| Title | : | Irredeemable, Vol. 1 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1934506907 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781934506905 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 128 |
| Publication | : | First published August 5, 2009 |
Collects issues #1–4
Irredeemable, Vol. 1 Reviews
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Re-read 2018
Wow! This really holds up over the years.
The premise is that a once-beloved, kindly superhero suddenly turns completely evil and no one is powerful enough to stop him.
If you haven't read this, then you might be thinking that you've already seen this sort of story played out before, and you're probably not wrong. It's not an unexplored concept by any means.
But Waid is one of those writers who manages to make over the top characters like superheroes accessible and human, which makes this one something I'd highly recommend checking out.
Original review: 2012
Irredeemable was one of those things I picked up on a whim at the library, and then just couldn't put down.
It's the story of a superhero who goes bad. Really really bad. Imagine Superman going rogue. What chance do any of the other members of the Justice League have against him?
Yeah, pretty much none.
It opens with Plutonian turning one of his former teammate's wife and toddler into crispy critters...
Then it keeps getting better and better.
Good stuff.
Go check it out. -
“I used to be such a sweet, sweet thing
'Til they got a hold of me.
I opened doors for little old ladies,
I helped the blind to see.
I got no friends 'cause they read the papers.
They can't be seen with me and I'm gettin' real shot down
And I'm feeling mean.”
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Word, Alice Cooper!
The Plutonian who used to be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent is now downright villainous and mean. The book opens with another superhero trying vainly to get he and his family away from the Plutonian. The Plutonian kills the superhero and his wife in front of their daughter. A radical change from being a faux Superman, no? It’s what would happen if Superman pretty much acted on every evil impulse that could possibly enter into his mind.
Mark Waid has come up with a golden concept and he executes it quite well. This is a real page turner as the world, other superheroes, and the super villain community come to grips with an earth shattering (literally) change in the balance of power. Everyone is running scared as the heroes scramble to come up with some sort of counter measure.
Highly recommeded. -
Superheroes gone bad has been done before (a bunch), but I have to give Mark Waid credit for doin’ it well. This was a recommendation from one of my Shallow Comic Reading life partners (Either
The Incredible Jeff or
my favorite Ontarioian, Gavin) I'm not exactly sure which one'na my shorties it was due to all the brain damage from years of recreational pharmaceuticals. But it was a damn good one.
Volume 1 seems to be mostly set up for exactly what the Plutonian (this series rogue Superman) is capable of, how seemingly pointless it is to fight him, and just how fucked up my man is. NO ONE IS SAFE. Not his former allies, not his old enemies, and not the lady running for her life clutching her baby. Waid manages to cram in enough mass murder, psychotic breaks, weird-ass sexual shit, and infanticide to make me wonder if this is the same guy that’s writing Daredevil. Who knew Mark had a little Ennis in’em. Ultimately, he does manage to stifle the carnage and leave just enough heroes alive and questions unanswered to keep me interested in continuing with the series.
Peter Krause’s artwork is good. Middle of the road in terms of verve for me, but I tend to lean more towards the highly stylized stuff. But it’s certainly serviceable.
If you’ve enjoyed other books like Moore’s Watchman, Ennis’The Boys, or any one of the Superman as a baddie stories that have been told over the years you should probably check this out.
Get this review and more at:
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I figured it's been 10 years, so time for a re-read.
Mark Waid has decided to answer the question "What happens when Superman goes bad? Like off the rails, scraping humanity like dog poop off his shoe bad." The Plutonian brutally murders his fellow heroes along with their families and completely wipes out cities. The remaining heroes are left scrambling, desperately trying to stay under the Plutonian's radar while trying to find his weakness. Throughout the series, we get flashbacks on why the Plutonian grew to hate humanity and why he's doing this. -
The sub-genre of superhero fiction where superheroes, or usually a Superman-type character, goes off the rails is unusually fertile ground for comics writers. Alan Moore’s “Watchmen”, Garth Ennis’ “The Boys” and Mark Millar’s “Superman: Red Son” have all explored an alternative to the heroic figures presented to us in comics and all are exceptional works of art. Added to this field of subversive superhero stories is Mark Waid’s “Irredeemable” which posits the idea of a Superman-type superhero called the Plutonian who becomes disenchanted with humanity after years of saving them from themselves. He slowly becomes bitter and hateful with the way they view and treat him to the point where he goes from hero to villain over the course of several years.
