One Villainous Scene - Invincible Takes the Subway 

"My dad's gonna train me." Not the chekov's gun i was expecting but ok.

I think it sucks that so many people latched so hard to Nolan's "pet" remark about Debbie because it really undercuts just how important her role ended up being. She indirectly helped save the world just by being a good mother to Mark and helping him have a sense of humanity, something he wasn't really getting from Nolan.

I love Omniman's reaction to Mark's answer. His face goes from disarmed, to pretending not to be disarmed, back to disarmed, then he's pissed off at himself for having this reaction and allowing himself to care so much

To put it simple, Omniman went native and was trying to deny his feelings about humanity and his family. If you dehumanize, it's much easier to conqueror and enslave earth since they're now lesser creatures. However, since Mark was in(vincible), he managed to hold on long enough and convince his father to stop since his fatherly love overcame his dedication to the Viltrumite Empire. A son's love managed to overcome a man who's only known conquering and death for hundreds of years.

"Think, Mark! What will you have after 500 years?!" "Photos... I'll still have photos of Spider-Man..."

Nolan wasn't trying to convince his son. He was trying to convince himself. Years of living "undercover", it got to him, the ideals he was brainwashed with from birth were brought into conflict. I haven't read the comics, but I don't think Nolan had a wife and son before Debbie and Mark. The baseball scene emphasizes this, he watches the game indifferently, but as he watches Mark as Debbie explains humanity to him, you see the old Nolan start to breakdown. And of course, as you stated, for all the horrors committed to try to convince Mark: "You dad.. I'd still have you."

I think my favorite moment is Nolan's REACTION to Mark's comment at the end. Like, holy crap, credit to the animators for conveying so much emotion on visual alone, and JK Simmons is, naturally, ALWAYS a win.

The thing is, this entire scene takes on an entirely new perspective if you consider the idea that this isn't just Omni-Man trying to convince Invincible to turn against Earth, but that Omni-Man is trying to convince *himself* as well. His argument isn't just with Invincible, but also with himself, the part of him that keeps telling him that what he is doing is wrong. It's a fight between a lifetime of indoctrinated beliefs and his own burgeoning morality. Look at his face when he says that his wife is more like a pet. He can't meet Mark's gaze, and it genuinely sounds insincere. All the other things he says, he's much more confident, able to look his son in the eyes, but that one moment shows that he doesn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He's not just lying to Mark, but to himself, trying to convince himself that what he's saying is the truth. He's trying to convince himself that he still believes in the "Might Is Right" school of thought that his homeworld has indoctrinated into him since birth, but having spent years on Earth, he's seen that there's another way to live, a better way. But he knows how powerful his people are, and that he's just one and they are many. He'd never have any chance of stopping them alone, and he believes that there's no one else strong enough to help him. After all, he could solo the world's version of the Justice League, the world's mightiest team of heroes. What hope does Earth have when just one of him can match their very best? Even if he did succeed, in a century, everyone he'd "saved" would be dead anyway. What point was there in saving the world? After five hundred years, what would Nolan have? Meanwhile, Mark refuses to back down. In response to all of Omni-Man's "well-reasoned" arguments, Mark's only real response keeps boiling down to "What you're doing is wrong. Yes, they're like ants to us, like mayflies to us, but what you're doing is still wrong." Because morality doesn't require logic or reason. You do the right thing because it is the right thing, not because of logic or reason. When Mark counters Nolan's final argument, answering the seemingly impossible to answer question, it finally breaks Nolan, forcing him to confront his true feelings and the reality of what he has done. But unable to do so, Nolan flees the scene. Maybe it is because I've read the entire Invincible comic series, but I have more sympathy for Nolan because I know where his path is going to lead him, and how it ultimately ends.

‘While this may not look like the face of a hero who won…Omni-Man loses.’ 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 bravo for that line, dude.

I'm surprised you didn't end this video with: "And this show is a good reminder of how J.K. Simmons is always a win!"

Mark is the one person who can actually say “my dad is going to kill me” jokingly but meaningfully at the same time

Without spoiling, the best part about this story is just how much Nolan realizes he lost by doing what he did. I can't wait for you all to experience Invincible in full. Absolutely amazing story.

