Summary

Rex Splode is a standout character in Invincible, showcasing compelling growth over the seasons.

Mantzoukas brings life to a rich character with Rex, enjoying the story’s evolution and complexity.

Even as a fan of the comics, Mantzoukas continues to be surprised by the show’s maturity and scope.

Invincible is a series with countless stand-out characters, and we’re not just talking about Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) and Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons). Over the past two seasons, it would be hard to argue against Rex Splode, voiced by Jason Mantzoukas, who went from an immature jocky superhero in the first season and a half to somebody who is working to improve himself after a near-death experience.
Mantzoukas has made quite a name for himself with the kinds of characters he plays, whether it be the boisterous preteen and aspiring magician Jay on Big Mouth, or the loose-cannon Detective Adrian Pimento on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But it’s Rex Splode that may just be his most compelling character to date.
We were fortunate enough to sit down and talk with Mantzoukas about Invincible Season 3, how the show has surprised him as a longtime fan of Robert Kirkman’s comics, his reaction to Rex’s redemption, what advice he’d give him, and much more. You can read our full conversation below.
Jason Mantzoukas Is a Longtime Fan of the ‘Invincible’ Comics

“Because I know this story and where it goes is wild.”

Image via Prime Video

COLLIDER: I just wanted to start by saying Rex is my absolute favorite character on this show.
JASON MANTZOUKAS: Yes, yes. When you get Robert Kirkman on this screen, you better tell him that.
I absolutely will.
What has your reaction been to his arc throughout the last two seasons?
MANTZOUKAS: Oh, I love it. I love it. I love it. You know, I read the comics, so I was hoping, truthfully, I was hoping that we would get Rex’s arc from the comics, you know, because there’s so much there. And it’s such a great character. And when Robert asked me to do it, I was like, yeah, that’s great, you know, because I know this story and where it goes is wild.
But I was also nervous. I was like, oh, but this is an adaptation. Who knows if they’re going to get to tell all this, like Invincible, sprawling, epic story, you know? Did you read the comics, I’m assuming? Yeah?
I’ve read the first couple of volumes of it.
MANTZOUKAS: Great. Great. So, you know, it takes, it’s long-form storytelling, you know, so everybody gets an arc. Everybody gets growth. Everybody gets to be made richer. And so, what a blast. And so, even in those early seasons, when I was just the kind of brash, outrageous member of the team, the dick, the douche, whatever. When I’m just, you know, filling that spot for those early scenes to then get to have the Lizard League fight at the end of Season 2, which is like a solo fight just for Rex. And then a lot of the character growth that takes place in Season 3 for Rex, you know, and that’s really cool and very rare in stuff like this. It would be so much more likely that they would excise ancillary storylines in a TV adaptation or something like that.
And what I love about Robert, and please do not tell him that I complimented him. What I love about what Robert’s doing is that he is, he wants to tell the epic. He wants to do the whole story, which, home run. I love it.
My friend who introduced me to Invincible had dropped like a whole bunch of those omnibuses on my lap, and he told me, Rex is like you and I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not.
MANTZOUKAS: (Laughs) Oh, that’s so funny.
Would Rex Splode and ‘Big Mouth’s Jay Bilzerian Get Along?

“The two of them together is a gambit.”

One of the parts I really love about the show is how relatable everybody feels. Are there certain parts of Rex that you relate to?
MANTZOUKAS: Oh, yeah, sure. So, you know, it’s really what’s interesting and hard is, at the same time for the last bunch of years, I’ve been playing a middle schooler on Big Mouth and a teenager, a late teenager on Invincible, as well as various adult characters on other things. So it is funny to try and plug into, if it’s Big Mouth, the true chaotic insecurity of middle school age. And then Rex Splode is a lot more like he’s an adult, or he’s older, but his emotional growth is tremendously stunted. You know, he is the trauma of his childhood and what he and Eve went through. All of that really has created a person who is closed off, bluff and bluster, not interested in any revealing emotional reality. And what’s so fun is to watch that and to be a part of the scripts come in and then performing them to watch that kind of crumble and try and see like the adult within who’s kind of coming out. You know, it’s fun to basically, it’s fun to help watch this character grow up, you know, it’s a blast.
It’s funny that you brought up Big Mouth because that was one of the questions I had written down. How do you think Rex and Jay would interact had ever met?
MANTZOUKAS: Best friends. Best friends. Absolutely. Best friends. Because, Jay’s super into magic, and Rex charges up things. So the two of them together is a gambit.
Since you already know the comics, are there ways that the show still surprises you?
MANTZOUKAS: Oh yeah. All the time. All the time. Cause they do change stuff. They change stuff. And forgive me, I don’t know offhand, but they don’t change like huge things. It’s not like, oh, they don’t even have that character,’ you know? But they are adjusting in a way that I think oftentimes is to the benefit of the story, you know? And that’s, I think what’s great is you have this piece of comics, you know, writing and art that is undeniable, but then Robert and the team are getting a chance to, you know, finesse it into a story in a different medium. And in doing so, certain things have to be changed. And so, but I watch it and there’s almost nothing that I’m like, Oh, that’s different than the book. You know, they’re very good. It’s very subtle. And it’s always to me for the better, and it makes it smoother.
What Advice Would Jason Mantzoukas Give to Rex?

“It’s time to grow up.”

Throughout the season, Rex is just trying to better himself more and more. If you were to meet him, what kind of advice would you give to him?
MANTZOUKAS: Oh, I mean, that’s a good question. I don’t know what advice I would give to him. You know, I get in therapy. I would tell him to go into therapy. I think that Rex’s near-death experience is provoking the change that you’re talking about. Boy, I wish I could have met him and said, without having to bite his hand off, tell him that it’s time to grow up, and it’s time to be more, more empathic and more generous and kinder to people and, and curious about people and not just such a narcissist or so self-absorbed or so insecure and, and obsessed with only himself, you know, and all that stuff that is, I think, part of your teen years where you see yourself as the center of the universe and, and then you grow and you realize, Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s a lot more here and I care about other people. Like the kinds of scenes we’re seeing in Season 3, where Rex is talking to Eve or Rex is talking to Mark and that stuff wouldn’t have happened in Season 1. Absolutely not. You know? And that’s, that’s cool as hell to play like a real side character who gets to have like main character growth. Incredible. I can only assume naturally that this will become a Rex Splode show.
What would a Rex Splode spin-off look like?
MANTZOUKAS: Oh, I think it would be great. I think, boy, would that be fun as hell. And you tell Robert that that would be a good idea.
I absolutely will.
Since you’re a fan of the comics as well, do you have a preference on the suit?
MANTZOUKAS: I don’t really. It’s a good question. I’d have to look at them. I couldn’t, I couldn’t call them up offhand. The original suit I love. I think I love the original suit though, because that’s the suit that I’ve spent the most time with early on as I was discovering the book. But, you know, there’s a lot of suits and there’s a lot of suits that eventually are seen. So there’s a lot of good ones.
Do you have a preference on the suit?
I always go for the yellow and blue.
MANTZOUKAS: Classic. Classic.
Invincible Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with the final two episodes dropping on March 6 and March 13.

Invincible

Release Date

March 26, 2021

Network

Amazon Prime Video