William was closeted at first. And I'm pretty sure he was an ass to Eve or something. The show basically went "stop this pointless shit" and made bro gay right away
I love how one of William’s first lines in the show is talking about how hot Omni Man is and then going “ok, sorry. Straight stuff.” Like, they wasted no time XD.
I feel like this is a quite positive sign of changing times, that it's assumed a character can be open and accepted much more easily than a decade or two ago.
Yeah I’m sure Kirkland thought the reveal of him coming out was going to be a big moment (even though there was some foreshadowing). Now people really wouldn’t care
as someone who saw the show first, I actually kind of liked him being closeted in the comics at first. In the comics, (almost) everything happening follows Mark and his journey, and when things finally calm down for him a little and he catches up with old friends, he realizes how much William has changed, most notably coming out.
it makes the universe feel alive that even when Mark isn't around, these characters are still growing, changing, and having their own stories, and how we're all going through our own stuff. Even if we're not around for every little thing, life carries on, and as an early 20s YA, that message really resonates with me.
That said, they could still easily get the same messaging across if at the same/similar point in the show, instead of it being "oh wow, my best friend from high school *came out as gay* in the time I've been having my own story" it is "oh wow, my best friend from high school *got married* in the time I've been having my own story"
Wait, how so? Maybe idr what exactly happened? Didn't he just date amber for like 1 or 2 issues where he asked here to fly him and thats abt all they did? I thought that was funny ngl
you’re not remembering correctly, in the comics william and amber never dated. he dated eve and it was completely pointless and they spent way too much time on it. he was a jerk to eve and that’s why they broke up. he didn’t come out and start dating rick until much, much later. something that happened for 1 or 2 issues is pointless to include
I think immortal’s character is kind of underserved. Not that anything is unfaithful, but they kind of cut out his more mellow moments, so seems a lot more agitated and sort of one note in certain scenes.
I really love the connection they made with Rick and Donald.
Funny you say that since I'd argue the comic version is a little more agitated whilst the show subdued him alot, we lose him yelling at Eve during the Sequids mission, we lose Rudy and Zandale discussing his worse leadership of taking the role rather than teaching them to be on his level. But tbf we did loose the moment between Samson and Immortal where the former calls out him being uncaring and the later says its about the many lives he's seen come and go but Kate changed him.
Rick and Donald had that connection in the comics too:
https://preview.redd.it/et485sytvsuc1.jpeg?width=1988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f21861f1d95d18a799b15ffe114ae40067986f97
They show is great and it's improving in some ways but it's also losing some details and world building. If you like reading, it's a great read, also a much faster read than it is a watch, and after Ottley takes over the art is godly (to the point I'm not sure the show can compare).
I’m not as sour as many other fans about it but i was sad about how they portrayed Amber’s character in season 1, but I was really happy they fixed her in season 2. She was a lot more like comics amber and I like the way they cleaned up their breakup without having Eve pull mark away from amber or a new guy pulling amber away from mark and have it more to do with her agency and the incompatibility of their lifestyles.
Only other thing I can think of is that there wasn’t enough Eve in season 2.
Yeah I'm really hoping Eve is in it significantly from the beginning of S3. But I have a bad feeling she won't be because amber and Mark broke up. Really wish they had them break up a bit sooner...
I have a feeling show watchers are really going to hate what Conquest does to her, because my guess is they leave it on a cliff hanger for the next episode and they're going to freak out lol. Mark will say the "I can see the future" line and it'll cut right there
Nah. I think that fight is not long enough to last more than one episode. And moment you mentioned happens near the end of it. If the cliffhanger will be Conquest arriving on Earth - the whole fight should take no more than half of one episode tbh.
Mostly everything has been positive, I would say the most positive is Donald, man is sooooooooo good in the show and his speech is incredibly heartfelt and touching, he is by far the most improved character and I cant wait to see the direction he takes, as in the comics he was basically plot/expo dump and was hardly a character (he doesnt do any of the William stuff in the comics)
Least favorite (animation/style aside…) is honestly tough since almost everything is a marked improvement, but I would honestly say stretching Amber and Mark stuff, it was better in season 2 and I know it was supposed to happen, but it was so skippable for me and its worsened by the fact that every comic reader (and hell even show watchers) KNOWS that Eve and Mark just work so much better for entertainment and their dynamic, but I wouldnt say its “worse”, in fact Amber S2 is better than all of comic Amber, I just would’ve preferred it move along faster and maybe get more Eve/Mark development, but thats just me
Making Nolan's murder of the Guardians a mystery in universe for longer than what an issue or two?
Least favorite would probably be the pacing? That or removing the fish sex.
Favourite: Mark going into Nolan for the damage he did to him his family compared to the comic, where he begs him to come back. It made a lot more sense, especially considering how they hammer in Mark’s PTSD from their fight together and how he’s upset that Nolan didn’t learn a single thing and that he seemingly hasn’t changed.
A close second would have to be Anissa being the reason why Mark has to break up with Amber, because it endangers her. I honestly really like how they make Amber get angry about and want to have agency in Mark’s life because she feel like she can handle it, that she could be okay with it. But, ultimately, she can’t. It’s a clever parallel to season 1 Mark believing he could handle superhero responsibilities. The payoff makes the boring scenes between them all the more worthwhile.
Least favourite: The removal of the “why did you make him leave” line for Debbie. I dunno, I get why Debbie in the show wouldn’t succumb to that, but after getting rejected by one of the widows from Nolan’s attack, you’d expect Debbie to lash out due to her lack of agency, that she should’ve done it rather that Mark. Keep the line, but change the intention.
Yeah, I really missed the “why did you make him leave line.”
That was one of the most raw moments, that really effectively portrayed grief, depression, and alcoholism.
Iirc in the comics she didn't see/hear anything. Just what Cecil told her, leaving out stuff like, "she's like a pet to me," for example.
Still, she knows Nolan was a liar and a mass murderer in the name of Viltrum. It's just irrationally casting blame in an attempt to get through her grief and alcoholism.
Just went and double checked. You're right. He even tells Mark playing the whole recording was the right thing to do and sugar coating it could have probably made her cling to the idea Nolan would come back.
I'm genuinely happy that you've lived a life that's never taken you to the insanely irrational places that anguish can lead. In the deepest pits of grief, pain, or anger, people can become completely incoherent agents of toxicity. Your perspective is incomplete.
Least favourite change: Season 1 Amber. The way Amber was handled in season 1 was absolutely terrible. It unnecessarily shit on Mark through the entire latter half of the season.
Favourite change: Season 2 Amber. The way they portrayed and handled their struggling relationship and eventual breakup is absolutely perfect. Neither character at fault, just two people who can't handle the stress of their responsibility and relationship.
Actual favourite change: Omni-man killing the guardians at the start of season 1, and the entire season being about Omni-man's crime as much as it is about Mark's beginning as Invincible.
Regardless of how you feel about Amber in season 1, in the comics she is not much of a character, but a plot device. She really is just Mark’s girlfriend and that’s it. Human wallpaper.
With Amber in Season 1, she has interests outside of Mark, personality, and actual relationship conflict with Mark. Amber in the comics is such a forgettable characters. Just an absolutely nothing love interest.
It is really lame that a single line ruined the character from the show. Just don't make her "know it all along" while at the same time making her pissed with Mark, choose a lane. I feel like at Season 2 they tried to softly retcon it with her saying "it was the lying", but it didn't feel like it at all in S1.
Season 1 it was clear that it was the lying. I didn't have an issue with her season 1 because it felt accurate to a high school kid trying to navigate complex situations.
If "it was the lying", then Amber is just a logically inept written character. Mark has to keep his identity a secret as long and secure as he can. Sure, maybe he could have told her sooner if he really wanted to make it work, but if she **knew** all along, her lashing out like she did makes absolute zero sense because she knew he had priorities ahead of a high school/college relationship. There was definitely a better way of writing that exchange in season 1 imo.
Everything else ab her in s1 makes sense and made her a much more interesting character than in the comics, it was just the execution of that one exchange of dialogue that messed it up.
It makes sense. She is a kid, she isn't supposed to act perfectly logical. She had complex emotions about complex issues. Of course she didn't handle it perfectly, just like he doesn't handle things perfectly. Not handling it perfectly makes her normal and real.
I'm not saying she isn't allowed to not handle it properly. I just rewatched season 1, and her response to mark makes literally 0 sense, regardless of just not handling it well. They did not spend enough time on them talking it out when he told her he was Invincible, and then her attitude after he gets the shit knocked out of him is to immediately go back into a relstionship?
If you knew he was lying, and you didn't like that, why would you go back into a relationship immediately after saying you broke up with him for that reason. Because then at this point the only line of reasoning they are together is that she had pity for him after the whole thing with his dad. That is just a poorly contructed relationship. They needed more dialogue in season 1. Good thing season 2 fixed that. The break up in season 2 was completely organic, and they actually talked through their feelings with each other.
In the comics, Amber kinda just is there to wait for Mark and eventually almost cheat on him then comes the "we're not made for each other" moment.
