15 'Invincible' Episodes That Are Considered Masterpieces, Ranked

Updated Nov 5, 2026, 6:36 AM EST Eddie Possehl is a dynamic and driven writer/director with a passion for the written word and all things film, television, comics, and games. His passion for storytelling led him to establish his own production company in hopes of achieving his dreams. His dedication to his craft has attracted renowned talent like Yuri Lowenthal to collaborate with him on his projects. As he grows and improves, Eddie is a shining example of a self-starter. Sign in to your Collider account Invincible is, without a doubt, one of the most popular superhero animated series of all time. In the vein of The Boys, this Prime Video show is brutal, bloody, and vulgar. However, it is filled to the brim with far more heart, love, and soul that helps define this series as one not of ridiculous gore and shock value, but telling a story about heroism, the price of it, and what it means to truly be one as a young person. Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) is very well-written, and the world around him is also very well-established. Not only does Invincible have the writing of the original Invincible (2003) comic series writer, Robert Kirkman, behind it, but a bunch of new writers are helping out now, as well. Having a whole writers' room supporting the show and giving new ideas and reframing old ones has helped Invincible become something even more amazing than the original book, in some people's opinions. 15 "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry" Season 3, Episode 6 Image via Prime Video One of the greatest parts of Invincible is the way it handles morality and how gray it can be. Mark Grayson is consistently having this tested in each episode, and one of the best examples of an episode that does this is "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry." It also brings the iconic Aaron Paul into the fold, playing Powerplex. What the sixth episode of this third season does so well is it covers what it is like to be a normal, unassuming civilian in the world of Invincible. With just one terrible battle, one's loved ones, livelihood, and more could be taken from them—exactly what happened to Powerplex, and what led him to go crazy. This new villain is the literal physical manifestation of Mark's own questions about morality and the gray area between right and wrong. It's incredibly thought-provoking. 14 "You Look Horrible" Season 4, Episode 6 Image via Prime Video With how things played out at the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2, Nolan Grayson (J.K. Simmons) never really got the chance to spend much time with his other, younger son, Oliver Grayson (Christian Convery). After Mark is mortally wounded in his rematch against the horrifying Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the Grayson boys must take refuge on a planet and wait for the eldest son to recover. With this, Oliver and Nolan get to spend some real father and son time together. This takes some time to really slow down and give ample room for character development, and it works very well. This feels like a natural slow point between what came before and what's to come. The character work for these three—less so Mark compared to the other two—is wonderfully executed, and leaves this episode proving that an Invincible episode doesn't have to have a bunch of action to be successful. 13 "That Actually Hurt" Season 1, Episode 5 Image via Prime Video There's no doubt that Invincible Season 1 is amazing and a great start to this iconic series. One of the best episodes in that first entry is Invincible Season 1, Episode 5 — the introduction to the fan favorite Battle Beast (Michael Dorn). This also features Mark showcasing how naive he began his career — wanting to simply do good, without thinking too hard about his actions at the same time. When taking a chance on a team-up with a crime lord known as Titan (Mahershala Ali) to take down a far more dangerous one — Machine Head (Jeffery Donovan) — Mark gets himself into a plethora of trouble. The pacing in this episode is stellar and naturally builds up to the action-packed conclusion perfectly. 12 "I'll Give You the Grand Tour" Season 4, Episode 2 Image via Prime Video There's no question that Invincible Season 4 is jam-packed with action, stakes, and fast pacing. This is exemplified by how strong a start it had, with one of the show's best episodes coming within the first two episodes of the season. "I'll Give You the Grand Tour" not only tells the origin of the Viltrumites, but has some hard-hitting action to blend with it. Among all this, though, the voice acting really stands out, with the whole cast bringing their A-game for such an important episode. The story here of Nolan's origin is actually not featured in the comics, making this an all-new story for comic readers. Not to mention, Nolan and Alan (Seth Rogen) finally get some good, well-deserved screen time together—being a pair that fans absolutely adore. 11 "We Need to Talk" Season 1, Episode 7 Image via Prime Video The penultimate episode of Invincible Season 1 is one that is incredibly thrilling, as Nolan's plot that's been brewing in the background finally comes to a head. Featuring an awesome fight between him and The Immortal (Ross Marquand), this episode shows just how truly unstoppable Omni-Man is, making the fight to come between him and Invincible feel all the more scary. This episode isn't just action, though, as it has some great character work for both Mark and Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs)—with him approaching her for advice and them getting some great time for character work before the big finale. "We Need to Talk" perfectly blends action and character work, making it exceptionally well-written. 