When we dive into the world of ‘Invincible’, one character who stands out is Samantha Eve Wilkins, better known as Atom Eve. She’s a superhero with the power to manipulate matter at a subatomic level, making her one of the most fascinating figures in Robert Kirkman’s comic series and the Amazon Prime animated show. Her journey isn’t just about fighting villains-it’s also about her personal battles and growth. A topic that’s caught a lot of attention is Atom Eve’s weight gain in the comics (show didn’t catch up to it yet).
A Relatable Hero
I’ve always found ‘Invincible’ refreshing because it doesn’t shy away from showing its characters as flawed and relatable. Atom Eve, voiced by Gillian Jacobs in the animated series, isn’t just a powerhouse-she’s a person with emotions, struggles, and a life that doesn’t always go as planned. Her weight gain isn’t some random plot twist thrown in for shock value. It ties directly into her experiences and the toll they take on her.
The Origin of Atom Eve
Atom Eve’s life has never been easy. From the start, she was created as part of a government experiment to build a superhuman weapon. Samantha Eve Wilkins was born to Erias Brandyworth and an unnamed mother. During her birth, her powers would emit out of control, often emitting pink energy through her mother’s eyes. Her mother did not survive the birth process, but Samantha did. In order to use her as a weapon, Steven Erickson went to the hospital of her birth to retrieve her. Brandyworth faked Samantha’s death by using the miscarried fetus of Betsy Wilkins and Adam Wilkins, not allowing Erickson to fulfill his mission. Betsy and Adam Wilkins would become her new adoptive parents without knowing the truth of the switch.
Growing up, she clashed with her strict father, who didn’t fully support her superhero path. Through her childhood, she would see her father, Brandyworth, watching her from a distance. Her first word was CH2OH, which is the chemical group of hydroxymethyl. During her toddler years, she would demonstrate core excellency in the field of science by helping a babysitter with his homework. She would also be admitted into a school for young scholars, but later kicked out because she wasn’t fulfilling their standards. After a brief argument with her father, her mom would deliver her a meal of chicken, much to her disgust. It is then she discovers her powers of transmutation by turning her meal into a cheeseburger. She would practice her powers on various objects such a baseball bat, clothes, etc.
Early Superhero Days
She would make her crime-fighting debut when attacking animal thief and meet with her father for the first time. Brandyworth reveals to her that she has her transmutation powers because of him and she was going to be a weapon for the US government. He also reveals that him falling in love with her real mother caused him to not allow Samantha to be a weapon. He warns Samantha not to use her powers in public out of fear that she may attract the government’s attention. She flies off, not paying attention to what he told her. Years later, she would engage in a battle with a villain named Killcannon. She would don a mask and call herself Atom Eve. Brandyworth would wish Samantha happy birthday before she would go to a crime scene. She arrives to see four children holding people hostage. One of them attempts to touch Eve, only for his hand to be removed. They continue the battle with the four having the advantage. Eve manages to get away briefly until Phase 2 catches her. The four continue their attack until she gets away, and they reveal that they have Brandyworth hostage. The battle continues and Eve reveals that her powers don’t work on living matter. Brandyworth reveals to her that she would omnipotent if she could use it on living matter and thus mental blocks were installed. The four of them are disintegrated and Eve is taken into custody with Brandyworth by Erickson. Eve asks that he let Brandyworth go, but Erickson reveals that he will kill Brandyworth. Brandyworth struggles with him and Erickson delivers the killing shot. Erickson also reveals that Eve’s mother is reserved and very much alive. Erickson kills her and Eve becomes enraged. Through the emotional stress, she overrides her mental blocks and uses her power to erase the memories of Rodgers and Erickson. She leaves, crying on her way home. She arrives home to see her parents upset. For high school, Eve attended Reginald Vel Johnson High School.
