Small Details You Missed In Invincible Season 4

Contains spoilers for "Invincible" Season 4

"Invincible" Season 4 has ended, delivering the quietest, most terrifying cliffhanger ending you could ask for. The first battle against Thragg (Lee Pace) went pretty badly, and now he and the other remaining Viltrumites have made Earth their new home, blackmailing Mark into keeping their presence a secret, or else they will destroy the planet.

Much of the season deals with the war against Viltrum, leading to the climactic showdown where Mark (Steven Yeun), Nolan (J. K. Simmons), and Thaedus (Peter Cullen) literally tear the planet in two. But along the way, there's the usual "Invincible" blend of high genre hijinks, comedy, and one-off storylines. So as the grim portent of the finale sets in, let's lighten the mood a bit by recapping some of the little things.

From overt parodies and comic book changes to overt parodies of major franchises, these are some of the small details and Easter eggs you may have missed in "Invincible" Season 4.

There is a lot of science fiction in "Invincible" season 4. And while, yes, that's always been the case with the show, and the Robert Kirkman comics on which it's based, it's particularly true in this latest batch of episodes, much of which takes place in the far reaches of space. In Season 4, Episode 2, we get perhaps the most on-the-nose batch of references yet to appear in the show.

If you've even seen a little bit from the seven seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," you'll immediately know what the show is doing when Nolan and Allen (Seth Rogen) are given the Coalition ship known as the Venture to track down Nolan's list of anti-Viltrumite weapons and warriors. The ship is a full-bore parody of "Star Trek," and of "TNG" specifically. There's a bald-headed (but incompetent) captain, as well as an android, a grumpy warrior, and a hot counselor. The ship itself is kind of a piece of crap, but it at least manages to pull off the famous Enterprise-D bridge separation, adding another layer of specificity.

This batch of references is pulled straight from the comics, but it all works a bit better on TV, as that was the medium for "Star Trek." There's even a cheeky "engage" thrown in during Episode 5 for good measure, and LeVar Burton pops in briefly to voice the AI in Tech Jacket's (Zoey Deutch) suit.

It's not just "Star Trek" that gets the homage treatment in "Invincible" Season 4. The show is clearly an equal opportunity teaser, and "Star Wars" gets plenty of attention during this season's space adventures as well. However, the allusions here are a bit more subtle than the "Star Trek" homage was.

The most notable example occurs at the end of Episode 5 when Zoe, aka Tech Jacket and Allen hide from a squad of attacking Viltrumites by stowing away in an outer compartment on the Viltrumites' own ship. It's the exact same maneuver that Han and company pull with the Millennium Falcon in "The Empire Strikes Back." In that movie, Han lands the ship on the back of an Imperial Star Destroyer and kills power, making it so that they are too close for the ship's scanners to detect them. Zoe understands the reference, telling Allen when he compliments her on the plan that she "saw it in a movie once."

There's another moment that feels like an intentional nod earlier in the season, when Allen and Nolan track down Space Racer in Episode 2. As the two fly through the asteroid field where Racer is buried, the music begins to feel familiar, with the distinctive flutes and subtle horns of John Williams' soundtrack. There are bits that could be connected to the end of the famous "Asteroid Field" track from the "Empire" score, which would be appropriate, given where the Space Racer scene occurs. The scene in "Empire" also leads right into the Falcon sequence referenced directly by Zoe later on.

In "Invincible" Season 4, Episode 2, Nolan helps Allen and the Coalition track down a wide range of fighters and resources to aid their struggle against the Viltrumites. Each has some personal connection to Nolan, and each is, curiously, still available for retrieval.

This is most notable when Nolan brings Allen to the home of the Sinlak beetles, who can be used to distill a weakening agent that makes Viltrumites vulnerable to regular attacks. Nolan says that he specifically was put in charge of eradicating the beetles, then glances up at the sky almost avoidantly and adds, with a pause, "I guess ... I missed a few."

It's such a quick moment that it's hard to read much into it for certain. But it does ask the question: Did Nolan leave some of them alive on purpose? Was he already beginning to doubt the infallibility of the Empire, and decided, almost subconsciously, to let some of the potential weapons against them survive?

He tells Allen that he didn't kill Space Racer because he worried it would make his gun explode, but that shouldn't be a worry for a Viltrumite, should it? Yes, he buried him alive, but clearly, lack of food or water doesn't affect Space Racer. Could Nolan have known that too? And now that we know that Viltrumites can literally destroy planets (though in fairness, on Viltrum, Space Racer's gun certainly helped), why just leave the Rognarrs frozen? Why not finish the job if they are that dangerous? Again, this was a mission Nolan says he was in charge of. Is it possible that he was hedging his bets, even then? Hmmm.

