So San Diego Comic-Con saw us not only getting the release of an Invincible Season 2 trailer
but we also got a special episode of the show released on Prime Video.
Titled Invincible presents Atom Eve this perfectly adapts the two issue comic series of the same
name.
The entry itself tells the origin story for Eve and it centres around her discovering
her past along with Elias Brandyworth.
In one of the best trailer easter eggs ive ever seen you can actually catch the pair
together if you go back to that first season 2 trailer.
Sat to the left of the screen we can catch the pair together and the creative team have
confirmed that they did this as a tease of what was coming.
They even were out here asking about theory time so you know that I couldnt let them down.
Throughout this video we're gonna be going through what happens in the entry and also
discussing some of the changes from the comics.
If youre as excited as I am to be talking Invincible again then please hit the thumbs
up button and don't forget to subscribe for breakdowns on season 2 from November Onwards.
With that out the way, I'm your host Paul, now let's get into atom eve.
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So though the episode is almost a one to one copy of the original comic it actually starts
differently to how the book does.
In that we begin immediately with Doctor Brandyworth escorting Samanthas mother into labour whereas
here we get a big action scene.
Things start off with the Lizard league which incase you don't know are a play on the Serpent
society.
Prince Lizard is voiced by Jacob Tremblay and he actually also plays the part of Phase
2 later on in the entry.
Their first appearance in the comics actually had them trying to steal a cannister which
is when they were stopped by both Invincible and Atom Eve.
Here we met King Lizard whereas the entry is Prince and Queen along with their subjects.
Queen Lizard is voiced by none other than Tatiana Maslany and this is the second time
shes gone green in a comic book show recently with her also playing She Hulk in the MCU.
They're joined by Salamander who's played by Phil Lamar and we learn that theyre looking
for a special serum.
However the reign of terror doesnt last too long with lots of the main members of the
guardians of the globe dropping in.
When we last saw them they were getting smashed like it was the like button but here we see
back in the days before Omni-Man played his hand.
Amongst the ranks are Immortal Man and Aquarus, a play on Aquman if he was just...just full
on fish.
Both are voiced by Ross Marquand who you might know from Robert Kirkmans other big hit tv
show the walking dead.
There's Black Samson, The Green Ghost and lastly War Woman who's also voiced by the
Walking Deads Lauren Cohen.
Such a great way to kick start the episode and I think if you go back and watch this
before starting Season 1 its gonna add some extra oomf to when Omni-Man takes them all
out.
In the comics they didn't actually die until issue 7 but kirkman wanted to leave the first
episode of the series with a neck...break twist....sorry.
Now they mention the batman equivalent Darkwing, Flash Counterpart Red Rush and lastly Martian
Man who's a play on Martian Manhunter.
Duhhhh.
Now though they're putting up a good fight against them we learn War Woman has called
in the reserves in Omni-Man.
They have a little joke about all the heroes having the first letters of their names on
their chest which is of course seen in both Omni-Man and Immortal Man.
This is also reflected in Mark with the Invincible having an i on it that was actually meant
to be a nod to the books publisher Image comics.
They talk about Omni-mans original white suit which was worn by the viltrumites during their
mission of conquest across the galaxy.
Omni-mans been given an update by the Tailor aka Art Rosenbaum.
In the series he's voiced by Mark Hammill and he was the one who gave mark his iconic
costume in episode 1.
The letters on the chest thing kinda plays off later on as Atom Eve ends up having molecules
as a symbol instead.
Now while all this is going on we see the other side of the Serpent Society attack.
This is a slight differentiation from the comics as there weren't any explosions when
we joined them but here the two events are tied together.
WE learn that Brandyworth originally just wanted a diversion from them but its gone
far beyond that whereas in the book they just rode out to the hospital.
That journey was in an ambulance in the book whereas here its in Brandyworths car.
Now its during this that he promises to look after her child.
We get lots of similar moments including the pink eye...that all parents have experienced
in some way or another...and she screams out just before her apparent death.
We'll discuss what happens later on but in both moments Erickson ends up storming the
hospital.
Voiced by Lance Reddick the actor of course sadly passed away earlier this year.
I'm not sure what his final performance is as there are rumours he may be in The Ballerina
but it did kinda bum me out realising he never got to see this.
Now Brandyworth has passed the baby onto two parents who just lost their child.
This is adam and betsy wilkins who'll now raise Eve believing that shes theirs.
