10 Invincible Characters and Which Marvel or DC Heroes They're Parodies Of (2025)

The Invincible series is, in many ways, both an homage and a commentary on classic comics. One of the series' biggest strengths is its ability to flip classic comic tropes, bringing new perspectives of what it means to be a superhero and subverting readers' expectations. Many of the heroes and villains of Invincible share many similarities to classic comic book heroes, but all with their own unique spin.

Making the characters of Invincible feel and look like characters fans can instantly recognize is a key element in readers building an instant relationship with these new heroes in an unfamiliar world. While some readers may right this off as nostalgia and parody, it's a major reason Invincible stands out among the rest of creator-owned books attempting to flip the superhero formula.

10 Darkwing Vs. The Dark Knight

The protector of Midnight City brings vengeance to Invincible

Darkwing was a hero/vigilante who operated in Midnight City and was an original Guardians of the Globe member. With his gadgets and expertise in hand-to-hand combat, Darkwing was an essential member of the Guardians despite being the only one without superpowers. Darkwing is very clearly inspired by Batman, with both characters having nearly identical costumes, abilities, and gadgets.

While the original Darkwing's backstory is never fully developed, it's clear that he also has access to a vast amount of resources, similar to Bruce Wayne, having his own plane and base of operations outside the Guardians. His sidekick, Night Boy, and later his predecessor, Darkwing II, also share many similar qualities to Batman's sidekick, Robin—specifically, the Jason Todd version of the character. Darkwing II can also access a dimension called the Shadowverse and manipulate the surrounding shadows, similar to the Marvel hero, Cloak.

9 War Woman Is a Combination of Multiple Iconic Warriors

The Guardian's most deadly fighter

War Woman's origins are a mystery, but she is shown to be one of the most powerful members of the Guardians next to their leader, Immortal. Armed with various weapons and incredible superpowers, War Woman was seen as a legendary warrior who fought for humanity countless times. While the obvious parallel to War Woman is the DC hero Wonder Woman, the character shares more similarities to another DC heroine who may be less known to readers.

Much of War Woman's personality and visual aspects are closer to DC Comics' Big Barda, a New God and the wife of Mr. Miracle. War Woman's armor and mace are nearly identical to Barda's, and one of her villains shown in Invincible #7 bears a striking resemblance to the villain Darkseid. This moment also features a distinct visual element known as the Kirby Crackle, made famous by legendary artist Jack Kirby and creator of Big Barda.

8 Shapesmith Stretches Into Action

The Martian hero embraces superhero camp

Shapesmith is a Martian who secretly came to Earth after Invincible battled the Sequids in Invincible #18 and took on the identity of Shapesmith. Due to his Martian physiology, Shapesmith can stretch his body to incredible lengths and shape-shift into nearly anything, including other characters. The obvious parody is the Martian Manhunter, though another DC hero may seem more familiar to Shapesmith fans.

Shapesmith more closely resembles Plastic Man, who shares the same powers of elasticity and body manipulation. Both characters also show many similarities in their personalities, with both being more comical characters that embrace the fantastical and cheesy side of comics from the Silver Age. The character may also borrow a bit from the Marvel hero Morph, with his shapeshifting abilities being shown to be able to take on at least a portion of the hero's power which he is impersonating.

7 Shrinking Ray Is One of Many Shrinking Heroes

A small hero with an even smaller impact

See Also

Invincible: Every New Actor Announced for Season 3 (& Who They Play)Invincible's The Immortal Explained: Powers, Original & How Old He IsInterviews: J.K. Simmons, Gillian Jacobs, and Steven Yeun talk about the action-packed third season of InvincibleThe Strongest Episode of 'Invincible' Ponders Power And Control - But Why Tho?

Shrinking Ray is a master escape artist who can shrink to an incredibly small size. Ray joined the second iteration of the Guardians of the Globe but was a very minor character, occasionally being seen in the background of a fight but having no real impact. Ray would never get his time to shine and had an unceremonious death in Invincible #40 after being eaten by Komodo Dragon.

The tiny hero is a clear parody of other shrinking heroes, such as Marvel's Ant-Man or DC's The Atom, but way less cool in almost every aspect. Unlike Ant-Man and The Atom, who are both incredibly smart and developed technology to give them their powers, Shrinking Ray can shrink naturally and has no other qualities. The character isn't even necessarily good at it either, only shown to shrink to a shorter size but not small enough to reach a microscopic level like his big-two counterparts.

6 Rex Splode Brings The Charm To Invincible

Rex's explosive nature is Xtremely familiar

Rex Sloan was sold off by his parents at a young age to the government. He was subjected to experimentation that gave him the ability to accelerate molecules to an unstable level and explode with kinetic energy. Rex was turned into a weapon for the shady government entity and was sent on many black ops missions, including assassinations. Rex eventually escaped after meeting Atom Eve, and became a member of the Teen Team and later the Guardians of the Globe.