This idea of superheroes acting as tyrant leaders to humanity has been explored in superhero comics as diverse as Warren Ellis’ “The Authority” and more recently in the hugely popular series “The Boys” by Garth Ennis. But with Waid’s Plutonian, the tone of the book is far less bombastic than Ennis’ work and much more tragic. Waid writes the story like a character study with friends and colleagues from the Plutonian’s past revealing glimpses of the man he used to be while in the present he wages a horrible war on humanity borne of resentfulness and disappointment. It’s a highly effective storytelling device as it keeps the Plutonian in the spotlight without ever giving the reader full view into the Plutonian’s head, retaining the mystery of the character.
Battling the Plutonian is a cadre of lesser superheroes and villains banding together in a last ditch effort to stop him from destroying the world. This underground resistance desperately tries to gather information on the Plutonian’s heretofore unknown weaknesses while avoiding his omniscient presence in this newly fearful world of a wrathful god awakened. But time is running out and the Plutonian appears unstoppable... where is the Lex Luthor-type character when you need him?
I’d seen “Irredeemable” on the shelf for a couple years now but never bothered to pick it up for some reason. I’m so glad I finally got around to it. It’s a brilliantly original, utterly compulsive read which will appeal to all fans of superhero comics who enjoy alternative approaches to the archetypal characters found within this genre. After an astonishingly good first volume, I’m fully committed now to reading the next 9 volumes - that’s how impressed I was with this book. All fans of “The Boys” should do themselves a favour and check out “Irredeemable”, you won’t regret it. -
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
4.5 ****s
Wow what a rush. I'm late to the party, but damn I'm hooked!
This is excellent, I love what Waid has churned out here. He's obviously had time to deliberate about this character.
In my head I was cheering for the heroes, and unlike your typical child friendly comic, wham they're dead. Fucking brilliant.
It's almost a what if Gareth Ennis did superman ha ha.
I'm buying all of these ASAP. -
This comic has been on my radar for a while and I’m glad I finally got around to starting it. I think the whole superhero turns into an evil villain is such a cool concept and I’m really excited to see all of the reasons why Plutonian turned into a baddie. The volume dived straight in, there was no lukewarm introductory volume or issue and I loved that. The artwork is also great. I really liked this and I would definitely recommend it.
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The wrath of a vengeful, capricious and unstable god.
Mark Waid’s Irredeemable describes a superhero story where a Superman goes bad and then rogue and all hell breaks loose. And people die.
Comparisons will certainly be made to Garth Ennis’ brilliant series The Boys, about super’s who are actually very bad. But whereas The Boys is a scathing social and political satire, Waid has here concocted a humanistic morality play wherein he asks the question: what if our heroes are not emotionally stable enough to handle the role of hero?
Irredeemable‘s Plutonian (and Ennis’ Homelander) can also be seen as allegories against totalitarianism as the Superman character represents an oppressive government against whom nothing can be done. If the hero turns villain, and he’s bullet proof and indestructible, what are you going to do to stop him?
Marvel’s Hulk, one of my favorite comic book characters, is portrayed more as a loose cannon, a victim of mental illness. What Waid and Ennis have done is to twist the good Superman character to bad. And in metaphor, ask the question, if there is an all-powerful entity, whether a meta human in fiction, or an unaccountable government in reality, what are we going to do?
Grant Morrison famously stated, succinctly, that comics make complicated issues simple – villains represent injustice, and they can be punched and defeated, and thrown in jail, and it’s fun and gratifying but we all know real life is much more complex. It’s rarely Us and Them, it’s really only just US – Bad Guys can be girls who have justifiable and understandable backstories, and the Good Guys are frequently not so good.
This last complication is one that is so ably explored by Garth Ennis in The Boys and one here masterfully crafted by Mark Waid. Both have a very powerful meta human who has gone from good to bad. Ennis’ Homelander has the added wrinkle that he is made out to be good, by savvy public relations and a toadying media, and swallowed whole by a gullible public.
Waid’s Plutonian, the errant great Superman in this world building, as he explains in his forward comments, no one just becomes evil, it’s not a light switch. There was a process. And Waid’s own commentary about the emotional stability of a meta human makes this work so well on multiple levels.
This also contains enough biblical and theological references to suggest a religious allegory as well.
Very cleverly done, I’ll be back for more.
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Bullet Review:
Incredibly creative and impressive. I suppose one could say, isn't it de rigeur to produce some type of story in which the good guys are actually bad and the bad guys aren't what you think? To that I say, who effing cares when you have an author who can do it right? This is an example of how it's done right - you are thrown head first into this bloodbath (and yeah, heroes die in this), and are left scrambling and questioning, "Wait, how did this happen?!"
