There’s also considerable queer subtext in Eve’s storyline this week, which has her taking the first steps to an independent future separate from both her parents and her superhero colleagues. Andrew Rannells’ voice work captures the intensity of Will’s emotions for his crush, as well as his excitement when he finds out his best friend is a superhero, a development that significantly deepens Will’s importance in the narrative. Will comes to Rick’s rescue when he’s attacked, and when Rick becomes a cyborg himself, Will uses the memory of their summer sex by the lake to activate Rick’s emotions and turn the tide of the fight. When we meet Rick, the animation zooms in on his butt as he’s carrying luggage, and its refreshing to see a superhero explicitly engage with gay desire. Will spends the entirety of the car ride gushing about his feelings for Rick, and there’s nothing remotely othered about his sexuality. I’ve watched a lot of superhero cartoons in my lifetime, and gay representation is not a priority for many of those shows, especially ones based on established IP. That alpha male quality puts Rick in Sinclair’s crosshairs, and Mark has to choose between helping Will or repairing his relationship with Amber. Mark’s best friend, Will (Andrew Rannells), has been in the background for most of Invincible’s first five episodes, but he takes on a much bigger role in “You Look Pretty Dead,” driving Mark and Amber to Upstate U so he can see his new beau, Rick (Jonathan Groff), a hunky alpha male with a great ass. Sinclair (Ezra Miller) is a mad scientist abducting his classmates and turning them into cyborgs, his engineering solution to presumed failings in mankind’s construction. Upstate University has a world-class pre-med program, and one of its students, D.A. But even in the world of higher education, Mark can’t escape the blue and yellow costume. “You Look Pretty Dead” is a cooldown episode after last week’s brutal superhero beatdown, and while the injured Guardians of the Globe recover, Mark explores an alternative to the Invincible life. He can go to Upstate University with Will and Amber and not have his insides smeared on the face of a lion barbarian from outer space. Other people go to college, Mark can do that instead. Does Mark Grayson really want to be a superhero after almost getting pummeled to death? Yeah, there’s that whole power and responsibility thing, but maybe there’s another option for him.
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