1x07 WE NEED TO TALK

There has been a lot of departure from the comic but in one of the most impressive adaptions ever Invincible has to this point been more than faithful to every theme and major beat in the storyline. Simple things like Rick being gay and Amber being black they change the comic visually and alter the storylines but not in ways that matter. However I really really don't like the beat in this episode where Amber breaks up with Mark. This is an inevitable beat and while the comic version was a bit cringe at time in it's teenage angst. I feel like the way it happens in this episode if completely unfair to the characters.

It starts with the attack at the University this time during the visitation rather than in Freshman year. Mark "abandons" Amber in order to save her which is more or less on par. This is something for which Amber is justifiably upset which is again on par. In this episode in a much more abrupt manner than in the comic Mark reveals his identity to finally answer her questions about why he's such a bad boyfriend and always leaving. In the comics this is a 3 page conversation followed by a minor adventure and then another three page conversation followed by Amber understanding and that taking their relationship to a new level. Now in the end this doesn't work out because she started dating him expecting a normal boy and wasn't prepared for the challenges of dating a superhero. That's fair. In the TV show they choose to go another route and that's also fair. We don't necessarily need the Amber/Mark will it last? relationship to the storyline. In a book this long even spread out over multiple seasons somethings have to go and they've built up 6 episodes of extreme good faith.

My issue here isn't the result, it's the execution. In a single sentence: I don't understand why Amber is upset at Mark. In the comics she and Mark both point out that it's unfair for her to be upset at him saving lives, however real and true those emotions are. Whatever else he did wrong in this phase (comics wise), and there's a lot, the breakup was about a mutual recognition that the relationship wasn't going to work. I've been loving animated Amber until this episode. Where we learn three things
1. She already knew Mark was a superhero, despite zero hinting.
2. She doesn't consider the fact that he has to save lives in a very literal sense an appropriate reason for him to leave unexpectedly
3. She doesn't understand the purpose of a secret identity. At this point his identity has been pretty well kept. No one who isn't a relative, or empowered knows who he is yet she's upset because he didn't "trust" her.

I think that third point especially is very unfair to her character who has been until now very cool. There are a lot of ways this could have been handled. She could have for instance been more understanding of what he's been doing and had the foresight to realize she didn't want the life of a hero's romantic partner. William being a dick tracks with his immature attitude and with the narrative that Mark avoided helping. But even Eve accuses him of "stringing her along for five months while being an a****** about it. But while it could be argued he was stringing her along, this is a world where people do keep their identities pretty secret, when was he being mean about it? I just don't think it's tracks with the previous episodes. When do you tell someone you're a superhero? Month 3? Are you proposing by month 8? What is this timeline that she's proposing? All your exes know which superhero you are?

This whole thing is a frustrating beat in an otherwise great show. I was wondering how they were going to pull off the full public face-heel turn of Omni-Man. It came off spectacularly. The fight was good, the changes were good, the reveal was excellent. Watching the Guardians was fun and interesting. In the comics I actually felt it was weird that the Mauler twins didn't try to backstab Robot, and I like the changes here. We still have one more episode to go but the nature of the break up was such that they closed off any backdoors of understanding and reconciliation so I doubt this is a red herring setup. I've really enjoyed this version of Amber it's a shame to see her depart the cast on such a discordant note.