“Dad what are we having for dinner?” “I was thinking Subway” “......”

I like how Nolan's "they don't live as long as us so you can't get attached" argument is canceled out BEFORE IT IS EVEN SAID by the immortal, who has probably lived centuries longer than Noland and was extremely attached to the Guardians of the Globe. The first thing he does when he gets revived is charge at Omni-man with a berserk scream about how he betrayed and murdered them.

An interesting facet of Omni-man is the concept that the viltrimites are all survivors of a cataclysmic civil war that saw half thier population die from violence, not disease. And it's within living memory of them, so they are all probably insane and traumatized, even if the hide it with imperialism. People love to focus on the pet comment in regards to Debbie being a human but it's probably that "pet" relationship and the years of peace on earth for Nolan (compared to cataclysmic civil war) that healed him enough to leave at the end of the season.

Episode 1: Omni-Man trains his son. Episode 8: Omni-Man TRAINS his son.

The whole “ Superman, but bad” trope has been done to death at this point, but Invincible is one of the only pieces of media that not only makes that trope work, but elevates it. We don’t just see Omni-Man at his worst - we see him at his best, through the eyes of his friends and family. His teammates who love and trust him unconditionally, his wife who’s seemingly watched him grow and mature into a better person, and his son who worships him and spends the entire show training to be as legendary and selfless a hero as him. And then the truth comes out, and all the comfort he brings those people is brutally ripped away from them - and, by extension, us. And even then, in the face of this cold, uncaring, bleak monstrosity that Omni-Man has become, we’re reminded that he’s only a man. A man who, despite what he tells himself, has learned to care for these fleeting motes of dust called humans. A man who loves his son, despite it all. A man who thought he was a hero, a savior, but realized at the end he was only a failure. For all that horror and misery, in the end, all we have is the hope to be better tomorrow, even for the worst of us. What a scene. What a character. What an amazing show. Edit: Got a lot of comments saying that the comic series was one of the first of its kind to do this trope, which is an excellent point! I'm glad the show was able to do that justice, and (in my opinion, at least) even improve upon it in some aspects.

This is what happens when Jameson doesn’t get his pictures of Spider-Man.

I love how much of this conflict is essentially in Nolan's own head. The second Mark rebels against him, his brutal philosophy leads him to believe that Mark wants him dead. In his head it's his dream of conquering Earth with his son vs Mark's dream of protecting humanity by killing anyone who threatens it, Nolan included. Nolan's thought process can only conceive of these two outcomes, completely bypassing a third: Mark wants humanity to be free while living ALONGSIDE his father. It's the realization that he misunderstood Mark and made him out to be the monster that he himself is that breaks him.

The way Mark sees all the murder and violence that Nolan did, and the fact that he still loves and values his dad after that, is a double blow. It both shows how nothing can break his morals, watching those people die was still painful and they mattered to him, but it also shows that Mark knows that Nolan still has a bit of humanity in him, that he still thinks Nolan can be redeemed. Whether that can be considered foolish or not, it works, and Nolan flies away having failed and not knowing how to accept it.

It was really brutal watching Omni-Man run a train on his own son.

*One Villainous Scene* That one viewer: "Is this a kids show??🙃"

Steven Yeun is incredible throughout the series, but the finale is some of his best work.

Debbie is the true hero of invincible. She raised Mark with great morals and was the main reason Nolan gained humanity.

I know you're cinema wins and you might feel like you have to just point out the wins if every movie , but we want more content like this. Your analysis of film or TV is so effen great, that as a person that is studying film finds super helpful

Also lets take this from Nolan's perspective. He knows first hand what the Viltrumites are capable of, he's seen it. Hell we've seen it, Omni-Man alone wiped out the strongest heroes on the planet and tanked everything the US threw at him, it barely slowed him down. Imagine what an army of them would do. Nolan knows even if he changes his ways it won't matter in the end as his people will just send another, likely more dangerous and violent individual who will just start leveling cities left right and center. To him, what he's doing is the lesser of Two Evils.