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Relationships and Heartbreak
Then there’s her rocky love life. Early on, she dated Rex Splode, a fellow Teen Team member, but that ended when he cheated on her with Dupli-Kate. Battling Killcannon again, she would encounter Rex Sloan. Killcannon gets back up and the duo stops him. Rex introduces himself and asks Eve for advice on his mission. Eve asks Rex to stay the night and they go to bed. She would wake up the next morning with Rex heading to the Pentagon. Rex would arrive back to Eve’s room and reveal that he killed Radcliffe and destroyed the house he lived in. Eve comforts him, but panics because the government will likely salvage what’s left. They arrive on the scene notice that Steven Erickson is salvaging the scene. They head into the area and commence battle with the government officials. Eve draws their fire and Rex attempts to destroy the building. He does so by touching the pipe to the building. Erickson attempts to recruit Rex but Rex refuses, stating he only needs Eve. They kiss and escape to Art Rosenbaum’s shop. After a comment Rex makes, Eve storms out and mentions that Erickson killed her real father. They make up and head to Eve’s house. She makes Rex food. Afterwards, Rex leaves and Eve finds out that he is going to kill his parents. She arrives to him, noticing he decided against it and they walk away. Later, Eve and Rex join the Teen Team, a group of teenage superheroes led by Robot. While fighting the super-villains known as the Mauler Twins, Eve and the other members of the Teen Team met another teenage superhero named Invincible (Mark Grayson). Afterwards, Eve would go on a job with Rex and investigate later students at her school being turn into human bombs. After a while, Robot reveals that it is her physics teacher, David Hiles. David attempts to kill Mark and Eve by turning himself into a bomb, but Mark flies him to Antarctica to stop him. Eve would hear about Robot trying out for the Guardians of the Globe. That night, he notices that Rex has cheated on her with Dupli-Kate. It left her hurt and questioning her worth, even as she tried to focus on being a hero. She flies to Mark’s house and tells Mark about it. From there, she quits the Teen Team. Mark comforts her until they are interrupted by Mark’s mother.
Later, her relationship with Mark Grayson-aka Invincible-brought new challenges. Being with someone whose life is constantly in danger isn’t simple, and Eve often found herself caught between her feelings and the chaos of their world. Eve, Mark, and The Guardians of the Globe stopping a Flaxan invasion. Eve would team up with Invincible and also do solo missions. Eve would fly in to see Rex with Dupli-Kate, knowing their history. Mark and Eve would go to stop a Lizard League operation. Robot arrives to ask if Eve wants to join the Guardians of the Globe. She flies off upset. Around the time of night, Eve came to see Mark, but sees him with Amber Bennett. Eve flies away, disappointed. Sometime later, Eve would see Mark’s battle with his father. Eve would go to Mark and see William doing the same thing. She finds out that Williams knows about Mark’s identity as well. Eve goes to Robot to see if he can get an idea on Mark’s location. Robot accepts and she flies off. Eve learns that Mark will be in action soon and the Guardians and her attempt to stop an invasion by extradimensional aliens. The Flaxans retreat after their advanced aging is discovered. Robot thanks Eve and Mark and they would leave. The next day, William reveals that Eve and him are dating to Mark. Eve assist the Guardians in another mission in stopping another invasion. The aliens retreat and they head home. The invasion causes graduation to be pushed backward. William would ask Eve if she can fly and she would take him flying, much to her annoyance.
Finding Her Purpose
What makes Eve special is how she handles all this. She’s got powers that let her reshape reality, but she can’t escape her human side. Next, Mark would assist Eve in clearing debris from the invasion. Eve and William would have a double date with Mark and Amber, worried that Mark is a drug dealer. The duo laugh until Mark arrives. Mark arrives late to graduation and Winslow announces the graduates and his retirement. Mark and Eve kiss, symbolizing an intimate relationship in the future. She arrives to Mark’s room, much to his confusion. She decides to quit being a superhero. Mark asks why and she reveals that her powers can be used better than fighting crime. She decides to go to Africa to hugs Mark. Eve wants to tell Mark that she likes him, but hesitates and leaves. Eve would head to Africa and help the local villagers with her powers as such turning the barren land into fertile land.
