The third season of Invincible is best described as perfected chaos. Continuing the route of insecurities and gore, the show has a firmer grasp on Mark’s perceptions of justice instead of letting an onslaught of subplots plow through him and slow his growth. While there is still a lot going on with themed supervillains, gang wars, and multiverse threats, every episode still feels like it’s building Mark’s character instead of just giving him more bad guys to punch harder before the Viltrumites arrive. That’s a relief, considering a season like this could feel like a lukewarm bridge and instead turn into a towering force of brutal storytelling.

The greater focus is primarily due to the heroes trying to find better life stability. Mark might be struggling to teach his new pre-teen brother, Oliver, the ropes of superpowers and the morality behind using them, but he also wants to pursue a relationship with Eve in a way that will work for both of them. A similar sensation is also given to Rex, who quickly realizes that independence and love come with taking greater steps of defiance and sacrifice. All of it plays nicely with the minor subplot of Mark’s father realizing that maybe he should fight back against the Viltrumite Empire despite being outnumbered and going against everything he’s believed for centuries.

Through it all, the series still finds ways to make this complex superhero saga have bigger stakes beyond whether or not the heroes can survive villains who can and will rip them in two. Mark’s greatest feud this season is with how Cecil manages the Guardians. Arguments about how untrustworthy Cecil has become are not met with mere words but a vicious slaughter of Cecil’s cyborg creations against Mark and a bitter exit coated in blood. Talks with Oliver about correctly using powers never become so simple, where Oliver’s childish logic of wanting to see all supervillains dead is not as easy to shoot down. While it’s easy to condemn Oliver for murdering the cantankerous Mauler Twins, that lesson of preserving life is more challenging to preach when encountering the latest onslaught from Angston Levey, returning with an army of parallel Invincibles that nearly destroy that planet. All of this happens BEFORE the arrival of the Viltrumite Conquest, who brutalizes Mark and the earth just as much as Nolan.

The series really finds its footing in its third season by fleshing out more of its characters before their flesh gets ripped apart. The romance between Mark and Eve doesn’t just resume out of convenience but is put to the test by their enduring circumstances. It’s not enough that a parallel vision convinces Mark that Eve is the one for him, especially when he blurts out this confession. They have to work for those moments of passionate sex and feeling distressed about losing each other in fights they might not win.

The acting and dialogue become far more natural with the shifting landscape of handling world-ending threats, especially with Walton Goggins giving a nuanced performance of Cecil, where his backstory makes him unique rather than pitiful, highlighting the cyclical nature of perceptions of justice. The depth given to the characters during this season while still featuring bloody showdowns and gruesome feuds with high body counts is an amazing feat, made all the more compelling by the fact that this is the only animated series with episodes running close to an hour to match the length of prestige television. That extended length is warranted for more than ensuring each season can cover a hefty chunk of the comic book storyline.

But what might be most compelling for this season is how it takes more swings with changing up the material. A brief detour at the beginning of one episode is framed as a short film about meta-humans who fall on hard times and resort to crime despite making numerous attempts to go straight. It’s a brilliant dose of world-building that makes this animated saga not only feel more real, but have its own distinct nature to separate it from an easy frame-by-frame comparison of the comics. There’s also the tease of another non-comic arc for the next season to assure the viewers that you’re not just going to be getting a recount of the Invincible story.

Invincible continues to be the most exciting animation on television. Beyond its boisterous explicitly and comic book astuteness, this is a show with a beating heart and thoughtful mind. It can match the comic’s sharpness and add to it with a more distinct voice. Through it all, that tongue-in-cheek comedy is still present, with the silly narration by Paul F. Thompkins and the title strike when characters utter Invinicble’s name. In an age where superhero media has reached mass-saturation levels, Invincible raises the bar for that genre in a big way.