In addition to the specific Star Wars and Star Trek references in "Invincible" Season 4, there's a fair bit of more general nodding at pulp genre classics of the past. From the space opera vibes to the literal planetary ring of corpses circling Viltrum, to the Silver Age, "Buck Rogers"-inspired vibe of Space Racer, it's a beautiful hodgepodge of high genre aesthetics from an older era of comics and pulp fiction.

The show even seems to call attention to this at a few points. In Episode 2, Nolan gets upset with Allen for not reading his novella about Space Racer, to which Allen replies (ironically, given that he is an alien), "I'm not really into sci-fi."

In Episode 3, Machine Head (Jeffrey Donovan) makes a similar statement, telling Titan (Todd Williams) during their meeting about the magical Mister Liu (Tzi Ma), "I don't read a lot of fantasy." There are other details here and there, like Damien Darkblood (Clancy Brown) doing a facsimile of the famous Batman moon pose again, and a specific Robert Kirkman (who also penned "The Walking Dead") reference where a one-off villain who calls himself "The Walking Dread."

Part of what's so fun about "Invincible" is that it embraces every subset of pulp genre — demonically supernatural, noir, space opera, hard sci-fi, trans-dimensional adventures, mystical beings, ancient myths, the whole shebang. Maybe these lines are the show's way of acknowledging that not all fans are going to love every niche the story dives into. Or, maybe it's just for laughs. Either way, you can never accuse "Invincible" of not being meta enough, even if it does occasionally take itself very seriously.

"Invincible" Season 4, Episode 4 takes place in Hell, following Damien Darkblood in a war between the demons and the powerful being Volcanikka (Indira Varma). The plan hinges on returning the ruler of Hell to his former strength, and yes, we do mean Satan himself, voiced here by cult horror icon Bruce Campbell.

For those who have never seen "Evil Dead," this casting wouldn't seem like anything special. But if you grew up on the Sam Raimi films that made both him and Campbell household names, the choice of voice here is a clear wink and nod at the camera. In "Evil Dead," Campbell's Ash Williams is famous for two things: killing demons and monsters, and quipping like a campy 1970s icon. The first is directly swapped here, putting Campbell in the role of the top demon in charge, but the second is kept intact as soon as Satan gets his juice back.

Before he regains his crown, Satan speaks in a muted, almost monotone way. But once he powers up, his tone completely changes in a clear nod to Ash. "Yeah baby!" He exclaims over a flurry of electric guitar. "I'm lookin' big, I'm lookin' mean, woooo I'm lookin' hot!" He later calls Volcanikka "Brimstone Breath" — the exact sort of hyper-confident eye-roll insult you'd expect from Campbell's most famous character.

The supporting voice cast on "Invincible" is unbelievably stacked, featuring everyone from Mahershala Ali and Sterling K. Brown to Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Simu Liu. But among all of the Hollywood stars, there are also a number of legendary voice actors who built their careers in animation, and Season 4 pits two of those icons of the medium against each other in a fitting way.

For some time now, Peter Cullen has voiced Thaedus, leader of the Coalition of Planets. Cullen is most famous for his decades-spanning performance as Optimus Prime in various "Transformers" shows and films, starting with the original 1980s cartoon (and to some, he's the gentle voice of Eeyore). His longtime foil in the franchise has been Frank Welker, the original voice of Megatron. In "Invincible" Season 4, Welker joins the voice cast in flashbacks, playing Emperor Argall of the Viltrumites.

It's a great choice, and Welker does a fantastic job across just a handful of lines. But the casting decision also resurrects an old rivalry, as Thaedus is the one who assassinates Argall. More than 40 years later, and we're still pitting Frank Welker and Peter Cullen against each other. And that's pretty great.

One of the main calling cards of "Invincible" for years has been its tailored use of licensed music in key moments — often via montage — and that trend continues in Season 4. The season opens with a heartbreaking setpiece of Mark and the other heroes of Earth struggling to hold the forces of evil at bay, set to the fantastic "If I Get High" by Nothing but Thieves. The song pontificates on a theoretical escape that seems just out of reach, mirroring Mark's struggle throughout the season to ever break free of the ever-growing quagmire of his responsibilities and losses.

Episode 4 brings a bit of levity and classic heavy metal edge, playing Slayer's "Raining Blood" during the final showdown with Volcanikka. The track is appropriate for a showdown in the bowels of Hell, but it also fits with the '80s horror vibe of the "Evil Dead" years, adding another layer to its Bruce Campbell cameo.

There are a ton of other great picks throughout the season, often setting the mood in moments of peace or anticipation, as with Sarah Jaffe's "Clementine" or Omar Apollo's "Drifting in Episode 5. Brian Eno's "Under Stars" provides a fitting, somber, cosmic overlay as Mark, Nolan, and Oliver (Christian Convery) are rescued from space following their cataclysmic loss to Thragg. Given its lack of lyrics, you may have not even realized it was part of the licensed soundtrack. 