SIDENOTE: Imagine Star Wars done this way. Intriguing, mmmm? Yoda going at Mace Windu, bloodthirst in his eyes?
I’m so glad I went back to the list of comics my coworker had sent me last year. -
It is a highly promising series, I have a high expectations and after reading the first volume, so far so good.
The main issue of Superman-class hero turned into villain is one of popular theme for several years, but so far the serious story explorations were the how, the technicality to beat the man. And usually some true antagonists using the technics to beat the protagonists.
This series explore the true interesting parts: the why. And there are some interesting sub-plots and background stories. But the main advantage of this story, by not using the usual characters of those two giant US comic publishers, I really hope the story will go to somewhere. -
Introduction:
I have read many comic books from different companies including Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse, but this was honestly the first time I had read a comic book series from Boom Studios! This comic book happens to be called “Irredeemable,” which is an Eisner Nominated Comic Book Series that is written by Mark Waid along with artwork by Peter Krause and man, was I in for one heck of a surprise when I started reading this comic book!
What is this story about?
In this volume, the Plutonian was once the World’s greatest superhero, but then one day, he suddenly went insane and started killing many innocent people. His former teammates then try to come up with a plan to find out about what made the Plutonian snap and try to learn more about who he really is and how to stop him before he destroys the world!
What I loved about this story:
Mark Waid’s writing: Now, I will admit that I have read many comic books where the superheroes go bad (some stories were good and some stories were bad and should have never been printed in the first place), but this was probably one of the most unique takes on the classic “superhero going rogue” story line that I have ever read. Mark Waid has done a great job at presenting the readers with a premise that would sound preposterous to some superhero fans, but ended up making this story pretty interesting to read! I liked the way that Mark Waid explored the idea of a superhero going rogue through the Plutonian and the affect it had on his former teammates and his loved ones. It is like seeing a close friend of yours suddenly going insane and you have no idea how or why your friend is going insane, which really makes this situation pretty personal for anyone who had to go through that in real life. I also loved the mystery that Mark Waid provided in this story such as trying to figure out why the Plutonian went insane and what could possibly stop his rampage across the world, which I figure might be the main plot of this whole series.
Peter Krause’s artwork: Peter Krause’s artwork was just amazing in this volume! I loved how realistic the characters look and I also loved how Peter Krause drew the scenes where the Plutonian caused mass destruction all over the world, which was both chilling and mesmerizing to watch! I also loved the way that the characters’ faces and bodies are shadowed whenever they are in the dark during the night scenes as they make the images much more effective to look at.
What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:
The reason why I took off a star from this book was because while I enjoyed the story about a superhero suddenly going rogue, I would have liked to know more about the Plutonian as a character and about his teammates also. It felt like they just threw the characters into this situation without really explaining about why this is all happening. Maybe the plot about finding out more about the Plutonian as a character and why he went on a rampage is a part of the big mystery for this series, but I still would have liked to learn more about the Plutonian in this volume just so I could care more about his character when he did go rogue.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, “Irredeemable Volume One” is an interesting comic book about what would happen if a superhero goes rogue and the lengths one must take to stop that superhero from destroying the world. I am definitely going to check out the next volume to see what happens next!
Review is also on:
Rabbit Ears Book Blog
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Irredeemable couldn't better describe this. What begins with promise quickly fizzles out as a blatant, tedious insult to our favorite superheroes. Coming from the writer of Kingdom Come, this is disappointing.
The Plutonian is a shallow, cheesy imitation of Superman. He lacks origin, depth, and dialog, serving as a fast and foolish satire. He stupidly reveals his identity and projects blame. His dialog ranges between cliché superhero and impetuous villain. He doesn't appear genuinely moral or altruistic, instead merely performing prototypical tasks like disarming self-destructing robots or saving puppies. I find it difficult for a writer to say something transcendental when a character not only fails to be ordinarily okay, but is a pale imitation of the characters he seeks to allegorize.
"Villainy isn't a light switch," Waid tells us, but it sure seems like it. In Volume 1, in the very first scene, Plutonian is already evil without explanation. Then we're shown snippets of him as a good guy, one very stupid thing that he does (read: "betrayal"), then fast forward to the present and he's evil again. I can tell this series will probably drag out the Why, but for me this is anticlimactic because we already know that Plutonian goes evil. So why not show it slowly, in real time, rather than show him already burning people alive yet tell us evil is a gradual process? So the introduction Waid gives us about moral conflict and the slow burn of villainy doesn't match up to the narrative's unfolding.
