WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the seventh episode of Invincible “We Need to Talk,” streaming now on Amazon Prime.
One of the biggest changes Invincible makes in adapting the comic for the screen revolves around the central twist that the premier hero Omni-Man is not the shining beacon of morality he appears to be. While the presentation of the twist was more abrupt in the comic, culminating in a confrontation between Omni-Man and his son Invincible, the animated series draws the tension out far longer, and the result are scenes and interactions fans never had the chance to see before.
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In the latest episode of Invincible, one of these confrontations comes between Global Defense Agency Director Cecil Stedman and Omni-Man himself. In fact, it’s one of the best additions the adaptation has made yet.
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Baked into the comic is a fascinating relationship between Cecil and Omni-Man that results from their mutual partnership in defense of the world. Cecil uses an ear piece to communicate with Omni-Man where disaster strikes, providing cleanup and support invaluable to a superhero. But Omni-Man’s power trumps that of all other heroes on Earth, and following his betrayal in the comics, Cecil’s own sense of betrayal comes with the pragmatic regret of losing such a valuable asset.
But the animated adaptation manages to fuse a friendship between the two into that pragmatism, adding a personal and emotional element to the sequence rife for exploration. And explore it the series does, as nearly the entirety of “We Need to Talk” focuses on Omni-Man searching for his son Mark — the hero known as Invincible — and Cecil’s attempts to frustrate and intercept those efforts. Not only is Cecil trying to keep the most powerful being on the planet from gaining another ally, he has a genuine sense of betrayal underlying his actions.
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The drama gradually builds with fantastic displays of destruction and violence. Omni-Man goes from detecting the presence of an invisible GDA task force in his home, to surviving part of his neighborhood blowing up, to getting plowed into the ground by a multi-billion dollar satellite’s laser — only to fly into space and destroy that satellite. Eventually, Cecil sets the fancy toys aside and faces Omni-Man mano a mano, using an ineffectual energy rifle to gain Omni-Man’s attention and his teleportation technology to keep his distance — and it’s beautiful.
When Omni-Man instantly tries to kill Cecil, the GDA Director says he is genuinely shocked, and even his gruff demeanor is no protection against the pain of a friend for over 20 years betraying him so thoroughly. Omni-Man tries a variety of tactics to kill Cecil — from throwing boulders at him to creating shockwaves with a clap that rend the earth — but ultimately the closest he gets is grasping Cecil’s tie as the director narrowly teleports away from their confrontation. It’s a dazzling sequence, and one the comic never even came close to depicting.
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While the Cecil of the comics shared much the same sentiment of betrayal as in the adaptation, they simply never had the opportunity for a confrontation. With this confrontation enriching both characters, it’s clear that the addition is a sturdy improvement. Given Cecil’s near bottomless wealth of resources and Omni-Man’s unstoppable degree of power, the two are in a lot of ways the perfect foes to call one another a nemesis.
Invincible stars Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Mark Hamill, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Melise, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder. The series is produced by Skybound, and executive produced by Robert Kirkman, Simon Racioppa, David Alpert and Catherine Winder. New episodes are released Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.
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