Something I mentioned under another video about Omni-Man but I also want to talk about here is his line about Debbie. "She's more like a pet to me." Because you can absolutely get where he's coming from. As humans, we often bond with and genuinely love pets that we will absolutely outlive, but will stick with nonetheless. Nolan will outlive Debbie by eons, but he still loves her. But by wording it as "She's like a pet to me" he takes that genuine love and twists it into something horrible. It's such an amazing thing the writers of the show did to make that line work so well, to where you get where he's coming from but it still leaves you feeling uneasy.

As someone who's been reading the comics for years now, I LOVED this scene. Not for the extreme violence or the shock of it (since I knew this would happen), but for the visceral reaction it brought out of everyone who watched it. I still had a similar, albeit lessened reaction, but the gut wrenching disgust brought out in people seeing it for the first time?! Incredible. Seeing everyone have the same reaction I did when I first read it is so rewarding, and I'm so glad the show was good (although of course I think the comics are better in many aspects). I hope that A. the show leads people to read the comics, they're fucking great, and B. that the show keeps going, and lives up to the standard of quality set up by both the first season and the comics it came from.

When Omniman asks "What will you have in 500 years?!" Mark replies "You, dad." because this is personal between the two and shows how Nolan is wrong, first on his convictions and ultimately in traumatizing the person he loves the most to make a point (to himself mostly). But taking on that question, what would you have after 500 years? You would have a life, a big family even. You could create an entire race of dogs solely from your first pet! Like, imagine being the 1000 year old great-great-great+ grandpa that started the family in the family reunions. Admittedly, it all could be doom and gloom, but you'd literally have forever to change that.

The moment that sticks with me the most from this show is the sight of War Woman's head doing a 180. It's stuck with more just as much as the train scene

Mark’s answer to the “who will you have then” just broke my heart. The entire scene hurt but that was just,,, I went from stunned silence to having to pause the show because I couldn’t see through the tear

2:50, this is proven earlier in the show, although it would only become clear on the second viewing when people know how old Nolan likely is or can be, in episode four at the cafe in Rome Nolan says his first date with Debbie wasn’t that long ago, he’s the corrected that it was twenty years ago, and he just goes “huh”, which I would say is decent enough proof that he has no concept of mortal (ish) time.

That was such a good show

I feel like Omni-man’s entire monologue is him trying to convince himself rather than Mark. Because he knows Mark get his ass handed to him and he may want to quit, but even when he contemplates it he still goes to help others even if he wanted to give it up

4:27 "Probably because I'm a dad and choosing anything over my son, just does not compute." Today's dose of wholesomeness

I like the doctor who “I just forget things so I filled this library with journals” approach to immortal psychology.

If anyone doesn't mind spoiling the show for themselves, the graphic novel is superb and there is a lot of it!

“You, Dad. I’d still have you.” “As a member of the abusive parents community, I would like to humbly reject your offer.”

5:31 I felt the same way while watching the episode. As a viewer, I was shocked by the absolute brutality of this scene, but I can’t even begin to imagine what Mark was really feeling during all of it.

Mark's answer hits me hard. Being a father to a 2 year old son myself, I couldn't imagine doing what Nolan did and yet still Mark loved his father. This show is a masterpiece.

Easily one of my favourite shows I've watched this year, animated or otherwise. JK Simmons owns it, love it.

I hate how people think that just because something is animated, even something so gory, that it should have less impact than if it was live-action. It is similar to comic books vs. non-comic books. I suggest you watch/read everything through the same lens. Give everything the same weight of believability. You will get a lot more from it.

I loved how episode three was the equivalent of the "town kook who tries to warn everyone in a slasher movie" with Doc Seismic going off about imperialists and how colonizing might be bad, actually. Also the visual joke about The Immortal with Mount Rushmore. It was SO fun to watch, knowing what the comic's overarching story is.

That Flaxon Planet scene was something else. I knew Omni-Man was bad but in that moment I rooted for him and when in his final act he made them open a portal for him to drop a rock on them when he left made me realize for what kind of monster I just rooted. It was weird how guilty that made me feel...

this show really is outstanding and probably one of the most realistic hero show ever.

