Superhero Fatigue? Robert Kirkman Believes the Genre Just Needs a Refresh

In recent years, the superhero film and television landscape has faced uncertainty, with concerns about "superhero fatigue" following the underperformance of major Marvel releases. However, Robert Kirkman, co-creator, co-showrunner, and executive producer of the acclaimed animated series "Invincible," remains confident in the genre's future.

"I don't think superhero fatigue is a real thing, but I do believe that the superhero storytelling genre has become so prevalent that it's reached a point where it's no longer fresh or novel," Kirkman said at the Los Angeles premiere of "Invincible" Season 3.

He emphasized the need for creators to innovate and differentiate their superhero projects: "You can't just be a superhero show and not have anything special about you anymore because I think the novelty has worn off. But that's really exciting to me, because now it means that everyone is so familiar with superheroes that you can push things in interesting directions."

Jay Pharoah, who reprises his role as Bulletproof/Zandale Randolph in Season 3, echoed Kirkman's sentiments. "I think it's become so popular so quickly because of the ability to connect with the characters. In the superhero realm, it's easy to forget characters. Like who cares when he's gonna blow up?" he said.

The new season of "Invincible" continues the trajectory of Kirkman's original comic book series, following Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) as he mentors his younger half-brother, Oliver (Lincoln Bodin) and navigates complex relationships with Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins) and his family.

Yeun highlighted the show's nuanced portrayal of Mark's growth: "The beauty of the show is that it keeps evolving and pushing the narrative of this particular guy as he's growing up ... At one moment, you're screaming at your dad as a teen, and at another second, you're scolding your younger brother in the same way."

Gillian Jacobs, who has portrayed Atom Eve/Samantha Eve Wilkins since Season 1, credits Kirkman's writing for the show's success: "I love how everything that happens on the show continues to reverberate for episodes and seasons to come. It really feels like a world in which whatever these characters do, there's consequences to it and they're really grappling with it."

Despite its violent action, "Invincible" also explores grounded human stories, according to Khary Payton, who returns as Black Samson/Markus Grimshaw: "'Invincible' is all about family and I think when you're doing it right, it's always about family. Batman is still about the kid in the alley, Superman is still about that kid on the farm. The real stuff."

"Invincible" Season 3 premieres its first three episodes on Thursday, Feb. 6, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly on Prime Video.