Prime Video's 16-Part Action Series Is The Perfect Mix Of Invincible & The Umbrella Academy

A 16-part action series on Prime Video seems to come off as the perfect combination of both Invincible and The Umbrella Academy's best aspects. In the superhero genre, Marvel and DC's small and big screen productions have always reigned supreme. However, shows like Invincible and The Umbrella Academy have proven that audiences are also drawn to more unconventional superhero stories.

While superhero tales focusing on the typical showdowns between good and evil will likely never lose appeal, audiences have expressed growing interest in stories that deconstruct the genre’s familiar tropes. This gradual shift in interest has allowed small screen comic book adaptations like Invincible and The Umbrella Academy to thrive.

Apart from The Umbrella Academy and Invincible, even The Boys and its spin-off, Gen V, proved to be incredible additions to the genre. Gen V, in particular, almost came off as a mishmash of some of the best elements from both The Umbrella Academy and Invincible.

As an extension of The Boys' universe, it retains the corporate-industrial superhero complex of its parent series. However, its heavy focus on the struggles of young supe characters makes it reminiscent of the "superpowered school/trauma" tropes that both Invincible and The Umbrella Academy walk through.

Much like Mark Grayson in Invincible, the young supes in Gen V are often hit with the realization that the heroes they once grew up idealizing were nothing but monsters in disguise. To capture this, both shows effectively use gore and extreme violence to show how god-like abilities often corrupt people in a fragile world.

Like The Umbrella Academy's characters, the young supes in Gen V find family and a sense of belonging among other misfits like them. Being with people who truly understand their struggles with their supe abilities eventually helps them deal with their deep-seated parental trauma and find their moral grounding in an increasingly immoral world.

Despite its similarities with Invincible and The Umbrella Academy, though, Gen V also manages to etch its own identity in the superhero genre. The way it captures the cynicism of the supe economy and how its extreme branding and PR harms young characters feels incredibly relatable and hard-hitting. Unfortunately, despite being a great superhero series, Gen V has been canceled after season 2.

Gen V Season 3 Not Happening Is A Major Disappointment After 2 Great Seasons

Spin-offs can often feel like forced extensions of existing franchises, especially in the superhero genre. However, Gen V proved to be a rare spin-off that even managed to be better than its parent show in more ways than one. While The Boys seemingly lost steam in season 4, Gen V delivered two near-perfect seasons that delivered self-contained stories with subtle references to the overarching franchise's story.

Gen V's viewership was significantly lower than that of The Boys, but the spin-off show made incredible use of its central characters' powers as effective metaphors for their coming-of-age traumas and struggles. With just two seasons, it also made viewers grow increasingly attached to its well-written young characters. Despite its strong two-season run, though, Gen V was canceled.

Given how Gen V has always been a subset of The Boys, many would argue that its cancellation should not be surprising. Since The Boys, too, is ending its run with season 5, Gen V should have no reason to exist beyond its parent series. However, the problem with its cancellation is that its characters are heavily ignored in The Boys season 5.

The spin-off was trying to set its main characters as some of the leading figures in The Boys season 5. Its protagonist, Marie, was even expected to become Homelander's biggest rival in The Boys' final outing. Surprisingly, even after six episodes in The Boys season 5, Gen V's characters have not even showed up once.

If they do in the last two episodes, they will likely get one-off cameos that will barely pay off their long-running arcs from two seasons. It is unfortunate that Gen V did not get the same treatment as The Boys, Invincible, and The Umbrella Academy. Even with two seasons, though, the Prime Video spin-off is easily one of the best small screen additions to the superhero genre.

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  Gen V

  

  8/10

  Release Date September 28, 2023

  Network Prime Video

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    Lizze Broadway

    Emma Meyer / Little Cricket

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  Invincible

  

  8/10

  Release Date March 26, 2021

  Network Amazon Prime Video

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    Mark Grayson / Invincible (voice)

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