100+ Definitions 102: The Final Definition

Invincible # 102

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): The moon is a harsh mistress that hosts a heavy-weight match between Omni-Man and Viltrumite leader Thragg.   

Invincible #102 (I#102): Thragg reveals that Nolan (Omni-Man’s mundane name) is the heir to the Viltrumite rule and states his intention of slaying Nolan in order to maintain his rule.

L-FL: The fight ends when the other Viltrumites appear, stop the fight, and accept Nolan as their ruler based on the wisdom, not strength, of his ancestor.

I#102: The issue wraps up with Nolan giving his acceptance speech for king of the Viltrumites to a collection of Viltrumites (including Invincible).  Upon his return to Earth, Mark Grayson, Invincible, notes the strangeness of receiving honor from the Viltrumites that so recently tried to kill them.  He then proposes marriage to Samantha Wilkins.  She accepts.

L-FL: So would you say this issue defines a superhero as an individual that possesses an element of nobility and royalty from a legacy based on admirable wisdom.

I#102: Of course I will.

100+ Definitions 101

Invincible # 101

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  Eve and Mark make up their minds—they’re keeping their baby!

Invincible #101 (I#101):  Like previous issues following multiple-issue storylines, this hundred and first issue serves as an eye of a storm.  Characters, and readers, have a chance to give attention to mundane matters and comprehend the consequences of a past multiple-issue plot.

L-FL: The actions in the calm between storms involve Mark and Samantha obtaining a midwife with x-ray eyes throughout the pregnancy; Omni-Man is exiled to the form Guardians of the Globe headquarters on the moon; the heroes have anger and no trust towards Invincible, and Thragg chastises three Viltrumites for not adhering to the guidelines of their breeding program.

I#101: Superhero, according to the Invincible 101^st, involves knowing when to walk away to avoid needlessly upsetting others.

L-FL: It should end up being quite peaceful. 

100+ Definitions 100

Invincible # 100

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): The hundredth issue of Invincible opens with Invincible’s head getting crushed, on live world-wide broadcast, between the clawed hands of Dinosaurus.

Invincible #100 (I#100):  The death is total subterfuge—of course.  Dinosaurs cloned Invincible and traded the REAL Invincible for the clone to rip apart on television.  The original Invincible is physically incapacitated by a sonic tone and shares a dialectic with Dinosaurus.

L-FL: The talk repeats Mark Grayson’s questioning and denouncement of Dinosaurus’s approach to improving the world.  It’s effective, and Dinosaurus recants his actions and asks Invincible to kill him to prevent future atrocities. Mark fulfills this desire.

I#100: The issue also contains Mark returning to work for Cecil, Mark’s mother and father returning to Earth, and Mark learning that his girlfriend, Samantha Wilkins, the superhero Atom Eve, is pregnant.

L-FL: This issue hints to readers that a superhero doesn’t die.

100+ Definitions 99

Invincible # 99

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Splash pages waft about in the 100-minus-one installment of the chronicles of Invincible’s super heroics.

Invincible #99 (I#99): Amidst the flooding of coastal cities, Mark Grayson spends a plethora of full-page panels punching and pushing Dinosaurus through walls and buildings while philosophizing.

L-FL: Dinosaurus, the long-view holding eco-terrorist, happily returns what he receives from Mark.

I#99: A coordinated effort from the world’s superheroes works at saving citizens from flooding.  The final contingent of Viltrumites is encouraged not to interfere in this current catastrophe befalling the planet.

So Lafel, why don’t you spin some heroic definition from the events in this issue?

L-FL: The grandiose contest between Invincible and Dinosaurus stretches beyond panels to full pages, two full pages in some cases, to depict a single image.  So, superheroes debate philosophies with gargantuan fight scenes instead of tweedy twaddle at tables.

I#99: Well then, let’s philosophize…it’s time for you to DIE!

100+ Definitions 98

Invincible # 98

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Invincible becomes somewhat of a superhero franchise as Mark gives his blessing to Bulletproof to continue wearing the yellow, black and blue costume.

Invincible #98 (I#98): Mark (in the black and blue Invincible costume) flies to the base of Dinosaurus only to discover that the monster has set up Los Angeles for destruction.  He justifies his plan by claiming he’s saving billions by killing millions.

L-FL: Invincible disagrees and calls up in the Guardians of the Globe to help find and defuse Dinosaurus’s devices scattered throughout the city. 

I#98: Dinosaurus’s plans extend beyond a single city.  Some well positioned explosives in Greenland, which leads to giant waves flooding coastal cities.

L-FL: This issue contains the definition of superhero as someone who desires above all to make it right.

I#98: That would make a great world…if Dinosaurus wasn’t killing everyone.

100+ Definitions 97

Invincible # 97

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Invincible 97 resumes weaving abandoned story threads left hanging in previous issues.

Invincible #97 (I#97):  The initial strand follows Bulletproof’s confession to his parents that his brother is dead.  They don’t take the news well.  They accuse him of murder and say awful words to him.  Bulletproof’s wife bashes her mother-in-law over the head with an iron skillet…which kills her.  Her father-in-law begins punching her out of rage and frustration.  Bulletproof tries to pull him back by his head and…kills him too.  Bulletproof puts the bodies in his parents’ car and makes it look like the car crashed off a cliff road, killing his parents.  The funeral seemed nice.  Bulletproof and his wife sit stunned silent by events at the kitchen table.

