A little of the old animated ultra-violence? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for TV shows you should be watching if you’re a fan of Amazon Prime’s “Invincible!”
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00:00 All that gratuitous violence, yuck!
00:02 This is why I don't like TV today.
00:04 Violence ups the dramatic effect.
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo,
00:07 and today we're counting down our picks for TV shows you should be watching
00:11 if you're a fan of Amazon Prime's "Invincible."
00:13 See? Now he'll tell me everything.
00:16 Okay, but you're gonna catch him, right?
00:18 Yeah.
00:19 Number 10, "The Awesomes."
00:23 It may not have the same levels of violence as "Invincible,"
00:26 but "Hulu's The Awesomes" does feature its own uniquely comedic look at superheroes.
00:30 It follows a replacement team of heroes after the original group breaks up.
00:34 Sounds like the new guardians of the globe from "Invincible."
00:37 Only here, the original team wasn't horrifically murdered by one of their allies.
00:41 I, uh, guess I better turn my head now and see how Gadget Gal is doing with that giant wombat.
00:45 Aww.
00:46 Wombat tired of minor trifles!
00:48 The show focuses on how the populace and media see them
00:51 as they struggle to make their dynamic work.
00:53 Co-created by Seth Meyers, it also stars a cavalcade of hilarious talent like Bill Hader,
00:59 Rashida Jones, and Kenan Thompson.
01:01 I thought you were too worried about Gadget Gal to hear origin stories.
01:04 Gadget Gal is going to die, and we should just come to terms with that.
01:07 Although its plotlines are much lighter than others on our list,
01:10 it is still worth your time.
01:11 No matter how fast I run, I'll never outrun my greatest enemy,
01:15 myself, because we run the same speed.
01:18 Number 9, "The Venture Brothers."
01:21 Often and correctly thought of as one of the greatest adult swim shows ever,
01:25 "The Venture Brothers" should delight fans of "Invincible."
01:28 [Gasp]
01:29 A ninja!
01:30 Quick, Dean!
01:31 Deploy the J-U-D-O!
01:33 It chronicles the adventures of the Venture family,
01:38 and leans much more heavily into parody.
01:41 Yeah, but I'm clearly Lando Calrissian here.
01:44 His weapons are smoldering sexuality and a reekish smuggler's charm.
01:48 So I'll seduce the Whomper, and then I'll sell you out to the Empire.
01:53 The show was created to not only pay homage to,
01:55 but also to make fun of sci-fi cartoons and superhero comics of the 1960s.
02:00 While it has a wildly different tone to "Invincible,"
02:03 it does focus on similar themes, and even features a serious moment or two.
02:08 We get elements of generational trauma and trying to distance oneself from your parents' actions,
02:12 similar to Mark's journey in his show.
02:15 With fantastic writing and animation, "The Venture Brothers" is definitely one to check out.
02:19 Wipe their pink little minds and send 'em back home like I told you!
02:22 They discover us every other week. I can't keep doing that. It's starting to make 'em buggy.
02:28 Number 8, "One Punch Man."
02:30 [Speaking Japanese]
02:32 If you're a fan of stunning fight sequences, over-the-top villains, and surprising twists,
02:43 well, there's probably a few anime you should be watching.
02:46 But for one with superheroes, we'd recommend "One Punch Man."
02:50 After training relentlessly for years,
02:59 Saitama has enough power to strike down any foe in a single blow,
03:03 contrasting with his completely average appearance.
03:06 With so much power, the series comically plays with his motivations
03:10 while still featuring deadly villains and persistent heroes.
03:13 In fact, it becomes a bit of a game to watch and see how long people can last
03:17 before they're punched into oblivion.
03:19 "One Punch Man" manages to make the lead character insanely powerful,
03:23 yet still has high stakes.
03:25 Number 7, "Pit Monkey."
03:34 While Marvel has been filling its world with new heroes through Disney+ shows,
03:38 Hulu has given us the adventures of a little-known character known as Hitmonkey.
03:42 As its name suggests, the show follows a monkey who works as an assassin.
03:46 And it brings all the absurd violence you would expect from that premise.
03:50 "Whoa, looks like the general was losing his battle with debt."
03:53 "You know, because of the bills."
03:56 "Because he owes money."
03:58 "Honestly, I feel like these are wasted on you."
04:00 With inspiration from Japanese animation and an extremely macabre sense of humor,
04:04 Hitmonkey sees the title character take on a criminal underworld
04:07 alongside the ghost of a spy voiced by Jason Sudeikis.
04:10 "Keep going, I got this."
04:12 "Oh, that's a rambling ghost."
04:14 It's as witty and silly as it is violent, which is to say, very.
04:18 Despite a lead that doesn't talk,
04:20 the show manages to make you root for Hitmonkey beyond him being an outlet for carnage.
04:24 Number 6, "Primal."
04:27 To be fair, there's a lot of work from animator extraordinaire Gendy Tartakovsky
04:31 that should be right up the alley of "Invincible" fans.
04:33 However, none of them features the same levels of brutality as "Primal."
04:38 Set in a world that injects a prehistoric setting with elements of fantasy,
04:42 it follows a caveman and his T-Rex friend trying to survive against whatever they come up against.
