After nearly five years, Omni-Man has returned to Earth — and Invincible is having a hard time coming to terms with his father’s return.
“I’m sure it pains him to a degree to understand his father,” star Steven Yeun said. “To come to realize that he might have been naïve about the perspective that his father was sitting in.”
“Invincible” Season 4, Episode 5 (titled “Give Us a Moment”) marks the grand return of Nolan Grayson (J.K. Simmons) to the planet he once called home. This is the first time since the Season 1 finale—which featured an iconic fight between Nolan and his son, Mark/Invincible (Steven Yeun)—that the Viltrumite warrior has set foot on Earth.
Nolan has had many adventures since leaving his son’s home planet: having a new child on Thraxa, surviving a Viltrumite prison, befriending Allen the Alien, and uniting with the Coalition of Planets on Talescria to defeat the Viltrum Empire.
Viewers have also learned more about Nolan’s past and the history of his planet.
“We wanted to illuminate that a little bit and give you a little more understanding behind this race, this people that played such a big role through the first three seasons and will continue to play a role for the rest of Mark’s life,” co-showrunner Simon Racioppa said. “He’s not going to ever lose his Viltrumite heritage. It’s going to be part of him, so we wanted to give you a little bit more of that backstory, of letting you understand where Nolan came from and how that transfers down to Mark.”
While viewers may know a new Nolan, Mark (who hasn’t seen his father since the Season 2 episode “It’s Been a While”) does not. Yet Mark has also gone on his own journey, one that has left him more scarred, more violent — more willing to kill.
“As an actor, what’s gnarly is people play roles. We all play roles, and we all play sometimes the function of whatever the story is from whoever’s perspective that you’re telling it from. We don’t really get to control that, per se. We just kind of are that,” Yeun said. “I think for Mark, as he comes to know this but still has this anger and resentment toward (Nolan) to some degree, I think he’s trying to — it’s all of that, you know? It’s all of it. I don’t even know how to talk about it. It’s all of those things.”
“Barely a bad photocopy”
Mark and Nolan’s conversation isn’t the only big reunion in the latest “Invincible” episode. “Give Us a Moment” also marks the first time Nolan has spoken to his wife, Debbie (Sandra Oh), since the show’s first season in 2021. Debbie, too, has not been privy to Nolan’s off-planet growth — and she is far from forgetting him calling her “a pet” during his villainous turn.
“If I was supposed to change you, I failed,” Debbie tells Nolan in the episode. “You’re not one of us. You’re not human. You’re barely a bad photocopy.”
In comparison to the “Invincible” comic, this confrontation between Debbie and Nolan is far more… well, confrontational. Comic book creator and co-showrunner Robert Kirkman called this conflict the natural result of the animated series’ expansion of Debbie’s character.
“That is a byproduct of everything that’s been done with Debbie over the course of the seasons — working with Sandra Oh, trying to build up that character. That character does not have as robust a role in the comic book series. It’s just something that we didn’t really do. It was a blind spot for us when we were doing that book,” Kirkman said. “So in deepening that character and getting to know her perspective more and seeing everything that Simon and the writers were able to add to her character and that story, that all shifts where you see that character going and what you think that she’s capable of and willing to accept.”
“As someone that’s adapting his own work, and also working with this massive group to adapt his work, it’s really heartening to see those differences and see those changes and witness just how much it elevates the work. It’s a really gratifying experience that makes this whole endeavor worth it on a bigger level.”
Robert Kirkman and Racioppa knew that this increased conflict could be off-putting to fans. While Nolan’s actions to Debbie and Earth were beyond monstrous, audiences have spent years getting further insight into the upbringing and growth of this fan-favorite character.
But the showrunners don’t mind creating that friction so long as they stay true to their characters.
“Hopefully, it just feels real to you and to the character. It’s the Debbie you’ve known since Season 1, and it feels like the Debbie that you saw go through terrible events at the end of the season and through Season 2 and recover somewhat,” Racioppa said. “Maybe you don’t agree with her. Maybe some of our audience feels like she’s doing the wrong thing, but at least it should feel like this is the Debbie that we know, this is how she would react in the situation, and you understand that, even if you either agree or don’t agree with her actions.”
