Comic books have never been afraid to splash the red ink across their pages, but when it comes to the world of superhero adaptations, movies and TV shows often tread the line between being faithful to the source material and slapping a family friendly rating on these projects.
Box office returns have steered this trend, with studios usually afraid to go for that taboo R-rating, and the likes of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen failing to make good on its return as a consequence (at least in part). Still, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe struggle to get the balance right, Amazon hasn’t been afraid to (quite literally) punch through the competition with its live-action and cartoon comic book capers.
Two worlds collide
With complaints that the MCU has lost its way and James Gunn’s DCU is doomed before it’s even started, Amazon is sitting pretty with Eric Kripke’s The Boys and Robert Kirkman’s Invincible. Although one is adapted from WildStorm/Dynamite Entertainment’s comic series and the other from Image Comics’, it doesn’t take the Vought International marketing team to figure out a crossover between The Boys and Invincible could be a money-making cash cow.
It’s something that’s apparently been mulled at the top of the tower, with Kirkman coyly saying, “We could,” when asked if the two worlds might collide at New York Comic-Con 2023. Although he doesn’t go any further than that, it’s enough to get fandom pumped that these crimson-splashed comic book capers could soon collide. By the sounds of it, it’s been broached between both sides, as Skybound shared a video of Kirkman confirming he’s spoken to The Boys Producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The pair apparently conceded that Antony Starr’s Homelander would get his ass whooped by J.K. Simmons’ Omni-Man.
It might not be as farfetched as it seems–let’s remember the Invincible comics had a Spider-Man crossover in 2006’s Marvel Team-Up #14/Invincible #33. There was also a DC cameo from Batman in Invincible #33, while Mark Grayson/Invincible again hops through dimensions in The Tick #100. For now, it’s clear The Boys and Invincible inhabit two very universes, with the supers of the former’s world created by Compound V and those from the latter born with their extra-normal abilities.
Conveniently, Invincible Season 2 features Sterling K. Brown’s Angstrom Levy, who happens to boast multiversal powers. Even if it’s as simple as having Mark leap through a montage of universes like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it can sow the first seeds of a crossover between The Boys and Invincible. At least we know Invincible isn’t afraid to acknowledge other worlds, with the premiere containing a subtle Easter egg to Kirkman’s most famous work, The Walking Dead — along with a who’s who of TWD favorites lend their vocals to the cartoon.
Not always a supe-r idea
Despite fans going wild(storm) over the idea of a crossover between Invincible and The Boys it’s not that simple. Back in 2022, Invincible lead Steven Yeun downplayed the idea and bluntly told ComicBook.com, “Nope,” when asked if he ever thought there’d be a crossover. It seems like a tongue-in-cheek promo of his movie, Nope, although he isn’t alone in his skepticism.
Over on Reddit, opinions are split, with one critic writing, “It would be interesting but definitely feels like the world as Invincible portrays it would break The Boys universe,” and another adding, “Cool idea but it wouldn’t work. Live-action and animated would seem kind of [a] weird mix. And then there is the overall tone each series convey[s] which would probably not blend well.”
It’s true that, for starters, a crossover between these worlds would most likely have to work in animated form. Yeun is a lot older than the character of Mark Grayson in Invincible, not to mention other mainstays like Gillian Jacobs (Atom Eve) not exactly being dead ringers for their cartoon counterparts.
But thankfully The Boys is no stranger to animation, with most of its cast reprising their roles for the animated series The Boys Presents: Diabolical. The cartoon anthology had several wacky tales, with future episodes easily being able to host an Invincible crossover. Speaking to Collider about the potential of Diabolical Season 2, Rogen explained, “Actually, they bought some scripts for the next season, so we’ve been writing … if everything goes as planned, they will produce the scripts that we are writing right now.”
Diabolical presents some interesting prospects, as not all of it’s considered canon. The Homelander origin story of “One Plus One Equals Two” is, while the Rick and Morty-esque “An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents” isn’t. A crossover episode of Invincible could be something akin to a Marvel’s What If…? without screwing with either series too much.
Spandex and the silver screen
There’s also the long-gestated live-action version of Invincible, which will likely be recast for the silver screen. Kirkman told Entertainment Weekly that the movie adaptation will exist in a separate universe to Amazon’s series. Although it’s been in the works since 2017, there’s no word on casting. There have been calls for Jeffrey Dean Morgan to play Omni-Man if Simmons isn’t willing to get Justice League jacked again, although that might be a problem as he’s starring in The Boys Season 4.
Still, Imagine Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher appearing in a post-credit scene of the Invincible movie, calling everyone the c-word, and then cutting to black. This stuff practically writes itself. This cast of the live-action Invincible movie could appear in The Boys, but with Kripke’s series only tipped for a five-season run and little movement on the project, time seems to be running out on this one. Circling back to animation, Invincible Season 1 debuted in March 2021 and eventually dropped Season 2 in November 2023. Having been renewed for at least a third season back in April 2021, it’s sure to dip further into its multiverse arc.
Importantly, both universes are expanding. Kripke has a master play for the Boysverse, with Vernon Sanders, head of television at Amazon and MGM Studios, telling EW, “We believe in Eric, and if Eric is interested in continuing the story, we’ll be the first ones in line to really work with him on what that is.” Similarly, Kirkman has been honest about wanting more Invincible spin-offs in the vein of Atom Eve, telling IGN, “It’s nice to be able to have this side episode that spotlights a cool character, so I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to do more, and I’m very thankful that we got to do this one.”
We’re already getting a crossover in a different way, with NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat 1, adding Homelander and Omni-Man as DLC fighters. If seeing these two sadistic superheroes beat the living snot out of each other doesn’t have you pumped for a crossover, then can you really consider yourself a fan of either IP? It doesn’t sound like we’ll be getting a full-blown crossover series where Butcher and company butt heads with the Global Defense Agency every week, but in terms of one-off specials or at least acknowledging each other, things are looking positive.
As for Invincible crossing over with The Boys, maybe we should call this series Inevitable.
Based in Manchester, UK, Tom Chapman has over seven years’ experience covering everything from dragons to Demogorgons. Starting out with a stint at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom has since branched out to indulge his love of all things Star Wars and the MCU at Digital Spy, Den of Geek, IGN, Yahoo! and more. These days, you’ll find Tom channelling his inner Gale Weathers and ranting about how HBO did us dirty with Game of Thrones Season Eight.
