WARNING: the following contains SPOILERS for Invincible episode 7, "We Need To Talk"
So far, the Amazon Prime series Invincible has closely followed the comics — until episode 7 killed off a character who survives in the original Robert Kirkman story: Donald Ferguson. In Invincible episode 7, "We Need To Talk," Cecil Stedman finds himself up against Omni-Man after the Viltrumite realized he had been found out. Throughout the course of the episode, Cecil throws everything he can at Omni-Man — costing Donald his life in the process.
Invincible is the story of Mark Grayson, aka Invincible, a teenager who develops superpowers like his father Nolan, aka Omni-Man. In both versions of the story, Omni-Man shockingly kills the Guardians of the Globe, revealing his villainous intentions. So far in the Amazon series, Omni-Man's reasons have been a secret; however, Invincible season 1 looks to end by finally revealing why.
Invincible episode 7 is a highly suspenseful episode: After Debbie discovers the truth about her husband's role in the Guardians of the Galaxy murders, Cecil steps in, whisking her away to safety and sending his agents after Omni-Man. The Viltrumite discovers Donald, who detonates a bomb, killing himself in the process. The moment is shocking since Donald was a recurring presence in the series and is the first such character to actually die. What's more, killing Donald off in this way is a significant change from the Invincible comics.
In the comics, the Immortal is brought back to life (much like he is in the TV show), and goes off to find Omni-Man — but everything else about the Omni-Man story in Invincible episode 7 is new content; Omni-Man killing the Global Defense Agency agents, the satellite weapon, the enhanced kaiju — none of this occurs in the Invincible comics. In the original version, Debbie finds out the truth effectively when Mark does, and it's only because he witnesses Omni-Man brutally killing Immortal, leading to his father confessing the truth. Donald continues as Cecil's assistant, playing a supporting role in several storylines. At one point, Donald is even revealed to be a cyborg.
While it's possible that Amazon's adaptation of Invincible is planning to bring Donald back (perhaps as a robot), this seems unlikely based on his brutal death. Donald bleeds when Omni-Man grabs his spine, suggesting he's flesh and blood, and nothing is left of him after the explosion. Furthermore, Cecil later confirms to Debbie that Nolan "killed Donald." Donald being absent for the rest of the series isn't a fundamental difference — after all, he was only ever a supporting character in Kirkman's comics. Still, this change does mean the show will have to adapt its future storylines to accommodate Donald not being there. Whether or not Amazon is going to continue to follow Omni-Man's basic story remains to be seen — but it is a refreshing change of pace to see Invincible exploring daring, new narrative directions.