Matt Minton mminton@variety.com Over the last few years, the state of comic book films and shows has grown increasingly uncertain with the phrase “superhero fatigue” getting thrown around following the surprise underperformance of major Marvel films.
But Robert Kirkman, co-creator, co-showrunner and executive producer of “Invincible” — the violent animated show ready to unveil Season 3 — remains confident in the genre. “I don’t think superhero fatigue is a real thing, but I do think that the genre of superhero storytelling has become so ubiquitous that it’s gotten to a point where it’s not fresh and it’s not new,” Kirkman told Variety Monday night at the Los Angeles premiere of “Invisible” Season 3. “You can’t just be a superhero show and not have anything special about you anymore because I think the novelty has worn off.
But that’s really exciting to me, because now it means that everyone is so familiar with superheroes that you can push things in interesting directions.” Jay Pharoah, who returns for Season 3 as Bulletproof/Zandale Randolph, echoed Kirkman’s sentiment, recognizing how “Invincible” has found its legion of fans. “I think it’s become so popular so quickly because of the ability to connect with the characters.
In the superhero realm, it’s easy to forget characters. Like who cares when he’s gonna blow up?” The new season of “Invincible” continues the trajectory of Kirkman’s original comic book series, following Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) as he now finds himself being a mentor figure to his younger half-brother, Oliver (Lincoln Bodin), who wants to quickly harness his growing powers.
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