Invincible Season 2 picks up weeks, if not months after the epic events of the Season 1 finale… A finale that left thousands of people dead, and Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) and his mother Debbie (Sandra Oh) reeling after discovering their father/husband was an evil conquering alien. But amid those big changes, there’s one thing that is shockingly the same. How is Donald alive in Invincible Season 2?
In case your brain is a little foggy — after all, Season 1 ended over two years ago — you might have glimpsed good ol’ Donald Ferguson (Chris Diamantopoulos) in the background of the Season 2 premiere, “A Lesson For Your Next Life,” and not given it another thought. But he was killed in Season 1. And now he’s back. Is Donald a clone, or what?
So… Let’s get into it with a brief bit of recap on how Donald died, and (perhaps) a little confirmation on how Donald is alive in Invincible Season 2 from the comic book source material.
How Did Donald Die In Invincible Season 1?
Donald Ferguson is an agent of the Global Defense Agency (GDA), a multinational organization dedicated to world defense and superhero coordination and monitoring. He works directly for the head of the organization, the very shady Cecil Stedman (Walton Goggins). Cecil has a gray morality, to be kind. Donald seems more emotionally in tune but backs Cecil all the way.
Donald was also key to the investigation into the deaths of the Guardians of the Globe, the superteam viewers knew was killed by Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), aka Mark’s dad and Debbie’s husband. You know, that guy. When it became clear that Omni-Man didn’t only kill the Guardians, he was bent on world domination, the GDA mobilized to stop him.
…It didn’t work. After Omni-Man obliterated a squad of GDA soldiers in his own home, he realized there was a GDA safehouse monitoring their every move across the street. Omni-Man broke into the house and attacked Donald. Donald stood up to Omni-Man while everyone else fled the safehouse, even shooting him with a gun and mildly harming the otherwise invulnerable villain. As Omni-Man crushed Donald’s spine, bleed seeping out of the back of his suit jacket, Donald told Cecil over his earpiece that it was an honor to serve him, and he blew up the building. Though Donald died in the resulting explosion, Omni-Man was unharmed and went off to fight his son, Invincible, aka Mark.
RIP, Donald.
How Is Donald Alive In Invincible Season 2? How Donald Was Brought Back To Life In The Comics:
…Or more like LIP! Live in Peace. I don’t know. Anyway, in the Season 2 premiere of the series, Donald is working as normal in the background at the GDA. Cecil doesn’t refer to Donald’s surprising resurrection, nor does anyone else. In fact, Donald doesn’t do much of anything other than “be alive.” But that’s like, most of us, man. Just surviving, you know?
Anyway, there’s a pretty clear way Donald may have been brought back on Invincible that is revealed later on in the comics. If you don’t want to know, spoilers past this point. In Invincible #38 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley, Rick Sheridan, a character who hasn’t been introduced on the show yet (and is Mark’s friend William’s boyfriend) is killed, and brought back to life as a cyborg. Rick is confused and frustrated about the course of events and takes it out on Donald.
Donald explains that he absolutely can relate to Rick because he’s been a cyborg the whole time. Donald — in the comics — has died multiple times, and had pieces of his brain preserved and transferred into a new, highly advanced robot/flesh body.
Donald isn’t a clone in Invincible — not exactly. He’s created and grown out of his original material and then cyborg-ized. He’s the original Donald, just there wasn’t a lot of him left to work from. Like a lot of characters on the show, he’s sturdier than you might expect.
So, is this how Donald is brought back to life in Invincible on Prime Video? Without getting into spoilers, we can say based on the first four episodes that things won’t play out the same way on screen that they do in the comic book. Donald is back after facing down Omni-Man, but there’s a lot more story to tell. Suffice it to say, stay tuned.
Who Plays Donald Ferguson On Invincible? What To Know About Chris Diamantopoulos:
Chris Diamantopoulos is an actor probably best known for playing the unhinged billionaire Russ Hanneman on HBO’s Silicon Valley. However, he’s played dozens of other roles, and in particular, is a talented mimic. He played Mickey Mouse in the recent Once Upon a Studio from Disney, as well as numerous other Mickey Mouse cartoons. Moe Howard in The Three Stooges movie, and Robin Williams in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy.
Other roles include Evan Phinnaeus ‘Finn’ Woodhouse on Good Girls Revolt, Green Arrow on Justice League Action, and is a go-to player on American Dad. Not only that, but Diamantopoulos is also a talented stage performer. On Broadway, he’s starred in The Full Monty, Les Miserables as Marius, and Waitress as Dr. Jim Pomatter.
Also, on Invincible he doesn’t just voice Donald: he’s also credited as Thraxan Crew, Vidor, and Doc Seismic.
According to IMDb, he’s got a Three Stooges sequel, a movie called The Boys in the Boat which opens this Christmas, and Amazon’s upcoming warring maple syrup farmers comedy The Sticky, starring opposite Jamie Lee Curtis and Margo Martindale. He’s not on social media, so don’t follow him anywhere. Don’t do it!
Invincible Season 2 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
Invincible Season 2 officially premiered on Prime Video on Thursday, November 2 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT. Though Season 2 will be eight episodes long, only one episode will premiere on Thursday, followed by the next three Thursdays. Then there will be a break, and the second half of Invincible Season 2 will premiere sometime in 2024.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Invincible Season 2:
- Thursday, November 2, 2023: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 1 – “A Lesson For Your Next Life”
- Thursday, November 9, 2023: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 2 – “In About Six Hours, I Lose My Virginity to A Fish”
- Thursday, November 16, 2023: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 3 – “This Missive, This Machination!”
- Thursday, November 23, 2023: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 4 – “It’s Been A While”
- 2024, TBA: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 5 – “TBA”
- 2024, TBA: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 6 – “TBA”
- 2024, TBA: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 7 – “TBA”
- 2024, TBA: Invincible, Season 2, Episode 8 – “TBA” *Season Finale*
