Mechanics of a Moment: Invincible #12

Hello Dear Reader! This is a new series I’m doing on my blog where I will analyze some of my favorite moments in fiction to see what makes them work so well. I’ve been making my way through the comic series Invincible and I’ve had one moment from the comic burned into my brain ever since I’ve read it. This moment, which was adapted beautifully in the season finale of Prime Video’s adaptation of Invincible, is easily one of my favorite moments in any comic I’ve ever read (and believe me, I’ve read a lot).

Beware, there are major spoilers for the Invincible comic (and show) ahead!

Invincible #12 is the finale to the comic’s first big arc, a bloody brawl between father and son. When Mark Grayson, Invincible, learns that his father Omni-Man, the world’s greatest superhero, is actually a genocidal conqueror from a race of superpowered despots, Mark has to fight his father to protect Earth. But Mark is weak at the start of the series—his powers still growing as well as his expertise at using them. How can Mark hope to beat his father, who has had his powers for a thousand years?

The answer is—he doesn’t. After beating Mark across the planet, Omni-Man, Nolan, leaves his son in a bloody heap, barely able to move or speak. Nolan can hardly understand why his son would fight for humanity. Nolan asks Mark what he will possibly have after 500 years because everything he knows will be gone. He will outlive everything he is fighting for.

Then comes the best line of the entire series. Mark’s answer:

Everything about this scene is brilliant. For a comic filled with brutal fights, the reader wonders how Mark could ever hope to best his father. The reader knows Mark can’t, and instead of inventing some sort of superweapon or kryptonite on the spot, Robert Kirkman does something genius. He turns a gory, epic battle into one of the most poignant character interactions I’ve seen in a comic. The fight doesn’t end because Mark has plot armor. It ends because Nolan loves his son.

After seeing how merciless Nolan acts in the previous issues by killing buildings full of innocents and beating his son bloody, the reader is shown that there is still complexity in Nolan’s character. He is a man who has been raised for the bulk of his life as a conqueror, indoctrinated into their ways. But by having Nolan hesitate, to change, and fly away from Earth crying, unable to hurt his son, Kirkman represents the power of love, even in the face of hate.

Kirkman’s lettering also brings so much to this moment. We can’t undersell the value of good lettering in comics. White space has great power over the pacing and movement of a comic, but we usually associate the term "white space" in comics to that intangible place between panels. But here I want to use the term in a more traditional publishing sense, or in the way that the written words occupy. The way Mark’s lines are small, consumed by the white space of the bubble, illustrates the way Mark is speaking. Mark isn’t just talking. He isn’t shouting. He’s speaking up feebly, with only what little power he has left. This design choice may seem arbitrary, and it may not be the kind of thing most readers are consciously aware of, but the white space furthers the emotional impact and f development of the scene. Even without the wonderful performance of these lines by Steven Yeun in the Prime Video Invincible series, we know just how Mark is delivering his lines.

Ryan Ottley’s art is also incredible here.. The cherry on top of these panels is the developing tear threatening to leave Nolan's eyes. The tear juxtaposed with Nolan's angry face speaks volumes--more than any actual words could. There is a conflict brewing inside of Nolan between his true desires and his heritage. He wants to love Earth and his family, but he has been raised all his life to be a destroyer. Ottley conveys so much in just two panels.

Coupled with Kirkman's lettering, Ottley's art gives the reader a sense of just how Mark is speaking. We don't see fear in his face, we see a hero struggling to speak through his injuries and a sad son who just wants to remind his father just what he is doing. Ottley brings these characters to life wonderfully.

Bill Crabtree’s coloring work is also great here. Seeing the bright colors of Invincible's suit starkly contrasting against his own blood adds to the tension of the moment, adding to the realization Nolan has when he realizes what he’s done to his son.

The end of Invincible #12 was the moment I knew I was reading something truly impressive. Instead of just being a superhero series with more violence and gore, this moment shows that the series is more than that. While it is gory and violent, the stakes are real—emotional and physical. Throughout the series, characters change and evolve, and this moment between Mark and his father sets the bar for the character moments to follow while also setting up character arcs for the next 100 issues. It’s a truly great moment that is made better because of every single person on its creative team firing on all cylinders. This scene is a prime example of how sometimes less is more. Mark could have given some long examination of his father, claiming how he knows that his father is truly good. But the creative team instead favored creating a quiet, heart-breaking moment, elevating this scene into something truly memorable. Bravo!

-- Logan M. Cole