Why Invincible's Angstrom Levy is a Fantastic Villain

Probably in my top 5 favorite villains ever. Yes I'm serious. Also there are no comic spoilers in this video so yea
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Triage at Dawn - Half-Life 2
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[@FactFace]

So the support on this video has been amazing and I can’t thank you all enough for it. I’m glad that this video turned out well and I hope my future ones will be even better. I’ve also enjoyed reading the other perspectives and things I missed and whatnot in the comments, so I appreciate that as well!

[@danic_c]

Even if Angstrom is completely within his right mind and wasn't insane, Debbie very clearly points out that the reason Angstrom could be targeting our Mark despite him being good is simply his ego. Angstrom blames our Mark for being the one that fucked up his perfect plan, and turned him into an abomination. Plus, he's jealous that in this one universe, Mark is a good guy whereas he's become a monster, both figuratively and literally.

[@magne7771]

The thing about Angstrom is, ANY ONE of those traumatic life-ruining experiences that the other versions of him went through, could have been enough to send someone into an incoherent rage. Something that changes the trajectory of their life, and who they are, forever. Where they ruminate on it, forever. Now take that, and combine that with another 999 Angstroms who would never, under any circumstances, due to their both rational _and_ irrational hatred for Mark, lift even a finger to save, help or protect ANY version of him- and then cram them all in the head of ONE guy who's potential greatest achievement was ripped away from him. This Mark being the sole heroic exception means nothing. His interference was the inciting incident, but like I said. Even a single ONE of those memories would be enough to make someone NEVER bend, when it comes to the object of their hatred.

[@Fiddlewinks]

Too much stress.

[@MagicalTowel42]

"Just because other beings have shorter lives, it doesn't mean their lives are worthless" Hits his character growth so perfectly!

[@EezySeven]

Am I the only one who thinks pre-mutation Angstrom sounded like a cult leader?

[@leafyishereisdumbnameakath4259]

Oh so he was always bad then...except that he saved invinicble

[@eileensnow6153]

He absolutely did. If Mark hadn’t shown up, if nothing had gone wrong with the machine, he still would’ve ended up a villain. He’s a dangerous man with superpowers and a massively inflated ego.

[@leafyishereisdumbnameakath4259]

@@eileensnow6153 true but he saved mark

[@bevin1609]

Nah, i kinda got those vibes. But he seemed more to want to do what he was doing for good?

[@amokriinprolgiid3409]

​@@eileensnow6153 the main angstrom was a self proclaimed pacifist before the machine blew up. He took off the helmet and ruined his own plan because he wasn't willing to let main invincible die, because he refused to build his world on blood. Yes, he definitely had an ego, yes he had plenty of reason to hate invincible from other universes. However, if his plan had actually worked and he was able to differentiate between his own memories and those of his hundreds of multiversal variants, he at the very least wouldn't have been trying to kill main invincible because he'd have no reason to and he'd have plenty of reason not to. Instead, he'd probably kill all the other ones, if he loses his pacifistic nature. Which, if his mind was filled with the atrocities of hundreds of evil invincibles, it's fair to assume he probably would. But, at least main invincible wouldn't be on the top of his shit list.

[@Gumbypokey100]

The scene where Angstrom was holding up Oliver while Debbie had her arm broken was just way too much tension. He felt like a real threat.

[@PramkLuna]

Especially with Oliver crying, his crying in that scene was spul crushing. He's alone with Angstrom with Debbie bleeding out and Mark nowhere to be seen and so sign of help

[@promeneuzivotu117]

​@@PramkLuna yeah and the way Angstrom's voice started cracking from rage was just phenomenal in that scene.His voice actor did a really great job.

[@NedInYaHead]

My take is that Angstrom's character is one who started with almost comically good intentions, but whose principles were so set in stone he caused an accident that disfigured him and left him mad, and this is interesting because this puts him at odds with the character of Cecil, being a practicalist willing to bend his morality but who never loses sight of the greater good, whereas Angstrom is a principlist who is much less flexible. I think it says something about Kirkman's ideals. Also I'm pretty sure the reason he only recruited himself is that he knew that it would make communication a lot easier, and that many versions of himself would be morally aligned. It could also be something to do with how he planned to fuse his alternate selves together.

[@pinecrustjuise]

wait till he brings an army of other dimension evil Marks to destroy our dimensions earth

[@thatsjustme2381]

Something you didn’t mention in the video was connection between Mark and Debbie’s bruises. They both share a striking resemblance that you’d think it was a birth mark passed from mother to son, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the animators reused the asset (so this might be me looking into it to much). After Mark committed the worst act he ever has, something his father would be proud of him for, he shares a bruise with his mother showing he is the combination of Nolan’s strength as a viltrumite and Debbie’s humanity as a person.