That line that Mark utters as he lays there when Nolan shouts, “What will you have after 500 years mark!.” and he replied, “You dad. I’d have you.” Made me 😭 and it shows even though Nolan tries to discard his time on Earth as nothing and throw everything away it shows how Mark is only really best understood by his dad and that mark understands the hardships his dad has lived as a different species but still has his humanity despite being half Viltrumite 🥺

I think my favorite part is actually when it flashbacks to Nolan's early family years, when he was raising Mark with Debbie and went to the ball game and you see the spark and life in his eyes as his face lights up when he's supporting his son. You can tell that everything he's saying (at least about his family) is a lie, he doesn't think of his wife as a pet, he's just smart enough to know the most reasonable logical loophole to detach himself from humanity and make it sound justifiable. We see him take an active interest and enjoyment in supporting his family and acknowledging them as his family and being there for his family, he is a good soul who was misguided by his upbringing to be able to nonchalantly commit heinous acts of murder and violence without hesitation, and it's nice to see Nolan question or outright accept his beliefs are wrong.

I was so shocked for this scene it actually made me cry, which nothing had really ever done before. I'd never seen anything quite so disturbing in animation before.

Thank you so much for acknowledging that the hyper-violence IS disturbing to watch. So many people I talk to just say "Whatever, it doesn't bother me," like that makes them tough, and it's disheartening because it severely undercuts the gravity and message of the moment.

Please do prince of Egypt, an animated underrated classic

6:20 this line just tears me up no matter how many times I hear it 😭

"you dad, i'd still have you...". This boy just said to the worst man on earth that even if everyone dies he would still have him.

To me the most impactful moment of Omni-man’s beat down of Mark is the subway scene in particular. Omni-man is trying to iterate to his son just how far beyond humanity they are, that their existence is so fundamentally different to the humans around them that Mark shouldn’t hold himself down with human ideas of right and wrong. And he chooses to show this, not by slamming Mark through humans like he already did, but by letting the humans literally break themselves against him. Mark in that instance is doing nothing other than being what he is, and what he is is so far beyond the world of humans that it is enough for the human world around him to tear itself apart. That is probably Omni-man’s most sinister action against his son because from his perspective what evidence is more damning than the beings who are less than you being ripped to shreds simply because your existence is so much more than theirs? It’s made all the more clear in that from that point on in the fight Omni-man isn’t intentionally trying to kill humans, he’s trying to beat his views into his son because his best, most irrefutable argument still hasn’t convince Mark. Edit: As for why I think this is the most impactful moment is that it’s Omni-man at his most genuine. More than when he’s quietly lecturing Mark or screaming at him while beating his face in, this shows how Omni-mam views not just humans but the whole universe, as something so innately inferior that it can and will break against him without failure.

5:25-5:36 Mark would have felt body's crushed against his body, so brutal

What a way to drive your point home whilst also showing your strength, and highlighting Invincibles weaknesses. I freaking love the Train scene

One detail in this scene that always gets me, is that it is the first time in the entire series that Omni-Man looks at the blood on his hands.

I know people say that there's the twist that Nolan was secretly sadistic and cruel, but in my mind he is lying to himself

That final episode was so depressing. Can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen in season 2

3:01 this... Everything after this was just pure gold.

You know that you are now obligated to make an “everything great about invincible” episode.

I'm not gonna lie, I genuinely had tears in my eyes when I watched this scene. There's so much tension in the build up to it, then the "payoff", like you said, really is traumatising. Not just in how shockingly brutal it is, but also the sheer _betrayal_ of it and the callousness in which it's done. It was all I could think about for days after watching it.

This has been the first show based off of a comic book that made me want to read the books in a long time. The last was captain America civil war.