Waid wants to delve and explicate Superman and superhero mythos and morality but instead he reveals too much too quickly and brashly insults him (and my favorite, Batman) without saying anything meaningful or interesting, which is just poor writing. -
What would happen if the world's greatest superhero turned into a bad guy? That's happening in Mark Waid's Irredeemable. Not a completely new idea i know but if Superman lost it you wouldn't be to frightened because you know there is Batman and the JL. Same goes for Hulk and the Avengers. This is where Irredeemable wins points. The fact that all the characters are unknown to us makes it interesting. Also Plutonian ( main character ) seemz invincible and his old partners who are trying to stop him are no much for him.
If you are into superhero comics and want to read something new this might be what you are looking for -
Wow, that was great! The concept of Superman-type hero gone crazy homicidal maniac is not new, but I've never seen it done so well before. Plutonian is absolutely terrifying, and the story feels believable in the way it escalates and develops. Excellent start to a hopefully great series!
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Man oh man...I never got to finish this in High School. I read up to Volume 3.
So I'm re-reading it from start to finish because...well because the movie reminded me I never finished it. So here we go.
What if you took Superman and made him into a killing machine. Cool. Now what if have a mystery of WHY crazy Superman is murdering all of his friends. SWEET.
The first volume of Irredeemable starts off vicious and doesn't let up...too much. You see the death of countless character, who you don't have any attachment to but still feel awful when you see them get murdered. That's a big plus for me. You also get some intriguing mystery notes that make you wonder why such a good man would turn to such a ugly side.
My main issues stem from the art being a little bit eh. Especially with faces sometimes. Also the plot feels like it jumps a lot and doesn't always follow a good pace. It catches something interesting and lets it go for something no one cares about.
Still, this is a very solid first volume to get you into a world of fear and honestly, some nasty shit this "hero" does that you can't look away from. A 3.5 out of 5. -
You tell a man he's a god enough times, and he'll start to be believe it. You strip away his humanity by worshipping him, and eventually he'll think it's his right to lord over you. Continuously mention that his powers are the only reason the planet still turns, and one day that virtue that compels him to save you will turn into the vice that causes him to decimate whole cities without remorse.
However, despite that recipe for disaster, there's still one more key ingredient. The inner struggle that a person like this would face. Someone who struggles with difficult decisions everyday in regard to the safety of others. Out of millions of people, who do you save and who do you let die? How do you deal with humanity's capacity for ingratitude when you don't save them in the manner they wish to be saved? How do you deal with people who try to marginalize your feats by calling you a "pervert in underwear?"
The answer is simple in the case of Plutonian. You've ignored that he is human (or humanoid) and has human weaknesses and emotions. You've rejected his attempts to be normal, to give him something that anchors him to his human side. There's no longer any need for him to act like a mere human. You've made him a god, and now, he becomes a god. He has every right to judge anyone--hero, villain, and civilian--because he's your god, a monster of human creation.
I know I'm still in the early stages of this series, but the above is what I gathered from the first volume. These opinions may change as I continue to read this series, and I'll acknowledge that when the time comes. Once Plutonian turns, he doesn't discern between friend and foe--taking some lives, leaving others alive to suffer his carnage. Making a hero, a hero who questioned Plutonian before his heel turn about how it felt to be responsible for so many lives, choose ten people out of millions to save and then killing the rest before that same hero's eyes while telling him: "This is what it felt like."
While Plutonian is inarguably the greatest super-powered being on earth (I know Max Damage from Incorruptible is pretty strong himself and can, at the very least, withstand Plutonian's abuse, but I'm not sure yet if he could actually beat Plutonian at this point), this story for me isn't just about the greatest superhero on earth becoming the greatest supervillain. It's a story about a man who wasn't allowed to be human, so he became a god instead.
Waid has also taken some traditional superhero tropes and turned them on their ear such as what if a hero did confess his identity to someone one close to him, expecting their inexplicable acceptance of who he is and forgiveness for hiding his identity all this time to protect them. Yeah, this ain't Superman, honey. What if a hero didn't get all the acceptance and support he needed from the people around him? What does he do then? Waid is addressing things that I've questioned in comic stories.
And I really love this about the story.
