In the Invincible comics, Debbie and Nolan eventually get back together. Debbie does not immediately forgive Nolan for his actions as Omni-Man, but after he risks his life to protect Earth from the Viltrumites, she realizes that Nolan truly has changed and slowly starts to forgive him. It takes time for Debbie to fully trust him again, but Nolan spends the rest of his arc in the comics proving he can be a better man and earning both her forgiveness & love. Nolan and Debbie’s rekindled romance is one of the most powerful storylines Robert Kirkman wrote for the Invincible comics, but there's a real chance the Amazon series will cut the reconciliation altogether – and that would be a huge mistake.

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By Russell Descourouez

The Invincible Amazon series has already made a bad habit of omitting some of the comic’s more controversial and emotionally intense moments. Many fans of Debbie’s portrayal in the show also do not want to see her seemingly lose her agency or development just to get back together with a man who many deem an abuser. But a major theme in Invincible is that anyone can redeem themselves and be forgiven so long as they put in the work and actually prove they've changed. By cutting or changing Debbie and Nolan’s reunion, Invincible risks depriving the story of real thematic depth in favor of not making audiences uncomfortable: a far cry from the comic’s priorities.

Amazon Has Already Set a Precedent For Removing the Invincible Comic's Most Uncomfortable Moments

Part of what makes Robert Kirkman one of the best comic book writers of all time is that he's willing to go to dark and uncomfortable places that lesser writers would never dare to go. This often makes his works like Invincible and The Walking Dead feel considerably more human and honest. Unfortunately, Amazon's adaptation hasn't had the courage to adapt the comic's most uncomfortable scenes. After Omni-Man and Invincible's fight at the end of Season 1, Debbie gets blackout drunk and blames Mark for driving Nolan away.

This is an incredibly cruel moment the TV show cut, but it's an important beat that illustrates just how much Debbie loved Nolan. More importantly, it's real. It also serves as a wake-up call for Debbie to get her life together. Mark doesn't hold it against her, Debbie immediately apologizes, and they start moving onto new stages of their life. It's raw and it hurts, but it's human. Similarly, when Mark reunites with Nolan on Thraxa in the comics, he embraces Nolan in tears and begs him to come back home like nothing happened. This feels realer than in the show where Mark's reunion with Nolan is considerably angrier and harsher in tone. Mark is just a boy who misses his father.

Seeing him break down and try to reason that they can go back to how things were before – when Nolan knows they can't – puts into perspective just how young Mark is. Even Season 3 cuts out a minor, yet significant, moment where Mark tells Oliver he thinks Nolan might be right about humanity. The Invincible series regularly whitewashes the comic's harsher moments so as not to make TV viewers uncomfortable, but all it does is deprive the story of its nuance. The fact there's a real chance the show will change Debbie and Nolan's reunion is a big problem.

Debbie and Nolan's Relationship is One of the Best Parts of the Invincible Comics

A major theme in Invincible is that anyone can be forgiven and redeemed. This is important in the context of the Viltrumites, as Robert Kirkman regularly frames them as truly alien to Earth and human norms & customs. Omni-Man's actions in Season 1 are undeniably evil, but he also knows nothing else: either culturally or genetically. The fact that spending time with Debbie opens his heart and changes him speaks to the power of empathy on Earth. Even when humanity is at its worst, humans are capable of good & love, and this ends up changing not only Nolan, but virtually every single Viltrumite in the series.

Debbie and Nolan's second go at a relationship is living proof of this theme in action; doubly so because Debbie does not forgive Nolan right away. She never stops loving him, but Nolan has to work his whole life to re-earning her trust. It's also important to note that if Nolan and Debbie don't get back together, Debbie has nothing to do for the rest of the story. Everything she does in the comics in the second half is tied to her relationship with Nolan; and these are some of the sweetest, funniest, and most endearing scenes in Invincible. It would be a shame to lose these moments, and deprive Mark of a happy family again, just because some fans won't approve of Debbie forgiving Nolan.

Not having Debbie and Nolan get back together would spit on one of Invincible's main themes: that people can change and deserve second chances. Nolan might not necessarily deserve a second chance, but that in itself is also the point. We don't have to be defined by our worst actions. We do need to own them, acknowledge them, and fix our damages, but if someone can do that, don't they deserve another chance to prove themselves? Amazon making Nolan work harder to win over Debbie wouldn't be a bad change, but cutting their eventual second romance altogether would be a shame unlike any other and prove the show has no interest in actually adapting the comics.

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