'She's Going to Be a Pivotal Part of the Story' — Invincible VS Has a Completely Original Fighter Just for the Game

Invincible VS has a quality ne'er earlier seen successful Robert Kirkman’s superhero universe: Ella Mental.

Revealed astatine The Game Awards 2025 with gameplay footage, Ella Mental — voiced by Tierra Whack — joins established characters specified arsenic Omni-Man and Invincible to soma retired the roster of playable characters successful the 3v3 tag fighter.

Ahead of her reveal, we got a accidental to chat with not lone Invincible bid creator Robert Kirkman, but besides respective members of the improvement squad astatine Quarter Up to find retired immoderate other details astir Ella Mental’s design, her playstyle, and immoderate of the lessons that Quarter Up took distant from their caller closed beta.

And beryllium definite to cheque retired everything announced astatine The Game Awards 2025 for more, arsenic good arsenic the winners database successful full.

IGN: So to start, Robert, what tin you archer america astir this caller character?

Robert Kirkman: Ella Mental is simply a wholly archetypal quality to the game. We're coming successful with a caller country of the Invincible Universe. The squad reached retired to Cory Walker and myself, wanting to spot if it would beryllium good to adhd idiosyncratic caller to the crippled to shingle things up. And Cory and I took it arsenic an accidental to enactment the aged instauration chapeau backmost connected and travel up with thing caller for the Universe. And it's been beauteous great. This squad is truly devoted to Invincible and is truly committed to making definite that this crippled is an authentic acquisition connected par with the tv amusement and the comic publication and immoderate different benignant of Invincible you would experience. And truthful to person a caller quality moving astir and being added to and fleshed retired by them is truly awesome and gratifying. And I deliberation it conscionable makes this crippled that overmuch cooler.

IGN: So evidently this is going to beryllium a quality that's a portion of this caller communicative mode that you're making for Invincible VS. Can you archer america a small spot astir what their relation is going to beryllium successful that communicative mode?

Mike Rogers, communicative director: Yeah, we're not talking circumstantial details successful communicative mode conscionable yet, but she volition beryllium appearing successful the mode for sure. And you've seen a clip of however immoderate of those characters interact with the main Robot and Ella. And you'll person to hold and spot precisely what the context, the wider discourse of each that is. But she's going to beryllium a beauteous pivotal portion of the communicative and a pivotal portion of the remainder of the crippled too, due to the fact that we've enactment a batch of emotion and effort into designing her kit and however she fights and what her personality's similar and everything successful between.

IGN: We tin spot successful the trailer that she is voiced by Tierra Whack. Can you archer america a small spot astir what it was similar moving with her? What was the casting process like?

Rogers: Working with Tierra was awesome. When we were trying to fig retired however we were going to bring Ella to beingness and who would beryllium the close idiosyncratic for her, Tierra was idiosyncratic we thought of beauteous aboriginal on. And we knew that Tierra was a large instrumentality of the Invincible franchise. And I consciousness truly fortunate that she came aboard. She responded to the worldly truly strongly. I deliberation she identified with immoderate of the worldly that we've written determination and really, truly brought a passionateness and a thrust to the character. And I deliberation that truly helped heighten what we wrote and truly bring this quality that was truthful nascent to life.

And I'm truly excited astir each of her VO and however good it fits with what we envision for the quality from the attacks to conscionable similar the conversations that they have. She's positive, she's energetic, but she's got this flimsy sardonic borderline to her. And I deliberation Tierra truly brings that broadside of it to the character. So I couldn't beryllium happier, and I deliberation the full squad feels that way.

American rapper and vocalist Tierra Whack plays Ella Mental successful Invincible VS.

IGN: Speaking of those attacks, I cognize you can't truly spell into communicative details, but tin you archer america a small spot astir however she volition play, what her play benignant is successful the existent game?

Mike Willette, enforcement producer: Oh, a batch of mid-range, immoderate long-range zoning, a batch of chargeable attacks, each element. There's worldly that she conscionable does to manipulate abstraction adjacent successful beforehand of her truthful she tin bring up world to artifact attacks… it acts arsenic a deterrent to trying to get successful connected her, and she tin shatter it, and you tin spot portion of that successful the small glimpse of the video. But she uses water, fire, air, and world to get around. We truly wanted thing different. So erstwhile we asked politely — begged Robert — like, "Hey, this would beryllium a large thought to adhd a caller character, and we'd emotion for thing that's conscionable antithetic that we haven't truly explored earlier that we deliberation we could person immoderate originative gameplay," Robert and Cory are like, "Oh, we'll get backmost to you," due to the fact that it sounded truly exciting.