[@gameymcgamer847]

nolan also has that same bruise

[@electricisnthereatthemomen6535]

@@gameymcgamer847showing that he has ALSO gained humanity! It’s great symbolism

[@PramkLuna]

One of the most interesting things this episode did was NOT show Angstrom's dead body or any clips while killed him. Invincible has never been shy with gore, so making the deliberate action to not show him bloody and bruised just shows that he is very different than any character we've seen before. Angstrom may be a villain to Mark, but to the audience we're able to see the pain and anger Angstrom came from.

[@issacjones5440]

On at least one level, Angstrom is worse than The Joker, simply because he did what Joker's been trying to do for years, he made his arch nemesis lose control

[@rozbot86]

Angstrom was always my favorite villain from the comic. He's not the strongest, but he's the most interesting. I think the show did him justice.

[@erikpng]

As for the survivors thing, maybe they found the Mauler unconcious, saw that he was half burnt up and were like "Yeah, this blu**er is dead too."

[@mickflick8133]

What is blu**er?

[@erikpng]

@mickflick8133 you know, Immortal is old-fashioned, so he does not realize the cultural sensitivity of this word. But at least he's not one to shoot a blue**er in the back just because they're a blue**ger. Realized this joke doesn't work that well considering he was Lincoln.

[@seanmoran9383]

​@@mickflick8133yeah im wondering that as well

[@the_toxic2234]

Angstrom says with infinite knowledge of infinite universes there’s got to be a perfect system to spread across the multiverse

[@theserpent8667]

I think Angstrom was irredeemable. Sure, what happened to him was awful, but it happens because of his ego. And even when Debbie points out thst our Mark is a good person, he still refuses to believe it, and injures her. He is not only mentally unstable, but is very aware that he is doing wrong. We see Mark try literally everything, all possible forns of negotiation, but Angstrom refuses to stop. He was going to kill innocent people, not just out of revenge and hatred, but out of spite and ego. He *wanted* to.

[@ursidae97]

To me comparing invincible to the boys is like comparing Avatar to Avatar. You know, the other Avatar.

[@FactFace]

I actually had a whole two pages dedicated to why the two aren't comparable past the surface level of extreme violence and superheroes but I cut it out because it wasn't relevant to the topic of the video. I couldn't think of a better intro besides "I want to talk about Angstrom Levy" so I kept the part about people comparing them in the video as a sort of hook.

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

The Boys is made by someone who hates Superhero Genres, while Invincible is written by people who, while acknowledging the most grim and brutal aspects of the genre, still love superhero stories in spite of it

[@PramkLuna]

Do you mean ATLA to Avatar or ATLA to the live action of ATLA?

[@justjoshua5759]

Idk understand why we gotta shit on the boys narrative style when it’s just different but comparable. It’s deconstruction vs reconstruction with invincible. And this doesn’t make the boys retroactively worse for being more cynical and edgy since it’s written and presented as well in its themes and writing enjoyment. Been noticing this a lot with takes becoming black and white (this thing being good means this other comparable thing not being as good of a comparison is worse) when it’s just different

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

@@veronicapiccinini7956 I do wonder why someone who make a superhero series if they hate superheroes so much. Why put so much work into something you hate? I don't get it.

[@nickwittednonpareil]

"Utopias and dictatorships are basically opposite" This should age well as the show goes on. 😂

[@WiseOne367]

In the comics it shows angstroms face and you can REALLY tell why mark threw up in his mouth

[@lucasbroome1048]

They only show it later, but it was gross

[@WiseOne367]

@@lucasbroome1048 fr, face caved in and all

[@Neptunes_Bounty]

Which chapter was it again?

[@WiseOne367]

@@Neptunes_Bounty the first time they fight it’s issue 33, you see how badly mark did angstroms face in issue 60 - page 4

[@Neptunes_Bounty]

@@WiseOne367 Damn thats pretty not great. Makes you wonder if they have to look at accident victims photos to get that level of detail.

[@hxrmy]

you can read all the invincible comics online for free, but id get it if you wanted to read the physical versions

[@wooblydooblygod3857]

Angstrom had way too little screen time, so basically he just dies once he does his shit. When he’s on screen he’s cool, but wayyyy underutilized

[@moonboye3141]

He’s not dead

[@Cichyhub]

​@@moonboye3141bro..why are you spoiling?

[@elin111]

Worth noting that the Mauler that survived spells out that Angstrom's brain was being overloaded by too many memories at once so him becoming mentally unhinged is 100% justified.

