Below are spoilers for Invincible Season 3. If you're not caught up, you can stream the first six episodes with an Amazon Prime subscription now.
Invincible Season 3 is soaring across the 2025 TV schedule, offering the over-the-top action and emotional stakes the series has become known for. What's been different this time around, however, is the character Rex-Splode, who's voiced by Jason Mantzoukas. From rebuilding a team to cooking via a meal kit, Rex has had quite the journey this season, and I've grown to love him surprisingly. Which is why I was pleased to talk to Mantzoukas himself about the hero's evolution.
Mr. Manzoukas was kind enough to speak with CinemaBlend about the third season of the Robert Kirkman-created show. The comedian didn't hold back when talking about his love for the series and how, because he'd read the Invincible comics before being cast, he knew what was coming. Needless to say, he was hoping that Rex's "great story" would be told:
I wasn't sure he would be in the series, just because I didn't know how the series would unfold, but I had read the comics. So I was a fan of the Invincible comic book when it was coming out. I read that comic over the course of whatever it came out, 12, 15 years maybe. So I know the story. I know the story as it is in the comics, and it's a great story. It's a great story and it's a great story for Rex.
There's plenty going on in Season 3 of Invincible – from Omni-Man's big return to Mark and Eve's romantic relationship. All the while, Rex establishes himself as a standout character, as he (alongside some other Guardians of the Globe members) faces an uncertain future. Considering the character's layered arc, Jason Mantzoukas hilariously declared that this is a "Rex-Splode story" and, given how much I've enjoyed watching Rex's journey, I can't disagree:
In a lot of ways, Rex is the main character of the story, I like to think. Don't tell Robert I said that, but I think mostly this is a Rex-Splode story. So knowing that the whole story…knowing what this comic story was, I was like, 'I hope they get to tell the Rex story.' Because what's great about Robert's writing is that everybody gets growth. Every character, because it's so long-form, he gets around to giving everybody growth. So, yes, I had so much fun in those early seasons just being funny and brash and outrageous. And what a dick, the douche of the team. But boy, is it fun to now play a guy who's traumatized by the fight with the lizard league, trying to find a way to grow up.
During Season 2, both Rex-Splode and Shrinking Rae were nearly killed in a brutal fight with the Lizard League and, for a time, it felt like both were going to meet their makers. Somehow, they made it out, and Season 3 has only expanded on the trauma they've wrestled with since that fight. For Rex's part, he's made attempts to become a better teammate and person. And, in the process, he's become closer with Rae. Their plot threads have been entertaining to see.
It's more than evident that Invincible, at its core, represents the story of Mark Grayson. However, Jason Mantzoukas also opined that it serves as a "coming-of-age" tale for Rex as well, and his reasoning makes sense:
In a lot of ways, this is a coming-of-age story for Rexplode. He's young – I'm old, but he's young. So there's a dissonance when you look at me, and you think about a guy who's in his early 20's. But he's really young, and so he's just now trying to figure out empathy and being kind and generous to people, and that push-pull of who he was versus who he's becoming is super fun to play, and they write it beautifully.
Truthfully, I've never really like Rex that much, mostly because of his arrogant attitude and reckless behavior. He's put out a few fires in his time, but he's also started some. But Season 3 has really shifted my perspective on him. The assertion that this is a "coming-of-age" story for him also makes sense as, given his upbringing under the government, he was never really able to grow up in the traditional sense. Now that he's reckoning with his past and future, it's wonderful to see him gradually become one of the series' most multi-faceted characters.
As a whole, Invincible remains a perfect superhero show and is one of the best original shows on Amazon Prime in general. A big reason for that is the fantastic ways in which these characters are written. And, of course, the bloody action is enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Now, I'm eager to see what happens lies ahead for Rex (and I can't believe I actually said that). I love that Jason Mantzoukas is down for whatever comes next as well, and he's hoping that we'll see more growth from the actor's explosive character. Find out what happens by checking out new episodes of Invincible, which hit Prime Video on Thursdays.
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