Top 20 Differences Between the Invincible Comic and TV Show

Mark Grayson is a huge comic fan. His all time favorite is “Seance Dog,” about an anthropomorphic canine who dresses like Marvel’s Doctor Strange. However, in the comics, the character is called Science Dog. The reason for this change is that the show doesn’t have the rights for Science Dog, even though he and Invincible share the same creator: Robert Kirkman. This isn’t the only rights issue that has caused changes in the show. A superhero named Brit, who stars in his own Image comic and frequently crosses over with Invincible, also doesn’t appear. In the climactic fight with Angstrom Levy, Mark is sent to a Spider-Man parody dimension. In the comics, he really does team-up with Peter Parker.

The mummy Ka-Hor was introduced in the show’s first season, cursed to remain entombed until a worthy vessel appears so that he can possess them and escape. In Season 1, Invincible unknowingly stops this from happening by causing a sandstorm to bury his tomb after it’s discovered. In Season 2, two women rediscover Ka-hor, bringing the mummy dissatisfaction since he must possess a male host. Then, Invincible accidentally causes another sandstorm, burying him once again. This character doesn’t exist in the comics, and seems to have been created as a running gag villain that Invincible stops without even realizing it.

So far, the show has adapted most of Invincible’s gallery of rogues, even more minor ones. But there’s one who appears early in the comic run that has been left out entirely: David Hiles. He was once a weapons engineer for the military before his son took his own life due to torment from his peers. Hiles then lost his job, got divorced, and ended up a teacher at Mark Grayson’s high school. He began kidnapping popular kids he felt similar to those who led to his son’s death, strapping them with bombs before detonating them around the city. He even armed himself with one in an attempt to take out Invincible and Atom Eve, before Mark threw him into the sky.

There are several changes made to character ethnicities and gender throughout the adaptation, including Invincible himself. Although his race is ambiguous in the comic, the show’s Mark Grayson is biracial with his mother Debbie now being Korean American. Mark’s romantic interest, Amber Bennett, has also been changed from Caucasian to African American. The Guardians of the Globe members Green Ghost and Shrinking Ray have also been changed from male to female. Creator Robert Kirkman stated these changes were not only made to benefit the show, but also to bring more representation for a wide array of viewers.

Life as a teen superhero can be tough, but at least Mark has his best friend William to rely on. When the show begins, William is already out as gay. But in the comic, his true sexuality isn’t revealed until issue #80. William even dates Atom Eve for a time, though the relationship doesn’t last long. The show and comic version still share the same endgame romance, college RA Rick Sheridan, but the two begin as friends. When Rick is kidnapped, William still leads the charge to find him, though it’s more out of worry for his friend than the possible love of his life.

Some of Mark’s closest allies are the members of the Teen Team. The group, made up of Atom Eve, Robot, Rex Splode, and Dupli-Kate, are there to help Mark in his early days. But the manner in which he meets them in the comic is quite different. The Teen Team stumbles upon Mark fighting one of the Mauler Twins, a constant but usually easily handled threat. However, the show immediately places them all in a dire situation as their first encounter: a battle against the extra-dimensional Flaxans. Having the team rescue Invincible from such a formidable foe better showcases each member’s powers and helps progress their relationship earlier on.

There are many events that play out similarly in the comics, but whose placement in the timeline is quite different. The most notable example is the reveal that Robot is not merely a robot. He’s remotely controlled by Rudy, a genius with such severe physical deficiencies that he must live his life inside a tank. This reveal, and his use of the Maulers to create a new body based on Rex’s DNA, occurs in Season 1. However, in the comics, this happens a fair bit later. If it had not been pushed forward, it would have happened in Season 2.

In Season 2, Mark learns of a troubling Atlantean custom. The person who kills their king must marry his widow. However, with Omni-Man gone, that duty falls to Mark. When he gets there, he learns that the law has been abolished, and he must instead fight a massive sea monster. In the comics, the law is still in place, and Mark must convince the Queen to marry her advisor instead. This change has a larger ramification in Season 3. The sea monster emits a harmful sound that damages Mark. Cecil is able to recreate this and transmit it to an ear piece installed in Mark’s head. During this confrontation in the comics, it’s a vague implant designed to attack Mark’s equilibrium.

It’s not just a change of race that the show makes to Amber’s character. Not only does she appear much earlier on, but she’s also given more depth. In the comic, she mainly serves to drive a wedge between Mark and Eve. And while the character still fulfills that purpose in the show, it isn’t her only one. She’s shown to be much more caring, spending time as a volunteer at a community center. But she also has much more of an edge. When Mark reveals his heroic identity to her in the comic, Amber is more-or-less supportive. But in the show, Amber still resents the fact that Mark lied instead of trusting her - a change that made some fans dislike her character.

Mahershala Ali’s Titan was one of the more interesting villains “Invincible” had to offer. And it’s partially due to the changes made to his backstory. In the comics, Titan is merely a small-time criminal who wants to overthrow his boss Machine Head out of concern for his own safety. But in the show, Titan is given a family as a reason to why he turned to crime in the first place. This addition adds an emotional layer to the character. It also sets him up to play a more important role later after taking over Machine Head’s empire. But in the comics, he only makes a few more minor and ultimately insignificant appearances.

