TV Review: Invincible Goes to Hell in Episode 4
And Damian Darkblood Returns. Hurm…
If there was ever going to be a “fun filler episode” of Invincible this season, this would be it.
After everything Mark Grayson has undergone over the last few episodes, the show shifts gears and sends him somewhere unexpected: Hell. This is the episode brings back Hellboy Damien Darkblood for what essentially becomes a supernatural side quest.
Why it’s happening is that the underworld is in the middle of a revolution. Satan himself — voiced by one of my favorite persons to have ever interviewed, the groovy Bruce Campbell — is about to be overthrown by a powerful Vile named Volcanikka.
She’s leading an uprising with a dangerous goal: restoring her people and unleashing them back into the surface world, essentially ending all life as we know it.
Darkblood needs help stopping her, so he summons a hero. Hoping for Omni-Man, instead, he gets his closest of blood relatives, Mark Grayson.
And that mismatch becomes part of the episode’s charm.
Bruce Campbell is Satan
The biggest standout this week is easily Bruce Campbell as Satan. Campbell leans fully into the role in the best way possible, and hearing Campbell/Satan proudly scream, “I’m looking big. I’m looking mean. I’m looking hot. Ohhhh yeah!” is the ridiculous sort of fun that makes the episode.
The setting also gives the animation team a lot to play with. Hell is chaotic, fiery, and filled with massive action beats, making this one of the more visually fun episodes of the season. Let alone while listening to Slayer’s “Reign of Blood” as the entire episode gets metal.
That said, the episode also sneaks in a surprising amount of lore. Hell isn’t the ultimate evil humans imagine. Long ago, demons helped defeat ancient beings called the Vile—immortal relentless horrors that once ruled existence. Demons now keep them imprisoned through eternal torment, which is how Hell earned its reputation in the first place.
A weird but fascinating twist on the mythology.
A Lesson for Mark
At its core, the episode is an introspective one becoming another test for Mark.
Still struggling with the violence he’s been forced into this season, Mark questions why he keeps fighting and whether he’s becoming something he doesn’t want to be. Darkblood ends up serving almost as a reluctant mentor, pushing Mark to accept a difficult truth: sometimes being a hero means choosing the lesser evil.
Helping Satan reclaim the throne isn’t exactly heroic. But letting Volcanica release the Vile would be far worse.
So Mark makes the call.
And once again, he’s forced to cross a line.
It’s a smaller, stranger episode compared to the rest of the season, but it reinforces something Invincible keeps returning to: that the fights never really end. Every victory opens another door, every solved problem reveals something bigger waiting behind it.
Still, if we’re going to take a detour along the way, one with Bruce Campbell playing Satan isn’t a bad place to stop. Hail to the king, baby.
All episodes of Invincible are available to stream on Prime. New episodes air on Wednesdays at midnight PST.