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Invincible<\/em><\/a> has quietly become a bona fide superhero phenomenon, and its season four premiere makes that accolade feel less like a hot take to harbor. What began as a scrappy, hyper-violent comic adaptation has grown into a sharper, grounded series, and its three-episode premiere leans further into that maturity with an introspective, hard-hitting setup to an all-out war that\u2019s finally within arm\u2019s reach. Unfortunately, Invincible<\/em>\u2019s near-annual pace has become its own monkey\u2019s paw, dragging its animation quality down just as its story has hit its stride.<\/p>\n When we last left Mark Grayson, his life was a cascade of disasters practically tripping over each other to greet him. While his love life<\/a> finally managed to crawl out of the trenches, the moral gray zone between heroes and villains<\/a> has only dragged him deeper into doubt about the kind of superhero he wants to be.<\/p>\n And hanging over everything is the fear he\u2019ll inevitably become what everyone expects of him: another Viltrumite warmonger<\/a> like his father, Omni-Man<\/a>. Unfortunately, the poison does seep through, leaving Mark at a crossroads where the nature and nurture of his alien\/human existence are at a tipping point. So it tracks that season four opens with a heavier, feels-bad-man energy<\/a> hanging over not just Mark but the entire superhero ensemble.<\/p>\n