Mark Grayson and Samantha Eve Wilkin’s budding relationship had a weird hurdle to cross in the original comic.
As far as comic book adaptations go, Invincible has been firing on all cylinders adapting Robert Kirkman‘s popular series for television. As with previous seasons, season three of the Prime Video show maintains its balanced approach to the gory and contemplative comic by providing characters with more development, and omitting moments that have not aged well from the comics. Chief among these are the obstacles in Mark Grayson and Samantha Eve Wilkin’s budding relationship.
In the three-episode premiere of Invincible season 3, we see Mark Grayson come to blows (literally and figuratively) with conflicts of interest within his superhero duties and his domestic and romantic life. While the former has yet to resolve themselves completely, the latter managed to eek its way toward progress as he and Atom Eve finally became a couple. Granted, it came at the behest of best friend William Burke, who advises Mark not to tell Atom Eve that his confession was prompted by encountering a future version of herself who implored him to give Eve a straightforward answer to avoid a lifetime of misery. Nevertheless, the two had an endearing heart-to-heart conversation (after Eve questioned whether he wanted to date her out of guilt), held hands, and shared a kiss.
Although Eve and Mark becoming a thing wasn’t surprising to Invincible‘s ensemble, including the latter’s ex Amber (who was simply relieved they didn’t start dating a day after their break up), the comic’s sequence of events for their cathartic coupling came with more obstacles. Much of them were more grating and drawn out than they were endearing. For starters, Eve ended up dating William–y’know, Mark’s gay friend–while he was dating Amber. If that relationship reads as superfluous, it wasbecause much of their coupling felt less romantic and more as a means to make Mark jealous. The two wouldn’t date long, though things took a turn for the worse when Eve’s jealousy over Mark and Amber’s relationship culminated in a spontaneous kiss between her and Mark right after Langstrom made his return.
SOOO glad they drew this out a lot more rather than just… this.. https://t.co/uW4AaeKRbN pic.twitter.com/MfOjkq68X9
— Gucci 👽 (❗️INVINCIBLE S3 SPOILERS❗️) (@guccithealien) February 6, 2025
In the comics, this occurs after Eve invites Mark and Amber to Africa after she retires from heroing. When Mark and Amber break up following Anissa’s life-threatening attack, Eve, with the grace of a bull in a china shop, busts into Mark’s dorm and asks if he’s gonna ask her out. This is where the two have a semblance of the Prime show’s heart-to-heart, and Eve storms out before Mark can give a concrete answer. From here on, Mark and crew fight Doctor Seismic, as they do in the show, and Mark and Eve become a couple.
Invincible is a series that comes with the caveat of being “of the times” of its release, with characters like Willaim’s queerness being more of a punchline than a respected element of his character in the early goings of the comic. Although Robert Kirkman’s version of events with Mark and Eve’s relationship is steeped in page-turning soap opera drama that had its issues flying off the shelves, many fans have been rejoicing over the show not adapting its antics beat for beat. Aside from the #MarkEve of it all, fans are voicing their appreciation online for the show continuing its winning streak of adapting the comic’s female characters, like Eve, Amanda, and Debbie Grayson, beyond using their experiences to further Mark’s character development.
Although Mark and Eve’s relationship in the Prime Video show carries the unique burden of the Invincible fandom’s criticism for relegating the disposable Black girlfriend trope—with their relationship serving as a placeholder for future relationships through its race-swapped Amber—the show has continued to adapt Kirkman’s comic with great care. Time will tell whether the show will maintain its momentum by depicting nuanced and mature storytelling with its ensemble’s interpersonal relationships as it marches toward its season finale on March 13 and beyond with its fourth season.
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