Irredeemable

Irredeemable
Irredeemable #1. Art by John Cassaday.
Publication information
Publisher	Boom! Studios
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	April 2009 – present
Creative team
Written by	Mark Waid
Artist(s)	Peter Krause Diego Barretto
Letterer(s)	Ed Dukeshire
Colorist(s)	Andrew Dalhouse
Editor(s)	Matt Gagnon
Collected editions
Volume 6	ISBN 160886054X
Volume 2	ISBN 1608860000
Volume 3	ISBN 1608860086
Volume 4	ISBN 1608860299
Volume 5	ISBN 160886040X

Irredeemable is an American comic book series written by Mark Waid, with artwork by Peter Krause and published by Boom! Studios. The series began publication in April 2009.

Publication history

Initial pre-publication publicity utilized the tagline "Mark Waid is Evil! Mark Waid is Irredeemable!", which culminated with the release of a limited edition "Mark Waid is Evil" tee-shirt at the 2009 New York Comic Con. On February 23, 2009, Boom! Studios released a trailer, by Craig Kennedy at CK Creative, for the series on YouTube and posted the first 7 pages of the first issue on the company website.

The first issue, which included an afterword by Grant Morrison, featured a cover by John Cassaday, a 1-in-4 variant cover by Barry Kitson, and a 1-in-50 incentive cover signed by Mark Waid with artwork by Jeffrey Spokes. The incentive variants by Spokes for the first 12 issues of the series will spell out Irredeemable, with one letter being featured on each cover. A silver holofoil edition, limited to 500 copies with a cover stating "Mark Waid is Evil", was released at the 2009 Emerald City Convention. The first issue sold out of Diamond Comics Distribution on the day of release, which caused the publisher to immediately solicit a second printing of the comic. The second printing's cover is a sketch version of Kitson variant and a 1-in-20 incentive reprinting of the Spokes cover, not signed by Waid.

Background and creation

"What if you go from, you know, Captain America to Doctor Doom? What if you go from Superman to Lex Luthor? How do you go from being the greatest hero in the world — someone that everybody knows, and everybody loves, and everyone recognizes — to the greatest villain in the world? What is that path? It's not a light switch, it's not an on-off switch, it's not something that you wake up one day and just become evil."

Mark Waid on the basis for Irredeemable

Irredeemable is author Mark Waid's third and "most complex" story concerning the "cost of superheroics" or the "path of villainy". Kingdom Come concerned the "ethical price of heroism" and Empire premised the ultimate failure of superheroes, but Irredeemable is "about how the lessons we learn about right and wrong as children can become warped and twisted when challenged by the realities of the adult world." Waid realized that the concept was one he could never properly explore at either DC or Marvel Comics, a "Twilight of the Superheroes"-style story revolving around the premise of "how does a man go from being the world’s greatest superhero to its greatest supervillain?"

Waid's premise stems from the rejection of the idea that, in "superhero comics, pretty much everyone who’s called upon to put on a cape is, at heart, emotionally equipped for the job." He expounds of this by stating that:

The beauty of Superman is that he can deal with that level of adulation without it going to his head, without it warping him, but he's a very special individual. We presume, whenever we write superheroes and we come up with superhero origins, that anybody who gets the powers of a superhero — even if they are like Spider-Man and they've got things they've got to work out that issue and responsibility and power and responsibility — we assume that they eventually have the emotional makeup it takes to overcome these things. Well, what if you gave that level of power to someone who, at heart, didn't have that emotional capability?

Waid further notes that, "by the classic superhero rules," a hero can't concern themselves with what people think of them, but that if "you are so far removed as to not care what people think of you, it takes one less step to not care what people think."

Plot synopsis

The comic begins with an attack by a former superhero, the Plutonian, on the home of another superhero, the Hornet. The Plutonian murders the Hornet and his family, but not before he activates the "Vespa protocol". It becomes clear that while once he was considered the world's greatest superhero, unknown events have twisted him into becoming the world's most powerful and merciless supervillain. The story centers around his former teammates trying to piece together what could have made such a selfless and benevolent individual into an irredeemable maniac, and how to stop him, considering he is more powerful than all of them, knows all their secrets and has no known weaknesses.