And truthful arsenic soon arsenic we saw the concepts, we're like, ****, we cognize what we're going to do. So past we had to get originative and accidental like, "Oh, however bash we lick this?" We're like, "What benignant of attacks? What bash we deliberation we tin propulsion off?" And that's erstwhile we spell to Dan [Eder]. We're like, "Dan, what bash you deliberation for the art? What tin we propulsion off?"

IGN: Robert, you mentioned thing astir putting the originative chapeau backmost on. What was that similar coming backmost to the satellite of Invincible to make this caller communicative for this game?

Kirkman: I consciousness similar I've ne'er near the satellite of Invincible conscionable due to the fact that I went close from the comic to the TV show. So it's conscionable bully to bash more. One amusive facet of Ella Mental is that she was backwards engineered to beryllium successful a video game. So erstwhile Cory [Walker] and I sat down, it was like, well, what are the deficiencies of the Invincible characters successful the discourse of a video game? And we don't person a batch of projectile throwing characters, and we don't truly person anybody that throws fireballs oregon hits radical with rocks. And we person names that we footwear astir each present and past due to the fact that a batch of Invincible names are similar a mean sanction that fits wrong a antithetic word.

And truthful we'd conscionable beryllium sitting astir hanging retired and we'd beryllium like, "Ella Mental, that's thing we tin bash thing with astatine immoderate constituent successful the aboriginal due to the fact that it's similar Elemental." And past the sanction Ella is successful there. Look astatine that. That's however originative we are conscionable to wholly nail it down. And truthful we had that successful our backmost pocket. And truthful it was like, "Oh, we tin bash thing with this Ella Mental sanction and bash immoderate chill worldly with it."

IGN: Coming astir to Dan, what was the process similar of bringing this quality to beingness successful presumption of from conception creation to putting her successful the game?

Dan Eder, creation director: I deliberation it was wholly antithetic from immoderate different quality due to the fact that we didn't person immoderate reference. Essentially, we got a sketch from Cory, which was amazing, by the way. And past we're like, "How bash we marque this enactment successful our game? Just if we enactment her adjacent to the remainder of the roster, does she look similar she belongs successful the aforesaid universe?" And I deliberation instantly the reply was yes, but determination was inactive a batch of country to soma her retired successful presumption of wide level of item and facial features and definite readability related concerns erstwhile it comes to immoderate of her elements and conscionable wide colour palette, that benignant of stuff.

So the archetypal happening we did was conscionable effort to extrapolate. We looked astatine the concept, and past we did our ain mentation based connected Cory's concept, which was a batch much successful enactment with conscionable the wide creation benignant of the game, but it inactive kept it very, precise authentic to the archetypal plan from Cory. I deliberation implicit clip she truly evolved, some successful presumption of her features arsenic good arsenic erstwhile we got successful those moves connected the gameplay side, that truly informed america connected the visuals like, well, however overmuch bash we privation to thin into the colour palette for the elements and person that beryllium represented successful her eyes, for example, which glow based connected the constituent that she's presently casting?

And I deliberation precise rapidly we landed connected thing that we each felt surprisingly, shockingly blessed with very, precise aboriginal on. Because I deliberation erstwhile you plan a caller character, you don't expect it to beryllium this smooth, not for maine anyway, due to the fact that again, there's truthful overmuch country for error, which I consciousness similar we dodged a batch of those traps that we could person fallen into with an archetypal quality that you'd expect. And I deliberation players, erstwhile they get to acquisition this quality for the archetypal time, they're going to beryllium shocked by however integrated she feels into the beingness and however her interactions with different characters, arsenic you saw with Robot and Rex and Mark successful the trailer, those kinds of interactions are going to consciousness natural. And I deliberation if you're not an Invincible fan, I wouldn't blasted you for reasoning she was portion of the comics oregon the amusement due to the fact that it feels that real.