Like Amber’s general characterization, her break-up with Mark is given more depth in the show. In the source material, their relationship ends due to Mark being away constantly, which is brought up in the show as well, and her growing closer to another classmate named Gary. However, the major turning point comes when Anissa the Viltrumite shows up to confront Mark and threatens to end Amber’s life if he doesn’t listen. In the comics, Anissa shows up while Mark is with his mother, Debbie. The show version of this event is made much more dramatic, as Amber understandably fears for her life. Mark doesn’t want anything to happen to her because of him, causing the relationship to end.

In both the show and comic, Omni-Man’s time on Thraxa helps him discover his drive to protect those weaker than him. However, his reason for being on the planet is quite different. In the show, Omni-Man contemplates throwing himself into a black hole over the guilt he feels of how he acted on Earth. It’s then that he saves a ship of Thraxans, who takes him to their planet and gives him a new lease on life. In the comic, he initially wants to rectify his failure in taking over Earth by conquering another planet. He only finds Thraxa while searching for a new planet to give to the Viltrumite empire.

Angstrom Levy is one of Invincible’s most devious villains, though his motivations are more explored in the adaptation. The comic shows that it is mostly due to Mark’s interference with his experiment, which leaves Levy horrifically deformed. However, their confrontation in the show adds an interesting layer. Because the failed experiment melded the memories of multiple versions of Levy, we see several terrible acts committed by alternate reality Marks that earned him their hatred. This version of Levy has lost his mind due to his brain overflowing with such memories, to a point where he refuses to believe that this version of Invincible could ever be a hero.

The gender swap of Shrinking Rae is far from the only change made to the hero. In the comic, the male version is a very minor character. And during a fight against the Lizard League, he shrinks down before being eaten by Komodo Dragon. This event still happens in the show, though it is made much darker and more violent as she tries and fails to regrow while inside the villain. However, while the comic version perishes here, the show version survives, albeit badly injured. She makes a return in Season 3, and with this trauma, her character is given more depth. She even begins to form a bond with Rex, obviously a new addition to the story.

During Season 1’s climax with Omni-Man, Cecil’s right hand man, Donald, is killed. Or so it would seem. He returns in Season 2 as an android. What follows is an interesting plotline where he digs into his past, discovering that this was one of many deaths, with the Global Defense Agency rebuilding him each time. It also ties in with William and Rick’s storyline, as he helps the latter come to terms with his rebirth after being one of D.A. Sinclair’s victims. After dying in the “Invincible” comics, Donald just shows up again already as an android, a fact that’s accepted by everyone. This plotline of Donald’s discovery is actually adapted from the “Brit” comics, but it is far more existential here.

In the comics, everyone but the reader is caught completely off-guard when Omni-Man’s true nature is revealed. Therefore, there’s no time for anyone to intervene. But in the show, shady government agent Cecil has been monitoring Omni-Man. And he has a whole bag of tricks to throw at his former ally. The penultimate episode showcases the GDA’s vast resources including cloaked agents, Reanimen, a satellite laser, a Kaiju, and a teleporter that Cecil uses to stay alive. While both versions show Cecil’s grief at the betrayal of his friend, the show gives him the opportunity to be more active as it reaches its climax.

The show moves many events forward in the timeline, including its inciting incident. While the comic mentions the Guardians of the Globe, they aren’t introduced until issue 7. And that just happens to be the same issue Nolan murders them in cold blood. But where it’s only depicted across a few panels there, the adaptation lets the Guardians fight back. Not only does it bring the conflict in earlier, but the brutal fight immediately puts Nolan’s loyalty into question and begins season-long tension that is absent from the comic. Additionally, the show opens on a mission with the Guardians and Nolan, making the on-screen betrayal sting a little more.

Voiced by the incredible Sandra Oh, Debbie Grayson is depicted as a fierce mother digging for the truth. And while she does eventually become that strong character in the comics, she’s initially not given much to do. With Nolan’s loyalty not in question until The Immortal’s return, comic Debbie only serves to support her superhero family. But in the show, her arc is much more interesting as she begins questioning the person she built a life with. She also visits a support group for Spouses of Superheroes in Season 2, which does a great job exploring the loneliness and guilt she feels after Nolan’s betrayal. No such group exists in the comics, and Debbie is once again sidelined until later events.

The dimension-invading Flaxans are a much more serious threat in the show than they are in the comics. First appearing in Issue #3, they’re easily dealt with by Invincible and Omni-Man. With Nolan hospitalized at the time they appear in the show, it falls to the underprepared Teen Team to deal with them. The second time they invade, Nolan chases them back into their dimension. In the comics, he’s kidnapped after their first appearance and helps lead a revolution against a dictatorship before he returns to Earth. But the series shows him decimating all Flaxans until he forces them to send him home. The Season 1 finale also sets them up to be a bigger threat in later seasons.

The climactic fight between Invincible and Omni-Man has the same outcome in both versions. Friends and family members are left feeling utterly heartbroken at the betrayal. But the show’s version is much more vicious and more impactful on the viewer. The comic certainly shows plenty of destruction as Omni-Man tackles Invincible through buildings. But there isn’t the same focus on the loss of human life. Mark’s failure to save a woman from a crumbling building and the unsettling subway sequence highlight his father’s ferocious nature. And the flashback to Mark’s baseball game, not seen in the comic, shows that, despite what he says, Nolan’s time on Earth has changed him.


Do you know of any other big changes made for the “Invincible” series? Let us know about them in the comments!