Then, to close things off in Episode 8, we get a brilliant use of Death Cab for Cutie's "Fragments From the Decade" as Mark goes for a mind-clearing flight, only to be intercepted by Thragg. Nothing says "sad boy ending" quite like Ben Gibbard crooning about old traumas.

While "Invincible" has always stayed loyal to the comics — due in large part, no doubt, to the heavy involvement of creator Robert Kirkman — the show has also been willing to make changes where necessary. There's a bunch in Season 4, both large and small, that non-readers likely wouldn't notice.

For example, the Hell arc in Season 4, Episode 4 is new, as is the character of Satan. In addition to fleshing out the underworld of Earth, the episode teased a whole new history, with Damien referring to six "ages,' each of which saw a different dominant faction rise. This added worldbuilding could help explain some of the more bizarre occurrences and massive monsters that pop up in the series.

Other changes include Tech Jacket being swapped from a boy in the comics to a girl. In an interview with Den of Geek, Kirkman said he was excited about the switch from early on. "We started thinking about who Zoe would be instead of Zach," he explained. "There are some exciting things that come up when you change that character." Additionally, Mark and Nolan are away from Earth for nearly a year in the comics, while the gap in the show is much shorter.

Some of the homages in "Invincible" Season 4 are explicit, but there are some less direct, evocative allusions, with "Dragon Ball Z" being a big source. Some of that's always been there, of course. It's hard not to draw at few comparisons when you're doing the whole "fascist alien space empire but one of them grew up on Earth and is good" deal. But with the extra focus on Viltrum and Viltrumite history, and interstellar travel, the similarities are stronger than ever in Season 4.

For instance, Nolan mentions in Episode 2 that the Rognarrs are incredibly powerful because the gravity on their world is far stronger than is typical. While not necessarily an original concept from "DBZ," it's one that's certainly closely associated with that show. In the second major arc on the planet Namek, Goku trains in ever-rising levels of artificial gravity to grow stronger — a habit that continues throughout the story, often in the context of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

The added family dynamic between Mark, Nolan, and Oliver also evokes the later chapters of "Dragon Ball Z," where both Gohan and Goten are fighting alongside Goku — each boasting only half of their father's alien blood, but at times seeming even stronger for it.

Okay, maybe this one doesn't count as a "small detail." It's sort of Thragg's whole deal. But still, it's worth going back over some of his most standout moments with a magnifying glass, because the little ways in which the show builds out his specific brand of space fascism are richly effective.

We are told that Thragg was bred to be the strongest of his race. And he looks it — not in that he looks cool, but in that he has the negative swag of a tank-grown gifted student at the galaxy's most prestigious Nazi prep academy. The haircut is bad, the vibe rancid. And while Thragg typically keeps a completely stoic demeanor, he obsesses over the memory of Emperor Argall, and to a larger extent, Viltrum as an idea. The only times we see him get truly animated, other than when his home planet literally blows up, is when Nolan suggests that Viltrum is nothing more than a tomb, and earlier, when the skull of Emperor Argall is in danger.

The daddy issues are strong with this one. Yes, Thragg is the strongest, scariest man in "Invincible," but in an even more real way, he is a coward. He doesn't even declare himself the new emperor, despite being it in all but name. His sycophantic loyalty to a dead man and to the idea of the state as a living thing, which it is not, are fascinating, pitiful, and extremely well rendered. Thragg acts as if he is saving the seat for someone, so devoid of a soul that his only familial comfort comes from the empire in the abstract. It would be sad if it weren't so deeply vile.

"Invincible" is famous for its title card drops. Every episode, you're waiting for Mark or someone else to build up to saying the name of the show, knowing that the shot will cut away right before. Each season has taken on a different theme for the title cards, and the one for Season 4 has been pretty grim — the title plastered over a fragmenting facade, more and more of which is ripped out into the vacuum of space in each episode. It's a powerful visual symbol of Mark's state of mind throughout this season — the sense that the earth is being pulled out from under you, leaving you spinning in the void. But when the last bits of the title card are ripped away in Episode 8, the whole thing is replaced by a serene new version — blue text, peacefully set against a bright white backdrop.

It's most similar to the title card from Season 3, Episode 6, "All I Can Say Is I'm Sorry," which involves Mark dealing with the consequences of his (and more specifically, his father's) actions. But the one in Season 4, Episode 8 is brighter; more confident.

The season itself ends on a dire note, with Thragg informing Mark that the Viltrumites will hide among the humans of earth to repopulate the species. Knowing Thragg could demolish the planet in a blink, Mark is forced to accept the arrangement. His trauma is almost suffocating at the end, and yet, this final card seems optimistic. It feels like a reminder that Mark's superhero name isn't just a boast. His power, more so than flying, is the ability to endure. Maybe that's what truly makes him (cue the title card:) INVINCIBLE.