What happens when a super-hero goes bad? And I don't mean any old run of the mill hero, but a Superman level hero. Someone with the power to destroy anyone and anything in his path. Someone who is mind-numbingly powerful, and pretty much invulnerable, too. And I don't mean "dark vigilante" bad, but "killing cute children and fuzzy puppies for fun" bad. What happens then? Tough questions, but I'm here to tell you that the answers can be found in Boom!'s Irredeemable #1 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause!
The Plutonian is the world's greatest hero. He is beloved all over the world, idolized by millions, and respected by evey other hero in the world. Of course, living up to an image like that puts a guy under a lot of pressure. There are always voices of doubt, people who want to put you down, people who don't appreciate your efforts. In this first issue, we get a few hints that these negative voices were what wore the hero down. Whatever pushed him over the edge, the Plutonian is in full-on villain mode when we first see him in action. Yep, heat vision sure can skeletonize a baby in nothing flat.
The other heroes find themselves desperately scrambling to find a way to defend themselves from the Plutonian's onslaught, but there seems to be very little hope of success. No one knows who he is, where he comes from, or how to stop him. They don't even know if he is really from Earth. The only one who might know something is his teen sidekick Samsara, but Sam was one of the Plutonian's first victims, and he isn't going to be telling anybody anything.
Mark Waid, who has been, perhaps unfairly, categorized as the go-to guy for squeaky-clean heroics, is taking a deep look at the dark side of super-heroes with this book. What makes someone a villain? What makes a good person go bad? How does a flawed hero deal with the constant disappointments and losses any hero is bound to face? Waid, though not evil, as the marketing campaign for this book suggests, has enough experience as a super-hero writer extraordinaire to delve in to all of these questions. He is ably assisted in this examination by Peter Krause, whose pencils are perfect for both the silver age style flashbacks of The Plutonian in happier days and the dark happenings in the present.
Check out this Book of the Week now at Four Color Fantasies! Irredeemable #1 is guaranteed good reading all week. Mark Waid seems like a nice guy, but if you disappoint him by failing to try his new book, he might be upset. He might be REALLY upset. It could even push him over the edge. Unless you want Mark Waid to track you down and give you a sternly worded lecture, you better go ahead and try this book now, before it is too late!
The Plutonian is the world's greatest hero. He is beloved all over the world, idolized by millions, and respected by evey other hero in the world. Of course, living up to an image like that puts a guy under a lot of pressure. There are always voices of doubt, people who want to put you down, people who don't appreciate your efforts. In this first issue, we get a few hints that these negative voices were what wore the hero down. Whatever pushed him over the edge, the Plutonian is in full-on villain mode when we first see him in action. Yep, heat vision sure can skeletonize a baby in nothing flat.
The other heroes find themselves desperately scrambling to find a way to defend themselves from the Plutonian's onslaught, but there seems to be very little hope of success. No one knows who he is, where he comes from, or how to stop him. They don't even know if he is really from Earth. The only one who might know something is his teen sidekick Samsara, but Sam was one of the Plutonian's first victims, and he isn't going to be telling anybody anything.
Mark Waid, who has been, perhaps unfairly, categorized as the go-to guy for squeaky-clean heroics, is taking a deep look at the dark side of super-heroes with this book. What makes someone a villain? What makes a good person go bad? How does a flawed hero deal with the constant disappointments and losses any hero is bound to face? Waid, though not evil, as the marketing campaign for this book suggests, has enough experience as a super-hero writer extraordinaire to delve in to all of these questions. He is ably assisted in this examination by Peter Krause, whose pencils are perfect for both the silver age style flashbacks of The Plutonian in happier days and the dark happenings in the present.
Check out this Book of the Week now at Four Color Fantasies! Irredeemable #1 is guaranteed good reading all week. Mark Waid seems like a nice guy, but if you disappoint him by failing to try his new book, he might be upset. He might be REALLY upset. It could even push him over the edge. Unless you want Mark Waid to track you down and give you a sternly worded lecture, you better go ahead and try this book now, before it is too late!
No comments:
Post a Comment