L-FL: Another twist of twine involves Allen the Alien apologizing to Nolan Grayson, the superhero Omni-Man, and releasing him from prison.  The leader of the Coalition of Planets sends Nolan on a mission to gather more information regarding the Viltrumites bivouacking on Earth.

I#97: The final strand involves Mark Grayson and Samantha Wilkins visiting a comic book convention and talking with the creator of the comic book Science Dog.  Following some love magic, the powers of Invincible return to Mark Grayson.

L-FL: The definition of superhero derives from this closing story in this issue.  For a superhero, love restores waning and lost power.

I#97: Invincible’s powers are back, baby!

100+ Definitions 96

Invincible #96

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL):  Issue 96 of Invincible concludes the final story bundled in the Invincible Compendium 2…a tome that makes the Cerebus “phone books” look Twiggy in comparison.  The story contained in issue 96 begins where the last issue left off in the Flaxan realm of the past.  Monster Girl continues her tearful narrative to Robot. 

Invincible #96 (I#96): Her news prompts the couple to return to their own time and their own dimension. 

L-FL: The rest of the issue, mostly, is set in the present where the fight against Monster Girl’s offspring continues until the heroes triumph. 

I#96: Other incidents on a smaller scale flesh out the issue.  Bulletproof’s parents finally figure out that he, instead of his brother, is the superhero Bulletproof (and Invincible).   A Viltrumite receives chastisement from Thragg for aiding humanity.

I#96: A confession from Oliver to his brother includes an understanding of Mark’s affection for Earth, and Oliver pledges to protect the planet as well, thanks to his brother’s example. We also see the reconciliation of Robot and Monster Girl.  Dinosaurus has a panel in which he prepares something sinister.  The final page is another flashback to Robot in the Flaxan realm, prepared to depart, with an informer telling Robot of Monster Girl’s child.  Robot gives orders to have the child and bloodline destroyed.

L-FL: Superhero pulls its definition from Mark’s actions and the affect they have on Oliver.  A superhero’s actions adhere to an ethical creed that aids others and serves as an example that inspires others to act in a similar manner.

I#96: Including the un-born halfbreed that grows within the traitorous Zaxal belly.

100+ Definitions 95

 Invincible #95

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Themes of duality and monsters and robots and empires and lovers continue in this issue of Invincible.  The pages ambulate through Robot and Monster Girl’s story with all but four pages of the book.

Invincible #95 (I#95): The story on Flaxan depicts Robot and Monster Girl’s continual climb to political power.  Through snippets of time readers witness the growth of their regime and the growth of Monster Girl’s human body.

L-FL:  The panels also show the passing of passion as Robot becomes more and more preoccupied with the problems and demands of governing the Flaxan civilization.  This estrangement, along with Robot’s brutal treatment of the past Flaxan royal family, contributes to Monster Girl hooking up with one of the members of the royal family (in her monster form).

I#95: The issue ends with Monster Girl telling her actions to Robot and the secret revelation that Monster Girl’s paramour is pregnant.

L-FL: After this reveal we flash forward to the present Flaxan invasion of Earth where Monster Girl learns she has a son and that the heroes currently attack him.   The action bouncing around in the panels of these pages suggest a definition of superhero as one capable of recognizing and admitting when he steps from his selected ethical selection.

I#95: Let’s finish this.

100+ Definitions 94

Invincible #94

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): The bouncing back and forth through time and dimensions continues with issue 94 of the superhero comic Invincible.

Invincible #94 (I#94):  The issue opens with Atom Eve rallying to fight the Flaxan invasion.  Mark Grayson, currently a powerless hero, laments his inability to fly into the fight.  After this opening scene, flashes of various heroes battling the invaders fill the pages.

L-FL: The split structure of the issue engages with a shift to Robot and Monster girl gaining political power during their past time spent in Flaxan space.  As their power grows, so to does their relationship and affection towards each other (…they have sex…) and begin shaping the Flaxan world to a more peaceful civilization.

I#94: The plot split returns to the present where the armored Flaxan at the end of issue 93 wades through the heroes and finally reveals on the final page that he is the son of Monster Girl.

L-FL: Accepting that form is content, superheroes contain an intrinsic duality of splits of space and time.

I#94: Such superheroes must often ask their designers if they are surprised to see their son.

100+ Definitions 93

Invincible #93

Low-Frequency Listener (L-FL): Past actions and the literary present collide in the pages of Invincible number 93.

Invincible #93 (I#93): The first half of this comic narrates Robot and Monster Girl’s time in the Flaxan dimension.  The second half of this installment tells of a new invasion of Earth by the Flaxans.  And Robot was pissed when he learned his 700-year plan to eliminate the threat of Flaxan colonialism to other dimensions.

L-FL: Yes, Robot and Monster Girl, during their time in Flaxan space, devised a strategy that stretched into centuries where Robot and Monster Girl would become the rulers of the Flaxan civilization and then politically stabilize the empire and bring a prosperity and peace that would eliminate the need to invade other dimensions.

I#93: The second section of the story has multiple two-page spreads showing melees between Flaxan warriors and Earth’s superheroes.  The issue concludes with a giant armored Flaxan unknown to everyone with the exception of Robot.

L-FL: This divergence and convergence of times and intentions and actions pushes forth a definition of superhero as an empowered individual with the ability for foresight that stretches far far into the future.

I#93: I’ll call Cecil.