“He’s selling himself short,” responds Racioppa. “I like Steven because he initially records for us without any visuals. We sort of describe the scene, and he’s read the script, but when we bring him back in, that’s when we have some pictures to show him.
“When he saw these, he said, ‘Oh, okay, I have to do this again. I have to go bigger because I can hit this moment.’ Once he actually saw everything on screen, we do it again with him and he’s able to somehow make his performance even better, even if it’s just breathing or just screams or just slow moans. He is so good at it, and it adds an extra level to everything. It makes the violence feel so real and affecting.”
“It’s a very interesting volley process, because Steven does the initial voice, and that dictates the animation,” Kirkman expounds. “So then when the animation comes back, he’s able to take something that was built on what he did, and improve it by playing with what was done. It’s a remarkable process.”
Clearly, the creators of Invincible love the hyperviolence that the Conquest battle and other scenes can provide. But what about the audience? Are they thrilled or repulsed by seeing the hero torn apart?
“I’m very fortunate because my kids are very old now, and they really like the show,” says Kirkman. “I was looking forward to seeing their reactions to that sequence, especially. It was a lot of fun to see them, because that scene is so affecting and unnerving. Even seeing it 100 times like I do, I’m still like, ‘Oh my God, that is a bit much.’ But it’s great to see how a team of hundreds of people working on Invincible focus and bring something like that to life.”
In short, it takes hundreds to tear apart a hero like Invincible, and we’re all the better for it.
