Invincible Season 3 Has A Serious Challenge After The Success Of Another Animated Superhero Show

Summary X-Men 97's incredible success poses a major challenge to Invincible's dominance in the animated superhero genre.

With X-Men 97's rapid renewal and stunning animation, Invincible faces pressure to compete on all fronts.

While Invincible still holds its own with strong storytelling, addressing its release schedule issues is crucial for season 3's success.

Invincible has become one of the most exciting shows on TV after an incredible first two seasons, but its third installment has some real competition thanks to another animated superhero show. Its wonderful debut in 2021 helped Invincible become one of Prime Video's flagship shows and this was followed up with an equally impressive second season. The series focuses on Mark Grayson's journey to becoming a hero which sees him face plenty of hardships as he tries to balance college and relationships with heroism. This has created a compelling story full of emotional and shocking moments, allowing Invincible to stand out.

Despite the animated format, Invincible hasn't shied away from displaying some extremely graphic and violent scenes, giving the show a distinct personality. As a result, the series has gained a huge reputation and there are already plenty of exciting comic storylines that Invincible season 3 can adapt to create a successful third installment. However, despite its excellent momentum and quality traits, Invincible now has some serious competition to contend with. One animated superhero show made a fantastic first impression during its recent release, putting a lot of pressure on Invincible's third season in the process.

X-Men 97’s Huge Success Gives Invincible Some Real Competition

Invincible Has Another Animated Superhero Show To Compete With

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Although Invincible has been a massive hit so far, it has never faced any real competition, but X-Men 97 now changes that. X-Men 97 debuted in March 2024, and its ten episodes were met with strong reviews, making it one of the best shows of the year so far. The superhero series utilized its huge roster of characters perfectly, with X-Men 97 season 1 featuring plenty of Marvel cameos. Given how popular Marvel is, including characters like Spider-Man and Captain America interested a more casual audience, while the more niche X-Men characters will have appealed to hardcore comic fans.

While these cameos helped gain a large audience, the show's quality shined through, resulting in it receiving positive reviews that rivaled Invincible's. The well-crafted story satisfied viewers, yet X-Men 97 left some burning questions that made season 2 a necessity. This high-quality debut has plenty of similarities to Invincible's first season, and with the Marvel brand to go with it, X-Men 97's popularity puts plenty of pressure on Amazon's hit show. With the series not being as gory or violent, X-Men 97 offers a less intense alternative to Invincible which could have an impact on season 3.

X-Men 97 Season 2 Could Come Sooner Than Invincible Season 3

X-Men 97 Season 2 Was Given The Green Light Before Season 1's Finale

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X-Men 97 also looks to be avoiding Invincible's biggest problem as the Marvel show could return to screens first. Despite X-Men 97 concluding over a month after Invincible season 2's ending, X-Men 97 looks like it could be back before Prime Video's hit series. Invincible season 2's long midseason break added to the show's release problems, as there was a two-and-a-half-year gap between the first and second installments. Although Prime Video did release an Atom Eve special episode between seasons, the huge wait for Invincible's return has been the show's biggest criticism so far.

Invincible has been renewed for season 3 and X-Men 97 has been renewed for season 2.

Adding the midseason break to season 2 meant the series only had 4 weeks' worth of content before going on hiatus for several months, adding to the frustration of Invincible's release schedule. X-Men 97 is perfectly poised to avoid this, as season 2 was given the green light before season 1 concluded, meaning it is likely already in the works. Although Robert Kirkman claimed the wait between seasons would be far shorter this time around for Invincible, Marvel's size and scale give it a much better chance at turning over new content even quicker, putting more pressure on Invincible.

Even if Invincible does significantly shorten its production schedule, X-Men 97 returning first would be damaging as it would prove to be a more reliable competitor. It is hard to compete against Marvel and Disney in terms of fast production, but with X-Men 97 having a similar amount of success as Invincible, it highlights that quality animated shows can be turned over much quicker than Prime Video is capable of, making it all the more important that season 3 delivers.

Invincible’s Animation Looks Less Impressive Compared To X-Men 97

X-Men 97 Contains Some Gorgeous Animation

Image via Disney+

One of X-Men 97's greatest strengths is its stunning animation, which makes Invincible look less impressive in comparison. Invincible's animation is still incredibly high quality, but it does have some shortcomings which X-Men 97's gorgeous visuals somewhat expose. Invincible season 2 even joked about its animation, pointing out some of the shortcuts that animated shows take to try and make production easier. While Invincible isn't guilty of trying to cut corners, it does fail to push the boundaries in the same way that X-Men 97 does, which once again puts the spotlight on Amazon's series.

With the release schedule already a huge factor, Invincible now has the added weight of making sure its animation can compete with X-Men 97's.

Invincible may have a more modern art style but X-Men 97 has cleaner and more polished animation, making it slightly more appealing. Given how much time Invincible spent on getting its animation right, the fact that some of X-Men 97's scenes blow it away is slightly concerning. It shows that there are alternatives out there in the same genre that are capable of exceeding what Invincible can do visually, upping the pressure on season 3. With the release schedule already a huge factor, Invincible now has the added weight of making sure its animation can compete with X-Men 97's.

Invincible Season 3 Should Still Succeed If It Can Resolve Its Own Issues

Invincible Still Has A Lot Of Qualities To Make Season 3 A Success

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Regardless of the pressure that X-Men 97's success provides, Invincible season 3 should still be successful so long as it can solve its own issues. Despite some slight criticisms, Invincible is still one of the most talked about shows on TV and has incredible reviews as well as fantastic viewing figures. Its animation may not compare to the likes of X-Men 97 or other top animated shows like Arcane; however, it is still of an incredibly high standard. The show's only real problem is its troubled release schedule, which Kirkman seems more than aware of and looks set to tackle.

Related Invincible Season 3’s Latest Update Proves The Show Is Learning From Its Biggest Mistake Despite being one of the most popular shows on TV, Invincible has faced one huge bit of criticism, but season 3 looks to be addressing this mistake.

Considering how great Invincible's story is and how many compelling characters the show has, there is no doubt it will continue to find success if it addresses this release problem and continues to develop its strengths. X-Men 97 adds some healthy competition, but this could help elevate Invincible further and ensure that season 3 is of the best standard possible. Ironing out its small issues and maintaining the overall positive momentum will guarantee Invincible season 3 matches the quality of the previous two seasons and with the story heating up, it could be the show's best installment yet.