Just like the comics we end the scene with them announcing her name and at this point
we then cut to the title.
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Invincible is now swapped out with Atom eve with us getting the atomic reorganisation
that the character weilds as her super power.
I always kinda thought that she was loosely based on Molecule Man from Marvel comics.
He could rearrange matter at will and change the structure of objects to change their makeup.
To Alice Phoebe Lou's Witches we get a montage of her life.
I'm guessing the witches thing is also a nod to Scarlett Witch who of course also has reality
warping powers.
Now one of the scenes missing from the show is when Samantha is carried out the hospital
as a baby she looks over and sees Elias looking on from an alley.
She calls out Bah Bah and he then disappears.
In the show he also ends up looking homeless later on whereas in the comic he always kept
his lab coat cos like...I dunno...expensive.
Now instead of the montage we got her parents trying to get her to save her first words
before we cut to the babysitter whos brought across perfectly for the show.
Voiced by Phillip Solomon, Zack realises she's a chemistry genius which makes him insist
to her parents that they enrol her in a special school for youngsters.
I always wondered if this was playing off Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters but we
never see anyone with superpowers at the academy.
Now in the comics its called St. Francis School for Exceptional Youths whereas here it's named
after Rosalind Franklin.
This was a british chemist who's work was paramount in understanding DNA.
Both scenes in the show and book have Elias watching over her but in the source material
she sees him whereas here she doesnt.
Bit...bit weird mate.
Now from here we cut to see Rodgers and Ericksons experiments in Phase 2.
Unlike Atom Eve they can manipulate living tissue but this has left their skin and body
in a constant state of flux.
Almost completely confined to a statis tube he and his brothers have grown to hate their
sister because they dont live up to her.
Anyway from here the series adds a new character in Val who didn't appear in the source material.
In the comics they cut from the shot of Elias at the school window to Eve at home in the
aftermath of being kicked out.
I really appreciated the addition of Val and it kinda shows has Samantha wants a normal
life.
She realises she's never really gonna be accepted though and she feels isolated in both her
school and social life.
Now they do kinda play on the school quitting thing later on but they alter things depending
on what version you see.
In both Samantha calls the other kids at the school freaks and her dad makes a comment
about how shes one too.
In the comic though she storms out saying she wishes that she was adopted which...ey
careful what you wish for?
I dunno.
Anyway in both version she ends up discovering her powers at this point with her turning
a book into glass in the episode.
In the book her mother brought her a sandwich which she turned into a cheeseburger which
we then get playing out after the book test.
Blown away by her powers she then shows this off to Val whos completely freaked out by
what she can do.
It hammers home the idea that she is a actually a freak and makes her decide to go out on
her own.
Kicked out of school at this point she goes to a regular one where shes got no friends.
Her aunt does get her a lovely....lovely dress though from Aunt Penny.
This is brilliantly brought aross from the comics but in those she changes it to winter
clothes with it being in the summer.
She also doesnt try and turn a squirrel into a puppy but it does act well to actually lead
into the next scene involving the dogs.
In that she shows up wearing a black balaclava out the blue whereas here we see her developing
a mask and coming to grips with the floating platforms.
They perfectly play out the scene with them even calling her a powerpuff girl and their
balaclavas being turned to metal.
Elias arrives at this point too and we get a similar scene to what plays out.
One think missing that I appreciated about the comics missing here is that we had an
apple poster in the background.
Atom Eve is obviousl a play on Adam and Eve and she's gaining knowledge like when they
bit into the apple.
reaaach
Well I thought it was worth bringing up...and also yeah...the comics have the dogs liking
her...so take that mate.
Anyway both go through Brandyworth telling her the truth with it clearly implying that
Elias is her quote unquote father.
Throughout the entry theres this idea of what it means to have a family and the conclusion
of the entry is set up perfectly here.
Now both conversations come to a close with Elias telling her to not use her powers but
in the show they add a surveillanace drone to heighten the tension.
We also dont get her returning home to her mother to show shes been sneaking out and
it further hammers home how alien she feels.
Due to Elias' revelation shes now more disconnected from her family than ever before and Ericksons
forces are now closing in.
We get far more character development with the bad guys whereas in the comics they just
kinda skipped over them.
Samantha is clearly caught up on Elias' words too and she goes looking for him amongst the
homeless communities.
In the books we skipped all this and just went immediately from her leaving the conversation
into fighting Kill Cannon.