However (you knew a HOWEVER was coming), I'm not as drawn into the story as I'd like to be even though I do like the foundation of it. And maybe this partly by my own design because instead of focusing on this series first I read the first volume of The Boys which I really, really enjoyed. When I love something and I start moving on to other similar media/genres, I expect them to keep my enjoyment buzz going. That isn't this comics fault, and as I said, it's not a bad comic. I probably should've waited a few more days when I wasn't thinking about The Boys anymore. I have a tendency to ponder things long after I've read them.
Another problem I'm having is with Volt who is an African-American superhero with electricity powers. Most of his panels include switching into AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) to prove how racist the white people are and how little they expect of him, which was true in a couple of panels. Other times, it just seems kind of random and unnecessary. He also enjoyed pointing out a black superhero with electricity powers is a cliche when nobody said anything about it, but what can he do about it? The only thing he really said that spoke to me, something that I’ve spoken about with other comic book fans of color, is the need to add BLACK to the beginning of some black or ambiguously brown heroes’ names. He’s Volt, guys. Just Volt. PREACH, Volt!
I’m hoping Waid does better than this with Volt because as it stands he feels silly, forced, and unnatural at times as if Volt is incapable of being a normal person while facing issues that concern his race. It seems he can only be one or the other, but not both at the same time. So far, instead of pointing out why such behavior is problematic, Volt would rather sarcastically respond to their micro-aggression by slipping into jive talk and leave them to their “accidental” racist tendencies. And while I think Waid is an exceptional writer when it comes to showing the moral standings of heroes, I’m not sure if I think he is capable of providing an adequate portrayal of how an African-American superhero deals with racism as a person and as a hero because this can be a tough issue for anyone to grasp.
This was an interesting beginning, though, and I'll move on to the next volume, but only time will tell whether Waid handles the complex issues he's setting up expertly or not. -
This book earns a "WOW" from me!
For readers who are hugely captivated by superheroes, this book will hit them where they live. It's very ambitious and quite brave of Mark Waid to go there. To show a superhero go dark, and I mean, really, really dark. I know that we've seen Superman get a little 'bad boy' when he gets poisoned by red kryptonite, but that is no where near what happens to Plutonium.
Plutonium is evidence of a superhero who cracks under the pressure. He has been derided and criticized and blamed for what he has not done and not thanked enough for what he does. He hears all the negative thoughts of people, and over time it erodes his optimism and belief in himself and humanity. When betrayed by people who he trusted, he goes over the edge and becomes a genocidal killing machine with no sense of morality or ethics. The worst part is he is nearly invincible and he is determined to kill all his former crimefighting partners.
This is a book I read with my mouth open, my eyes transfixed by the visceral, emotionally distressing story unfolding before me. It was like a runaway train that couldn't be stopped. I can imagine the horror of Plutonium's former teammates and his past love interest. Their increasing realization that nothing would be able to stop Plutonium before he had exhausted his rage and ceased his rampage of terror, if ever.
Part of me is afraid to keep reading this, but part of me is afraid not to read it. I have to know what happens next. If anything will bring Plutonium to his senses. Where does this end? My inquisitive brain is already pondering what happens next.
This is a powerful and fearless series.
4.5/5.0 stars. -
Wow it's been a while and it's still stunningly good.
I think I first read this series in 2011 and when I did I saw Elseworlds Supermen. This is Injustice before Injustice and it's fantastic.
World: The art is real, it's dark it's grim and it's informs the tone of the book. The world building is also effortless. You start with very little context and Waid just takes you on this journey. Eventually you will pick up the pieces to the story and it will slowly become more and more clear to the reader. However this first arc is all about tone and setting the reader's expectations for this series and this world and it's fantastic.
Story: Dark dark dark. This is what happens when Superman goes bad and it's handled so well and realistically. It's not what you expect from Waid and that makes it so much better. The first couple of pages are a bit disorienting as you just are thrown into the story, but I think as it progresses the story picks up it's legs and pace. It's good and this first 4 issue arc is simply there to set up the tone and show how dark this story is and it does that so well.
Characters: Plutonian gets a lot of development but it's still in bits and pieces and it makes for such an interesting story. We as readers are learning about him along with the Paradigm. It's good, the team is interesting and the each individual pieces we get are real an deep. I don't want to say more cause at the heart of this story it's about characters.
This was a wonderful start and a reminder of why I was so swept away by this series the first go around. This needs to be a tv series.
Onward to the next book! -
I really had no idea what was going on in issue four (the last issue in this collection)- the Plutonian is destroying Singapore with diamonds from space, which creates a tsunami...
Yeah, I would call this under-scripted.