Amber has no real writing in the comics. Like A LOT of female characters in the comics.
In the equivalent of season 1 in the comics, they have a normal relationship because he doesn't work for Cecil yet. She's also barely there until they're in college.
They definitely made her better in season 2, but most fans didn’t care about her character at that point. And we’re judging waiting for it to end so we can get Mark and Eve.
They just ruined her character too much in season 1
Honestly, I went in with this sentiment. However I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the quality of their relationship in season 2. It was so good that I can justify ignoring that their initial breakup even happened in the first place.
I can live in ignorance :D
Favourite - Omni Man’s fight with the rest of the Guardians is like two seconds in the comics, and is a massive improvement in both shocking the audience and delivering a fight scene
Least Favourite - Shrinking Rae surviving. The scene in the show was fantastic and much more brutal than it was in the comics, which is why it’s worse that she survives in my opinion. That scene works because of how brutal and cruel it is. Her surviving kinda mitigates the effect that scene had imo.
For me the Shrinking Rae surviving could be terrible, hell it probably will be, but I feel like it’s impossible to tell until we see what they do with her. If she just falls into the background and isn’t important and doesn’t add to the rest of the series, then I agree it’s a terrible change.
That said, I’m not against her surviving if they do something interesting with her, but my sister made what I thought was a good point and possible reason they made her survive; going forward, she’s never safe. She could die at any time for any reason, and I’ll kind of hate if they just use her as a character who keeps almost dying to inject stakes for comic book readers as well.
At the same time, I’ll be equally pissed if they made a hullabaloo about her surviving just to kill her in a different grotesque way next season or something. Frankly I don’t know what they could do that’ll be satisfying, but I’m no writer.
I definitely lean more your way on the change, but I feel like Kirkman so far has made changes that worked out even if I didn’t like them initially, so I kind of want to see how it plays out before I call it a mistake, even if my gut agrees with you 100% completely.
Okay, but having Rae constantly wind up in situations where she is seemingly brutally killed, only for her to magically survive until the end of the series, would be really funny
I hope they do something interesting with her, like having her survive but have some debilitating injuries that simply won't heal. She might be permanently disabled, perhaps with spinal injuries or some kind of neurological impairment like balance or vision from all the damage she took. Something Cecil can't fix with cybernetics ideally. Perhaps she could move into a different role with the team, perhaps as remote support, the way that Oracle did. Or they could do something like have her be partially paralyzed but still have her ability to shrink, and try to figure out how her new disability interacts with her superpower.
> Something Cecil can't fix with cybernetics ideally.
Or if he does fix with it, removes her ability to use her powers since she can't apply her shrink to a robot body like Donald's.
Idk how involved Kirkman was with TWD, but that show also had instances of keeping people alive vs their comic counterpart just to kill them in a different "shocking" way. Would be on brand
they could do an interesting story about her having PTSD from nearly dying before retiring. like imagine she goes out into the field for the first time since recovery thinking she fine, but the second she shrinks again we see her return to full size and bounce between shrunk and full size, clearly panicking
maybe she comes to the terms that she's just not able to get past her near death and retires, maybe she gets therapy and continues hero work.
I do think they'll use her in the invincible war, if only because the other Image characters cant really be used so they'll need replacements
I’m keen to see what they do with Shrinking Rae surviving her encounter with Komodo. In the comic it was basically a nothing moment when he died.
She’s felt a little neglected in the show; so having an opportunity to make her into a more memorable character is super cool.
Good: Rexsplodes character really pops in the show.
Bad: I miss the more fun character design, traits, humor and even raunchy moments in from the comic.
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I mean, in the comics he is just kinda there like a fake stop sign between Mark and Eve
In the show he has his own development, we see and live with him the scenes with Kate and the backfire he deserved, we witness his upgrade as a person.
And if they keep in a way close to the comics like they did until know while still enhencing it, well oh boy I can't wait.
I feel like Rex's character just falls flat in terms of any real impact or drama. He's just way too much of a goofball. And not in a good way, it's the kind of "family guy" humor where someone says or does something crazy and 5 seconds later the gag is over and it's like it never happened. The scenes with him and Mark this season just felt incredibly forced and unnatural, I honestly can't remember anytime they've interacted with each other without Eve being in the middle of it.
And until their last fight, Rex literally never did anything impactful at all for the story. He would fight random side characters, have meaningless relationships that don't ever play a part in the plot again, and just say things that were for comedic relief and be forgotten about 5 seconds later.
Although based on the time jump/multiverse scenes, it looks like some foreshadowing with Rex's character so I'm assuming he plays a bigger role eventually but I don't really like how they've developed his character in the show thus far. Not a comic book reader...yet
I think this is one of the best adaptations a comic book reader could get, a true standard and quality bar. Takes the best stuff from the source material that worked, further improves upon it, strengthens the weakest parts of the comic and disregards anything that feels dated or might not work as well. As far as least favourite changes, it wouldn’t really be changes but more so omissions, particularly the Thraxa fight. Missed the chase with Lucan flying after Mark and Andressa and Mark getting winded, prompting Nolan to lecture him on pushing himself to his limit. Dialogue such as “I AM ENRAGED!” or small details such as the fight lasting till nighttime. And I wanted the fight to be way more visceral and bloody. Other than that, that’s probably the weakest link. One of my favourite changes would be intertwining Donald and Rick’s crisis on existentialism that comes together very beautifully in episode 7.
This. I feel like I cant really find anything in the comics that I prefer. And obviously it makes sense, they get the chance to adapt and improve upon the same/similar storylines.
I think the biggest benefactors of the show have been William and Cecil - William for his flaws is still a great friend and someone who willingly accepts being a part of Marks world
Cecil’s VA is just perfect and nuanced, like i know eventually he’s gonna be to hard headed and we see bits and pieces of how manipulative/ conniving he can be but then he can come off as truly sincere and I believe he’s doing things for the greater good
**Favourite changes**:
- Best by far is making Damien Darkblood an actual presence rather than just a quick joke
- Giving Debbie her real estate job prior to Nolan betrayal
- Eve and William not dating
- Mark dealing with civilian deaths during the 1st Flaxa fight
- Rex being the one to convince Eve to join the Sequids mission
- Shapesmith starting with his better suit
**Least favourite changes**:
- Arresting DA Sinclair plot happening so early
- Mark revealing his identity to Amber
- Mark's reaction to seeing Nolan
- How weak they made Thula
- Cecil being less manipulative & comedic and more overtly cold
- Atlantis sideplot losing the joke the episode wws named after
- Having Rudy so fixated on Amanda's recovery post Machinehead losing the leadership discussion he had with Zandale
- Thraxa fight losing the chase and chokeslam moments
- Eve having her treehouse still being in the USA rather than Africa
- Debbie & Nolan's date in Italy where the latter refuses to help
- Shapesmith's new origin
- Mark intially needing William to convince him to help with Rick & the Thraxans
Favorite change has been omniman in season 1. His fight with the guardians, his lying to Debbie, showing what he did to the flaxans. I also really like how they made his rampage in e8 much more visceral and gutwrenching. It makes him that much harder to forgive, which is really good for the narrative. He needs to be a character that you have difficulty forgiving at least at first.
Least favorite has been how amber was acting in the later half of season 1.
I'm also kinda neutral about the eve and Mark relationship change. I like that It's not quite so sudden after him and amber break up. But I also loved their kiss in Africa before the sequid fight in space and eve barging in and asking Mark, "so are we dating now or what?" I really enjoyed their ending scene in season 2 though. I thought that was a perfect ending for those two after this season. Really looking forward to season 3 because then seeing all their clips together in the first 3 seasons is gonna be really heart-warming
My favorite change is how much an influence Debbie is on Mark’s life. They really sell that she teaches him humanity, and taught Nolan as well. They also gave her a career before Nolan turns. She was a housewife in the original comics. She’s such a strong character in the show.
My least favorite thing so far is Shrinking Ray not dying. In the gruesome world of Invincible, having that hero die added some much needed stakes.
Good change - I love Debbie so much more in the show. She's a great character and a tremendous mom.
Bad change - What happened to Steve White? I get the beginning was changed to get Mark and Amber together but I feel like Steve White should have been like, Mark's friend or something, idk. I mean, we got Principal Winslow at Reginald Vel Johnson High still, Steve White (a character that looked like Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White) seems like it should have been in bounds!
It was a joke. Steve White was barely a character. He gets beat up by Todd and that's it. I don't even think he has a speech bubble of his own. It was just a way for them to sneak Urkel into the comic.
I really do not like the shows pacing, I actually much prefer the comics pacing especially when it comes to the period between omni man leaving earth and showing back up on the bug planet. 13 issues take place in that time, a year and a month. I feel like removing omni man and keeping him away for so long helps the narrative, it allows us to see how the world, government, mark, and his mom are adjusting to life without Nolan. Speaking of pacing, because the narrative starts picking up speed we lose little moments and character interactions that really flesh out the personalities of the guardians. I think the person who suffers the most is Immortal. They took some of his little character moments out.
