One thing that stands out about Invincible Season 3 is how troublesome the landscape has been for Steven Yeun’s Mark Grayson. He had to deal with gang warfare between Titan, Machine Head and Mr. Liu’s Order. He then had to contend with a villain who didn’t really have his druthers: Aaron Paul’s Powerplex.

Powerplex is really a scientist known as Scott Duvall, but his background is tragic and laced with pain. This allowed Invincible to do its own take on a dark arc from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, improving on the DCEU narrative by adding a lot more emotion and unpredictability.

What Was Batman v Superman’s Dark Arc?

Batman Wanted Superman Dead for the Destruction of Metropolis

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Invincible Once Killed an Important Ally In a Dystopian Alternate Reality – And It Had Dire Repercussions

The Invincible comics had a scary arc unfold 17 years ago that saw Mark Grayson kill a colleague and nosedive into a depressing identity crisis.

In Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman, the opening scene showed Bruce Wayne in Metropolis. This was a flashback to 2013’s Man of Steel when Superman and General Zod tore the city apart during their fight. Bruce saw buildings collapse and people die. He rescued a young girl in the disaster, which left him remembering how he lost his parents to Joe Chill. From then on, The Dark Knight hated the Man of Steel and viewed him as a criminal.

Bruce despised how the military and government didn’t hold Superman accountable, and plotted on his own to kill him. That’s why the Caped Crusader stole Kryptonite from Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor, built his arsenal and devised a plan to hunt the Kryptonian down. The finale had Batman almost stabbing and killing Superman with a Kryptonite spear, only for the “Martha!” line to shock Bruce into reality and walk him back from the dark side. In time, Batman would work with Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League against villains like Doomsday, Lex and Apokolips’ forces led by Steppenwolf.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice Ratings

It was a very harrowing arc that refined what Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns accomplished. Snyder borrowed the mech-Bat suit from there, though Miller’s Batman fought Superman in an act of rebellion after the Kryptonian became a government agent. The problem with Snyder’s version, however, was that Batman was uncharacteristically unintelligent. All he needed was to converse with Superman and talk about the Zod incident.

Superman hadn’t donned his costume for a long time, so he was inexperienced fighting Zod’s army. Batman should have easily seen the merit in having a savior like that on Earth’s team. Instead, Snyder threw all logic out the window to shape the feud. The fact that Superman killed Zod and destroyed the technology needed to birth more Kryptonians said it all: Superman was not an enemy.

Invincible’s Powerplex Has a Flawed Yet Relatable Batman Arc

Scott Duvall Wants Mark Grayson Dead for Killing His Family in Chicago

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Invincible Season 3 Gives the Guardians of the Globe a New Enemy at the Worst Time

The Invincible Season 3 premiere creates a dangerous new enemy that arrives at a time when the Guardians of the Globe are in dire straits.

Invincible Season 3, Episode 6 opens with a flashback just like Batman v Superman. It shows Scott playing with his niece, Gretchen, and bonding with his sister, Jessica. The latter raised him in a tough childhood. Unfortunately, this scene was set in Chicago where Invincible and Omni-Man fought similarly to Superman and General Zod. They wrecked the city, which led to Scott’s kin dying. Lisa and Gretchen were the people Invincible failed to save in that heartbreaking Season 1 scene.

Since then, Scott has harbored rage like Bruce. He somehow felt he could have saved them, when in reality, guilt was festering inside him because he was completely helpless. The present shows Scott as a scientist inside the Global Defense Agency. He hates how the authorities didn’t reprimand Scott. Even his colleagues deem Invincible as someone the planet needs. Mark is propped up as this messiah and a godlike figure who has free rein.

It’s the exact thing that angered Snyder’s Batman. Scott proceeds to steal some discs from the GDA to amplify his own power and can generate electricity, but he needs to absorb kinetic energy first. With these discs implanted, the more he’s hit, the more he can fire off at the enemy. Notably, while Alfred tried to talk Batman down, Scott is emboldened and empowered by his wife, Becky. She is just as much consumed by rage, which is disappointing as they’re focused on the vendetta and less on trying to be happy with their infant son, Jack.

From Scott’s point of view, superheroes cause chaos and they must die. It’s a harsh perspective, but because Becky embodies the same mindset, Scott is all in. He even rehearses lines in his costume as he becomes Powerplex. Becky coaches him to be better as well, crafting a sympathetic yet toxic dynamic. Unfortunately, when Scott tries to fake a scene where Becky and Jack are hostages, he loses control of his powers fighting Invincible. Powerplex kills his family and ends up in jail, depressed but still wanting revenge on Invincible.

How Does Invincible Improve Batman v Superman’s Story?

Powerplex Is More Flawed, Human and Personally-Invested In Killing His Superhero Target

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Invincible’s Most Unhinged Enemy Helped Create the Ultimate Victory

The Invincible comic had one key event occur that proved Mark Grayson’s most insane ally was the one who helped the Coalition of Planets the most.

It all comes down to the victim’s mentality. Batman was an experienced hero who should have known better than trying to hurt someone who defended Earth. Scott, on the other hand, is as human as can be and doesn’t know any better. Thus, when he loses his family in Chicago, it’s understandable (not condoned) that he’d go off the rails. This creates more conflict in him. The fact his wife backs him makes him more obsessed, too.

They’re hurting as a pack, which reduces the chance for introspection. The fact the powers-that-be tell him to let it slide and absolve the concept of godlike superheroes drives Scott on even more. He doesn’t understand being the bigger man or being the paragon of virtue and justice. All he knows is to do what any ordinary person would do. He doesn’t even have billions or the resources that Batman does.

Scott steals from his lab to achieve his mission, which feels much more relatable and grounded. If it’s Batman, plot convenience will always give him the technology to succeed. But viewers are more drawn to seeing Powerplex fumble and fail, escape and hatch new plans. He has to keep trying. It feels like a bit of dark comedy as he keeps resetting his project. It’s not an idealistic war at all. It does revive the theme of accountability that DC fine-tuned later on in terms of collateral damage and mass casualties. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially with the Avengers, tried to reduce innocents being hurt in the line of fire, setting the gold standard for superhero movies and TV shows.

Invincible Season 3 is not about that. It’s about death and destruction, and Scott wanting Invincible to pay. Mark isn’t a guardian angel, but an alien devil, which crafts a more personal story in Scott’s eyes. This is why it’s hard to judge Powerplex when he’s in prison. The discs cannot be removed or he’ll die. He, therefore, has these instruments inside him poisoning his mind on a constant basis. It’s such a punishing situation, and in the end, Scott is not in a spot to garner clarity like Batman after accidentally sacrificing his own. Atonement won’t be on the table because he can’t let go. Powerplex is fuming in his cell, growing more incandescent by the minute, and even blaming Mark for his wife and son’s deaths. It teases a lot more havoc down the line, as Powerplex continues to be an extremist, yet flawed, less-capable version of Batman.

Prime Video debuts new episodes of Invincible every Thursday.