Invincible: Atom Eve's Powers, Explained

Spoilers for "Invincible" (both the TV show and the comics) to follow.

The whole premise of "Invincible" is a kid trying to live up to his dad — only his dad is the world's greatest superhero. The story soon reveals Nolan Grayson aka Omni-Man (J.K Simmons) isn't all he appears to be, but from the start Mark Grayson aka Invincible (Steven Yeun) has been from a family of heroes. Over the series, that family grows. As of season 3, Mark's kid half-brother Oliver (Christian Convery) is Kid Omni-Man, and Invincible is dating the matter-rearranging superheroine Atom Eve (Gillian Jacobs).

There's a lot of Spider-Man in "Invincible" — Eve is Mark's Mary Jane, red hair and all, only she has powers like her boyfriend does too. Mark's first girlfriend, Amber (Zazie Beetz), shows why a superhero trying to date a normal person wouldn't work. Eve is nowhere near as physically strong as a Viltrumite, but she's arguably just as powerful as one. How do her superpowers work?

A lot of the detail comes from the "Atom Eve" special episode, released between "Invincible" seasons 1 and 2. Eve's powers aren't natural; they're the result of genetic engineering while she was in utero. On the surface, she can create pink energy constructs, which can be as simple as a barrier or as complex as a suit of armor. She's like Green Lantern but with no ring needed. 

But this is only a manifestation of a much greater power; Eve sees the world as its atomic building blocks. She can rearrange those molecules too, meaning she can transmute objects into other objects, like an alchemist (Fullmetal or otherwise). In season 2, though, she realizes that more complex structures (like, say, a city block) won't hold up long-term. That's why this season she's taking architecture and engineering classes, so she can most effectively use her powers.

Meanwhile, her chosen name is a multi-layered pun. Atom, of course, because her power is all about manipulating Atoms. Spoken fast, her name can sound like "Adam & Eve" — and that's not randomly chosen, since Eve's powers are all about creation. Her superhero insignia even combines the feminine symbol ♀ with the symbol for a molecule (circles hovering around and containing another circle). 

As for how she can fly? The explanation varies; the comic says she manipulates air density to make it light, whereas the TV show animates her flying with pink propulsive blasts.

"Invincible" comic fans know how powerful Atom Eve is and the show has now given the television-only fans the full taste. In the season 3 finale, titled "I Thought You'd Never Shut Up," she comes to Mark's aid against the Viltrumite warrior Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Eve holds her own for a bit (and much longer than she did in the comic). She outfits herself in armor, conjures weapon after weapon, and uses her powers to hold Conquest down. She increases the density of the air, traps his head in a bubble, and turns the air around him into water, all the while hitting him as hard as she can. But it only slows him down; Conquest strikes her twice, first snapping her jaw off her head, and then punching straight through her torso.

But Eve is more powerful than anyone knew. At the moment of her death, her powers go into overdrive, repairing her body as she takes on the appearance of a pink energy being. She blasts Conquest, burning his skin and leaving him hurt enough for Mark to finish him. Eve's attack might look like a simple laser blast, but think about it: heat comes from the movement of molecules. She must have made them vibrate superfast, fast enough to even burn a Viltrumite's tough hide.

Eve explains to Mark later in the episode that the scientists who made her left a mental block in place so she couldn't use her powers on living beings — except, that is, in moments of stress where her body can override the block. (And what's more stressful than painfully dying?)

The 144th and final issue of "Invincible" (by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, and Cory Walker) follows Mark's life unfolding across centuries. Near the end of the 21st century, Eve has aged into an old woman and is on her deathbed — only it turns out her powers don't only heal external wounds. Whenever Eve ages and lies on the brink of death, her body automatically resets her to youth. She can live as long as her slow-aging husband and their daughter Terra, maybe even longer.

Nolan once warned his son he'd have nothing left of the Earth that he loved after 500 years, but he didn't count on Atom Eve.

"Invincible" is streaming on Prime Video.