The train scene is definitely my favorite in the show. For one it's Noland LITERALLY shoving marks superiority in his face. Or, shoving marks face into his superiority? He forces mark to confront how much..better. he is physically by making him watch as he crashes through a train. Mark's arms, held out to shield himself, ironically bisecting the people he hits you can see it very clearly multiple times. And in this moment, more than any other, Omniman does have a point. Mark just got his by a speeding train, yet he doesn't have a single scratch on him. Well, at least he doesn't have any physical scratches I could not imagine the PTSD you'd have. But like you said, just because Noland is right about their physical superiority doesn't make him correct about his views. At the end he proves that, yes, he cares about mark (and maybe his wife?) Which means yes, you can care for something even though you've only known it for a fraction of your life. By not killing mark Omniman defeats his own point by proving he's no better than the humans he deems so weak. Super excited for season two, I'm sad mark didn't get a scar on his chin from his dad splitting it open, and I'd be really interested in well.. EVERYTHING about the show but hugely interested in marks and Noland's mental States.

This was so beautifully put together, i got teary eyed! Thanks & may the force be with you, always!

"Strengh is nothing more than a tool. It's up to who uses the tool to determine what side of good and evil it's on." -Me, I think.

I love how this channel has evolved beyond what CinemaSins is still stuck doing.

Mark hit him harder with a few words than any punch he could have ever thrown. Incredible writing for this story.

oh man i only recently watched Invincible (soooo good) and i'm so glad to see CW already had a take on this. the subway scene BLEW MY MIND. plotwise, character arc wise, and sheer creative animationwise... it was just incredible. i can't even begin to articulate why this was genius, but if i tried it'd be something like this: it really felt like the culmination of an entire season's worth of gradually built-up showing-not-telling. it shows you, instead of tells you, that Omni-Man truly does not give a single fuck about all the earthlings. he's willing to use an entire train's worth of people to teach Mark a lesson. and it shows you that the lesson isn't just "i'm stronger than you" but that "we are stronger/better than them, and they do not matter. they are insignificant." and finally, it shows you that Mark's real horror in this scene isn't that his dad is beating him up (bad), or that his dad is so much stronger (worse), but that ... HE'S being forced to kill all these people simply by existing, because he truly is almost invincible compared to how soft and fragile they are. and entire oncoming train and all its contents just splashes apart because he's so tough that his very being cuts through them like a hot knife through butter. it's like driving a hot dog onto a jigsaw. and Mark's utterly traumatized expression when it's done - just a gut punch.

This show was so good. I can imagine season 2 going ways: 1. All of the citizens hate mark/invincible for all the death that he and his father have caused. Even though invincible tried to save people. They all think “you’re useless! You’re the worst!” That kind of thing. 2. All the citizens respect/like him for trying. They understood how much he tried now that the story is straight. I mean, it’s not about the popularity, I just like to think about the consequences that every season finale has and is addressed in the next season. Honestly, I’m glad that mark chose to wrap up school first and then do superhero stuff.

NGL i was hoping you were going to do multiple Wins videos for the whole season like with other superhero shows you have covered. But this video was still amazing and what ever works for you is great as well.

Nolan is a man born to take any punch, but with just 6 words, Mark hits him harder than he's ever been hit before and shakes him to his core, without even landing a punch.

I don't think he "learned" he was wrong and I don't think he didn't value his wife. He didn't say he didn't value her life at all, just that she was more like a pet and as a result she was worth *less* than, say, another Viltrumite. She makes him happy, she's cute but when push comes to shove he's going to choose Viltrum over her any day - it's not like he was going to kill her anyways. Furthermore, I don't think he *discovered it* - more that he was lying to himself that he *didn't* care but when it finally came time to finish the job on someone he cared about he couldn't do it. It would be even more irreversible and would haunt him if he did and he knew that, he knew that he didn't *actually* see his wife like a pet but justified his indifference through this lens. His rant and attempt to beat Mark into submission was an attempt to reject his Humanity that he'd been taught, to become a Viltrumite again but he was ultimately unsuccessful.

ah!!! so happy to see you cover invincible!

I wasn't thinking about the possibility of an "Everything great about Invincible", but now I want it beyond belief. Like seriously, introducing TV shows to the channel opens so many possibilities. Attack on Titan, The Boys, Invincible, hell, even less liked shows like The Walking Dead could be applied.