Over time, the motivations of the Plutonian become clear to the reader. As a child, despite a desperate need to be loved and incredible self-control over his powers, all attempted foster parents feared him and his possible wrath. Later, as an adult, his incredible senses caused him to see the worst in humanity every day, and he experienced it first-hand more than once. But his breaking point would come when his trust in a scientist by giving him a sample of alien technology led to the deaths of the children of an entire town (due to the accidental release of an alien virus carried by their screams), while at the same time he had retreated off-planet to escape the never-ending cries for help - for no more than ten minutes.

The Plutonian's rampage has cost the lives of millions. He has destroyed Sky City (the city he formerly protected), destroyed the nation of Singapore with asteroids he hurled from space after turning them into diamonds, murdered some of his former enemies, and hunted down and killed his former allies. However, after the hero Scylla was murdered by the Plutonian, Scylla's powers flowed into his equally powerful twin Charybdis. Charybdis, now possessing twice the power he did before, proved capable of fighting the Plutonian head on, and drove him into hiding. Currently, the Plutonian is now hiding at the gravesite of Samsara (whom he lobotomized, though Samsara was able to survive due to his powers, albeit in a brain-damaged state). What no one knows however, including the Plutonian, is that Samsara's damaged mind is currently being inhabited by Modeus, who abandoned his body and sent his mind into Samsara's body, which he considered to be "the safest place on Earth".

The US Government, having seen how powerful Charybidis is and fearing that he will go on a rampage just like the Plutonian, summons an alien hunting demon Orian to destroy the Paradigm team. After he maims Gilgamos to get a secret out of Bette Noir, she reveals that she had an affair with the Plutonian. The Plutonian showed her a candle that can make him mortal and they used it to make love. When he didn't notice, she stole a piece of the candle wax. If she told Paradigm about this, they could have stopped the Plutonian right when he began his rampage and they could have saved millions of lives. After Charybdis goes head to head with Orian, everyone in the Paradigm are captured by the US Army while Bette Noir escapes and Orian pulls Charybdis into another dimension to fight. Bette Noir finds her father and confesses everything, and Gilgamos escapes from prison by tearing off his wing and using the bones to pick the lock and escape. Having overheard the conversation between Bette Noir and Orian, he goes to their home to look for the piece of wax that can kill the Plutonian. Bette Noir helps the other Paradigm members escape.

Modeus, in Samsara's body, manipulates the Plutonian into taking him to his first foster family, who are still afraid of him and communicate through signs for fear that he will hear them. Later they all meet for a final battle, but Qubit notices that while Charybdis and Orian are fighting the Plutonian, they are also driving into a major fault line that could kill millions, all part of Modeus's plan. During the struggle Modeus (in Samsara's body) lures and then kills Volt by pushing him over a cliff. Eventually Bette Noir fires the piece of wax, now a bullet, at the Plutonian's head but Qubit teleports the bullet so that it goes through Orian's head, killing him. The reason for this is because Qubit had surmised and verified with Orian that once the Plutonian had been killed, Orian would have an invading force from his dimension enter the Paradigm's dimension to take over where the Plutonian had left off. Samsara and the Plutonian escape, and the rest of Paradigm are distraught at how Qubit robbed Bette Noir of her redemption. Unknown to all but the reader, Qubit not only redirected the bullet to kill Orian, but also teleported it away after doing so and is now in possession of the wax bullet to be used some other time.

Qubit and Kaidan are now at the graveyard of all of the fallen superheroes. Qubit asks her to reminisce about all of the superheroes that died, and now she can summon them as ghosts. Kaidan begins to form stories about her fallen friends, and as a result realizes that Scylla has to be alive, as she can not summon him like the others. Scylla is still in the hands of the rouge Modeus bot.

Meanwhile, Plutonian and Modeus (still in Samsara's body) have come back to Sky City with a gem that contains restorative properties, much like Samsara's gem. Samsara explains to Plutonian that the gem has enough energy to restore everyone in Sky City to life, and that Plutonian should be able to activate that energy. Plutonian uses his heat vision on the gem, in an attempt to ignite the restorative energies, and puts out enough heat energy to cause fission on the Hydrogen atoms in the air. This is not enough, however and Plutonian states that the only person that could have figured out how to release the energy would have been Modeus. Plutonian goes on to talk about his past with Modeus, and eventually explains that Modeus did not hate him, he was in love with him. Plutonian caught Modeus creating sex robots, built in Plutonians image, and realized that everything Modeus did was to remove all distractions so Plutonian would only focus on him.