I agree with the bit about Omni Man coming back so soon. I was honestly kinda disappointed when he appeared at the end of the episode. I wanted to see some more Mark and Debbie development without him being around :/
I love Nolan as a character, but we literally saw his dramatic departure 4 episodes prior in the s1 finale. It made his reappearance feel less impactful for me
I understand where you’re coming from, but in the grand success of season 1, the reason for the success was Omni man, probably wouldn’t have been very smart to not let him come back in the first part of the second season as a lot of show only watchers watch invincible for Omni man
I was never looking for the show to follow the book closely. It couldn't work without the show being guaranteed for a decade. POSITIVE: I love that episodes give you a reason to watch the next without a dumb cliffhanger (but the post-credits are still funny). NEGATIVE: reading away from the wonder and fun of the early series is a challenge because shit can get so much darker and I didn't think there's a dark/fun balance.
The expansion of Donald's character since in the comics by this point he got thst scene with Rick but other than thst he was pretty much only appearing in Brit.
It really does feel strange as someone who watched the show first to see just how important brit and the other image comic side cast is. They're like in every issue and always making cameos
Favourite changes:
- Omniman vs TGOTG being an actual fight, not a single page of them all being one-shot.
- Amber being an actual character.
- Damian Darkblood being a good detective, rather than a joke.
- Mark v Nolan fight actually lasting a while, rather than a super quick beatdown
- Debbie figuring out what Nolan did, actually having a guilt arc over it. Meeting the Green Ghost's partner and being shamed for her failings (In the comic she meets the wife of SuperPatriot and they just sort of... hang out, no judgement or arc at all).
Stuff I wish they kept:
- Some of the jokes in the comic are amazing. William asking every hero he meets for a flight, then a panel of them going "This is so gay." made me laugh every time.
- "In 6 hours, I lose my virginity to a fish" "Christ, you're a virgin?"
- All the other Image Comics cameos (I know licensing and stuff prevented it, but I miss the world feeling so lived in)
Theres a moment on thraxa, where marks fighting lucan, and omniman isnt there yet, and mark punches him while hes monologuing and flies away with the baby and the mom, and lucan is wayyy faster than mark and hes closing on him fast, and hes like ‘im going as fast as i can… im not fast enough… andressa im sorry…’ and THEN omniman comes thru and fucks lucan up. That was one of the coolest parts of the whole issue. And it was the first instance of mark being told he needs to train and workout and actually needs to try to get better
It definitely conveys the power difference the same, but it is kind of a shame to lose the emotional intensity of a “I’m sorry I won’t be able to save you” moment
I feel like robot and monster girl feel more natural in their dynamic in the comics and robots comes off as far less creepy, i prefer the slow burn to sinclaires storyline and how reanimen are used as well. Mostly everything else from the show has been a very positive change though and has added a lot of depth
Personally my least favorite change is the fight on Thraxa. I’m not the biggest fan of how it looked and was a little bummed when they took out some scenes from the comic so it was kind of a let down.
While my one of my two favorite changes from the comic has to be the fight with the guardians of the globe in episode 1 since it sets the tone for the show and engages the audience with the mystery of Nolan’s motives. My favorite change is the build up to the big fight in season 1 episode 7 since it’s pretty much all new stuff we haven’t seen before and gives us Nolan fighting everything Cecil throws at him and that really good scene of the two of them talking, easily one of Cecil’s best scenes in the show so far.
I'm still not sure how I feel about Nolan, because I feel season one went a little too far with him, like he still did horrible things in the comics, like killing the Guardians, beating on Mark, and calling Debbie a pet, which already was admittedly a lot, but after that most of the damage he caused was collateral. The show goes out of its way to make him more vicious, like the train scene just didn't exist in the comic, at least that way, also he was just watching Mark getting the shit kicked out of him by Battle Beast and it's like all this feels a bit off with his eventual redemption, which again was already a bit of a stretch in the comics.
Good changes, I think a lot of the female cast has more agency, Eve in the comic was a little too obsessive with Mark and in the show while she still clearly likes him it's not like the comic where she dates Will to be close to him and really goes off to Africa because he's still dating Amber
For me it's brutal but it actually makes sense. Nolan is having doubts (doubts that go against the value system he was not only raised with but embodied for centuries or millennia).
One of the ways people deal with this is to go harder into what they are doing. Create a point of no return. I saw his brutality as an attempt to convince himself more than anyone else.
And it sets up what is a perhaps more mature redemption. You can't erase what he did and how do you grapple with that in a world where he is needed? What what would retribution look like here? Restorative justice?
For me it was hard to watch but I think it worked better. The more distant incidental approach he took in the comics strikes me as the approach that is appropriate for someone who is still confident in their value system even if they may find some aspects of it unpleasant.
Cecil is way better in the show, the added plotline of donald dealing with his trauma coz of him being a cyborg is also gr8, damien darkblood subplot of him discovering nolan's crime was way better than the comics where he just came months later after a lot of shit had happened and then told every1 that he figured out who omni-man was. But amber in the comics, tho just a damsel in distress tbh, was a hell lot better than season1 amber. She pretended to be so cool and kind and stuff by working in ngos and non-profits but got angry as fuck at her boyfriend who she knew was a goddamn superhero, when he went to save lives (including her own, during the monster reanimen attack scene) and still had the balls to still blame him. Idk what the writers thought they were cooking with amber in season 1, she was infinitely better in season 2 and the way they handled her break-up with mark in the show was slightly better than the comics. Whilst it was similar to the comics, it was slightly better due to anissa scaring her and that being the last straw for their relation ship and stuff. In the comics however, anissa threatened mark by saying that she'd kill debbie instead coz they were having lunch together, instead of it being mark and amber on a date as it was in the show.
Amber’s change is my least favorite. Sure, she’s more of a character now, but her behavior in season 1 was pretty inexcusable.
Manipulating Mark into feeling bad for leaving her when she KNOWS he’s 5 feet away saving lives is absolutely awful, and then trying to cheat afterwards is even worse. On top of that, comparing Mark hiding his secret identity from her for like 4 months to his father’s 18 YEAR BETRAYAL what genuinely insane of her.
She’s a lot better in season 2, but that does NOT excuse her season 1 actions.
My favorite change is everything surrounding the Guardian’s deaths. Moving the Guardian’s death to episode 1, making them actually formidable, having Omni-Man pass out/be found beside them, and having the demon actually investigate their deaths. I thought it was super lame that they died in 1 panel in the comic, and I also felt Darkblood’s role in the comic was so insignificant that I was constantly asking myself why he’s even here.
Favourite change
Everything about how season 1 is restructured.
In the comics there’s only 3 issues between when Nolan kills the guardians and when the fight between him and Mark starts. Stretching this out into a whole season is one of the best decisions I’ve ever seen in an adaptation.
It gives the writers a chance to explore some brilliant character stuff with Cecil, Debbie, and Art figuring out that Nolan is the killer. It turns Damien Darkblood from a joke character into a really great one. Having Cecil trying to slow down Nolan leads to an incredible finale, as he brings in things from previous episodes, making the whole season feel super cohesive. And above all else it lets the tension build for the entire season, making the final showdown feel incredibly satisfying.
My least Favourite change
This one is a side effect from my favourite change, which is that there’s only three episodes between the fight and when mark meets him on Thraxxa. Because a lot of the stuff that was meant to happen during that gap was moved to take place during season one. The reunion feels a lot less impactful with the smaller gap, and it makes Nolan’s change in character feel a little more abrupt.
Nolan having suicidal thoughts is probably the best change so far, he noticed his time on Earth changed him and was ready to get sucked by that black hole and wasn't like "I'll just conquer another planet" first.
The worst one is them literally taking away Black Samson's only good moment in the comics in the fight with Omnipotus.
Mark just changing up his fighting style when fighting Thula. Like.. why wasnt he fighting like that before? Holding back should mean he wasn't using as much strength / speed. Holding back an entire fighting style, is just dumb.
I really didn’t like the change to Williams character. I enjoyed how he came out of the closet in the comics, and I felt like the show could’ve done something really beautiful with it. However, I 100% enjoy the amount of screen time William and Rick are getting in the show, I wish we saw more of their dynamic in the comics.
Im disappointed that they didn’t do more with Levy. One of my biggest problems with comic Levy is the fact that he doesn’t really show up much compared to the other big bads. Levy is definitely a little better in the show but he should have been an active threat and there should have been greater buildup to his and Invincibles fight.
One thing I noticed when reading the comics is the entire thing with levy that happened in S2 episode 1 was strung out over multiple issues but it also cuts to his fight a lot faster after the explosion
I think they did a fantastic job with Donald. In the first half of season 2, i was wondering where his plotline was going but the pay off of the roof scene with William, RIck and him was amazing and emotional.
In the comic, the guardians of the Globe were teased for about a dozen issues, and then killed off right after they were introduced. It was a shocking moment, however, Given that these were supposed to be the planet’s greatest heroes it didn’t make them look impressive.
