WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the fifth episode of Invincible, "That Actually Hurt," streaming now on Amazon Prime.
In Invincible, Mark Grayson hasn't really focused on street-level crime thus far. He's more about high-scale invasions and bigger missions, which is primarily due to his dad's tutelage, as Omni-Man/Nolan Grayson really thinks they're above petty heists and whatnot.
That changes drastically, however, in the latest episode as Mark decides to go against his father's wishes to take down a major kingpin. Unfortunately, it gives rise to another one that could prove to be quite problematic moving forward.
Invincible is flagged down by none other than Titan, the rock-covered hero he once foiled in a robbery when he made a test-run with his abilities. Titan's out of jail and seemingly on the path to redemption, revealing that he wants help from Mark to take down the mob boss known as Machine Head. Titan asserts that all Machine Head does is damage impoverished communities and make money off them.
It's all about gentrification and capitalism, and while Titan secretly has been destabilizing projects, he doesn't have enough money for the displaced people suffering. Titan's solution is to get rid of Machine Head once his teleporter, Isotope, isn't around, which should help these communities move on as there'd be less crime and drugs. Mark joins Titan in an ambush, but Battle Beast and Co. -- enlisted by Machine Head for protection -- prove to be quite the opposition. Thankfully, the new Guardians of the Globe arrive and help save the day, but the big twist comes when Titan oversteps Mark's bloody body and leaves him for dead.
Titan's grateful for Mark's assistance but he has bigger plans, with the betrayal coming full-circle at the end as we see Isotope appearing in the broken down headquarters, revealing that Titan's taking over as boss. They set the cruel Machine Head up, and with the villain deprogrammed by Cecil and the Global Defense Agency, Titan and Isotope can now build a new empire.
It'll be interesting to see what it's about, though, because Titan has his family there with him. In the comics it was different, as he was more selfish, working with Mark and tricking him after the city was ravaged by a war, all so he could usurp Machine Head. The family angle and overall social justice schtick weren't there, which means the TV series could be painting a kinder, humane community leader.
Still, Mark might not like the betrayal, and if crime gets out of hand, he'll have a tough choice to make. It won't be easy as his girlfriend, Amber, also spent time in this community so Mark has had his eyes opened to how much they need proper leadership and infrastructure. Just how much he'd be willing to compromise, though, is what will evidently dictate Titan's vision for bettering the place.
Invincible stars Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Mark Hamill, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Melise, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder. The series is produced by Skybound, and executive produced by Robert Kirkman, Simon Racioppa, David Alpert and Catherine Winder. New episodes are released Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.
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