Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Invincible season 2, episode 7!

Summary

• Invincible season 2 hilariously mocks its own delays and animation problems with a meta joke at Comic Con.
• Mark and Amber's relationship takes center stage in episode 7, leading to the series' funniest meta joke yet.
• The show cleverly adapts a classic comic book meta gag into a self-referential moment on animation in TV format.

Invincible season 2 has just adapted one of its most famous comic book gags, allowing it to hilariously mock its own release delays and animation situation. Invincible is one of the most ambitious animated shows currently running, with its massive scale and expansive story causing the behind-the-scenes development process to be undoubtedly difficult. Although audiences have speculated about some of Invincible's production history, the show has finally given an insight of its own, with Invincible season 2, episode 7 containing one weird joke that manages to make fun of some of the series' biggest production issues.

Invincible season 2, part 2 is finally here, with the highly anticipated continuation of Amazon Prime Video's critically acclaimed adaptation of the beloved superhero comic of the same name now releasing. Invincible season 2, part 2 picks up right where Invincible season 2, part 1 ended, with Mark Grayson returning home from the planet Thraxa and attempting to catch up on the life he missed while off-planet. Invincible season 2, episode 7 gives a heavy focus to Mark and Amber's relationship, with them going on one date that winds up leading to Invincible's funniest meta joke yet.

Invincible Season 2's Comic Con Scene Points Out The Problems With Animation

It Contains A Familiar Face

Invincible season 2, episode 7 contains a Comic Con scene, with this scene pointing out the problems with the show's animation. At one point while at the Comic Con, Mark talks to one of the creators of a TV show based on the fictional Seance Dog comic series. Mark asks him when the new season of Seance Dog is releasing, with the comic book writer explaining that it will take a while for it to release, with him citing the problems with animation as the reason.

This conversation sees the writer explain some of the shortcuts that animators use, with him explaining that animated shows can do things like show the back of character's heads to avoid animating their mouths. While explaining this, the Invincible show shows examples of these exact shortcuts happening, with Mark and the writer covering their mouths while they talk. The writer then talks about things like cutting to wide shots as the show cuts to a wide shot. The writer even points out that some shots look like they're from a completely different show, leading to Mark Grayson being drawn differently.

Funnily enough, this character is actually modeled after Robert Kirkman, the creator of the Invincible comic series. Meta jokes like these are a common staple of Kirkman's works, so it only makes sense for them to pop up in the Invincible TV show. This conversation about Seance Dog was clearly a proxy for a conversation about Invincible's animation process, with this being one of the show's funniest scenes so far.

Invincible Season 2's Animation Quality Joke Continues In The Background

Eagle-Eyed Viewers Will Catch It

While this Invincible season 2 joke may seem like it's over when Mark leaves the comic book writer, the gag about the show's animation quality actually continues in the background. While at the comic convention, the same couple of extras keep reappearing in the background of shots, with extras cosplaying Naruto, pirates, and Doctor Who popping up in several different shots. This segment of the gag is more subtle, but it is a fantastic way to poke fun at the production cycle of Invincible.

This Invincible gag is also a direct call out to the show's audience, with it mocking many of the common criticisms brought up about Invincible season 2. Invincible's release gaps are one of the most commonly cited flaws with the show, but these time periods are necessary due to the very reasons that the character pointed out in the Invincible episode. This Comic Con character was clearly a self-insert designed to address some of these Invincible criticisms in a joking manner, which is why this gag scene is so funny.

Invincible's Comic Con Gag Adapts A Joke From Robert Kirkman's Original Comics

It Changes The Joke For TV

Interestingly, this Invincible season 2 joke isn't entirely unique to the show, as it actually adapts a joke from Robert Kirkman's original comics. Writer Robert Kirkman is known for sneaking meta references and jokes into his projects, and this was no different when he was writing Invincible. In one scene, Mark talks to the writer of a popular comic book series while at a g, asking him how he is able to produce so many comics. The writer responds by saying that he is reusing s to make illustrations easier, something that is happening on the page when the gag is taking place.

This Invincible gag is one of the most famous jokes from the comic series, with fans of the comics fondly ing this gag as a great bit of meta-humor. This style of meta humor hasn't been used in the Invincible TV show yet, but Invincible season 2's choice to include the Comic-Con scene showed that the series was paying homage to this classic comic book moment. Invincible season 2, episode 7's Comic-Con scene managed to update this gag for the medium of television, keeping the same heart of the joke while swapping out some of the details.

Does Invincible's Animation Actually Cut Corners?

And Is It A Bad Thing?

Due to Invincible season 2, episode 7 calling out these common animation tricks, some viewers are wondering if the Amazon show actually cuts corners. Things like hiding characters' mouths or cutting to simpler shots are done in nearly every animated TV series, and that includes Invincible. For example, later in the episode, Rick is seen talking with his back to the camera, with this potentially being interpreted as an animation corner cut in Invincible season 2.

There are also some famous examples of the Invincible TV show trying to get away with easier versions of shots when possible, with these also potentially being considered corner cuts. Scenes of characters flying often look like they are static images being slid around the screen rather than animated characters, with the former option making the series much easier to make. Cutting corners isn't necessarily a problem in animation as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on the audience's enjoyment of a show, and Invincible doesn't seem to be having that problem.