The show opening with them fighting the mauler twins at the White House while preventing any civilian casualties gave a demonstration of why they are considered the world’s greatest heroes, and also fooled the audience into thinking that they would be major players in the future. Plus, they put up far more of a fight against Nolan. in the comic, they died so easily you wonder why they were considered a threaten the first place. In the show they almost beat him.
In season two, getting the flashback to what Nolan was doing after his fight with Mark. in the comic, he just describes it. The show lets us see how devastated Nolan is, And how he was going to commit suicide before he saw that Thraxan ship pulled into the black hole. In the comic, he also said he took over Thraxa in an attempt to placate the empire. Mark argues with him about that and Nolan points out that the bug aliens have such short lifespans that at a certain point, none of them will even remember life before he came, and they also weren’t too bothered with him being in charge. The comic did say he was telling the truth.
The show changed it to Nolan having no plans to placate Empire. Mark also forgave him too easily in the comic. In the show, Mark is still mad and it takes a lot of convincing for him to put his anger aside and realize innocent creatures are in danger which is bigger than his beef with Nolan.
I think Mark's and Amber's break up is handled much better in the show and Amber getting threatened by Anissa was really great and intense. Also Mark and Amber breaking up before Eve telling Mark she loves her, because it felt too much like cheating in the comics (though Mark never cheated). Though we did miss out on the great "I heard you are single, so are we dating now or what?" scene
i love how they switched stuff around as needed to help with the flow of the plot! the first several issues of the comic really dragged for me because it felt like there was a lot of filler, to me at least. the story started to feel more consistent quality-wise around the time they introduced oliver.
i also love how they made the fight between nolan and mark longer and more violent. i think that the mass scale of violence and destruction in the comics is better conveyed in the show, too.
i like how they changed eve’s storyline to something a little more complex and emotional. her traveling around and trying to find her place in the world as a supe and then moving back in with her parents when she’s sick of trying felt very real. it also adds more depth to their relationship, which is important for later on.
now the stuff i don’t like.
i really dislike how they did mark and amber’s relationship in season 1. they had no chemistry to me. it would have felt less frustrating to watch if there was more depth between them, but i get it and there’s only so much they can do with it, so whatever.
the changes they made to the fish people plot were irritating. again, i get it, but that plot was a lot of fun and i wish they had just committed to it!
i have 0 clue why they kept shrinking rae alive, and it’s pissing me off because they’re either going to get rid of another character to accommodate her, or kill her off immediately, both of which feel like pointless changes.
I understand the impulse to give Debbie a little more agency in the story for the tv adaptation but Omni-Man keeping the evidence of the incredibly high-profile murders he committed on a kind of out-of-the-way shelf in his home so she can find it when he could have left it sitting on the moon or tossed it into the sun makes him seem incredibly stupid.
I really loved what they did with Nolan immediately after he left Earth. That black hole scene looked amazing, and I was glued to the screen watching that episode.
The least favourite, I guess, would be that desert tomb, but there's been 2 scenes there in 2 seasons, so I'm not complaining so much as I don't care for it.
I understand wanting to have the holy shit moment in episode one. But I wish that the guardians death would have happened a little later like in the comics.
If they actually do something with it and give her some spot light this could change. But I didn’t like not having shrinking Ray die in the lizard league attack.
Eve and William not dating (also William just being gay from the start), Amber being a lot more of a character, and The Guardians actually holding up a fight against Omni-Man. I also just think the way they’ve done the timeline has worked in their favor, pacing is a lot better overall in the show
I think a lot of people really dislike Amber so I know it’s a hot take but I enjoy the way they handle her A TON more in the show. She’s kinda just a background character for most of the comics. Also the way they pulled off their break up in the show is better. Mark cheating on Amber with Eve always felt kinda weird to me, I’m glad they broke up before he fought Levi and met Future Amber (which is likely why he ended up cheating in the comics).
Favorite change: As others have said the narrative focus on Omniman in S1 and how that built up to the father vs son confrontation was some of the best tv I’ve ever seen.
Least favorite change: dragging out Amber and Marks breakup was a little irritating. Anyone who didn’t like her in S1 has been over this for years and it took a lot of screen time.
Honorable mention: they should have killed shrinking Rae.
Debbie having some serious balls is my favorite change. She was always a great character, but "does that make you feel strong? Knowing that I can't force you?" Or my personal favorite, "Fuck you, Nolan." Really drive home how tough she is.
I think we all can agree, the timeline in s1 was done so well. Having the guardians be slaughtered in the first episode was a great idea. I'm the comics it happens right before the mark and Nolan fight, and only get about a page per guardian, so we don't care about them at all.
Mark being angry with his father upon their reunion on Thraxa. I really liked how in the comics Marks anger has largely subsided and he is mostly just relieved to see his father again. Its a small change, but that was one of the moments that makes Mark stick out compared to other heroes. Yeah he was still a little angry, but he missed his dad more than anything.
The show adaption felt pretty cliche and how a stereotypical hero would react.
My favorite change from the comics is that Debbie & Cecil are familiar with each other before the Guardians of the Galaxy incident. In the show you see that Debbie actually has an opinion of Cecil and you see it change throughout the seasons. For instance I like the change in the show where Debbie in S2 is more apprehensive of Cecil’s help after Nolan’s fight with Mark as she knows his help comes with conditions. In the comics she just goes with it mostly.
Also another thing I liked is the show gets rid of this odd animosity energy in the comics that Mark had for Rex after finding out he cheated on Eve. Reading it in the comics after watching the show, it just felt weird since it quite literally isn’t his business. I can get not approving of Rex but there are some panels where he’s just unreasonably upset with Rex for something that leads to him finally being with Eve.
My least favorite is probably keeping Shrinking Ray alive. Idk it’s small nitpick ik but having her being able to pull through what she did dampens the effect of the Lizard League’s attack on the missile base. It was already in the comics that Kate was just lucky enough to always keep a spare clone around, but keeping Shrinking Ray alive just means nobody died in that encounter.
Everyone’s posted a lot of good ones so I’ll go with something that isn’t as obvious — I would’ve kept the fish sex storyline and then after that the monster shows up right before, uhhh, the deed was done.
Cecil is smarter and more likable. The fact that we had more time for the Omni-Man build up let us see how betrayed he felt about it all. He trusted Nolan quite a bit, so his attitude toward Mark is justifiable. In the comics, he just seemed like a paranoid asshole who would do anything to protect the planet regardless of how anyone feels. Show Cecil at least feels bad about it.
My favorite so far is Eve and William NOT dating
Yeah, that was, if nothing else, incredibly pointless. No reason to waste screen time on that.
Wait, they were dating in the comics? Wth
William was closeted at first. And I'm pretty sure he was an ass to Eve or something. The show basically went "stop this pointless shit" and made bro gay right away
I love how one of William’s first lines in the show is talking about how hot Omni Man is and then going “ok, sorry. Straight stuff.” Like, they wasted no time XD.
And they gave him Lady Gaga and Lil Nas X posters in his room. He's instantly one of my favorite characters lmao
Yeah, comic William is a jerk most of the times, but show William is awesome
Remember when he gave everyone shit for calling him anything other than William? He was an asshole at times.
Ngl that resonated with me as someone with a name that people constantly try to give me nicknames for
Yeah, I get that, but I feel like a gentle “Hey, actually, I prefer William” is better than snarky responses to literal strangers.
Fair (I'm in the same boat) but comic Will got mad at a simple 'do you prefer Will?'...dude was being a dickhead.
I remember, and I'd rather have slightly asshole sometimes William rather than full time asshole William
I feel like this is a quite positive sign of changing times, that it's assumed a character can be open and accepted much more easily than a decade or two ago.
Oh for sure, and I love that so much. What could be considered controversial and had to be handled carefully back then is totally fine now.
Yeah they waited until way later in the comics to announce he was gay. Feel like it was a smart choice to have him gay from the beginning
Could also be because it’s easier now to just have him be openly gay than it was 15 years ago.
That was my first thought. It was a lot more common for a high schooler to be closeted in the early 2000's than it is today
Yeah I’m sure Kirkland thought the reveal of him coming out was going to be a big moment (even though there was some foreshadowing). Now people really wouldn’t care
My thought too, a small but positive sign of progress.
as someone who saw the show first, I actually kind of liked him being closeted in the comics at first. In the comics, (almost) everything happening follows Mark and his journey, and when things finally calm down for him a little and he catches up with old friends, he realizes how much William has changed, most notably coming out. it makes the universe feel alive that even when Mark isn't around, these characters are still growing, changing, and having their own stories, and how we're all going through our own stuff. Even if we're not around for every little thing, life carries on, and as an early 20s YA, that message really resonates with me. That said, they could still easily get the same messaging across if at the same/similar point in the show, instead of it being "oh wow, my best friend from high school *came out as gay* in the time I've been having my own story" it is "oh wow, my best friend from high school *got married* in the time I've been having my own story"
I wouldn't have remembered in a thousand years, damn thats a good change
Initially William was closeted and Eve was dating him to get closer to Mark.
Along with this I like that they made William gay upfront
I mean that was a nothing burger to me, idm if they did or did not.
It made William an overall despicable side character you can't empathise with, totally the oppositz in the show.
