The novel
- Alternate Aesop Interpretation: Does Griffin's undoing at the end of the first act come from his utter contempt for what he clearly considers to be his social and intellectual inferiors, or from the townspeople's small-minded provincialism? Or, for that matter, both?
- Paranoia Fuel: The very thought that some invisible person could be watching you without you knowing it, or worse.
The 2000 TV series
- Crosses the Line Twice: In "Possessed", Darien goes into Stage 5 Quicksilver Madness and decides to have a little invisible fun. One of his stops is a funeral, where he makes the body sit up and giggle around. Once everyone is scared away, Darien then steals the corpse's watch for good measure.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: Eberts, who was promoted to regular cast in Season 2.
- Harsher in Hindsight: In "Going Postal", Hobbes shoots up a post office, seemingly having snapped. It turns out to be a result of being exposed to drugs in a mail package. This was only a few months before the infamous 2001 Anthrax attacks through the mail. It was close enough to the mark that Sci-Fi pulled the episode from a scheduled rerun.
- In Season 1's "Tiresias", Claire warns Darien that getting too much Counteragent will cause him to build up an immunity to it. That's exactly what starts happening in Season 2's "Possessed".
- Ho Yay: Darien and Hobbes often argue Like an Old Married Couple. And they're intensely loyal to each other.
- Moral Event Horizon: Jarod Stark was always a villain, but him shooting Allianora in "It's a Small World" was this as far as Darien was concerned. After that, their relationship became far more personal."You did not need to DO THAT!"
- Paranoia Fuel: What Allianora tells Darien in "Ghost of a Chance"."Your country has enemies you don't even know exist."
- Special Effect Failure: The villain in "Ralph" fires a pistol. There is no muzzle flash or recoil, and the action does not cycle.
- Tearjerker: In the Pilot, Kevin dying in Darien's arms.
- "The Other Invisible Man" reveals that one Simon Cole was the original pick for the I-MAN project—something he was reportedly very excited about. However, something went wrong, and he became permanently invisible—driving him insane and getting him shot when he attacked the Official. Darien eventually finds pages of Simon's journal, where the handwriting becomes more erratic because Simon could no longer see his own hand."I want my flesh back. I want everything back."
- "The Other Invisible Man" reveals that one Simon Cole was the original pick for the I-MAN project—something he was reportedly very excited about. However, something went wrong, and he became permanently invisible—driving him insane and getting him shot when he attacked the Official. Darien eventually finds pages of Simon's journal, where the handwriting becomes more erratic because Simon could no longer see his own hand.
- The Woobie: Darien. He gets caught in the pilot because he can't bring himself to leave an old man to die; he is kidnapped and forcibly operated on a few times by people who want invisibility.