[@jenath]

Damn cool video, really liked your analysis to the character. Also 2:20 lmfao

[@newrecru1t]

Angstrom is fascinating because he's quite literally the physical manifestation of Mark's sins across the multiverse, but much more so? The parallel to Mark's humanity in relation to evil as well. Angstrom is testing Mark's human side, pushing it and teasing out the lingering darkness within, because it's also all too human to go down the path of wrong when you believe you're Invincible and beyond accountability. This is what Mark is afraid of, not just that he's becoming his dad? But that he could be something much worse too. Mark believes he needs to be better to deserve the title of Invincible, because his power may come from his Viltrumite side, but his good/evil comes from his humanity too. The writing in this show is on point!

[@aaronatkinson177]

That just makes mark a more in depth character in my opinion 👍 😀

[@lucasbroome1048]

No no, you pronounced his name perfectly

[@dominicnetwork7452]

nah it’s pronounced “leave-e” in the show

[@lucasbroome1048]

@@dominicnetwork7452 The show fucked up. It's Leh-vee

[@immasleep8105]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@lucasbroome1048it’s a name, even if Levy is usually pronounced “leh-vy” that is not the case here. Names don’t always sound the same even if they are spelled the same + the show didn’t fuck up that’s exactly how they wanted it pronounced

[@lucasbroome1048]

@@immasleep8105 That doesn't work here though. Since most people who say General Kregg, some who haven't even read the comic, will say Craig instead of Kreeg. If they called Anissa Aneesa, I still would have called her the way the show did. Also they pronounced Thaddeus wrong. In the comic, it switched between Thaedus and Thaddeus

[@pinecrustjuise]

I dont like the pronunciation either but theres no way Kirkman would have allowed it if it was the incorrect pronunciation

[@kendrickglazer911]

Great video dude! Keep it up!

[@TurtleKingzxz]

I didn't remember why Angstrom was attacking Mark because the last time we saw him was 6 months earlier 😂

[@blucky7798]

As someone who has read the comic, "I thought you were stronger" is unironically one of my favorite moments in the entire series/story. It's an extremely impactful character moment and only really topped by one or two other moments in the comic that come later on.

[@Vitaphone]

Great video! I find it mildly ironic that you say those in power could end poverty… but in the next statement you show a genuine understanding of the complexities of ending war… just thought that was a neat detail.

[@Mustachioed_Mollusk]

He was never evil. First he was misunderstood then Angstrum lost his ability to understand reality. Kinda funny

[@anonymousartist4498]

the fact this doesn't have more likes/views surprises me youtube algorithm did you dirty

[@ness4life]

DAMN THAT DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN MARK AND OMNI MAN IS INCREDIBLE😤🔥

[@Outspokenbean]

This analysis is poetry.

[@seanobrienplays688]

9:45 Triage at Dawn? Wow, I thought I liked this video, now I love it!

[@erikpng]

9:58 aye, yo, what's with Triage At Dawn?! I love Half-Life too.

[@FactFace]

I wanted some background music that fit with talking about the aftermath of Mark killing Angstrom and because Half-Life 2 is one of my favorite games Triage at Dawn came to mind

[@erikpng]

@@FactFace you sir have fine taste and fine videos.

[@imperialproductions3060]

Lets go people just like me which i cant tell if thats a good thing or bad thing especially of what were talking about

[@matthewdunford1820]

Yeah man that’s how I say it too. That or Levi. Cause “Leevee” is a crazy weird surname.

[@FactFace]

I actually originally said it as "Leevee" but I thought that sounded weird so I went back and re-recorded some parts into "Leve" but then while I was editing I saw that it is indeed pronounced as "Leevee" in the show so I was just like I'll add a disclaimer.

[@loganchill5661]

great video

[@gretsky3463]

After this season I went ahead and started reading the comic. It’s amazing

[@cool123443210]

All those people writing the show off cause they think he's dead and was a completely useless villain would never understand what we do.

[@gretsky3463]

@@cool123443210 I hope no who hasn’t read sees this lol

[@Gauge763]

Another reason why angstrom chose our mark is because he was probably the weakest mark that isn’t dead yet.

[@4p0lla90]

I just dawned the fact that Rick Sanchez may be a caricature of Armstrong Levi

[@NyxDiscordia33]

Algorithm W congrats! great video, by the way

[@_Avstin_]

I like the use of triage at dawn, good taste

[@javierperezmerino9457]

Armstrong fitted perfectly with the themes presented this season

[@thenonartist4366]

Very much agree. I have no idea if he reappears in the comics or not (because i havent read them) but I felt like Angstrom was underutilized in season 2.

[@FactFace]

I wish he was in the show more. I really like what we got but 99% of it was in the first and last episodes. I think it would have been nice to have seen more of Angstrom's rebuilding of his body and his preparation of the fight before the season finale.

[@Modeloman8]

It's comparable to the boys because it's a show based off a comic. Made for adults

[@thecanadianfood]

Angstrom is easily my favorite villain in Invincible. With R[REDACTED]t and D[REDACTED]s as close seconds. No spoilers, gotta read those comics to know who I am talking about.