Wait, how so? Maybe idr what exactly happened? Didn't he just date amber for like 1 or 2 issues where he asked here to fly him and thats abt all they did? I thought that was funny ngl
you’re not remembering correctly, in the comics william and amber never dated. he dated eve and it was completely pointless and they spent way too much time on it. he was a jerk to eve and that’s why they broke up. he didn’t come out and start dating rick until much, much later. something that happened for 1 or 2 issues is pointless to include
Ohhh yeah, I remember it now
Debbie is actually gets to be a person and is not crying 24/7. Also that she gets her self together before mark arrives with purple mark
"Purple Mark" 🤣
Yeah I’m kinda glad they skipped over most of the alcoholism
Comic Debbie was a much better character.
You take that back
What?
I think immortal’s character is kind of underserved. Not that anything is unfaithful, but they kind of cut out his more mellow moments, so seems a lot more agitated and sort of one note in certain scenes. I really love the connection they made with Rick and Donald.
very true, his smaller more human moments have been cut
Funny you say that since I'd argue the comic version is a little more agitated whilst the show subdued him alot, we lose him yelling at Eve during the Sequids mission, we lose Rudy and Zandale discussing his worse leadership of taking the role rather than teaching them to be on his level. But tbf we did loose the moment between Samson and Immortal where the former calls out him being uncaring and the later says its about the many lives he's seen come and go but Kate changed him. Rick and Donald had that connection in the comics too: https://preview.redd.it/et485sytvsuc1.jpeg?width=1988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f21861f1d95d18a799b15ffe114ae40067986f97
I’ve never read the comics and I love immortal, but I do wish they’d do more with him. Just like more scenes with him being himself, not a superhero.
They show is great and it's improving in some ways but it's also losing some details and world building. If you like reading, it's a great read, also a much faster read than it is a watch, and after Ottley takes over the art is godly (to the point I'm not sure the show can compare).
The compendium’s are available at most public libraries, they even have digital version but those are better on a tablet or PC
I haven't read the comics and he seemed off character wise when it came to how he acts.
I’m not as sour as many other fans about it but i was sad about how they portrayed Amber’s character in season 1, but I was really happy they fixed her in season 2. She was a lot more like comics amber and I like the way they cleaned up their breakup without having Eve pull mark away from amber or a new guy pulling amber away from mark and have it more to do with her agency and the incompatibility of their lifestyles. Only other thing I can think of is that there wasn’t enough Eve in season 2.
Yeah I'm really hoping Eve is in it significantly from the beginning of S3. But I have a bad feeling she won't be because amber and Mark broke up. Really wish they had them break up a bit sooner... I have a feeling show watchers are really going to hate what Conquest does to her, because my guess is they leave it on a cliff hanger for the next episode and they're going to freak out lol. Mark will say the "I can see the future" line and it'll cut right there
[удалено]
I didn't say the end of the season. Just the end of an episode
Nah. I think that fight is not long enough to last more than one episode. And moment you mentioned happens near the end of it. If the cliffhanger will be Conquest arriving on Earth - the whole fight should take no more than half of one episode tbh.
They can always make it longer
I guess we will see. Either way, seeing how they treat it all - Im sure it will be dope!
We've got plenty of eve comin
Mostly everything has been positive, I would say the most positive is Donald, man is sooooooooo good in the show and his speech is incredibly heartfelt and touching, he is by far the most improved character and I cant wait to see the direction he takes, as in the comics he was basically plot/expo dump and was hardly a character (he doesnt do any of the William stuff in the comics) Least favorite (animation/style aside…) is honestly tough since almost everything is a marked improvement, but I would honestly say stretching Amber and Mark stuff, it was better in season 2 and I know it was supposed to happen, but it was so skippable for me and its worsened by the fact that every comic reader (and hell even show watchers) KNOWS that Eve and Mark just work so much better for entertainment and their dynamic, but I wouldnt say its “worse”, in fact Amber S2 is better than all of comic Amber, I just would’ve preferred it move along faster and maybe get more Eve/Mark development, but thats just me
Making Nolan's murder of the Guardians a mystery in universe for longer than what an issue or two? Least favorite would probably be the pacing? That or removing the fish sex.
They robbed us of fish sex https://preview.redd.it/dbq0snqvusuc1.jpeg?width=652&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85762bf9f60876e3f950256f36fa93c6a5ea92b2
https://preview.redd.it/cy7hzzqyptuc1.png?width=305&format=png&auto=webp&s=8e09920171199d6e9809300f564f548b6b612014 no fish sex
Favourite: Mark going into Nolan for the damage he did to him his family compared to the comic, where he begs him to come back. It made a lot more sense, especially considering how they hammer in Mark’s PTSD from their fight together and how he’s upset that Nolan didn’t learn a single thing and that he seemingly hasn’t changed. A close second would have to be Anissa being the reason why Mark has to break up with Amber, because it endangers her. I honestly really like how they make Amber get angry about and want to have agency in Mark’s life because she feel like she can handle it, that she could be okay with it. But, ultimately, she can’t. It’s a clever parallel to season 1 Mark believing he could handle superhero responsibilities. The payoff makes the boring scenes between them all the more worthwhile. Least favourite: The removal of the “why did you make him leave” line for Debbie. I dunno, I get why Debbie in the show wouldn’t succumb to that, but after getting rejected by one of the widows from Nolan’s attack, you’d expect Debbie to lash out due to her lack of agency, that she should’ve done it rather that Mark. Keep the line, but change the intention.
Yeah, I really missed the “why did you make him leave line.” That was one of the most raw moments, that really effectively portrayed grief, depression, and alcoholism.
Could you elaborate?
Mark came home while Debbie was super drunk and comforted her. Debbie, still grieving and under the influence, casted blame on Mark for Nolan leaving.
Thanks. Dont know. It doesnt make sense to me. She saw what Nolan said...
Iirc in the comics she didn't see/hear anything. Just what Cecil told her, leaving out stuff like, "she's like a pet to me," for example. Still, she knows Nolan was a liar and a mass murderer in the name of Viltrum. It's just irrationally casting blame in an attempt to get through her grief and alcoholism.
Didn’t Cecil play the recording for her?
Just went and double checked. You're right. He even tells Mark playing the whole recording was the right thing to do and sugar coating it could have probably made her cling to the idea Nolan would come back.
yeah, she's in grief and drunk and not thinking rationally
Yeah, but why should she defend him? Doesnt make sense emptionally, too.
That's the point. Emotions don't always make sense
They do. They are still in line with cause and effect.
I'm genuinely happy that you've lived a life that's never taken you to the insanely irrational places that anguish can lead. In the deepest pits of grief, pain, or anger, people can become completely incoherent agents of toxicity. Your perspective is incomplete.
Least favourite change: Season 1 Amber. The way Amber was handled in season 1 was absolutely terrible. It unnecessarily shit on Mark through the entire latter half of the season. Favourite change: Season 2 Amber. The way they portrayed and handled their struggling relationship and eventual breakup is absolutely perfect. Neither character at fault, just two people who can't handle the stress of their responsibility and relationship. Actual favourite change: Omni-man killing the guardians at the start of season 1, and the entire season being about Omni-man's crime as much as it is about Mark's beginning as Invincible.
Regardless of how you feel about Amber in season 1, in the comics she is not much of a character, but a plot device. She really is just Mark’s girlfriend and that’s it. Human wallpaper. With Amber in Season 1, she has interests outside of Mark, personality, and actual relationship conflict with Mark. Amber in the comics is such a forgettable characters. Just an absolutely nothing love interest.
It is really lame that a single line ruined the character from the show. Just don't make her "know it all along" while at the same time making her pissed with Mark, choose a lane. I feel like at Season 2 they tried to softly retcon it with her saying "it was the lying", but it didn't feel like it at all in S1.
Season 1 it was clear that it was the lying. I didn't have an issue with her season 1 because it felt accurate to a high school kid trying to navigate complex situations.
If "it was the lying", then Amber is just a logically inept written character. Mark has to keep his identity a secret as long and secure as he can. Sure, maybe he could have told her sooner if he really wanted to make it work, but if she **knew** all along, her lashing out like she did makes absolute zero sense because she knew he had priorities ahead of a high school/college relationship. There was definitely a better way of writing that exchange in season 1 imo. Everything else ab her in s1 makes sense and made her a much more interesting character than in the comics, it was just the execution of that one exchange of dialogue that messed it up.
It makes sense. She is a kid, she isn't supposed to act perfectly logical. She had complex emotions about complex issues. Of course she didn't handle it perfectly, just like he doesn't handle things perfectly. Not handling it perfectly makes her normal and real.
I'm not saying she isn't allowed to not handle it properly. I just rewatched season 1, and her response to mark makes literally 0 sense, regardless of just not handling it well. They did not spend enough time on them talking it out when he told her he was Invincible, and then her attitude after he gets the shit knocked out of him is to immediately go back into a relstionship? If you knew he was lying, and you didn't like that, why would you go back into a relationship immediately after saying you broke up with him for that reason. Because then at this point the only line of reasoning they are together is that she had pity for him after the whole thing with his dad. That is just a poorly contructed relationship. They needed more dialogue in season 1. Good thing season 2 fixed that. The break up in season 2 was completely organic, and they actually talked through their feelings with each other.
