Invincible Season 3: Robert Kirkman and Simon Racioppa Discuss Mark and Oliver’s Relationship and Rex Splode Special [Interview]

Invincible Season 3 is here, and fans can’t wait to see Mark Grayson back in action. However, things for him have certainly changed since Season 2 due to the introduction of a very important character from the comics: Oliver Grayson, Mark’s half-brother.

The Invincible Season 2 finale changed the game: the reveal of Oliver might’ve led to Omni-Man’s capture, but it also finally presented a new side of the character. Invincible Season 2 Episode 8, “I Thought You Were Stronger,” was filled with many character shifts, but Season 3 is looking to offer more of that.

I recently spoke with Invincible creator Robert Kirkman and executive producer Simon Racioppa about Mark’s journey in Season 3, his new relationship with Oliver, the Guardians of the Globe’s new storylines, and the potential Rex Splode special.

The biggest thing that set Invincible Season 2 apart from Season 1 was its mid-season break. While it seemed avant-garde for an animated series like Invincible, many fans were hungry for Part 2 to be released due to the amount of waiting it took.

This really resonated with Kirkman and Racioppa as they were developing Season 3. “Don’t do a midseason break,” Kirkman asserted when asked about the biggest lesson they learned in regards to this.

“Yeah, mostly that one,” Racioppa added. “People didn’t seem to enjoy the break in the middle of Season 2. So we’re like, ‘Let’s not do that again.'”

Fortunately for fans, Season 3 will have a weekly release beginning February 6 and continue into Thursday, March 13. As such, fans will get to watch Mark’s development in the fullest, which Kirkman says will be “exciting.”

“I think the overall arc of the story of Mark Grayson is him growing up in the face of tremendous responsibility from becoming a superhero and having the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Kirkman said.

“I feel like almost every episode this season feels like it could be the finale of the season,” Kirkman continued. “A lot of characters learning things, a lot of insane things happening leading up to our finale, which is going to be insane.”

As for which episode fans should look out for the most, Kirkman says that fans should stick around for Invincible Season 3 Episode 6 for those significant changes.

“[That] is a pretty high watermark emotionally in the season,” Kirkman teased. “I think there’s some pretty cool links that we go to that, you know, is fairly unexpected for this series in that episode.”

Additionally, with Oliver Grayson’s full integration into the main cast, fans can expect Mark to take more of a brotherly role on Season 3. However, for those unfamiliar with how Invincible‘s story plays out in the comics, Mark and Oliver’s relationship will definitely have its ups and downs.

Kirkman also teased how Mark and Oliver’s relationship will develop throughout Season 3. “I think that I like to say it’s a little piece of Omni-Man that’s on Earth still disrupting things [and] [Christian Convery]’s portrayal of Oliver is excellent,” Kirkman said.

“Oliver is a character that really adds some conflict for Debbie’s character and definitely gives a lot of conflict to Mark and Eve and Cecil,” Kirkman continued. “Especially, as he’s older this season, he’s getting into a lot of trouble and causing all kinds of problems.”

While fans can anticipate Convery’s performance as the highly energetic Oliver, comics readers will know how older Kid Omni-Man will be in the future. With this in mind, some fans are also really excited to see a mature Oliver fighting alongside Mark and Nolan.

However, with Invincible Season 4 in development, casting an older Oliver is still a long way to go. “We haven’t made decisions yet, and we’re still working hard on Season 4,” Racioppa said.

“I can say is like Christian did such an incredible job in Season 3,” Racioppa continued. “I think he’s proven that he’s a great Oliver. So, we’re really, really happy with him in Season 3!”

As for bigger changes, they mostly revolve around the Guardians of the Globe, who have gradually grown since Season 2. One of these changes centers around the introduction of Multi-Paul, Dupli-Kate’s antiheroic brother.

Racioppa also teased Multi-Paul’s role and influence on where Dupli-Kate and the rest of the Guardians go in Season 3. “The comic had some great beats about Dupli-Kate and her brother, Multi-Paul, [who’s] in the first episode,” Racioppa explained.

“We just wanted to expand upon that a little bit more,” Racioppa said.  “Just give you a little bit more into their story, a little bit more into their past. I mean, Multi-Paul plays a role throughout a good part of the season.”

Furthermore, Racioppa also hinted at some potential changes regarding Rex Splode and Shrinking Rae, who were mercilessly beat by the Lizard League in Season 2.

“As for other Guardians, Rex and Rae have maybe something going on,” Racioppa joked. “I’m not sure, you should maybe watch! We have this amazing cast of characters that [Kirkman] created.”

“It’s just like getting to spend a little bit of time with each one of them and some more than others is just like one of the wonderful things about working on the show,” Racioppa added.

Speaking about Rex Splode, many fans also noted how, in the original teaser for Season 3, a potentially younger version of Rex also appeared. This spurred many into believing Rex would get a special, much like how Atom Eve did previously.

Kirkman noted how exciting the Atom Eve special was, for both fans and for Prime Video’s producers. As such, he notes that Rex’s appearance in the teaser is a positive sign that it will be made.

“I think that the Atom Eve special that delved into her storyline and origins when she was younger was really cool and was very successful,” Kirkman said. “People were very happy with that internally.”

“Everybody at Amazon was very happy with that,” Kirkman added. “I know that Simon and I would love to be able to do that exact same thing with Rex. There’s definitely a story there.”

As such, fans may hope the Rex Splode special will be made, just like Kirkman. “That teaser, his appearance there certainly hints at that,” Kirkman noted. “Whether or not we are given the opportunity to do that story remains to be seen. But we are very hopeful that we’ll be able to do that at some point.”

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Invincible Season 3 streams Thursdays on Prime Video.

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