Plutonian reveals that he knows that Modeus is inside of Samsara's body, but cannot bring himself to hurt Modeus as Plutonian "could never look at that face and feel anything but love..." As a result, Plutonian uses his heat vision to horrifically scar Samsara/Modeus's face, thus sending Modeus running off in pain.

At this point, Qubit reveals a plan set in motion years ago by The Hornet to save the world from Plutonian. The Hornet had suspected the Plutonian would turn for several years, all based on one small mention of the Hornet's wife, Donna. Plutonian asks Hornet about his wife by name, which causes the Hornet to realize that he had never mentioned her name before. Time passes, and eventually the Earth is invaded by creatures known as the "Vespa," (or Vzz-P'ah as Qubit calls them), and the heroes begin to fight. It becomes apparent that not even Plutonian can defeat these aliens alone, and Hornet decides to change tactics. He infiltrates the ship, and discovers that the aliens are building a massive army to annihilate the Earth with. Instead of letting this come to pass, Hornet strikes a deal with the Vespa. He not only gives them teleportation technology, but also agrees to give them starmap data with all the worlds the Paradigm has visited over the years. The Vespa then agree to return when they are needed, to take Plutonian and do whatever they want with him.

Before he died, Hornet activated the call to the Vespa. The Vespa arrive, and immediately go to work attacking the Plutonian. They use weaponized teleportation technology (given to them by the Hornet), which "removes invulnerable molecules that cannot otherwise be cut," and "forcefields that deflect incoming attacks." The Vespa prove more than able to harm Plutonian, until he begins to super accelerate his body. The Vespa are able to obtain DNA samples from the Plutonian, and use these samples to clone a straight jacket made of invulnerable molecules. Kaidan then uses her new found powers to resurrect the dead heroes of the world in order to bring Plutonian down while the Vespa apply the straight jacket to him.

However, this appears to fail as Plutonian breaks free, and quickly gathers the large healing gem. He uses his heat vision one last time, and succeeds in bringing everyone in Sky City back to life. This is shown to be only the dreams of a mad man, as Plutonian is shown clearly under the control of the Vespa. The Vespa take Plutonian with them into space, and continually scramble his brain to prevent him from breaking free. Plutonian sees himself as he once was, wearing white and saving the world once again. The people in his dream appear grateful, as he not only restores their lives, but restores Sky City to its once beautiful state using "chill water from the magic river of memory." In his dream, Plutonian finally appears to be happy, having once again saved everyone.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the remaining members of the Paradigm are overjoyed. Survivor gives a speech to everyone in the world, and declares a worldwide holiday. He promises that the Paradigm will protect the world better than the Plutonian ever could have, much to Qubit's dismay. Survivor begins to promise too much, and Qubit is obviously distraught by this. Plutonian is finally removed from his dreamlike state by the Vespa, but instead chooses to remain in his own world. He is thrown into a pit with other creatures, and lets them viciously beat him while he dreams of his peaceful world.

The dreams start to change and the Plutonian sees all of the people who betrayed him finally start to show him the love and appreciation he thinks he deserves. In one dream he is on a date with Alana and then when he looks away for a moment, Alana is replaced by Modeus. This causes some mental instability within the Plutonian's mind. In the real world the Vespa are being shown a demonstration of the way prisoners are kept in check with the use of a graviton well by another race of beings. This causes most prisoners some discomfort, but hardly affects the Plutonian. The warden turns the graviton well all the way up, which liquifies most prisoners. Yet, the Plutonian is still standing. This distresses the Vespa and they take further restraining measures by again fabricating some binding wraps made from the DNA of the Plutonian which are unbreakable.

