Invincible Presents Atom Eve Review

If it’s been a minute since you thought about Invincible, the excellent Prime Video animated series (adapted from the comic series of the same name), you’re likely not alone. The series premiered all the way back in March of 2021 – practically a lifetime ago in the world of television – and then nary a peep was heard about it again (save from the renewal announcement from Prime). But here we are, in mid-2023, and a trailer has just dropped for the series’ second season (set to premiere in November). To tide us over, however, until then, Prime Video has released a one-off episode detailing the backstory of Atom Eve, titled, aptly Invincible Presents Atom Eve.

We met Eve in season one as a member of Teen Team, although she quits the superhero team life when she finds out that her fellow superhero boyfriend is cheating on her with another hero. Opting to go solo, she befriends Mark Grayson and they work together throughout much of the series. But who was Eve before she became Atom Eve? Well, it turns out her backstory is pretty darn tragic. We learn in Atom Eve that she was genetically engineered to be a weapon – but the kindness of Dr. Elias Brandywine (Stephen Root) allowed her to be raised with a nice, normal family. Ok, well, nice might be a bit much to describe her father. She displayed the ability to see the molecules that make up everything around us as a child, but wasn’t able to really understand what that meant until she was a bit older and her actual powers manifested. Wanting to become a hero, she tried her hand at saving the city only to fall into the crosshairs of Steven Erickson, the government agent who ordered her creation. Ultimately, like so many other superheroes, Eve ends up losing her whole biological family, breaking her heart and causing her to return to her old life forever changed.

As someone who absolutely loved the first season of Invincible, I was thrilled to see that we were getting the chance to dig a little deeper into one of the most crucial characters in the series. While Mark is the true series lead – and his own family struggles are central to the story being told – Eve was such an important character to Mark’s journey in season one, so it’s great to get a better understanding of what made her into the person she is during the main storyline of the series. And oof. What an awful story it was to see. So often with superhero tales, we see that the pain and suffering they were forced to endure to become the hero they need to be comes from tragic pasts (Batman and Spiderman’s origins tend to get told time and again with each new installment of the series, largely because seeing that anguish and pain helps to explain how the characters can channel it into their crime fighting abilities – even though I’d be super happy to never see the Waynes get murdered or see Uncle Ben die again). For Eve, we get a similar set-up – she was denied the chance to know her biological family, placed with strangers, and only learns the truth when it’s too late to make up for the lost time. She gains her family only to immediately lose them once more. A true tragic beginning for her as a hero.

And, let’s be honest, with a story like that, I’m amazed she hasn’t broken bad as of yet. I mean, learning you had a family with similar powers, that you were a government experiment, that you have these abilities, and then being able to more or less go on with your teenage years without a ton of issues? That’s pretty impressive. Sure, she doesn’t have the best relationship with the Wilkinses, and she is doing the hero thing on her own at the moment, but all-in-all, she’s weathered this particular storm pretty well. It proves that she can continue to be a solid friend for Mark as he navigates his own issues with his father as the series continues. After all, who else would have an understanding of what it means when you find out that a part of your life has been a massive lie for as long as you’ve been alive? But the biggest thing Atom Eve did was get me excited for the return of Invincible this fall. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us – and if Eve ever tells Mark this particular story of hers. Because I really think Mark would like to hear it.