10 "A Deal with the Devil" Season 3, Episode 2 Image via Prime Video One of the most complex and interesting characters in Invincible isn't just Mark Grayson, but none other than Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins). No other episode fully depicts this like the likes of "A Deal with the Devil." The divide that inevitably comes between Invincible and the old, but badass man is one of the best conflicts in the series. After the betrayal of Nolan Grayson — Omni-Man — Cecil's trust in Viltrumites and, honestly, powerful people in general, is at an all-time low. Not to mention, the episode also depicts an origin of sorts for Stedman. All of this culminates in a conflict that pulls the two apart. When it's revealed that Cecil has been working with both Darkwing II (Cleveland Berto) as an agent and D.A. Sinclair (Eric Bauza) to create the ReAnimen — two people he considers to be vile killers — Mark flips out and attacks him, causing him to reveal his hand: he has implanted anti-Viltrumite technology in Mark's head — a total invasion of privacy. This severs their alliance for seemingly good and puts Mark completely on his own, as well as sowing conflict among the members of the new Guardians of the Globe. 9 "I Thought You Were Stronger" Season 2, Episode 8 Image via Prime Video Despite the fact that it sometimes suffers from mid-season slumps in animation quality, the Invincible team always goes all-out for their big finales, and the finale for Season 2, "I Thought You Were Stronger," is a great example. This is one of the first times that Mark's family is genuinely put in danger, and it causes him to put to the test all the moral standards that he holds for himself as Angstrom Levy (Sterling K. Brown) severely harms his mother, Debbie Grayson, and holds her and his little brother hostage. Not only does this result in an awesome fight, but it features Mark being sent to tons of other universes, including a great reference to Spider-Man and the story the two have together in the comics, as seen in Marvel Team-Up #14 (2005). Now Agent Spider (Josh Keaton), the Web-Slinger, is voiced by none other than Josh Keaton, voice of The Spectacular Spider-Man himself. With a great cameo and phenomenal fight, the Season 2 finale is one to remember. Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Superhero Team Should You Join? Avengers · X-Men · Teen Titans · The Boys Every team is a personality test with a uniform. One saves the world and argues about it the whole way home. One has been fighting for the right to exist since the day it formed. One is still working out who it is while the fighting happens. And one has no powers at all, plus no intention of playing fair. Eight questions decide where you actually belong. 🛡️Avengers(Marvel Studios) 🧬X-Men(Marvel) 🐦Teen Titans(DC) 💊The Boys(Prime Video) FIND YOUR TEAM → 01 What kind of power would you actually want? The power matters less than what you would be willing to do with it. ASomething enormous and obvious. I would not hide it. BSomething I was born with, whether I wanted it or not. CSomething still growing that I cannot quite control. DNone at all. I would rather nobody sees me coming. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Why join a team at all? Nobody puts on the suit for the reason they say out loud. ABecause some threats are too big for anyone alone. BBecause people like me are safer together than apart. CBecause I did not want to do any of this alone. DBecause somebody has to hold these people accountable. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you feel about the people in charge? Every team has a chain of command. Very few of them survive contact. AI will follow a good leader and argue with a bad one. BThey have never protected people like me. I expect nothing. CI am still learning who to trust, and getting it wrong. DThey are the problem. That is the entire point. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What is your role inside a group? Every roster needs the same handful of people to function. AThe big personality. I take up room and I earn it. BThe one who protects whoever arrived most recently. CThe heart. I keep everybody talking to each other. DThe one who says the uncomfortable thing out loud. NEXT QUESTION → 05 How do you win a fight you should lose? This is the scene the entire film gets built around. AOverwhelming force, and a very good landing. BWorking together in a way nobody saw coming. CRefusing to give up long after I should have. DPreparation, leverage, and one extremely dirty trick. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What is this work costing you? Nobody does this for free. The bill just arrives differently for everyone. AMy private life. Everybody knows my face now. BMy safety. The world is frightened of me. CMy childhood. I grew up faster than I should have. DMy peace. I cannot stop now that I know. NEXT QUESTION → 07 How should the world see your team? Half of this job is public relations, and everybody knows it. AAs icons. The team everyone is relieved to see arrive. BAs people. Just people, which is all we ever asked. CAs proof the next generation is going to be fine. DThey should not see us at all until it is done. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The offer arrives. What makes you say yes? