WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Invincible Season 1, Episode 5, "That Actually Hurt," available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Mark Grayson has been adapting relatively well to his superhero training in Invincible, granted it's taking a toll on his personal affairs more than he'd like. Nonetheless, Omni-Man/Nolan is proud to see his son embracing the role; although, he wants a lot more dedication from Mark so he can be Earth's next great defender. Unfortunately, in the latest episode, Mark enters into a nasty gang war against his dad's wishes, and it breaks the budding hero mentally and physically.
Mark's approached by the rock-covered Titan to take down Machine Head's crime syndicate. Titan shows him how no heroes care for these impoverished parts of New York, so it's a chance to make a real difference. Knowing how his girlfriend, Amber, lived in such areas and finally seeing the plight of the Black community for the first time, Mark agrees to the assault. However, Nolan's annoyed, as he thinks these menial missions are beneath the Viltrumites.
As confident as Mark is, it doesn't go according to plan, because they're outnumbered, and Machine Head unleashes the likes of the robotic-suited Furnace, the electricity-powered Kursk, the Mister Fantastic-esque Tether Tyrant and the lava-spewing Magmaniac. It's Battle Beast, the alien lion, that does the most damage though, smashing Mark with his mace and licking up the blood splatters. Even when Robot and the new Guardians of the Globe come to help, they get pummelled too.
Mark's left broken, bloodied, bruised and begging for mercy. It's a shocking scene to see him near-death like this, and while the heroes eventually rally to save the day, as Battle Beast disappears, he makes it clear they're not on his level. Cecil and the Global Defense Agency arrive to take Mark and the others away, but just before Mark closes his eyes, he sees his father in the distance, not bothering to intervene.
This is a huge moment, as Mark gets a taste of mortality. He took his powers for granted, thinking he was indeed invincible, but he's clearly vulnerable. More so, he rushed in immaturely, and it left Black Samson and Monster Girl barely alive. It'll likely play on his mind, striking him with fear from now on. The psychological effect of Nolan can't be ignored either, because if Mark remembers his dad was watching this whole, then he'll realize his father let him get beaten as a form of punishment.
It was all a test, and Nolan let him suffer, even making the call for Cecil to send Robot and the Guardians in. He wants to show Mark the only person to trust is him, but knowing that his dad is so cold and so keen on tough love could break Invincible permanently.
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, Khary Payton, 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 premiere Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.
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