Invincible Season 2: What Happened to Rick?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Invincible Season 2, Episode 6, “It’s Not That Simple.”

Can’t remember what happened to Rick Sheridan in Invincible Season 1 that’s left him so shaken up in Season 2? Never fear: we’ve recapped ol’ Rick’s harrowing history below!

Related: Invincible Season 2, Episode 6, ‘It’s Not That Simple’ Recap

What Happened to Rick In Invincible?

Rick first appears in Invincible Season 1, Episode 6, “You Look Kinda Dead.” Here, he’s established as an intelligent, forthright, and sensitive student at Upstate University. These qualities – as well as Rick’s hunky physique – earn Rick the attention of Mark Grayson’s best friend William Clockwell, who immediately develops an intense crush on Rick. Unfortunately, they also land him squarely on the radar of D.A. Sinclair, a deranged scientist who believes he can fix humanity’s flaws via cybernetic enhancements.

Related: Invincible Season 2, Part 2: How Did Part 1 End?

To that end, Sinclair abducts Rick and several other students and transforms them into Reanimen: zombie-like cyborg super-soldiers. Mark goes head-to-head with Rick and his fellow Reanimen later on in Invincible Season 1, Episode 6, and ultimately defeats them. Victory doesn’t belong solely to Mark, though. After William breaks through to the supposedly emotionless Rick, the latter joins forces with Mark to foil Sinclair’s operation. In Invincible Season 2, Episode 6, “It’s Not That Simple,” it appears that the Global Defense Agency reversed Rick’s transformation, however, it’s also hinted he’s now a full-blown android, not a cyborg.

Did Rick Die In Invincible Season 1?

No, Rick didn’t die in Invincible Season 1 – although he’s probably no longer alive in the conventional sense, either. Between what we see in “You Look Kinda Dead” and what Rick says in “It’s Not That Simple,” it’s clear that Sinclair removed a hefty chunk of Rick’s insides while augmenting his body. So, despite the GDA’s insistence that they reassembled Rick using the bits Sinclair lopped off or hacked out, they probably placed Rick’s mind in an android body, instead. Either that, or he’s still a cyborg, superficially patched up to pass for human.

Related: Invincible Season 2, Part 2 – Still the Animated Superhero Series to Beat (Review)

Regardless of the specifics, this would explain why the GDA has assigned Agent Donald Ferguson as Rick’s handler. Ordinarily, someone as senior as Donald – GDA boss Cecil Stedman’s second-in-command – probably wouldn’t personally oversee Rick’s reintroduction to society. That’s something a less senior operative takes care of. But given Donald is himself an android (something he only recently became aware of), it makes sense that he would take a special interest in Rick’s recovery.

Invincible Season 2, Part 2 is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.