Review: Invincible-Presents: Atom Eve

Superhero origin stories can be a little tricky, even more so if you’re attempting to do a prequel to an established franchise. Prime Video’s Invincible is as established as it gets, and with more episodes on the way this November, fans would have probably been just fine waiting a few extra months for new episodes. Fortunately for us, nobody told Robert Kirkman and Co. this, because they deliver an epic hour-long special prequel episode that follows the one and only Samantha Eve Wilkins, better known as “Atom Eve”.

This Gillian Jacobs-starrer really doesn’t let up from beginning to end. Telling of a science experiment gone wrong that would help eventually bring us the focus of this special, and give us the early look at the ingredients that made Atom Eve who she is today. The fascinating bit is that this episode very much works like the Mark Grayson-focused series premiere, albeit on a slightly more truncated scale. During the hour we get to see Samantha growing up as a very conflicted kid trying to figure out who she is and why she’s always felt like a sore thumb in American suburbia. We eventually find out why, but not without getting some of the important things out of the way first, like how Samantha receives her powers and doing her best to ward off existential threats.

The Atom Eve we know now is just as conflicted and continues to showcase some flaws as it pertains to trying to maintain personal relationships and attempting to find self-meaning. Fortunately, Atom has tried to put her powers to good use by taking on various humanitarian efforts which may or may not be influenced by some of her upbringings as we see here. The special seemingly signifies a potentially bigger part for Atom Eve moving forward in Invincible season two, and if so, I can’t wait. The action sequences in this show are dazzling and if this is just a taste of what’s to come, I may skip Thanksgiving dinner this year because I’ll already be eating good come November 3rd.