WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Invincible Season 1, Episode 8, "Where I Really Come From," available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
The first season of Invincible from creators Robert Kirkman and Corey Walker led to a clash between teenage superhero Mark Grayson (Invincible) and his murderous father Nolan Grayson (Omni-Man) in the finale. The decision to make this climactic scene more visceral than the source material was a calculated choice.
In an interview with Slash Film, showrunner Simon Racioppa explained how they adapted the series from page to screen. "We actually follow the comic books as closely as we can, or pretty close," said Racioppa. "If there are panels or events or moments that happened in the books that we’re like, 'That should be in the show,' we put it in the show."
In the beginning of the series, Omni-Man brutally kills the Guardians of the Globe, a team of superpowered beings that protected the Earth, in an effort to weaken the planet and take it over. As a Viltrumite, Omni-Man's main goal is to conquer worlds and rule with an iron fist, but on Earth he's had to play the dutiful role of father, husband and trusted superhero to learn about human culture first.
"So there is a section in the books that happens when Mark confronted his father," continued Racioppa, "who ends up taking Mark and they smash down into sort of the subway. You don't see what happens down there, but you see that some trains are crashing. It's a much smaller moment, it only happens across two panels."
The Season 1 finale was filled with emotions and blood after Invincible discovers that his father is responsible for killing the Guardians of the Globe. Omni-Man attempts to convince his son of his viewpoint in the most brutal way possible as Invincible tries to remind his father of his own humanity.
Said Racioppa, "The final episode is written by Robert Kirkman himself. He wanted to expand upon that moment and just make it bigger, more brutal, more devastating, but emotionally to Mark and also to our audience. He came up with the idea of holding Mark up to that train and forcing him to face Nolan's reality, which was that these people are meaningless."
Invincible stars Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Gillian Jacobs, Andrew Rannells, Zazie Beetz, Mark Hamill, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Mae Whitman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Melise, Kevin Michael Richardson, Khary Payton, Grey Griffin and Max Burkholder. The series is produced by Skybound, and executive produced by Robert Kirkman, Simon Racioppa, David Alpert and Catherine Winder. The first season is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Slash Film