The Vespa then seal the Plutonian in a metallic, restricting box which is then encased inside an impenetrable diamond-like substance. This "new" prison is then attached to a ship and flown towards a neighboring sun. The Vespa start to use up a lot of their fuel sources called Terromite trying to get the Plutonian to their intended destination. The Vespa finally make it to the heart of a neighboring sun, but they have depleted their fuel source and can see no means of escape available to them. Their leader professes that the rest of their race will consider them heroes for having dispatched the Plutonian before he could become a problem for them.

In the Plutonian's mind, we are then introduced to the Aurorian. The Aurorian is another super-powered being who is in a costume that covers his entire body. He saves the Plutonian from his nightmares, which causes himto awaken and realize he is surrounded by other aliens. Once he gets his bearings, he crashes through the wall and questions where he is. We see the Aurorian sitting nearby and he tells the Plutonian that they are in an insane asylum located at the heart of a sun and that if they are to be the first to ever escape this asylum, they have a lot of work to do.

Meanwhile, back on Earth; Survivor has taken the authority and issued a pardon to all peope with powers who may have previously been thought of as criminals. As long as they are willing to help rebuild and work on the side of good. Qubit has deep reservations about this and once again we see him tumble the bullet that has the ability to kill the Plutonian in his hands again. Survivor enlists the aid of an ESPer who reads the minds of all the new appicants seeking to work with the Paradigm. During these mind reading sessions, Qubit comes in claiming to have developed a device that will record the mental images being picked up by the ESPer, but in actuality he is implementing a soothing mental device that will ease the pain that the mind reader is experiencing, just as long as the mind reader looks into Survivor's mid first and exposes his secret for nt wanting to find his brother Scylla, who is still alive, just brain dead. Scylla is also shown to have been dressed up to look like the Plutonian and Modeus kiss him to see how it feels, and decides that he needs to bargain with Qubit to get Survivor out of power.

Characters

• The Plutonian - A Superman-level supervillain who was formerly the world's greatest superhero. Despite frequent glimpses into his childhood, his origins are unclear, with possibilities as diverse as being an alien or an orphaned mutant. The only known fact is that he was bounced around from foster-home to foster-home, with each set of parents returning him upon discovering his powers, until he at some point took on the name Daniel Hartigan. He was considered "the first and the best" among the heroes, and the leader of the Paradigm. However, the power and responsibility left him with the pressure to never make the slightest mistake for fear he'd hurt people and lose their love. This was supported by a lifetime of betrayal, misunderstanding, and loss fostered by people's fear he would turn on them, despite his incredible self-restraint with his powers and unwavering faith in others. In addition, his senses were expanded to the point that he could see and hear everything on the planet, eroding his confidence in humanity by being forced to witness the worst in them every day. In the end, one of his mistakes led to the deaths of hundreds of children, and when his sidekick Samsara found out, he snapped, unleashing a lifetime of pent-up rage and frustration and turning on the world. He has quickly become the greatest-mass murderer in history, with his teammates desperate to find a way to save, or if necessary, destroy him.

The Paradigm

The Plutonian's former teammates. Established four years before the events of the series, the surviving members struggle to discover a means to stop the Plutonian's rampage.

