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 bebut 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.