So while I was writing for moviepilot one of my pieces (albeit not my best work) was about how Invincible should be the next work by comic scribe: Robert Kirkman to be adapted. Lo and behold that adaptation is underway. A few weeks ago it was announced that Invincible would be directed by comedy icon Seth Rogen. Of course this news brings me much joy as someone who has read and kept up with the comic for the past 5 years or so. That being said, the news does give me some hesitation.
To start I feel like a brief summary is required. Invincible is kind of like if Superman had the personality of Spiderman (to explain his power set), Mark Grayson is a high school senior whose father is the world's greatest super hero: Omni Man. Omni Man comes from a super powered Alien race and as such Mark has been waiting since he found out his father's origins for his own powers to manifest. After a long wait, Mark's power's finally start to manifest while taking out the trash at his awful fast food job, rocketing the bag sky high. That same night he develops the ability to fly, and before long he dawns the spandex tradition of super heroes and takes up the moniker of Invincible. He ends up joining this group of teen super heroes and goes off saving the world. However the story only starts here. (SPOILERS) Eventually Mark learns that his father has come to this Earth to conquer it for his alien race: The Viltrumites. The two clash heads, but before Omni Man strikes the lethal blow, he is overcome by shame and leaves the planet. Mark must learn to get stronger so that he may stand a chance against the impending invasion by his people. That pretty much sets up a good chunk of the series. In it Mark deals with all various types of struggles: time travel, alternate reality, betrayals of friends, romance, and alternate versions of himself. It's a fantastic series, but ultimately there may just be too much good and that's the problem.
My biggest hesitation toward this adaptation isn't even Seth Rogen's lack of experience or success in the Super Hero genre. Instead it lies in one simple fact: Invincible has SO much going on it might just be too much for a film medium to handle. In all honesty I was kind of hoping for an HBO style animated series akin to what they did for Spawn in the 90's (if you haven't watched the Spawn cartoon, my advice is drop what you are doing, find it, and watch. Yes it's that incredible). I feel that 2 hours or so is just not enough time to tie up all that you need to tie for an Invincible adaptation.
Don't get me wrong though, I am still psyched. In a world that is presently dominated by the big names of DC and Marvel, it's super cool to see one of the Independent brands get some blockbuster light, and if there is anyone in the Image universe best capable of it (Spawn being excluded), Invincible is one of your top choices. Anyways, point is that I do still harbor a good deal of hope for this adaptation and I will have to wait and see who they choose for the role (if this were ten years ago Drake Bell would have been perfect... DAMN YOU TIME!!!).
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! See you guys again soon!
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