Rex Splode is a nearly identical copy of the Marvel hero Gambit, complete with the same powers. Like Rex, Gambit also came from a broken home after his parents abandoned him and the New Orleans Thieves Guild took him in. Both characters grew up as thieves to survive and were both turned to the side of good after encountering a female hero, with Gambit leaving the Marauders for the X-Men after meeting Storm and Rex joining the Teen Team after meeting Eve.

5 Allen The Alien Is The Savior of His People

Allen is a worthy guardian of the universe

Allen the Alien is from the planet Unopa, whose people were pushed to the brink of extinction by the Viltrumites. Allen was born in a breeding camp as part of the Unopan's attempt to strengthen their dwindling numbers and make them strong enough to fight the Viltrumites. Allen was the only success and was trained from birth to be the greatest fighter in the universe and later became the Champion Evaluation Officer for the Coalition of Planets.

Allen the Alien is one of the more unique characters in Invincible but shares a close connection to the Marvel hero, Beta Ray Bill. Like Allen, Beta Ray was chosen as the champion of his people, who were also under threat of extinction. Bill was surgically turned into a cyborg, which gave him incredible strength and a horse-like appearance. Beta Ray and Allen are also both one of the strongest characters in their respective universes, with Bill being able to beat Thor in their first encounter, which parallels how Allen and Invincible first met in Invincible #15.

4 Atom Eve Is a Culmination of Some of the Strongest Characters in Comics

Eve can break the entire universe

Atom Eve is one of the world's greatest heroes and the strongest character in Invincible. With her powers to manipulate matter at the subatomic level, Eve's powers are limitless and are only held back by mental blocks implanted into her brain. With her powers, Eve can create physical constructs, manipulate and transmute any kind of matter, and even restructure the atoms that make up the entire universe.

Atom Eve's powers are unmatched and share many similarities with those of the Marvel heroes, Scarlet Witch, and Jean Grey/Phoenix. While not coming from supernatural means, Eve's ability to manipulate and transmute matter resembles Wanda's ability to warp reality and create anything from nothing. When Eve bypasses her mental blocks and unlocks her full powers, she becomes omnipotent, resembling Jean Grey's powers when being the host of the Phoenix Force. Like Jean, Eve can resurrect herself and others from death, making her immortal and able to restore her body from any injury or even old age.

3 Invincible Shows His Dark Side

Mark Grayson gets a new look and attitude

Mark Grayson began as a hero with an unwavering moral compass, always trying to do what was right. However, after multiple terrible events resulting from Mark's actions as Invincible, the character's attitude toward being a hero shifts and sends him down a darker path. This period of Invincible questioning his morals was symbolized by his new suit, introduced in Invincible #50, which featured a much darker color scheme and was heavily inspired by another famous dark costume of a classic hero.

Invincible shares many similarities to Marvel's Peter Parker, but his dark blue suit directly referenced Spider-Man's black Venom suit. Both suits visually represent the heroes' internal struggles and shifting morals. Invincible creator Robert Kirkman has also outright confirmed this correlation, stating that he, Ryan Ottley, and Corey Walker intentionally played up classic comic tropes, such as heroes getting new costumes, and specifically referenced Spider-Man's dark change while donning the Venom symbiote.

2 The Immortal Is The Greatest Hero In History

Immortal doesn't even remember his own origin

Most of the Immortal's history is unknown, but he was granted immortality and incredible superpowers at some point. Immortal became one of the world's greatest historical heroes, serving as a knight under King Arthur, an explorer of the Spanish Armada and fighting in the American Revolution. He later took on the alias of Abraham Lincoln and became President. After World War I, the Immortal officially became a superhero in the 1930s and later became one of the first members of the Guardians of the Globe.

The Immortal shares many similarities to the DC villain, Vandal Savage, who is immortal and influenced many historical events in the DC universe. While they share the same concept, the Immortal is nearly the complete opposite of Savage, using his long life to help humanity instead of his own gains. The historical hero also takes inspiration from Superman, having nearly identical powers, and was intentionally written to represent the good qualities of The Man of Steel.

1 Omni-Man Represents The Dark Side of Justice

Nolan Grayson is Superman without a conscious

Omni-Man was once the Earth's most celebrated protector, with no one able to match his incredible power. Nolan protected the Earth for years with the Guardians of the Globe until he revealed his true nature in Invincible #7 and brutally murdered them in an attempt to take over the planet. Born on the ruthless planet Viltrum, Omni-Man's powers are unmatched, and he is one of the strongest beings in the universe, even among other Viltrumites.

Omni-Man is undoubtedly a dark parallel to Superman, having nearly all the same powers and status as the most powerful of the superheroes. Omni-Man represents Superman's dark potential if put in the proper circumstances. While Clark grew up to love humanity, Nolan loathed humans and thought himself superior to all who were less powerful than him. This also gives him a stark contrast to the Immortal, who represents the good qualities of Superman. Omni-Man's original name was even Supra-Man, but Image changed it in fear of infringing DC's trademark of Superman.

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Invincible (TV Show)

TV-MA

Animation

Action

Adventure

9

10

10/10

Release Date

March 26, 2021

Writers

Robert Kirkman

Cast

• 

  Steven Yeun

• 

  J.K. Simmons

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