Kirkman is one of the co-showrunners of the animated Prime Video series that adapts his Invincible comics. While the show has been faithful to the source material in many respects, changes have been made along the way, with Kirkman sometimes explaining why these alterations are for the better. Another significant change occurs in season 4, episode 5, which is that the hero known as Tech Jacket is revealed to be a young woman named Zoe when she was a young man named Zach in the comics.
In an interview with Den of Geek, Kirkman explains that this change was made because he realized Zach from the comics would feel too similar to Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) in the animated series. It was subsequently decided that the character would be gender-swapped, which opened the door for some “exciting things” down the line. Check out Kirkman’s comments below:
When it came time to introduce Tech Jacket, I realized that if we had brought him straight to comics, he’d be very similar to Mark.
We decided early on that it would be interesting to gender swap this character. We started thinking about who Zoe would be instead of Zach. There are some exciting things that come up when you change that character.
Kirkman went on to praise the actor who voices Zoe, noting that “The vibrancy of that character and the energy that she brings is so much more affecting coming from Zoey Deutch. She’s just a really, really cool character that we’re having a ton of fun with.”
Co-showrunner Simon Racioppa was also impressed by Deutch’s performance and enthused about the change: “She’s incredible. She came in and knew the character. She’s so professional and fun to work with, and she has a great sense of humor, because the character is fun. They go through things, but she has great jokes, great one-liners, and Zoey just delivers on all that. We could not be more delighted when we cast her for the show.”
Tech Jacket first appears during Invincible season 3, episode 7. The character is also set up to return earlier in season 4 as a hero on Earth who could be recruited in the war against the Viltrum Empire due to the suit having been designed to fight Viltrumites. However, it is not until season 4, episode 5 that the show reveals the person wearing the suit is named Zoe. After being recruited by Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen), she leaves Earth and joins him, Mark, and other individuals committed to the cause.
The introduction of Zoe comes after Invincible season 4, episode 4’s changes from the comics, which proved to be divisive. The episode revolves around a storyline not in the source material, in which Mark goes to Hell to help Damien Darkblood (Clancy Brown), and it has the series’ all-time lowest IMDb score with a 6.8/10. As of this writing, episode 5 has a 9.8/10, the second highest to date in the show’s run, indicating that the Tech Jacket change will not be as controversial.
With Zoe hiding inside her suit with Allen after a brutal fight with the Viltrumites, and the two of them separated from their allies, there is more story to come from her, which will feature some of the “exciting things” Kirkman teases. There are three episodes left in Invincible season 4, season 5 has already been renewed and recorded, and Zoe has only just become a part of the Coalition of Planets’ fight against the Viltrum Empire.
Episode 5 also teases a potential connection forming between Zoe and Oliver (Christian Convery) that could become pivotal to her story. Along with Zoe, Mark, Oliver, and Allen, the heroes fighting with the Coalition of Planets in Invincible season 4 include Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), Thaedus (Peter Cullen), Telia (Tatiana Maslany), Space Racer (Winston Duke), and Battle Beast (Michael Dorn).
Invincible releases new episodes Wednesdays on Prime Video.
- Release Date
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March 26, 2021
- Network
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Amazon Prime Video