I got introduced to Invincible on a random day in 2021. Initially, what I thought would be just another animated superhero show turned into something completely different as soon as I saw the last 15 minutes of Season 1, Episode 1. I bet you know what I’m talking about. That’s when I understood that this series is going to change the superhero genre’s trajectory.

With Season 4 officially concluding last night, here’s a spoiler-induced review of what could be a modern-day classic that is the show

Season 4 starts off with a depressed Mark reeling from the consequences of the Invincible War and his first battle with Conquest. Flying aimlessly, looking for trouble, doing his best to keep his family and loved ones safe, Mark is getting stronger, but his strength comes with the quiet realisation that he can never run away from a fight because he is the strongest superhero Earth has (no Immortal glazing in this house).

So he lets loose and takes extreme measures in conflicts which could have been solved otherwise. Hey, I’m glad that Mark is finally letting loose, but what I don’t like is his black-and-white approach to everything.

Lightyears away, we see an unlikely friendship brewing with the galaxy’s worst dad, Omni-Man, and the one-eyed Unopan, Allen the Alien. We finally get to know the lore of the Viltrum Empire and the consequences of the scourge virus. I can’t believe Nolan made me feel bad about a bunch of animated fascist supes.

Allen and Nolan join together to look for weapons and allies who can take on the Viltrumites, because now the plot is to eradicate them to stop the horrors they cause across the galaxies. We get to see characters like Tech Jacket, who is heavily nerfed in the series but is a really cool character nonetheless. We also get to see Space Racer and his Infinity Ray, watching him be the MVP in the Viltrumite War with his blicky. And how can we forget Battle Beast and his constant roaring?

Nolan goes back to Earth after the atrocities of Season 1 to recruit Mark into the war. An unwilling Mark goes because he knows that if he doesn’t, the Viltrumites will come to Earth next. Mark and Oliver head to Planet Talescria with Omni-Man, Allen, Tech Jacket, and General Telia to join the Coalition of Planets. But their ship is destroyed by Viltrumites, and Mark meets an old foe, Conquest.

Oh man, what a gruesome and disgusting battle they had. Mark barely managed to end Conquest, with grave injuries leaving him, his father, and his brother forced to take refuge on the battleground. We see Oliver and Nolan bond while Mark heals, as the Coalition of Planets liberates planets from Viltrum’s grip.

We also see the first time Viltrumites appear on Talescria and instantly go to town with atrocities and war crimes. We see the betrayer Thaedus take on multiple Viltrumites and kill one, explaining how he could take on the Emperor. Meanwhile, Thragg is just chilling on the ship with his emotional support skull.

Thragg may have lost some aura points, but it was repaid in full in the penultimate episode when he absolutely decimated three of the strongest Viltrumites in existence. One-shotting Thaedus and almost killing Nolan and Mark, whom he only spared because their species is dwindling. Thragg’s strength and skill are so unmatched that Nolan implied that he and Mark cannot beat him.

Despite everything the Coalition did to Thragg and the other Viltrumites (like destroying their planet, for starters), Thragg was still merciful and rational. He made Mark a deal in the finale where the remaining Viltrumites would live on Earth in silence in order to repopulate. Mark, suffering from horrible PTSD, decides that Viltrumites living on Earth in silence is better than Viltrumites destroying everything he loves. The season hence ends with this cliffhanger, which we have to wait another year for.

So Season 4 ends exactly where Invincible has always been at its best, not with a punch, but with a choice.

A traumatised kid who just wants things to stop breaking around him is asked to decide the fate of a species that only knows how to conquer.

There is no clean win here, no triumphant pose in the sky, just Mark carrying the unbearable weight of a compromise that might save Earth or doom it slowly. That moral exhaustion, that constant question of whether survival is worth the cost, is why this show hits harder than most superhero stories ever dare to.

If this really is the calm before the storm, then Season 4 has done its job perfectly. It leaves us uneasy, divided, and counting the days until we find out whether Mark Grayson’s mercy was an act of heroism or the beginning of something far worse.