[@horse14t]

Thank you for being considerate 🙂

[@antogno4625]

I recognized the first name, can you tell me what the second one is? (Put a spoiler alert for people who haven't read the comics)

[@Cichyhub]

​@@antogno4625(spoilers) Dinosaurus

[@yummy_the_braix]

Fr though the guardians are incompetent as fuck lmao

[@tyrannosaur6265]

Angstrom’s greatest contribution is the Invincible war, the premise that Mark is evil most of the time is more interesting than his entire character. The fact he gets talked down and ‘comes to his senses’ at the end of the arc after Mark shows him mercy for the 100th time was such a weak ending, Conquest arriving is so exciting because theres finally a capable villain people are afraid of.

[@Davi.A.B.2004]

Angstrom Levy is a tragic character. People like to treat Angstrom as the worst person in the world, that he is irredeemable. Nonsense. These are the same people who want a redemption arc for Omni-Man (who did much worse things than Angstrom). Furthermore, his actions are much more understandable considering that he has the mind of 1000 alternative versions who suffered at the hands of the Invincible.

[@thelastbrickbender2139]

My problem is his origin it was entirely his own fault his plan didn’t work, he caused these mutations through his own stupidity despite supposedly being smart, it just screams plot convenience

[@lightyearpig12]

#StanDebbie

[@Ypacc0]

11:07 - 11:20 🤌🏿

[@zackwalker1789]

The way you pronounce his name is how I always imagined it was pronounced when I read the comics. It really annoyed me when the show pronounced his name like leevee

[@lilpapipaps5029]

It's too bad he only appears in two episodes and while he's gone nothing happens with his storyline

[@pinecrustjuise]

this is the entire point of his preliminary plot, hes meant to blindside the viewer.

[@alexandresousa690]

I think you pronounced levy right

[@lplsupersports]

Nope, he didn't. It's pronounced Lee-vee, not le-vi.

[@lucasbroome1048]

@@lplsupersports I actually think Amazon just didn't pronounce it right when saying it

[@ueIl]

Yakub

[@aarongold7220]

I think angstrum is a good villain up to the point the show is in. Later on he just doesn't make sense.

[@ueIl]

He even invented white people

[@meowcow21]

He's not

[@brycehensley3241]

Kinda of a spoiler but assuming there following the comics at least somewhat he actually liver

[@JulianTheJedi]

You want a tease for season 3? Comic spoiler don’t read if you don’t want a spoiler Angstroms not dead

[@LilyNotDoffen]

Angstrom could deserve "it" but mark did not deserve "it"

[@enickma910]

I maintain the show pronounces Levy wrong, not you. They also pronounce Thragg wrong. I know Robert Kirkman is on the show and would have signed off on the pronunciations but you know what? He's wrong too!

[@thekrakensdaughter]

was thragg even mentioned in the show?

[@enickma910]

@@thekrakensdaughter my b i meant kregg

[@ExpertPenguin]

It’s the way they’re pronounced. The creators of the show aren’t getting their own characters names wrong in a multimillion dollar production seen by hundreds of eyes before you even get to. You have been getting them wrong for years because you never heard them aloud. Deal.

[@enickma910]

@@ExpertPenguinThis isn't the time or place for a discussion like this but in the modern age of hollywood ruining existing things for money (not saying invincible falls in this category, it very much doesn't) I have made my peace that "canon" doesn't have to be decided by who paid the highest bid for the property. I can accept it how I want it to be. The star wars sequel trilogy didn't happen, picard died happy on his vineyard, and Levy is pronounced Leh-vee.

[@ExpertPenguin]

Cope. None of this has anything to do with Invincible the show. The author and writer of the show is the exact same from the comic book. His direct input and involvement with the entire production isn’t wrong. Dozens of table reads, acting takes, and recording sessions are not “getting it wrong”. The names are pronounced as you hear it in the show. Robert Kirkman is not wrong. You are.

[@EpsilonThirteen]

this guy was lame af whatchu mean

[@Essentialanimations]

Explain

[@Thdarkonex3]

In no way shape or form is he a fantastic villian . He literally got brainwashed into believing that every version of mark is evil . And that’s his motivation. The overrated joker has better villian origin story than this man . Yes yes I get that he watched his family life be ruined across dimensions but once he realized that oh shit this mark is actually good he should’ve stopped . And yes I get he has memories of all his dimensions but still it’s a stupid reason for him to keep being “evil “ .

[@Cichyhub]

he isnt attacking this mark cuz he think hes evil. hes attacking him because of what he thinks he did to him. but in the end its all projection and its very realistic, alot of people are like that in real life and you cant argue with them

[@kniky_]

No. It's not a fantastic villain. Far from that