• Mr. Qubit -Founding member of the Paradigm. In the aftermath of the Plutonian's rampage, he acts as their de facto leader. His power allows him to mentally rearrange component machinery to form whatever device he imagines, an ability complemented by an intellect rivaling Modeus. Dispassionate and logical, he often acts as the voice of reason and conscience for the team. Notably, his insistence on not killing is well-known, even within the villainous community, and has led many to underestimate him, including the Plutonian. Following Scylla's death, he clashes with Survivor over the means to stop the Plutonian, insisting that Tony can still be saved despite his mass slaughter. Rather than cooperate with Orian, a demon, to eliminate the Plutonian, he redirects Bette's bullet to kill Orian instead. In a rare emotional outburst, he defends his decision by saying that Tony deserved better than a bullet and that Orian was a ruthless murderer hellbent on conquering Earth.
• Kaidan - Founding member of the Paradigm. She and fellow member Scylla were dating prior to the events of the series. Of Japanese ancestry, the women of her family can summon the spirits of folklore through verbal storytelling. Accordingly, her adopted moniker, Kaidan, refers to the traditional name for Japanese ghost stories. Following the betrayal of her idol, Plutonian, she discarded her garish costume and mask for more subdued street clothing. While originally limited to summoning the spirits of Japanese folklore, the scope of Kaidan's abilities has not been defined. In mourning over the loss of Volt, she begins reminiscing of her lost comrades and unexpectedly summons their ghostly forms.
• Gilgamos - An ageless winged warrior married to Bette Noir. Possesses superhuman strength and capable of unsupported flight. In the events surrounding the Paradigm's arrest, Gilgamos lost his wings. While the first was lost in combat, he voluntarily sacrificed the second to pick the lock of his cell. Following an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Plutonian and the revelation of his wife's infidelity, Gilgamos has begun to wander the Earth.
• Volt - Deceased. An African-American hero empowered by an alien energy and capable of emitting powerful electrical discharges from his hands in a manner explicitly reminiscent of Black Lightning. By controlled use of his powers, he was capable of unsupported flight. Following the loss of an arm to the Plutonian, Volt has been unable to fly unsupported. Deemed a threat to the Plutonian, Modeus murders him so that Qubit can foil the Paradigm's attempt to kill the Plutonian.
• Bette Noir - Founding member of the Paradigm. A female crime fighter who augments her uncanny aim with customized ammunition for dealing with specific threats. Married to Gilgamos but had an affair with the Plutonian prior to the series. As a result, Bette possessed candle wax capable of rendering the Plutonian a mortal man. She attempted to kill the Plutonian with a bullet formed of the magic wax but failed due to Qubit's interference. Unable to deal with the guilt of allowing millions to die by not acting sooner, she has disappeared.
• Scylla - Neutralized. Founding member of the Paradigm. Twin and partner of Charybdis. He and his brother are named after Scylla and Charybdis, sea monsters of ancient Greek Myth. Romantically involved with Kaidan. A rogue Modeus currently possesses his corpse for unknown reasons. Charybdis is the source of the energy they both manipulate. Scylla could only siphon it, in effect halving Charybdis' strength. Thought to be deceased, Kaidan has realized that Scylla is somehow still alive.
• Charybdis (or Cary) - Founding member of the Paradigm. Twin and partner of Scylla. Both Cary and Scylla wore partial face masks, as the result of an injury sustained during battle against the Plutonian. Each wore their mask on a different side of their face but were otherwise identical. Following Scylla's death, he adopts the codename Survivor in light of his new-found durability and power. With the combined powers of the brothers within him, Survivor is capable of rivaling the Plutonian. However, even with the combined might of Earth's superheroes, he was unable to subdue the Plutonian.
• The Hornet - Deceased. Founding member of the Paradigm. Reminiscent of Batman and/or Blue Beetle, a former policeman who relies on skill and gadgets to fight crime. Despite his initial resentment of Plutonian hogging the spotlight (he was going to go on his first patrol the day Plutonian revealed himself to the world), the two came to be partners, with Hornet even considering "Tony" his best friend. He and his whole family are murdered at the beginning of the series. However, in a message that came to light after his death, he revealed his greatest secret: he had always been suspicious of Tony, and when Earth was threatened by a race known as the Vespa, he traded in the locations of Earth-like planets the Paradigm had found that they could conquer. In exchange, they would not only spare Earth, but return to kill Plutonian if Hornet's fears came to pass and he went rogue.
• Inferno - Deceased. Real name Martin Reber. A "Wall Street billionaire" turned vigilante; he possessed a reputation as an excellent tactician. Killed off-screen during the Plutonian's initial rampage.
• Samsara - Neutralized. The Plutonian's former sidekick and the first hero to fall to his attacks. In addition to projecting a blue mystical energy, the crystal embedded in his forehead protects him from "mortal harm," making him virtually immortal. While Samsara cannot regrow lost tissue, the crystal keeps him alive long enough for any wound to close. Although the Plutonian lobotomized him, Samsara survived with severe brain damage and memory loss. Surprisingly, his body was possessed by Plutonian's nemesis, Modeus, in an attempt to manipulate the former hero, before being discarded. His current whereabouts are unknown.
• Metalman - Deceased. Founding member of the Paradigm. Possessed superhuman durability. Despite being capable of bouncing "mortar fire off his chest," he died defending a school of children from the Plutonian's rampage.
• Gazer - Deceased. Although physically hulking, he possessed telepathic powers capable of extending his "sight and hearing" by linking with the minds of others.
• Citadel - Deceased. Killed by the Plutonian's heat vision alongside Metalman. Powers unknown.
• Agent Nine - Status and powers unknown. Mentioned in passing by Qubit as being "off the grid" during the Plutonian's initial rampage.