Maybe I read it too quickly. On the other hand, this series goes on for something like twelve more volumes. Not sure I'll make it. -
This book didn’t waste any time and got straight to it. Face paced, it kind of just hits the ground running. There’s a superhero that everyone loved. But for some reason he has turned evil and he has done some F’d up stuff. This guy is basically invincible. Super strong, he can fly fast as hell, he can hear everything, shoot stuff out of his eyes, I mean this guy is a real threat. The rest of the heroes that used to be teammates with him are scrambling to find a solution. Definitely enjoyed this. Looking forward to that Omnibus/compendium that’s coming.
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No preconceived reason I should particularly dislike this book yet here we are.
I basically just couldn’t care for any of the characters and in all honesty the art was way too mediocre to make me fear Tony’s power in any way. I couldn’t feel any tension/apprehension/threat with so poor art. It killed the book for me. -
This was my 2nd read of this first volume of Irredeemable. I have to say the premise alone is genius, and the execution in the first issue is tremendous. The art is great, the story is fantastic, and sets up a base upon which to build one heck of a story. What happens when the World's Greatest Hero loses his shit and starts killing people? What do you do? Who do you turn to? Who is safe? How will the other heroes handle it? Is he a bad guy now or is he even beyond that?
What happens when Superman (or his equivalent, the Plutonian) can't handle the negative feedback and people who keep wanting from him? When he's just had enough?
A great start for a fascinating series.
Highly recommended, just as interesting the first time. -
A Superman-esque character who was the ideal hero in a world and the superteam "Paradigm" but then the story is how he turned evil and started destroying the world and yes its not new but the way its done is awesome like its through his friends/colleagues you learn of his past and how he saved them all or inspired them but in the present day him killing people in Sky City or Singapore or taking out the villains or fellow heroes and that scene in UN, its brutal and doesn't hold back. Its a tragic story the way it unfolds and the art is pretty good too. The narrative flows well with the art! Really liked this one and has some nod to an enemy called "Modeus" who seems like will play a big part later!
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Fantastic. Issue #4 gave me chills. This is as epic as it gets. Mark Waid’s pacing is fantastic and it really gives the sense of imminent doom. Super-powered beings drop like flies and the intensity keeps ratcheting up. Mark Waid has been fantastic at deciding when to reveal important info, and linking these bits of info between issues. Really excited to read more and hopefully the series can also provide insight and depth to the Plutonian character and really make me believe that Superman could turn evil.
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I love the idea but I just found the execution a bit lacking. Kind of Meh for me.
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Solid!
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Mark Waid - writer
Peter Krause - artist
5/5 stars
What would it take for Superman to be pushed over the edge of sanity, and what would the consequences be for humanity when the most powerful "super hero" on Earth gives in to his dark side? This is the premise for Mark Waid's excellent series "Irredeemable." Volume 1 begins after The Plutonion (for all intents and purposes Superman -- super-strength, flight, super-senses, invulnerability, super-speed, etc. -- but without the canonical baggage of the Man of Steel, which would push the bounds of believability for this story) has already snapped and is hunting down The Hornet, a super hero who was once his best friend and ally. The Plutonion bursts into the Hornet's home and vaporizes his wife; The Hornet flees with his daughter but the Plutonion easily catches them. After vaporizing her father the Plutonion whispers to the young girl "Do you know who I am, Sarah? I'm a super hero." Chilling stuff.
This volume splits time between The Plutonion's narrative and that of his former allies, The Paradigm, who seek to understand their former friend's betrayal while desperately searching for some means to defeat the crazed superhuman.
Highly recommended. -
Great premise. "Superman-rip-off snaps and becomes the world's worst super-villain" has a novel ring to it, and it's good that this comes from a competent writer like Mark Waid, that way we know it'll be at least "good".
Well, this was good. My main issue with this book is that it is basically 4 issues of set-up, throws a LOT of stuff at you (sometimes through flashbacks) and it's not established as to why, exactly, the hero turns bad.
However, it did get me interested enough to read volume 2, where I suspect some of the concerns I had with this book will be adressed. Also, with only 4 issues collected in this volume, it's hard to get an accurate feel for how the series will evolve, so reading subsequent volumes is necessary.
On to
Irredeemable, Volume 2, then... -
Pretty cool take on the "What if Superman went evil?" genre. Not quite a 5-star effort for me due to some inconsistent art that took me out of the story a few times, but definitely a title I'm interested in continuing to read.
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Very well written story. The question of what happens when a superman level hero goes bad is well handled by Mark Waid. Good art and story make this a great read, Very recommended