04:47 Despite that sounding like a kid's cartoon,
04:58 "Primal" can get incredibly dark.
05:00 And we aren't just referring to its violence.
05:03 The show also examines losing loved ones in incredibly traumatic ways
05:07 and perseverance against untold despair,
05:09 things that should certainly resonate with "Invincible" viewers.
05:12 In an era when most superhero shows were made for kids,
05:27 or at most whole families,
05:29 Todd McFarlane's "Spawn" walked so shows like "Invincible" could run.
05:33 After being betrayed and killed by a former ally,
05:35 assassin Al Simmons makes a pact in hell.
05:38 He returns to the living world,
05:40 but as the walking corpse known as "Spawn."
05:43 - Okay, now, speak.
05:45 - Who took her?
05:49 The series is exceptionally dark,
05:51 in everything from its plot lines to its grim art style.
05:54 It's also vicious,
05:56 as Spawn isn't the type of hero to really care about a criminal's well-being.
06:00 And the character was voiced flawlessly by Keith David.
06:03 - Why don't you tell me who I am?
06:06 Tell me.
06:09 Tell me who I am!
06:11 "Spawn" and "Invincible" have a bit more in common,
06:13 as they both came from Image Comics.
06:23 In adapting Konami's popular video game series,
06:26 Netflix brought plenty of gore and story depth to what was initially fairly light.
06:30 Following the death of his wife at the hands of the church,
06:33 Dracula wages war on all humanity.
06:36 Only a small group of heroes stands in the way of his nightmarish creatures and vampiric generals.
06:41 The adaptation has been praised for its gothic focus and crisp fight sequences,
06:45 which feature plenty of jaw-dropping flair.
06:48 The half-vampire Alucard's arc,
06:50 as he stands against his father's acts, is particularly good.
06:53 - No longer Adrian Tepes.
06:55 Choosing to be Alucard of Wallachia,
06:58 the name of my mother's people.
07:01 The whole show is a visceral tale of good versus evil,
07:04 with every combatant minor and major showcasing glorious magic or deadly combat prowess.
07:17 For bigger heroes and even bigger adventures,
07:20 it doesn't get much better than The Legend of Vox Machina.
07:23 Based on the campaigns of Dungeons & Dragons' web series Critical Role,
07:26 it follows the titular group as they attempt to bring peace to the land.
07:30 However, making that much harder are vampires,
07:33 dragons and all manner of power-hungry warriors.
07:36 The built-in chemistry between the cast translates wonderfully into an animated format,
07:41 making every performance stronger than the last.
07:43 - I've always wanted to try this.
07:46 [Dramatic music]
07:49 And because it's based on D&D,
07:58 you feel the highs of every Natural 20 and the despair of every Natural 1.
08:03 There's a real sense of urgency and camaraderie that even most superhero teams can't match.
08:08 - Safe to say you've sent Vox Machina to their doom?
08:11 - Doom? We don't know the meaning of the word.
08:14 - Well, I certainly don't.
08:16 Number 2 - Harley Quinn
08:18 - And I haven't seen an evil rising star like you since... well... since me!
08:23 Simply put, if you want another hilariously violent superhero cartoon,
08:27 you need to be watching Harley Quinn.
08:29 HBO's animated series focuses on the anti-hero's struggle to make a name for herself
08:33 following a nasty breakup with the Joker.
08:35 And while the character has grown increasingly popular in recent years,
08:39 this series is one of the strongest iterations.
08:42 - This weirdo is all gross and obsessed with his dumb dying wife.
08:45 - Some might call that love?
08:46 - Whatever!
08:47 With animation reminiscent of the groundbreaking Batman series of the 90s,
08:50 just with a ton of bloodshed and biting humor,
08:53 Harley Quinn is a thrill to watch.
08:55 It also has a stellar voice cast.
08:57 Performances from Kaley Cuoco as Harley and Alan Tudyk as both Joker and Clayface are especially great.
09:03 - [Laughs]
09:06 - [Screams]
09:07 - Puddin', even for you, that's a lot of maniacal giggling.
09:10 The world of DC hasn't been this much fun in years.
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09:28 Although it's the only live-action series on our list,
09:35 there are just too many similar elements between both shows to ignore.
09:39 In fact, chances are pretty good that if you like "Invincible,"
09:42 you've already seen all of the boys.
09:44 Not only do both shows feature excellent parodies of DC's "Justice League,"
09:48 but they also both examine themes of power and corruption, just with superheroes.
09:53 - Ashley, don't look at him, look at me!
09:55 - [Groaning]
09:57 - Ashley! Look at me!
10:00 - Sorry, sorry.
10:02 Not only that, but they both overflow with brutal fights,
10:05 plenty of gore and shocking twists that you will never see coming.
10:09 - That's good, right? - It is fantastic.
10:13 The boys became an instant hit upon release
10:15 and has only continued to climb the pop culture ladder
10:18 with two spin-offs already released, one of which is even animated.
10:23 - But let's be honest, it's not really a competition, is it?
10:26 - Ow!
10:28 What show would you recommend to "Invincible" fans?
10:30 Share them with us in the comments and be sure to subscribe for more great videos.
10:34 - Fake mark!
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10:44 [Outro music]