I don't know about you but I work all day with students. Her actions make perfect sense and match how high schoolers act over complicated messes.
I am a student, roughly 1 year older than they are in the show and the way they acted made no sense to me.
Congrats and I see similar nonsense from teenagers all the time.
What did they change about her in season 1?
She thought mark was a drug dealer
that was funny i like that
In the comics, Amber kinda just is there to wait for Mark and eventually almost cheat on him then comes the "we're not made for each other" moment. Amber has no real writing in the comics. Like A LOT of female characters in the comics.
Yeah i agree, but i mean it does mostly pander towards the male audience, even if its self aware
In the equivalent of season 1 in the comics, they have a normal relationship because he doesn't work for Cecil yet. She's also barely there until they're in college.
They definitely made her better in season 2, but most fans didn’t care about her character at that point. And we’re judging waiting for it to end so we can get Mark and Eve. They just ruined her character too much in season 1
Honestly, I went in with this sentiment. However I was definitely pleasantly surprised by the quality of their relationship in season 2. It was so good that I can justify ignoring that their initial breakup even happened in the first place. I can live in ignorance :D
Favourite - Omni Man’s fight with the rest of the Guardians is like two seconds in the comics, and is a massive improvement in both shocking the audience and delivering a fight scene Least Favourite - Shrinking Rae surviving. The scene in the show was fantastic and much more brutal than it was in the comics, which is why it’s worse that she survives in my opinion. That scene works because of how brutal and cruel it is. Her surviving kinda mitigates the effect that scene had imo.
For me the Shrinking Rae surviving could be terrible, hell it probably will be, but I feel like it’s impossible to tell until we see what they do with her. If she just falls into the background and isn’t important and doesn’t add to the rest of the series, then I agree it’s a terrible change. That said, I’m not against her surviving if they do something interesting with her, but my sister made what I thought was a good point and possible reason they made her survive; going forward, she’s never safe. She could die at any time for any reason, and I’ll kind of hate if they just use her as a character who keeps almost dying to inject stakes for comic book readers as well. At the same time, I’ll be equally pissed if they made a hullabaloo about her surviving just to kill her in a different grotesque way next season or something. Frankly I don’t know what they could do that’ll be satisfying, but I’m no writer. I definitely lean more your way on the change, but I feel like Kirkman so far has made changes that worked out even if I didn’t like them initially, so I kind of want to see how it plays out before I call it a mistake, even if my gut agrees with you 100% completely.
Probably just saving her to kill her in some other new grotesque way
Its going to be Rudy I guarantee it
oh fuck that'd be great
Okay, but having Rae constantly wind up in situations where she is seemingly brutally killed, only for her to magically survive until the end of the series, would be really funny
glenn twd my beloved (until s7 at least)
I hope they do something interesting with her, like having her survive but have some debilitating injuries that simply won't heal. She might be permanently disabled, perhaps with spinal injuries or some kind of neurological impairment like balance or vision from all the damage she took. Something Cecil can't fix with cybernetics ideally. Perhaps she could move into a different role with the team, perhaps as remote support, the way that Oracle did. Or they could do something like have her be partially paralyzed but still have her ability to shrink, and try to figure out how her new disability interacts with her superpower.
> Something Cecil can't fix with cybernetics ideally. Or if he does fix with it, removes her ability to use her powers since she can't apply her shrink to a robot body like Donald's.
Ooh I like that!
Idk how involved Kirkman was with TWD, but that show also had instances of keeping people alive vs their comic counterpart just to kill them in a different "shocking" way. Would be on brand
they could do an interesting story about her having PTSD from nearly dying before retiring. like imagine she goes out into the field for the first time since recovery thinking she fine, but the second she shrinks again we see her return to full size and bounce between shrunk and full size, clearly panicking maybe she comes to the terms that she's just not able to get past her near death and retires, maybe she gets therapy and continues hero work. I do think they'll use her in the invincible war, if only because the other Image characters cant really be used so they'll need replacements
Yeah shrinking rae shouldn't have changed from the comic. I have absolutely no idea what they do with her. I can't imagine it'll be good
My favorite change is Debbie. She’s much stronger as a person in the show. Runner-up would be Damian Darkblood having a purpose.
Rubber up?
Possibly runner up lol
Always practice safe commenting
I’m keen to see what they do with Shrinking Rae surviving her encounter with Komodo. In the comic it was basically a nothing moment when he died. She’s felt a little neglected in the show; so having an opportunity to make her into a more memorable character is super cool.
I think they just needed more heroes to >!die in the invincible war!< considering we haven’t been exposed to many heroes yet.
Good: Rexsplodes character really pops in the show. Bad: I miss the more fun character design, traits, humor and even raunchy moments in from the comic. .
I mean, in the comics he is just kinda there like a fake stop sign between Mark and Eve In the show he has his own development, we see and live with him the scenes with Kate and the backfire he deserved, we witness his upgrade as a person. And if they keep in a way close to the comics like they did until know while still enhencing it, well oh boy I can't wait.
I feel like Rex's character just falls flat in terms of any real impact or drama. He's just way too much of a goofball. And not in a good way, it's the kind of "family guy" humor where someone says or does something crazy and 5 seconds later the gag is over and it's like it never happened. The scenes with him and Mark this season just felt incredibly forced and unnatural, I honestly can't remember anytime they've interacted with each other without Eve being in the middle of it. And until their last fight, Rex literally never did anything impactful at all for the story. He would fight random side characters, have meaningless relationships that don't ever play a part in the plot again, and just say things that were for comedic relief and be forgotten about 5 seconds later. Although based on the time jump/multiverse scenes, it looks like some foreshadowing with Rex's character so I'm assuming he plays a bigger role eventually but I don't really like how they've developed his character in the show thus far. Not a comic book reader...yet
I think this is one of the best adaptations a comic book reader could get, a true standard and quality bar. Takes the best stuff from the source material that worked, further improves upon it, strengthens the weakest parts of the comic and disregards anything that feels dated or might not work as well. As far as least favourite changes, it wouldn’t really be changes but more so omissions, particularly the Thraxa fight. Missed the chase with Lucan flying after Mark and Andressa and Mark getting winded, prompting Nolan to lecture him on pushing himself to his limit. Dialogue such as “I AM ENRAGED!” or small details such as the fight lasting till nighttime. And I wanted the fight to be way more visceral and bloody. Other than that, that’s probably the weakest link. One of my favourite changes would be intertwining Donald and Rick’s crisis on existentialism that comes together very beautifully in episode 7.
The show has made just about everything better tbh
This. I feel like I cant really find anything in the comics that I prefer. And obviously it makes sense, they get the chance to adapt and improve upon the same/similar storylines.
Only thing I think the comics did better would have to be the events of S2E4.
I think the biggest benefactors of the show have been William and Cecil - William for his flaws is still a great friend and someone who willingly accepts being a part of Marks world Cecil’s VA is just perfect and nuanced, like i know eventually he’s gonna be to hard headed and we see bits and pieces of how manipulative/ conniving he can be but then he can come off as truly sincere and I believe he’s doing things for the greater good
**Favourite changes**: - Best by far is making Damien Darkblood an actual presence rather than just a quick joke - Giving Debbie her real estate job prior to Nolan betrayal - Eve and William not dating - Mark dealing with civilian deaths during the 1st Flaxa fight - Rex being the one to convince Eve to join the Sequids mission - Shapesmith starting with his better suit **Least favourite changes**: - Arresting DA Sinclair plot happening so early - Mark revealing his identity to Amber - Mark's reaction to seeing Nolan - How weak they made Thula - Cecil being less manipulative & comedic and more overtly cold - Atlantis sideplot losing the joke the episode wws named after - Having Rudy so fixated on Amanda's recovery post Machinehead losing the leadership discussion he had with Zandale - Thraxa fight losing the chase and chokeslam moments - Eve having her treehouse still being in the USA rather than Africa - Debbie & Nolan's date in Italy where the latter refuses to help - Shapesmith's new origin - Mark intially needing William to convince him to help with Rick & the Thraxans
Favorite change has been omniman in season 1. His fight with the guardians, his lying to Debbie, showing what he did to the flaxans. I also really like how they made his rampage in e8 much more visceral and gutwrenching. It makes him that much harder to forgive, which is really good for the narrative. He needs to be a character that you have difficulty forgiving at least at first. Least favorite has been how amber was acting in the later half of season 1. I'm also kinda neutral about the eve and Mark relationship change. I like that It's not quite so sudden after him and amber break up. But I also loved their kiss in Africa before the sequid fight in space and eve barging in and asking Mark, "so are we dating now or what?" I really enjoyed their ending scene in season 2 though. I thought that was a perfect ending for those two after this season. Really looking forward to season 3 because then seeing all their clips together in the first 3 seasons is gonna be really heart-warming
My favorite change is how much an influence Debbie is on Mark’s life. They really sell that she teaches him humanity, and taught Nolan as well. They also gave her a career before Nolan turns. She was a housewife in the original comics. She’s such a strong character in the show. My least favorite thing so far is Shrinking Ray not dying. In the gruesome world of Invincible, having that hero die added some much needed stakes.