Ironically hes voiced by the same guy that plays Samanthas dad in the show and I dunno
if thematically thats because both these guys look down on her.
The similarities between Mark and Samantha end up becoming even more apparent here as
Killcannon is actually the first supervaillan that both fought.
Nice little bit of grafitti in this scene too and you can actually catch a mural of
war woman on the wall.
Now Atom Eve sticks his feet to the floor just like the comics and she also takes him
out easily using her abilities.
In the comics it was at this point we cut to the pentagon to get a riff on the scene
we had with Erickson before.
Taking down Killcannon was what alerted Erickson and we saw him ordering the specimens to be
readied.
Now from here Sam and Elias go to burger mart which is where Mark used to work at in the
first season.
This was the location he also discovered his powers at and mirrored here is Samantha learning
the truth.
Now Elias lies that Sams mother was a valued lab partner but we see that she was a homeless
woman that they ran experiments on.
We actually only got a single panel of her getting approached on the streets and this
rest of this backstory in the comics was completely missing.
To me, it really helps to flesh out everything and it adds to the themes centred around family.
Kirkmans often said he's cleaning up the story for the show and doing things with the hindsight
of knowing the whole plan.
It really works too and as she flies out we can also see a poster on the wall for the
green ghost.
Now in the comics issue 1 ended with her storming away at this point and issue two picked up
with the fight between eve and her family.
In the comics we got a quick cameo of capes incorporated but Im guessing they cut it out
to just streamline the story.
Kinda get a play on the avengers.
form a perimeter
And
it leads to a big fight between all of her family.
In the show theyre way more monsterous than how they were in the comics.
The fight animations here are incredible with them really busting out all the stocks to
bring us a thrilling battle.
Now both fights end with it feeling like a loss due to all the characters withering away
before they eventually die.
Atom Eve also creates a sort of power armour suit and it shows how versitile that her powers
are.
She's basically an overpowered green lantern and the other phases are right, she's way
better than they are.
Now they say that Brandyworths not her family but we see at the end how Eve sees them as
that.
They do beat the crap out of her at one point but shes saved by Brandyworth leading to just
Phase 2 being left.
In the end both Atom Eve and Brandyworth are taken by Erickson which is when we learn that
he mothers still alive.
Stored in a containment cell its a horrifying fate that shes been sentenced to with her
basically being used as a womb.
It's a horrendous fate and in all honesty, if you know the story of Samnatha then youll
know her life is filled with tragedy.
Not only this but also the fact her parents are dicks and eah, lots of terrible stuff.
Both her Mother and Brandyworth are killed infront of her and this forces her to go Super
Saiyan like how she does in the comics.
Becoming like the dark pheonix shes completely godlike and she erases both the bad guys memories
in one fell swoop.
In the comics she says to brandyworth and her mother I'm sorry mom and dad I love you
before flying off.
Really plays up the family angle and yeah thought id add that in to point out the family
connection.
Now that also had a snake crawling through her mask which I always took too play off
the adm and eve thing from before.
Let me know if you agree, but yeah thats kinda how I saw it.
Either way upon returning home we see that her parents havent forgotten her birthday
and though theyve ate her cake she does see that they care for her a bit.
Just like the comics her dad says theyr the only family shes got and she ends up changing
the photo of them to one of her quote unquote real family.
We end with the line only one ive got in the comic which is also in the show but here they
actually add something in that's a really touching moment.
Getting a hug from her mother she promises it will be alright and it shows that she at
least cares for her.
Now in addition to the story we get a little epilogue that wasnt included in the source
material.
Joining Omni-Man we see as he returns home and Mark runs in pretending to be duct tape
man.
Hilarious way to end the episode but it comes with a tragic side to it too cos we of course
know what Omni-man ruined.
He gets angry for a second before facepalming as he of course knows its not too long before
its all gonna come crashing down.
This of course further plays off the themes of family and how Samanthas desperate to have
one whereas he'll happily throw his away.
And that itself ends the episode and our breakdown and what a brilliant entry that it was.
I'm really hoping that this becomes a regular thing and with the breaks between seasons
we get these standalone episodes.
Theres lots of them in the invincible world as well so I think it would be perfect to
get these in between the entries.
I hope youve enjoyed us going through it too and if you have then please hit the thumbs
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With that out the way, huge thank you for sitting through the video, I've been your
host and I'll see you next time.
Take care, Peace.