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The ‘Invincible’ Comics Has a…Questionable History With This Heroine
While many programs have tried to display how superheroes would function in reality, few have been as strikingly successful asInvincible.
Both the comic and the TV show follow Mark Grayson, an optimistic teen who discovers that he has inherited the massive powerset of his superhero father, Omniman (J.K. Simmons).
The boy is understandably excited and ready to use his abilities for good before he discovers that his father belongs to a homicidal alien race known as the Viltrumites, and that his entire purpose on Earth (including impregnating Mark’s mother) is to prepare the planet to be conquered.
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
It was a shocking revelation that led to three thrilling seasons of television and 100+ issues of the original comic, an interstellar epic that sees Mark deal with not only the troubles of Earth butthe horrors of his interstellar heritage.
It’s a lengthy journey that puts him into close contact with Atom Eve, a seasoned warrior whose immense intelligence and overpowered ability sets her up to be one of the genre’s biggest heroes ever…which is what makes how the comics treat her so, so frustrating.
The superhero genre has a long, dismal history surrounding how it treats women, with these characters being subject to countless sexist tropes that all exist in Eve’s arc within theInvinciblecomics.
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She was a member of the Teen Team who fell in love with Mark, and while the early portions of the story saw her do heroic things on her own, she quickly became a stereotypical love interestwhose actions always revolved around her feelings for our protagonist.
The comics' paltry treatment of Eve showed worst in her fight scenes; despite having an inherently powerful ability, almost every conflict saw her either act as support for Mark or get beaten so quickly that readers wonderedif she actually knew how to use her powers.
There were many disappointing moments like this, but nothing beats when an injured Eve sees Mark getting beaten by the oldest Viltrumite, Conquest, and rushes to save him a scene that consists of Eve putting one bubble up around the elderly assassin, the man instantly breaking it, then shoving his hand through her torso (while calling her pretty, of course).It was a sickening scene that saw her reduced to a literal punching bagwhose pain only served to motivate Mark into being the actual hero, one that, luckily for all, the TV show decided to change completely.
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Invincibles Atom Eve Is More Than Just a Love Interest
FewInvinciblestorylines are as infamous as ‘Invincible War,’ which sees the heroes of Earth fight against various alternate evil versions of Mark, culminating in our original hero facing offin a brutal battle against Conquest.The series adapts this plot rather closely, even mirroring how Eve abandons her hospital bed to go help Mark when she sees him near death on TV but that’s where the similarities stop.
Because while the comics see her create a singular bubble before getting swiftly murdered, the program has Eve get an iconic suit-up scene and utilize her abilities in ways viewers didn’t think possible.
She creates the deadly constructs she’s known for to bat the man around and then digs into the science of her power to pull off jaw-dropping feats like increasing the density of the air to slow him down or transmuting her constructs into water to disorient him.She manages to enact harm against a member of this franchise’s nigh-immortal race,and while she doesn’t ultimately win, her immense intelligence and overpowered abilities lets her put up more of a fight than any other Earthen superhero could.
It’s a valiant moment that offers the franchise one of its best fight scenes, and it showcases just how much the series is committed to making Eve more than she ever was in the comics.
From its premiere, theInvincibleTV show seemed to recognize how poorly this character was treated in its written counterpart and vowed to do better.
This has been largely successful; it’s unfortunate how unusual it is for women in the superhero genre to be granted the space for growth men automatically receive, and it’s been so satisfying to see Eve get the chance to become a fully developed character.
She hasthe independence to craft her own story, one that features her love for Mark heavily but refuses to let it subsume all of the personality that the comics only teased.She’s been granted something that is unfortunately rare for women in the superhero genre: autonomy, the ability to make decisions and embark on adventures without needing them to be associated with the man in her life.
This is, ironically, perfectly summarized in her fight against Conquest; the moment sees her draw on every aspect of her abilities and take complete control of her own life even if that means losing it.
Sure, it was done to save Mark, but the way her ferocity is clearly driven not only by her love for him but hatred for Conquest adds a necessary level of independence that makes her every move hit so much harder (figuratively and literally).
It’s the polar opposite of how she behaves in the comics, and it finally gives viewers who’ve been upset about this fight for more than a decade the satisfying scene they deserve.
Conquest Knocked Atom Eve Down, but She Always Gets Back Up
While Atom Eve’s fight against Conquest in theInvincibleshow was better than how it was in the comics, that’s not to say the series has handled her arc perfectly.
There have been many moments where her love for Mark superseded her own wants, and while she has been granted an identity outside of love interest, audiences must demand more from creators than the minimum of letting characters be independent.
But that’s the thing:Invincibledoesn’t just do the minimum with Eve it makes her one of its biggest heroes.
Even ignoring the fact thatthere was a whole special focused solely on her, it ensures that she is an instrumental aspect of the wild story being told and refuses to let her be dragged around as Mark’s lovelorn shadow.
This has created a well-rounded, endlessly intriguing woman, one who is almost unrecognizable from the shallow portrayal offered in the comics.
It’s a treatment that has forged Atom Eveinto one of this genre’s most inspirational characters and, luckily for all, it finally gave her the jaw-dropping fight against Conquest that she (and everyone watching) deserved.
Watch all episodes ofInvincibleon Prime Video in the U.S.
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