Is Invincible from Marvel or DC?

Invincible has just reached the end of Season 2 Part 2, but there’s a question you may be wondering: is it part of Marvel or DC?

While based on Robert Kirkman’s beloved run of comics, Invincible first became known to the masses when it seemed to drop out of nowhere on Prime Video in 2021; this is a fair statement, given its budget was and remains a pittance compared to The Boys.

After the pilot’s head-squashing water-cooler ending, the series attracted intense interest, with Amazon quickly green-lighting second and third seasons before the first finale. Season 2 Part 2 finally arrived this week, and we called it “a harrowing, edge-of-your-seat back-half that’s almost unbearably exciting.”

However, is it technically part of Marvel or DC, or something else entirely?

Is Invincible part of Marvel or DC?

Invincible isn’t part of Marvel or DC. It comes from Image Comics, a standalone comic book publisher, and takes place in its own universe.

Image Comics was founded in 1992 by Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Its inception came from a desire to stand apart from Marvel and DC, particularly in its handling of creators; instead of artists transferring copyright to publishers, creators could publish their own comics without giving up the rights.

Some of its most famous properties include Spawn, The Walking Dead, Kick-Ass, and Invincible, created by Kirkman in 2003.

That’s not to say there haven’t been crossovers with the two titans: Kirkman wrote Marvel Team-Up #14 in 2006, where he had Invincible show up and meet Spider-Man while traveling through universes, even helping him to fight Doc Ock; and in Invincible #33, the titular hero came across Batman in the multiverse.

There have been rumors of a massive crossover in the animated series, with fans suspecting that Josh Keaton will reprise his role as the Spectacular Spider-Man for a cameo. It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility, given Amazon is producing two Spider-Man spinoff shows (Silk: Spider Society and Spider-Man: Noir) in collaboration with MGM.

Executive producer Simon Racioppa told The Hollywood Handle: “I’d love to have crossovers with all, with DC, with Marvel, with all these other characters. I mean… in our show you gotta have to wait and see if that’s a thing that can happen or not. I’d love that to happen, you know, is very tricky nowadays, for Marvel they sometimes license their characters to other studios. So crossing over in television is way harder than it is in comic books.”

Invincible Seasons 1-2 are streaming now. You can also find out more about everything else we know about Invincible Season 3, the show’s soundtrack, and its cast, and see what other TV shows you should be streaming in April.

Episode 1 recap | Episode 2 recap | Episode 3 recap | Episode 4 recap | Episode 5 recap | Episode 6 recap | Episode 7 recap | Episode 8 recap