you remove the physics and pain from these fights, you focus on the characters as icons. You need your symbol to remain unscathed. That is not the case in Invincible."

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• Superhero fan or not, Invincible seems to understand human nature and the way of the world better than most: "Invincible deploys buckets of blood in its action not only for a dose of vein-coursing shock adrenaline, but to hint at the truth behind perceived reality," says Brandon Katz. "Who we believe to be heroes are often villains, those who appear strong are often not strong enough to truly help. The way of the universe is forged through violence, for better and, much more frequently, for worse. Omni-Man is a savage murderer masquerading as a savior. Mark AKA Invincible is just a callow and sheltered kid unaware of the harsh realities his birthright and station hold. No one is just one thing."
• No show has playfully leveraged genres with a teen narrative at its core as creatively as Invincible