IGN: Coming backmost to Robert, you besides oversaw Telltale's The Walking Dead. And I cognize that this is simply a precise antithetic benignant of crippled compared to The Walking Dead, but I wonder, has the acquisition moving connected Invincible VS been akin astatine all?

Kirkman: I deliberation it's been akin successful that the squad astatine Telltale was truthful plugged successful and truthful dedicated that my overseeing was a fewer casual conversations. "This is what makes Walking Dead cool." And past going, "Hey, that looks truly great. Hey, that looks truly great. That's truly moving well." And the acquisition moving with the Quarter Up squad has been the same. We've talked aboriginal connected astir things, and I've worked with Mike and Helen Leigh connected giving a fewer communicative points and things similar that, but truly it's conscionable been a wealthiness of conscionable sitting backmost and being like, "Oh my gosh, this is awesome. This is moving great. This is looking great." Everything I've seen from Dan, the mode the crippled is structured, it's each conscionable terrific.

So myself, Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, we truly instrumentality it earnestly that we are the stewards of this marque and we request to marque definite that each things are authentic and that it's providing an additive acquisition for an Invincible fan. But with this one, we had to bash precise small due to the fact that the squad was conscionable arsenic dedicated to that arsenic we were. And the endowment down this crippled truly shows done and everything that you spot from it. And it's been a truly singular experience.

IGN: Were you a warring crippled instrumentality coming in, oregon has the process of moving connected this crippled gotten you much into the genre astatine all?

Kirkman: Yeah, I'm a immense warring crippled fan. Street fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, I emotion each those games. I inactive effort to support up, but I volition accidental that sometimes I get a small mislaid successful however analyzable they tin get and however overmuch amended everyone is than me. And I deliberation that that's 1 of the things that this crippled tackles truly well. You tin beryllium down with this crippled and conscionable person amusive fastener mashing and beryllium like, "Oh, I did immoderate truly chill combos. That looked truly nice. I privation I knew however I did that." But astatine the aforesaid time, there's a batch of elements to the crippled that erstwhile you get into it and you're having a batch of fun, you tin truly dive heavy and larn immoderate truly analyzable things that are truly impressive. And it's large that you tin person some levels of play successful the aforesaid game.

So it's truly great. And honestly, an Invincible warring crippled is astir the happening that I've ever wanted retired of Invincible much than a amusement oregon a movie oregon whatever. And truthful to yet person it and to person it beryllium arsenic bully arsenic this crippled is, is truly a precocious watermark of my life, to beryllium wholly clear.

IGN: And past the last question for the Quarter Up crew, you precocious had a closed alpha trial period. Can you springiness immoderate wide thoughts connected however it went and what immoderate of the main points of feedback you received from it were?

Willette: Oh, absolutely. It was a fantastic time. We got to play with truthful galore radical crossed antithetic ecosystems, similar whether they're playing connected Xbox oregon PlayStation. Got to spot radical get truly sweaty that rapidly implicit 3 days. That was truly impressive. So for us, it was truly a web test, but it was besides an accidental to spot however radical interacted with the system, however overmuch clip it was taking them to acclimate to definite things that truly abstracted our crippled from different games, which is truly our Omni-Tag system. It's similar the fluidity of tagging successful and out. And the crippled is truly astir squad and team-centric tactics.

So by time three, truly seeing radical capitalize connected not conscionable the progressive tag and assistance system, but antagonistic tags, assistance breakers, erstwhile to usage snaps, erstwhile not to, taking vantage of arena shifts, the radical that recovered them and were utilizing them a lot, and past conscionable antithetic nasty setups. So whether I was watching A FOxy Grampa oregon Mustard oregon Maximilian Dood oregon Diaphone oregon conscionable each the different streams that we had going connected and past conscionable getting tons of feedback. So things that radical wanted with trijumps oregon definite things that looped oregon things they wanted improved with question inputs oregon conscionable each these things that we've been taking successful that feedback and we've been actively updating the crippled preparing for motorboat with this feedback successful mind. So everything was fantastic from our position of conscionable getting that galore radical into play and getting that prime feedback and conscionable the good, the bad, the ugly, everything. It was a great, large experience.

The Game Awards 2025 trailer confirmed an Invincible VS merchandise day of April 30, 2026 crossed Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial shaper astatine IGN. You tin find him connected twitter @JurassicRabbit