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your team. AThe scale. If the world is ending, I want to be there. BThe promise that I would not have to hide anymore. CThe people. I would be joining friends, not an employer. DThe chance to take down somebody who deserves it. REVEAL MY TEAM → Recruitment Is Complete Your Team Is…Four teams, four completely different reasons to put yourself in danger for strangers. This is the roster you actually belong on, what they would want from you, and what it would cost you to stay. The AvengersYou belong where the stakes are largest and the personalities are loudest. This is a team of people who are all used to being the most important person in the room, which is exactly why it works and exactly why it keeps nearly falling apart. The Avengers are not friends who became a team. They are a team that slowly and reluctantly became friends, and you would recognise every stage of that process. You can hold your own among big egos without needing to win every exchange, which is the real entry requirement here. The arguing is part of the method. This group does its best thinking mid-disagreement, usually at volume, usually in a very expensive building. When the sky opens, they are who shows up. You would want to be standing in that line. The X-MenYou have never had the luxury of being thanked for this. The X-Men protect a world that has never once been comfortable with them existing, and something in you understands exactly why they keep doing it anyway. This is the only team on the list whose central conflict is not a villain. It is being wanted gone by the same people they keep saving. You know what it is to be the outsider in a room and to decide, anyway, that you will not make yourself smaller so everyone else is comfortable. The X-Men are the most genuine found family in comics. People arrive with nowhere else to go and are never once asked to explain themselves. You would not be joining for the glory. There has never been any. The Teen TitansYou do not want colleagues, you want your people. The Titans are the team where the friendship came first and the world-saving turned up afterwards as an inconvenient side effect. Every Titan is somebody's sidekick who decided to stop being one. That decision, not the villain of the week, is what the team is actually about. You would be joining people who are all working themselves out at the same time as you, which is far less lonely than being the only one. The Titans lose regularly. Then they eat together and come back better, which is a more honest model of growing up than any other team here manages. The tower would be loud, chaotic, and the first place that ever felt like yours. The BoysYou are not asking who to trust. You worked out the answer a while ago and it was nobody in a cape. This is where you go once you have decided the people in charge need watching, and that nobody else is going to do it. The Boys have no powers, no mandate and no funding. What they have is leverage, patience, and a very high tolerance for consequences. You are the person in the room who notices the thing everybody else has quietly agreed not to mention. This is not a heroic team and it has never pretended otherwise. It is a group of damaged people doing necessary work in ways nobody would call clean. You would not sleep well. You would keep going anyway. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 8 "Don't Leave Me Hanging Here" Season 4, Episode 8 Image via Prime Video The Season 4 finale — "Don't Leave Me Hanging Here" — emphasizes the fact that not only does Invincible thrive in action-based conflict, but in narrative-based conflict, as well. After the terrible fight with the Viltrumites and being gone from Earth for so long, Mark deals with the emotional fallout of it all and is given a horrible choice. Mark doesn't just discover that Atom Eve was pregnant and had to make a difficult choice all on her own (causing him to feel extremely guilty), but he finds out that the Viltrumites have secretly invaded Earth, and Grant Regent Thragg (Lee Pace) comes to him with a choice: fight him now and let Earth be destroyed and conquered, or allow his people to live and breed on Earth, doing nothing about it and letting the planet live another day. It's a terrible position to be in and, while he resists at first, Mark accepts. After a whole episode of what seems like PTSD causing him to think he's seeing Thragg, the eventual reveal of the real deal is executed masterfully. 7 "Don't Do Anything Rash" Season 4, Episode 7 Image via Prime Video Everyone loves a good battle-oriented episode, and one of the best comes in the form of Invincible Season 4, Episode 7, as Invincible, Oliver Grayson (Christian Convery), Nolan, Tech Jacket (Zoey Deutch), Battle Beast, Space Racer (Winston Duke), and the Coalition of Planets raid Viltrum to face the Viltrumites head-on. While the fight seems like it'll go alright at the beginning, nothing goes the way they hoped it would. This fight with the Viltrumites is brutal and has gigantic repercussions for the rest of the series and the characters present in the fight. Not only is Thaedus (Peter Cullen), leader of the Coalition, murdered, but Oliver is gravely injured, seemingly dead until revealed to have a chance at recovery. This episode also ends in the destruction of the entire planet of Viltrum, ripping almost everything Thragg loved away from him. 6 "It's About Time" Season 1, Episode 1 Image via Amazon A good pilot can define whether a series will find success or not, and the pilot of Invincible, "It's About Time," is an amazing one. While it may start out seeming like the standard superhero series with a bit of brutal The Boys flair, the big twist at the end of the episode solidifies this as a show that will be subverting expectations and, unlike what people believed, it would be in the majority of the first entry in this series. After Mark has his big "first fly" as Invincible, in his new suit, set to an awesome soundtrack, audiences watch as his father, the ever-beloved Omni-Man, murders the Guardians of the Globe in cold blood. Why does he do this? No one is sure, and that leads to a mystery and season-long conflict that has viewers invested from start to finish.