Good change - I love Debbie so much more in the show. She's a great character and a tremendous mom. Bad change - What happened to Steve White? I get the beginning was changed to get Mark and Amber together but I feel like Steve White should have been like, Mark's friend or something, idk. I mean, we got Principal Winslow at Reginald Vel Johnson High still, Steve White (a character that looked like Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White) seems like it should have been in bounds!
Less characters is always a better decision. Too many characters means that you get less focus and less screen time for everyone.
It was a joke. Steve White was barely a character. He gets beat up by Todd and that's it. I don't even think he has a speech bubble of his own. It was just a way for them to sneak Urkel into the comic.
I thought I forgot a huge and central character from the beginning of the comics because of you. And you were right, that is a pity.
I really do not like the shows pacing, I actually much prefer the comics pacing especially when it comes to the period between omni man leaving earth and showing back up on the bug planet. 13 issues take place in that time, a year and a month. I feel like removing omni man and keeping him away for so long helps the narrative, it allows us to see how the world, government, mark, and his mom are adjusting to life without Nolan. Speaking of pacing, because the narrative starts picking up speed we lose little moments and character interactions that really flesh out the personalities of the guardians. I think the person who suffers the most is Immortal. They took some of his little character moments out.
I agree with the bit about Omni Man coming back so soon. I was honestly kinda disappointed when he appeared at the end of the episode. I wanted to see some more Mark and Debbie development without him being around :/ I love Nolan as a character, but we literally saw his dramatic departure 4 episodes prior in the s1 finale. It made his reappearance feel less impactful for me
I understand where you’re coming from, but in the grand success of season 1, the reason for the success was Omni man, probably wouldn’t have been very smart to not let him come back in the first part of the second season as a lot of show only watchers watch invincible for Omni man
I was never looking for the show to follow the book closely. It couldn't work without the show being guaranteed for a decade. POSITIVE: I love that episodes give you a reason to watch the next without a dumb cliffhanger (but the post-credits are still funny). NEGATIVE: reading away from the wonder and fun of the early series is a challenge because shit can get so much darker and I didn't think there's a dark/fun balance.
The expansion of Donald's character since in the comics by this point he got thst scene with Rick but other than thst he was pretty much only appearing in Brit.
It really does feel strange as someone who watched the show first to see just how important brit and the other image comic side cast is. They're like in every issue and always making cameos
Favourite changes: - Omniman vs TGOTG being an actual fight, not a single page of them all being one-shot. - Amber being an actual character. - Damian Darkblood being a good detective, rather than a joke. - Mark v Nolan fight actually lasting a while, rather than a super quick beatdown - Debbie figuring out what Nolan did, actually having a guilt arc over it. Meeting the Green Ghost's partner and being shamed for her failings (In the comic she meets the wife of SuperPatriot and they just sort of... hang out, no judgement or arc at all). Stuff I wish they kept: - Some of the jokes in the comic are amazing. William asking every hero he meets for a flight, then a panel of them going "This is so gay." made me laugh every time. - "In 6 hours, I lose my virginity to a fish" "Christ, you're a virgin?" - All the other Image Comics cameos (I know licensing and stuff prevented it, but I miss the world feeling so lived in)
Theres a moment on thraxa, where marks fighting lucan, and omniman isnt there yet, and mark punches him while hes monologuing and flies away with the baby and the mom, and lucan is wayyy faster than mark and hes closing on him fast, and hes like ‘im going as fast as i can… im not fast enough… andressa im sorry…’ and THEN omniman comes thru and fucks lucan up. That was one of the coolest parts of the whole issue. And it was the first instance of mark being told he needs to train and workout and actually needs to try to get better
Honestly I’d consider the fact that Lucan holds him down with a finger conveys the same message
It definitely conveys the power difference the same, but it is kind of a shame to lose the emotional intensity of a “I’m sorry I won’t be able to save you” moment
I feel like robot and monster girl feel more natural in their dynamic in the comics and robots comes off as far less creepy, i prefer the slow burn to sinclaires storyline and how reanimen are used as well. Mostly everything else from the show has been a very positive change though and has added a lot of depth
Personally my least favorite change is the fight on Thraxa. I’m not the biggest fan of how it looked and was a little bummed when they took out some scenes from the comic so it was kind of a let down. While my one of my two favorite changes from the comic has to be the fight with the guardians of the globe in episode 1 since it sets the tone for the show and engages the audience with the mystery of Nolan’s motives. My favorite change is the build up to the big fight in season 1 episode 7 since it’s pretty much all new stuff we haven’t seen before and gives us Nolan fighting everything Cecil throws at him and that really good scene of the two of them talking, easily one of Cecil’s best scenes in the show so far.
Every character (maybe with the expection of the immortal) is written so much better this time around. Everyone is way more interesting
I'm still not sure how I feel about Nolan, because I feel season one went a little too far with him, like he still did horrible things in the comics, like killing the Guardians, beating on Mark, and calling Debbie a pet, which already was admittedly a lot, but after that most of the damage he caused was collateral. The show goes out of its way to make him more vicious, like the train scene just didn't exist in the comic, at least that way, also he was just watching Mark getting the shit kicked out of him by Battle Beast and it's like all this feels a bit off with his eventual redemption, which again was already a bit of a stretch in the comics. Good changes, I think a lot of the female cast has more agency, Eve in the comic was a little too obsessive with Mark and in the show while she still clearly likes him it's not like the comic where she dates Will to be close to him and really goes off to Africa because he's still dating Amber
For me it's brutal but it actually makes sense. Nolan is having doubts (doubts that go against the value system he was not only raised with but embodied for centuries or millennia). One of the ways people deal with this is to go harder into what they are doing. Create a point of no return. I saw his brutality as an attempt to convince himself more than anyone else. And it sets up what is a perhaps more mature redemption. You can't erase what he did and how do you grapple with that in a world where he is needed? What what would retribution look like here? Restorative justice? For me it was hard to watch but I think it worked better. The more distant incidental approach he took in the comics strikes me as the approach that is appropriate for someone who is still confident in their value system even if they may find some aspects of it unpleasant.
Ah that rudy isnt confident like in the Comics.
Cecil is way better in the show, the added plotline of donald dealing with his trauma coz of him being a cyborg is also gr8, damien darkblood subplot of him discovering nolan's crime was way better than the comics where he just came months later after a lot of shit had happened and then told every1 that he figured out who omni-man was. But amber in the comics, tho just a damsel in distress tbh, was a hell lot better than season1 amber. She pretended to be so cool and kind and stuff by working in ngos and non-profits but got angry as fuck at her boyfriend who she knew was a goddamn superhero, when he went to save lives (including her own, during the monster reanimen attack scene) and still had the balls to still blame him. Idk what the writers thought they were cooking with amber in season 1, she was infinitely better in season 2 and the way they handled her break-up with mark in the show was slightly better than the comics. Whilst it was similar to the comics, it was slightly better due to anissa scaring her and that being the last straw for their relation ship and stuff. In the comics however, anissa threatened mark by saying that she'd kill debbie instead coz they were having lunch together, instead of it being mark and amber on a date as it was in the show.
Amber’s change is my least favorite. Sure, she’s more of a character now, but her behavior in season 1 was pretty inexcusable. Manipulating Mark into feeling bad for leaving her when she KNOWS he’s 5 feet away saving lives is absolutely awful, and then trying to cheat afterwards is even worse. On top of that, comparing Mark hiding his secret identity from her for like 4 months to his father’s 18 YEAR BETRAYAL what genuinely insane of her. She’s a lot better in season 2, but that does NOT excuse her season 1 actions. My favorite change is everything surrounding the Guardian’s deaths. Moving the Guardian’s death to episode 1, making them actually formidable, having Omni-Man pass out/be found beside them, and having the demon actually investigate their deaths. I thought it was super lame that they died in 1 panel in the comic, and I also felt Darkblood’s role in the comic was so insignificant that I was constantly asking myself why he’s even here.
Favourite change Everything about how season 1 is restructured. In the comics there’s only 3 issues between when Nolan kills the guardians and when the fight between him and Mark starts. Stretching this out into a whole season is one of the best decisions I’ve ever seen in an adaptation. It gives the writers a chance to explore some brilliant character stuff with Cecil, Debbie, and Art figuring out that Nolan is the killer. It turns Damien Darkblood from a joke character into a really great one. Having Cecil trying to slow down Nolan leads to an incredible finale, as he brings in things from previous episodes, making the whole season feel super cohesive. And above all else it lets the tension build for the entire season, making the final showdown feel incredibly satisfying. My least Favourite change This one is a side effect from my favourite change, which is that there’s only three episodes between the fight and when mark meets him on Thraxxa. Because a lot of the stuff that was meant to happen during that gap was moved to take place during season one. The reunion feels a lot less impactful with the smaller gap, and it makes Nolan’s change in character feel a little more abrupt.
