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Invincible's gender-swapped Tech Jacket helped fix a major comic "shortcoming" according to creator Robert Kirkman.
In Kirkman's Invincible comics, Tech Jacket is Zack Thompson, a hero perhaps best known for bonding with his father over each growing facial hair during their time apart.
Invincible's TV show opted for a different direction. Instead, the Prime Video adaptation features a different Tech Jacket: Zoe, played by Zoey Deutch. Same tech, same jacket, same can-do attitude – and a way for Kirkman to give a do-over to what was, back in the 2000s, a very homogenous cast.
“One of the downsides of Invincible is [co-creator] Cory Walker and I were like 23 and 21 when we started that book, and your default when you're not really paying attention is yourself," Kirkman explained to The Wrap. "Every time we introduce another character, 'Oh look! It's another white male! Who knew?' It's just a shortcoming that we hadn't quite noticed and done our due diligence to correct."
On the decision to bring in Zoe instead of Zack, Kirkman pointed to the testosterone-fueled younger characters already filling up several spots in the Viltrumite War.
"If Zack were to show up, there's not a lot that you're gonna get from that character that you're not getting from Oliver or Mark," Kirkman said. "There's just a lot of similarities there."
Invincible changing a character from its jump from the comics to the screen is nothing new. Both Mark and Debbie are depicted with Korean heritage, reflecting actors Steven Yeun and Sandra Oh respectively. The fourth season also saw Darkblood's history delved into further with a Hell-centric original episode not present in the source material.
Invincible season 5 has been announced. For more on the show, read our breakdown of the Invincible season 4 ending and Invincible season 4 post-credits scene.
