100+ Definition 77

Invincible #77

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Two main plot puddles hold the narrative in the superhero comic Invincible written by the same guy who writes the Walking Dead (Robert Kirkman).

Invincible #77 (I#77): I wouldn’t use a puddle analogy, not with the moral choice presented to the young hero, but a dual focus does exist within this installment.

L-FL: In the beginning Invincible, Omni-Man and Tech Jacket rocket back to Earth with Mark Grayson (Invincible) spending the entire voyage allowing his imagination to conjure a season of deaths for his loved ones at the hands of Viltrumite invaders.

I#77: Nolan Grayson (Omni-Man, Mark’s father) encourages his son to relax and offers suggestions for a stoic approach to calm his horror-show imagination.

L-FL: The suggestions don’t work, but when the heroes reach Earth, they find the civilization intact and unmaimed.  The second focus of the story involves Thragg approaching the heroes and offering a deal of the Viltrumites living covertly amongst humans and reproducing secretly for centuries, or the remaining Viltrumites attack and utterly destroy the planet (a threat on which they can follow through).

I#77: It’s not much of a choice, as Nolan immediately recognizes, and he accepts the deal.  After bitter angst and gnashing of teeth, Mark also accepts the proposition.

L-FL: It’s Mark before he accepts the terms of peace that brings forth the definition of “superhero” for this issue.  In the spaceship on the return ride to Earth, as Mark is imagining the terrors of a Viltrumite-revenge attack, he shows readers that a superhero is eager for action and deals poorly with inaction.

I#77: My answer is yes.