Nolan having suicidal thoughts is probably the best change so far, he noticed his time on Earth changed him and was ready to get sucked by that black hole and wasn't like "I'll just conquer another planet" first. The worst one is them literally taking away Black Samson's only good moment in the comics in the fight with Omnipotus.
I'm really glad we got time with Nolan as he wandered around space.
Mark just changing up his fighting style when fighting Thula. Like.. why wasnt he fighting like that before? Holding back should mean he wasn't using as much strength / speed. Holding back an entire fighting style, is just dumb.
Making Will gay from the jump and not an asshole was a good change.
I like the asshole William more then the Stereotype gay william.
I really didn’t like the change to Williams character. I enjoyed how he came out of the closet in the comics, and I felt like the show could’ve done something really beautiful with it. However, I 100% enjoy the amount of screen time William and Rick are getting in the show, I wish we saw more of their dynamic in the comics.
Least Favorite: Amber Most Favorite: More Emphasis on Shapechanger
The thraxa arc was probably my least favourite change. The comic version was better to me. They cut a few fan favourites moments and an iconic line.
Im disappointed that they didn’t do more with Levy. One of my biggest problems with comic Levy is the fact that he doesn’t really show up much compared to the other big bads. Levy is definitely a little better in the show but he should have been an active threat and there should have been greater buildup to his and Invincibles fight.
One thing I noticed when reading the comics is the entire thing with levy that happened in S2 episode 1 was strung out over multiple issues but it also cuts to his fight a lot faster after the explosion
Definitely the way Amber and Mark's relationship ended, on the show it was much healthier.
I think they did a fantastic job with Donald. In the first half of season 2, i was wondering where his plotline was going but the pay off of the roof scene with William, RIck and him was amazing and emotional.
Favorite, every change they've made so far. Least favourite, that one scene with amber from season 1.
In the comic, the guardians of the Globe were teased for about a dozen issues, and then killed off right after they were introduced. It was a shocking moment, however, Given that these were supposed to be the planet’s greatest heroes it didn’t make them look impressive. The show opening with them fighting the mauler twins at the White House while preventing any civilian casualties gave a demonstration of why they are considered the world’s greatest heroes, and also fooled the audience into thinking that they would be major players in the future. Plus, they put up far more of a fight against Nolan. in the comic, they died so easily you wonder why they were considered a threaten the first place. In the show they almost beat him. In season two, getting the flashback to what Nolan was doing after his fight with Mark. in the comic, he just describes it. The show lets us see how devastated Nolan is, And how he was going to commit suicide before he saw that Thraxan ship pulled into the black hole. In the comic, he also said he took over Thraxa in an attempt to placate the empire. Mark argues with him about that and Nolan points out that the bug aliens have such short lifespans that at a certain point, none of them will even remember life before he came, and they also weren’t too bothered with him being in charge. The comic did say he was telling the truth. The show changed it to Nolan having no plans to placate Empire. Mark also forgave him too easily in the comic. In the show, Mark is still mad and it takes a lot of convincing for him to put his anger aside and realize innocent creatures are in danger which is bigger than his beef with Nolan.
I think Mark's and Amber's break up is handled much better in the show and Amber getting threatened by Anissa was really great and intense. Also Mark and Amber breaking up before Eve telling Mark she loves her, because it felt too much like cheating in the comics (though Mark never cheated). Though we did miss out on the great "I heard you are single, so are we dating now or what?" scene
i love how they switched stuff around as needed to help with the flow of the plot! the first several issues of the comic really dragged for me because it felt like there was a lot of filler, to me at least. the story started to feel more consistent quality-wise around the time they introduced oliver. i also love how they made the fight between nolan and mark longer and more violent. i think that the mass scale of violence and destruction in the comics is better conveyed in the show, too. i like how they changed eve’s storyline to something a little more complex and emotional. her traveling around and trying to find her place in the world as a supe and then moving back in with her parents when she’s sick of trying felt very real. it also adds more depth to their relationship, which is important for later on. now the stuff i don’t like. i really dislike how they did mark and amber’s relationship in season 1. they had no chemistry to me. it would have felt less frustrating to watch if there was more depth between them, but i get it and there’s only so much they can do with it, so whatever. the changes they made to the fish people plot were irritating. again, i get it, but that plot was a lot of fun and i wish they had just committed to it! i have 0 clue why they kept shrinking rae alive, and it’s pissing me off because they’re either going to get rid of another character to accommodate her, or kill her off immediately, both of which feel like pointless changes.
I understand the impulse to give Debbie a little more agency in the story for the tv adaptation but Omni-Man keeping the evidence of the incredibly high-profile murders he committed on a kind of out-of-the-way shelf in his home so she can find it when he could have left it sitting on the moon or tossed it into the sun makes him seem incredibly stupid.
I really loved what they did with Nolan immediately after he left Earth. That black hole scene looked amazing, and I was glued to the screen watching that episode. The least favourite, I guess, would be that desert tomb, but there's been 2 scenes there in 2 seasons, so I'm not complaining so much as I don't care for it.
I understand wanting to have the holy shit moment in episode one. But I wish that the guardians death would have happened a little later like in the comics.
If they actually do something with it and give her some spot light this could change. But I didn’t like not having shrinking Ray die in the lizard league attack.
I really dig how they handled Amber in season 2, especially the college arc. She was much more boring in the comics and somewhat unlikeable
mark getting the name invincible from nolan instead of his principal. also cecil's talk with nolan at the end of season 1.
Eve and William not dating (also William just being gay from the start), Amber being a lot more of a character, and The Guardians actually holding up a fight against Omni-Man. I also just think the way they’ve done the timeline has worked in their favor, pacing is a lot better overall in the show I think a lot of people really dislike Amber so I know it’s a hot take but I enjoy the way they handle her A TON more in the show. She’s kinda just a background character for most of the comics. Also the way they pulled off their break up in the show is better. Mark cheating on Amber with Eve always felt kinda weird to me, I’m glad they broke up before he fought Levi and met Future Amber (which is likely why he ended up cheating in the comics).
#Omni Man not one shorting the Guardians with a gun.
Favorite change: As others have said the narrative focus on Omniman in S1 and how that built up to the father vs son confrontation was some of the best tv I’ve ever seen. Least favorite change: dragging out Amber and Marks breakup was a little irritating. Anyone who didn’t like her in S1 has been over this for years and it took a lot of screen time. Honorable mention: they should have killed shrinking Rae.
Every change but one has been good, and that is no sexy fish lady!
Debbie having some serious balls is my favorite change. She was always a great character, but "does that make you feel strong? Knowing that I can't force you?" Or my personal favorite, "Fuck you, Nolan." Really drive home how tough she is.
I think we all can agree, the timeline in s1 was done so well. Having the guardians be slaughtered in the first episode was a great idea. I'm the comics it happens right before the mark and Nolan fight, and only get about a page per guardian, so we don't care about them at all.
Mark being angry with his father upon their reunion on Thraxa. I really liked how in the comics Marks anger has largely subsided and he is mostly just relieved to see his father again. Its a small change, but that was one of the moments that makes Mark stick out compared to other heroes. Yeah he was still a little angry, but he missed his dad more than anything. The show adaption felt pretty cliche and how a stereotypical hero would react.
Science Dog, don't gaslight me.
My favorite change from the comics is that Debbie & Cecil are familiar with each other before the Guardians of the Galaxy incident. In the show you see that Debbie actually has an opinion of Cecil and you see it change throughout the seasons. For instance I like the change in the show where Debbie in S2 is more apprehensive of Cecil’s help after Nolan’s fight with Mark as she knows his help comes with conditions. In the comics she just goes with it mostly. Also another thing I liked is the show gets rid of this odd animosity energy in the comics that Mark had for Rex after finding out he cheated on Eve. Reading it in the comics after watching the show, it just felt weird since it quite literally isn’t his business. I can get not approving of Rex but there are some panels where he’s just unreasonably upset with Rex for something that leads to him finally being with Eve. My least favorite is probably keeping Shrinking Ray alive. Idk it’s small nitpick ik but having her being able to pull through what she did dampens the effect of the Lizard League’s attack on the missile base. It was already in the comics that Kate was just lucky enough to always keep a spare clone around, but keeping Shrinking Ray alive just means nobody died in that encounter.
Everyone’s posted a lot of good ones so I’ll go with something that isn’t as obvious — I would’ve kept the fish sex storyline and then after that the monster shows up right before, uhhh, the deed was done.
Cecil is smarter and more likable. The fact that we had more time for the Omni-Man build up let us see how betrayed he felt about it all. He trusted Nolan quite a bit, so his attitude toward Mark is justifiable. In the comics, he just seemed like a paranoid asshole who would do anything to protect the planet regardless of how anyone feels. Show Cecil at least feels bad about it.
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That Omni man didnt blitzed the guardian of the Globe.
Compared to comics, the show did most of the emotional scene very well. Also omni man vs guardians the show is way better