In the comics, we see her step away from fighting to use her abilities for good-like creating resources for people in need. Eve’s retirement would be short lived. Eve would help the Guardians and other superhero factions as when a being named Omnipotus invaded, renouncing her retirement. They attempt to stop him until Black Samson arrives, getting his powers back after his coma. Eve would later give Mark her location in Africa, hoping to see him. She notices that Amber came along. Mark would tell her his story of meeting his father, battling the Viltrumites and his brother, much to her surprise. Mark and Eve stop a stampede of animals and stopped for a meal with Amber. Mark leaves early after receiving a threatening phone call from a stranger. Eve takes Amber home and notices that Mark’s house is destroyed from his battle with Levy. Mark would go see Eve and they embrace. They kiss, much to both their surprise.
The Viltrumite War and its Aftermath
But even that doesn’t shield her from pain. Mark Grayson’s departure for the Viltrumite War was a turning point for Eve. In the comics, he leaves Earth for ten months to fight alongside his father, Nolan, and Allen the Alien against the Viltrumite threat. Mark and Eve are called on a job to stop a parasitic race named the Sequids. Cecil Stedman sends Black Samson, Robot, Monster Girl, The Immortal, Invincible, and Eve to intercept the Sequids. The Sequids living through a human host, Rus Livingston and they fire at the US space shuttle. Eve forms a bubble for those who can’t breathe in space. She seals a hole in the Martian spaceship and the Martians decide to aid them. Robot emits a pulse to get the Sequid away from them, but they overwhelm them. Eve puts up a force field while Robot tries to emit another pulse, but is overwhelmed by the Sequid closing in. Afterwards, the Guardians would succeed and escape from the Martians attempting to execute Shapesmith for betraying them. She would go to see Rex Splode after his near-death experience by the Lizard League. Rex reveals to her that Mark and Amber are no longer together. Eve reveals she liked him while she was with Rex and that her time in Africa has made her miss him more. Mark tells Eve that he knew already because an alternate, older version of Eve told him how she felt about him. Eve asks how Mark feels about her before her alternate version revealed her feelings for him, with Mark being unsure. She leaves to Africa before Mark could explain further.
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For Eve, this wasn’t just a long-distance relationship-it was a period of fear and uncertainty. Mark goes to see Eve until Cecil asks for their help in stopping Doctor Seismic. Eve is knocked unconscious for a short time until she is imprisoned by Sesmic. They are saved by the Reanimen and Darkwing II. After the battle, Mark tells Eve that he knows Cecil covered up Darkwing’s incident in Midnight City and decided to get some answers. Afterwards, Mark reveals to Eve that after Cecil found his weakness, he was thinking about Eve. Mark and Eve go on several dates, realizing that they love each other. Eve would ask her mom to let her move back in, with her mom agreeing. Eve would help the former Guardian members after they left the team. Eve and Mark would go on a date in Paris until Mark is asked to go to the future. After Mark returns, Eve and him would go on several dates in various locations such as Egypt, France, Italy, Antarctica, and space. They head to Mark’s room and have sex for the first time. Afterwards, Mark and Eve would sleep until morning until Oliver interrupts. Mark gets a call and heads to see what it’s about. Eve leaves and heads back to her house. Mark comes to Eve’s room and reveals that Amber had called him and Gary had abused her physically. for Mark, marking their new business. Eve would send Mark on a job of stopping a Pentagon scientist named Powerplex who seeks vengeance on him. Mark responds to the call to find out that alternate versions of himself are leveling cities around the world. Eve would attempt to stop one of them, and succeeds. She regroups with Mark to help the Cyberforce take down another version of him. They kill the alternate Mark, but not without Eve being injured. Eve recovers from her near death experience and emits a power blast of energy, tearing most of Conquest's skin tissue. While Eve is resting, she would be visited by her parents and Mark. Two days later, Eve would recover from her coma to see that Mark