Others

• Max Damage, protagonist of the spin-off book Incorruptible. Made few, if any, appearances in Irredeemable proper, but is known to have fought the Plutonian in the past, and explicitly mentions his fall from grace (Max was one of the few survivors of Sky City's destruction, meaning he witnessed the atrocity firsthand) the main motivation for his own change of heart. Has super strength and resistance to damage, that increases the longer he remains awake.
• Modeus - The Plutonian's former arch-nemesis. Hasn't been seen in years and may be the key to bringing down the Plutonian. Possesses an extreme affinity for technology. Now, unbeknown to anyone, manipulating the Plutonian for his own purposes in the body of Samsara. Eventually, Plutonian explained that he had realized some time ago that Modeus was in fact in love with him, but his damaged mind was only able to express this affection through trying to destroy everything else that could compete for Plutonian's time: his city, his friends and his loved ones. When Tony realized that Modeus was controlling his former sidekick, he admitted the scheme had worked. Plutonian could not look at him without feeling brotherly affection for his deceased partner...and then proceeded to incinerate his face to end the effect. He barely survived and sent his mind into the last of his Modeus robots.
• Encanta - One of the Plutonian's enemies. A magic-user who needs amulets and other paraphernalia to accomplish her spells. Notably, her magic proves strong enough to fully shield her from the destruction of Inferno's hideout. As revealed by Qubit's Modeus-Robots, she was the last person to see Modeus alive. She is kidnapped multiple times throughout the series for varying reasons: first, by the Plutonian (who uses her as a sex-slave), then by the Qubit of the Paradigm (who question her about the whereabouts of Modeus), and lastly, by the last surviving, rogue Modeus-Robot (for as-of-yet undisclosed reasons).
• Orian - An extraterrestrial alien hunter who was able to go toe-to-toe against the Paradigm and was only defeated because of the Plutonian. He is summoned by the US military to counter the Paradigm to keep them from turning rogue like the Plutonian. He made an alliance with Survivor to kill Plutonian with Bette's wax candle-coated bullet that would surely kill Plutonian, but while holding him down for the shot, Qubit created tiny portals so that the shot killed Orian instead (another portal retrieved the bullet for Qubit).

Reception

Initial critical reception for the series is positive, the first issue receiving 3.5 out of 5 stars from Comic Book Resources, complimenting the way the art worked with the story, and 4 out of 5 stars from Major Spoilers. John Hardick of The Express-Times describes the series as "on its way to becoming one of the best books of the year". Stephen Joyce at Comics Bulletin praised the writing, characters and art (in particular the coloring) in the first issue, concluding "This is an amazing book! I cannot stress how much I truly enjoyed it." Although the second issue was less action-packed Joyce still thought it was a "great story" and despite only being two installments in he says "I’m willing to bet that this story becomes a classic once it is completed".

Collected editions

The series is being collected into trade paperback:

• Volume 1 (collects issues #1–4, 112 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, October 2009, ISBN 1-934506-90-7)
• Volume 2 (collects issues #5–8, 112 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, March 2010, ISBN 1-60886-000-0)
• Volume 3 (collects issues #9–12, 112 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, July 2010, ISBN 1-60886-008-6)
• Volume 4 (collects issues #13-15 & Special #1, 112 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, Nov 2010, ISBN 1-60886-029-9)
• Volume 5 (collects issues #16-19, 128 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, Jan 2011, ISBN 1-60886-040-X)
• Volume 6 (collects issues #20-23, 128 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, May 2011, ISBN 1-60886-065-8)
• Volume 7 (collects issues #24-27, 128 pages, Boom! Studios, paperback, Oct 2011, ISBN 1608860558)

Spin-off

Incorruptible, former supervillain, Max Damage becomes a hero.

References

• Irredeemable at the Grand Comics Database
• Irredeemable at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)