When I first found out that Invincible would be getting a stand-alone episode, I was thrilled as much as the next person. After weeks of waiting, what I got was what feels like a parody of the original show. The animation is sub-par. The direction is boring, mostly static shots with only one sequence worth mentioning. The writing is clichéd, characters don't act and exist beyond their given role, the story is predictable as is the dialogue, and the things that need to happen for the story to progress just happen. On the whole it feels like an afterthought more so than a carefully planned out narrative. This is especially dreadful when compared to the first season of the show. Sure there were some typical tropes there as well, but usually they were at least directed and animated in an exciting manner. And when the time came, it absolutely demolished any preconceived notions of what a superhero show/movie is. Atom Eve however does none of that. It sticks to a very basic formula that was already overdone years ago and delivers it an average manner.
***SPOILERS***
Let's get into the more specific issues that I have with this episode. As I've mentioned, the animation is for the most part sub-par. The characters overall are as lively as cut-outs from the first season of South Park. There's barely any life to their movements, with facial expressions having zero nuance or fluidity. There were quite a few times where the characters went from looking bored, to suddenly becoming upset or excited. The worst example being when Samantha returns home after sneaking out. She gets berated by her mother for it and then suddenly starts crying. Her facial expression changed so abruptly that I just couldn't take it seriously. It was akin to a hard cut made for comedic purposes. Even when it came to the fighting sequences it just felt slow and janky, except for the final battle. This was the only exciting part of the episode and was probably where most of the budget went. I do have to admit that the ultimate fight did have it's creative moments and flowed really nicely, even if it didn't have as much weight as the fights in the original season. Important to note, the first season also had it's fair share of poor animation, but the direction more than made up for it.
In Atom Eve, there was no clever use of shadowy figures, smoke, debris etc., almost no intense close up shots, very little gore to make the violence feel impactful, nothing that made the original series feel unique and thrilling. Even the music was somehow worse! It was just scene after scene of static, sitcom-like shots, where two characters engage in dull dialogue that served only to further the generic plot.
This is my biggest gripe with Atom Eve. It's all monotonous and has been done a thousand times over. The "government is bad because it's bad and it's doing experiments that are bad." is probably the most egregious example of this. The government agency in the first season of the show wasn't necessarily a force for good, but it did have Earth's interest in mind first and foremost, with Cecil eventually becoming a character you actually somewhat sympathised with. If they just had a scene or even a bit of dialogue in Atom Eve to explain that she was developed as a countermeasure to Omni-man, this seemingly unstoppable force from outer space. Anything to explain why developing such a weapon would be necessary, it could have given the story a bit of nuance. But no, the evil scientist simply likes being evil, the evil director simply needs weapons in order to be powerful. It's just generic schlock. The relationships are the same. Normal parents just want to be normal, and they want their "freak" daughter to be normal. This was basically done twenty years ago by the X-men! The friend that is understanding at first is suddenly shocked to find out that Samantha has powers and straight up abandons their long-standing friendship, even though supers are known to exist and are likely immensely popular! This was one of the few characters that could have actually injected some normalcy into her life and it would have made sense. Trying to maintain a relationship while fighting bad guys is clichéd yes, but there's so much you can do with it, so much room to make it interesting and emotionally impactful. It just makes no sense, the narrative simply forces Samantha into being a misunderstood loner. Even the one person who could somewhat recognize and empathize with what Eve is going through, Dr. Brandyworth, doesn't offer anything to make the plot compelling in any way. He's just always there, somehow, to remind her of how dangerous her powers are. Not so much in that they are dangerous to those around her or even herself mind you, only dangerous in the sense that they'll make her visible to the nefarious government organisation. No effort is shown by the doctor to try and make her abilities flourish into something positive, despite her seemingly being the his magnum opus. Why not have him be the one person she can connect with? Why not make him a mentor of sorts, a person that reigns in her immense potential for destruction? He just pops in every now and then to remind Eve that she should just be normal. I swear half of his dialogue is just "You have to stop using your powers!". Everyone and everything is against Samantha being true to herself and the emotion stemming from this constantly enforced fact just comes off as unearned and artificial.