is battling what the news believes to be Nolan. However, it is revealed that Conquest is battling Mark. She releases her medical tubes, worried that Mark may be killed during the battle. Eve accidentally reveals to her parents that Mark is Invincible. Mark asks Cecil to send Eve to his location. When Eve arrives Mark asks that Eve doesn’t interfere, only for Conquest to break Mark’s leg. Eve holds Conquest with a restraining bubble, only for him to thunderclap out of it. Conquest pummels Eve and impales her, nearly killing her in the process. Mark catches Eve and lays her on the ground. While Mark and Conquest continue their battle, Eve’s near-death experience overrides her mental blocks and she recovers from her wounds, losing her clothes in the process. She emits a powerful blast. Mark moves out of the way in time, but Conquest loses much of his skin and muscle tissue. Eve passes out and Conquest attempts to kill her. She wakes up to see that Mark has killed Conquest and Mark is still alive. She is retrieved by the Guardians and Mark is taken to a hospital to heal from his injuries. Mark notices that Eve’s breasts have become larger and leads to an intimate moment. Mark’s mom would interrupt and become worried, going so far as to have Mark stop being a superhero. Eve and Mark would go to attend Rex’s funeral after his death in the Invincible War. After Robot gave his speech, Eve would give hers, declaring that she loved him. She ended the speech early due to her emotional stress. Eve confessed to Mark that she started liking Mark while she was with Rex and that she never gave Rex a chance.
She didn’t know if Mark would come back alive, and that fear hit her hard.
Weight Gain: A Reflection of Emotional Turmoil
During those ten months, Eve’s life changed. Eve begins to cry after she discovers she's pregnant with Mark's child. While Mark was fighting and rebuilding the leveled cities, Eve and her mother were preparing dinner for Mark to make a proper introduction to her parents. It goes badly when she asks Mark what his father does, not realizing what his father did to the planet. Afterwards, Eve would negotiate with the Stronghold Prison warden to get three months of free services, considering what's happening in the Invincible War events. He reluctantly agrees and they fly home. Eve notices that her powers are acting up and they see Oliver on the way, older than before. Mark and Eve head to her room and Eve goes to the bathroom. Mark knocks and Eve demands that Mark go away. Eve, crying learns that her powers are acting strange because she is pregnant with Mark’s child. Mark asks Eve if she’s okay, noticing that she's acting different. Later, Eve and Mark would get a call to stop a nuclear power plant attack. They arrive to see an alien attacking. While Universa is fighting Mark, Eve manages to land a blow on her, but her powers fail her. Mark uses the opportunity to grab her staff and gets shock by it. Eve punches Universa, with Mark realizing that her powers are in the staff. Cecil would ask Mark for help in stopping the Sequids. Mark would reveal that he killed Rus Livingston to Eve. Eve comforts him until Cecil arrives to speak with Mark. Eve would go to William’s dorm to tell him about her pregnancy. Eve would tell William that she does want children, but isn’t ready for a child at such a young age. Later, she would arrive to see Mark on his roof. Mark and Eve go to dinner to discuss Mark seeing his father again. The next day, the duo would discuss the various Viltrumites Mark has fought. The next day, Eve would have Mark settle a shopping mall invasion, but she decides to send Oliver instead. Eve would sleep with Mark again before he goes away. She asks to embrace him on…
She lost the baby through an abortion, a decision that left her devastated. With Mark gone and no one to lean on, she stopped using her powers as much. Normally, her abilities burn a ton of calories-think of it like constant exercise. Without that, and with depression creeping in, her body started to reflect her emotional state.
Reunion and Acceptance
When he did come back, Mark found Eve in a different place-both mentally and physically. He was just happy to see her alive, and their reunion showed how much he loved her, no matter what. For Eve, though, this time apart had been a rough patch. Her weight gain wasn’t about laziness-it was about grief, loss, and the toll of waiting for someone she wasn’t sure would return.
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