I really enjoyed this! It was an interesting change of pace and enjoyed your insight on it. Part of me would love to see your full take on the series. But thank you for being a wholesome and great channel to watch! Can't wait to see what you do next.

F*cckkkkkkk it's been almost a year since I watched invincible and hearing Mark say "you dad" just got me teary eyed all over again. I've now read all the comics and I hope they start churning it out faster cause it's incredible.

This scene was absolutely horrifying to watch, my mouth was wide open in absolute shock

"SHe's more like a pet to me" This implies he's into what he considers bestiality.

5:40 In the words of a simpsons character, "It's so horrifying, but I just... can't... look, away! It's like watching an orangutan swallow a hand grenade!"

I forgot how much I truly loved your channel.

I love the scene when Omni Man was training Mark, literally.

This content was honestly amazing! I love the reviews you do at the end of your “wins” videos and shows exactly how much you appreciate what’s on screen between writing, directing, lighting, and all other things. It is enjoyable and has taught me so much about appreciating the films I love. This miniature version reviewing and scoping it all is great and would love to see more!

dude this was truly moving. well done.

6:52 I dunno man, the day is saved and that face still breathes, ideals intact. I'd say he won, no matter the blood quantities.

It's so weird how Invincible feels like a kid's show but is NOT actually a kid's show.

SO glad you chose to cover this show!!

Yo I had no idea this was Cinemawins. I watched this video when I came out and was looking through his channel today and found out. Good video. More of this would be great.

Neat analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

That was a concise and thoughtful analysis of the show. Excellently put 👏

I am so stoked that you watched this series. It's amazing and I was always hoping that you would do a cinemawins for it. You are awesome and I hope you have an awesome day Mr.Wins

"Invincible takes the subway" is an amazingly messed up name for how brutal the entire scene absolutely was

Very good take on this. Love it!

Fantastic analysis and pace on translating your thoughts into words, would love to see more videos like this.

You only picked this because it's something with J.K. Simmons that you haven't talked about yet. It's ok, we all agree. J.K. Simmons is always a win.

Excellent collaboration with Nando!! And excellent video about my surprise favorite show of, well, whenever it came out, Invincible!!!! Keep up the good work!!

Love this format would love to see more of it keep up the great work

The first season of invincible was so masterfully done, especially the finale. You really feel the pain, anguish and desperation Mark feels as he’s trying to reach his dad’s inner emotions. It really tore me up to watch but when it was finally was over the relief you feel was incredible. Hopefully Robert Kirkman can keep up with this momentum and keep building from here. He’s incredibly good at creating truly shocking moments but hopefully we don’t end up desensitized with those moments like we did with the walking dead

Actually I see Nolan's "logic" more as his way of trying to lie to himself and he's getting way more desperate as the fight with his son goes on, to the end on the mountain side. This was Nolan's crossroads. Continue his mission as a Viltrumite, even if it means killing his own son...or stop, and accept that he's changed, that he's not the same person he was before, that he is capable of loving his son as his son and not just another "pet." Also, his being able to live for a long time has desensitized him. Also, another angle is that by Nolan showing Mark through all the violence and gore just their fight alone did to the humans, he might be trying to show them that the people of Earth need the Viltrumite empire to help them BECAUSE of how weak and fragile the humans are. Also, also, if you're familiar with the comics this is from, then SPOILERS BELOW!!!! After a big conflict with the Viltrumites, the remaining like 20-30 flee to earth and make a deal with Nolan and Mark: They will live on Earth, breed and continue the Viltrum race through breeding with the humans and creating half blooded Viltrumites, as they can be just as powerful as full blooded Viltrumites. So, Nolan knowing that there is potential for the humans to help create more of the Viltrumite race that are just as potent in terms of power, that could be what he can provide to the Viltrum empire, to keep his people from risk of extinction.

You hit the nail on the head. It was an amazing ending that just didn’t seem to stop! A perfect step up from what they begin with.

Long time fan. I WOULD LOVE more analytical style videos like these in between your regular Cinemawins videos!