From reading the reviews, I truly do not understand how Atom Eve evoked as much emotion from the viewers as it supposedly did. It's bland, uninspired and a pales in comparison to the first season of the show.
***SPOILERS***
Let's get into the more specific issues that I have with this episode. As I've mentioned, the animation is for the most part sub-par. The characters overall are as lively as cut-outs from the first season of South Park. There's barely any life to their movements, with facial expressions having zero nuance or fluidity. There were quite a few times where the characters went from looking bored, to suddenly becoming upset or excited. The worst example being when Samantha returns home after sneaking out. She gets berated by her mother for it and then suddenly starts crying. Her facial expression changed so abruptly that I just couldn't take it seriously. It was akin to a hard cut made for comedic purposes. Even when it came to the fighting sequences it just felt slow and janky, except for the final battle. This was the only exciting part of the episode and was probably where most of the budget went. I do have to admit that the ultimate fight did have it's creative moments and flowed really nicely, even if it didn't have as much weight as the fights in the original season. Important to note, the first season also had it's fair share of poor animation, but the direction more than made up for it.
In Atom Eve, there was no clever use of shadowy figures, smoke, debris etc., almost no intense close up shots, very little gore to make the violence feel impactful, nothing that made the original series feel unique and thrilling. Even the music was somehow worse! It was just scene after scene of static, sitcom-like shots, where two characters engage in dull dialogue that served only to further the generic plot.
This is my biggest gripe with Atom Eve. It's all monotonous and has been done a thousand times over. The "government is bad because it's bad and it's doing experiments that are bad." is probably the most egregious example of this. The government agency in the first season of the show wasn't necessarily a force for good, but it did have Earth's interest in mind first and foremost, with Cecil eventually becoming a character you actually somewhat sympathised with. If they just had a scene or even a bit of dialogue in Atom Eve to explain that she was developed as a countermeasure to Omni-man, this seemingly unstoppable force from outer space. Anything to explain why developing such a weapon would be necessary, it could have given the story a bit of nuance. But no, the evil scientist simply likes being evil, the evil director simply needs weapons in order to be powerful. It's just generic schlock. The relationships are the same. Normal parents just want to be normal, and they want their "freak" daughter to be normal. This was basically done twenty years ago by the X-men! The friend that is understanding at first is suddenly shocked to find out that Samantha has powers and straight up abandons their long-standing friendship, even though supers are known to exist and are likely immensely popular! This was one of the few characters that could have actually injected some normalcy into her life and it would have made sense. Trying to maintain a relationship while fighting bad guys is clichéd yes, but there's so much you can do with it, so much room to make it interesting and emotionally impactful. It just makes no sense, the narrative simply forces Samantha into being a misunderstood loner. Even the one person who could somewhat recognize and empathize with what Eve is going through, Dr. Brandyworth, doesn't offer anything to make the plot compelling in any way. He's just always there, somehow, to remind her of how dangerous her powers are. Not so much in that they are dangerous to those around her or even herself mind you, only dangerous in the sense that they'll make her visible to the nefarious government organisation. No effort is shown by the doctor to try and make her abilities flourish into something positive, despite her seemingly being the his magnum opus. Why not have him be the one person she can connect with? Why not make him a mentor of sorts, a person that reigns in her immense potential for destruction? He just pops in every now and then to remind Eve that she should just be normal. I swear half of his dialogue is just "You have to stop using your powers!". Everyone and everything is against Samantha being true to herself and the emotion stemming from this constantly enforced fact just comes off as unearned and artificial.
From reading the reviews, I truly do not understand how Atom Eve evoked as much emotion from the viewers as it supposedly did. It's bland, uninspired and a pales in comparison to the first season of the show.