In a media environment full of superhero narratives, the Invincible animated series has set itself apart with a unique, often dichotomous tone. At times, the narrative is a largely sincere, old-fashioned story about a teen hero, with stories about Mark's struggles to balance his secret life with his teenage existence that wouldn't be out of place in a 1960s Spiderman comic. But the series also includes regular graphic violence that goes beyond anything in recent Marvel or DC releases, and at times has an edgy, snide sense of humor similar to that of other Rogen/Goldberg comic book adaptations like Preacher or The Boys. The resulting dissonance is both Invincible's biggest strength and its biggest potential weakness.

The question of tone in superhero movies and TV shows has been a subject of much debate over the past decade, with critics and executives attacking Zack Snyder's DCEU's dark tone while the more light-hearted and joke-filled Marvel Cinematic Universe also attracted its share of detractors. Invincible combines these two approaches, using its animated nature to allow for more graphic violence while also using bright colors and coming-of-age storylines.

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This contrast can help to make both sides of the narrative more effective. The shock ending of the first episode, with Omni-Man brutally killing the Guardians of the Globe, is more shocking because it's following a mostly upbeat take on a superhero origin story, one without any of the familial tragedy that comes with the genre. When Mark fails at the end of "That Actually Hurt" and gets badly hurt by Battle Beast and Machine Head's other minions, it feels more weighty and significant than if he had just been bloodlessly knocked out. The episode juxtaposes this with a stock, played-straight plot about Mark standing up his date. Because the story is willing to get dark, Mark's failings have real consequences.

This tonal shift can also help to create comedy. The kind of bitter, Adult Swim-style humor in the conversation between the two White House guards that open the series, or the two clones who can't agree on who the original is, benefits from being set against a background where someone's brains can be knocked out at any moment - or someone could have a heartfelt conversation. Invincible constantly keeps the audience guessing, making both its light-hearted and dark scenes more impactful.

At the same time, it's questionable how sustainable this balance is. In the sixth episode, the brutal beatdown one episode prior is mostly dismissed to focus on Mark's tour of Upstate University with William and his falling-out with Amber. It becomes hard to care about the teenage love triangle between Mark, Amber, and Eve when it is juxtaposed with a plot about Omni-Man trying to cover up murder. Moreover, if the brutal violence is dismissed easily to return to the lighter subject matter, it makes future violence seem less serious and shocking.

The Invincible animated series faithfully preserves the dark humor of Robert Kirkman's series as well as its willingness to be sincere. So far, these two elements have mainly helped the series create memorable moments, but over time the two tones may be in greater conflict with each other. Balancing the light and dark sides of Invincible to keep the story relevant to viewers will be an important task for the creators as the series moves on.

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