Amazon's animated Invincible series managed to be not only a clever pastiche on familiar archetypes and tropes in the superhero genre, but an inventive and rewarding story in its own right. To that end the comic's super team, the Guardians of the Globe, represented not only the best that the superhuman community of that universe had to offer, but also some of the best concepts and creations of that world.
Yet the super team is still in its early days in the timeline of the Amazon series. As fans look ahead to what the comic sets up for the future of the show they may find that future members of the Guardians of the Globe are some of the series' greatest characters.
At the start of the series both in the comics and in the animated series much of the team consists of members with a clear basis in DC Comics' Justice League. There is the Amazonian warrior War Woman, the shapeshifting Martian Man, and the crimson speedster Red Rush just to name a few, and while the characterizations for much of the team are efficient they end up serving a minor role in the overall story. Omni-Man slaughters the original lineup early in the series, and their initial replacements end up being the remnants of old teams that never stand out in any significant way.
Eventually, however, the Guardians of the Globe come into their own, and their most fascinating characters are ones yet to appear in the animated series. One of the most notable is the immortal Brit, a character created by artist Tony Moore and Invincible writer Robert Kirkman who transferred over to the series as Kirkman built his own interconnected universe. Brit is an veteran tough-as-nails soldier with experience dating back to the first World War, but a super serum not only keeps him in prime physical condition but makes him completely impervious to harm. The catch is that Brit is invulnerable without being super strong, and the old cuss makes for a perfect war-weary leader to a team of younger personalities that pop off the page in contrast.
Some of the characters are every bit as fun as their name suggests. Japandroid is an advanced robot from Japan, Kaboomerang hails from Australia and throws spinning exploding projectiles and Le Brusier is a French Bulldog who is actually a literal bulldog from France that happens to have super powers on top of the customary canine cuteness. And then there is Best Tiger.
Although the name may sound odd, it comes as a quirk of translation from the Chinese hero whose only real power is being the coolest person in any room he's in. Showing extraordinary skill and intellect, everyone assumes Best Tiger is blind because the gunman wears a blindfold around his eyes. It turns out he just wears the blindfold to pose a challenge for himself, and in spite of the hindrance he still manages to be so extremely accurate he can fire a bullet into an air duct and hit somebody in a completely different room. Without any actual powers to speak of, Best Tiger still manages to be the team's deadliest member, and when asked to explain himself he offers only a simple syllogism: "Best Tiger is best tiger."
There are plenty of other fascinating subplots to explore with the minor characters of the Guardians of the Globe. The metal-skinned hero from Yugoslavia Cast Iron and the Mexican alcoholic Chupacabra both contain touching story beats of their own, while characters like Pegasus, Punch Girl, and Kid Thor all juggle side plots interesting enough they prove the team deserves its own spinoff show.
The super team may just be a supporting cast to Invincible now, but as its roster grows Amazon could very well be in the position of providing a spinoff where the Guardians of the Globe can really fly high. Given the popularity of the series it could well be called for. At any rate, there is a very high probability that the best is yet to come from Amazon's Invincible series.