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Irredeemable #1-10
Irredeemable Omnibus
The complete collection of Mark Waid and Peter Krause’s critically acclaimed epic in one volume for the first time ever.
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF THE ACCLAIMED SUPER HERO EPIC.
When the Plutonian, the world's greatest superhero, snaps and turns into the world's greatest villain, only his former teammates have a chance at stopping his rampage. But while on the run from the world's most powerful and angry being, will these former teammates discover his secrets in time? How did he come to this? What became of the hope and promise once inside him? What happens to the world when its savior betrays it? What makes a hero irredeemable? For the first time, the entire Irredeemable saga is available in a single volume.
The acclaimed team of writer Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, The Avengers) and artist Peter Krause, along with some of the most acclaimed creators in comics, challenge everything you think you know about super heroes by exploring the good, the bad...and the irredeemable inside all of us.
Collects Irredeemable #1-37, Irredeemable Special #1 and Incorruptible #25-26.
THE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF THE ACCLAIMED SUPER HERO EPIC.
When the Plutonian, the world's greatest superhero, snaps and turns into the world's greatest villain, only his former teammates have a chance at stopping his rampage. But while on the run from the world's most powerful and angry being, will these former teammates discover his secrets in time? How did he come to this? What became of the hope and promise once inside him? What happens to the world when its savior betrays it? What makes a hero irredeemable? For the first time, the entire Irredeemable saga is available in a single volume.
The acclaimed team of writer Mark Waid (Kingdom Come, The Avengers) and artist Peter Krause, along with some of the most acclaimed creators in comics, challenge everything you think you know about super heroes by exploring the good, the bad...and the irredeemable inside all of us.
Collects Irredeemable #1-37, Irredeemable Special #1 and Incorruptible #25-26.
896 pages, Paperback
Published June 16, 2020
19 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Mark Waid
3,228 books1,297 followersMark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
August 2, 2023
An all-powerful superhero goes batshit.
The opening pages are incredibly compelling as you see Plutonian gleefully killing his best friend and fellow hero, Hornet (a thinly-veiled Batman), and his wife and children.
The rest of that world's superheroes are stunned as Plutionian's wave of destruction wreaks havoc across the globe, wiping out millions of people in days. Attempts are made to stop him, but he quickly cuts down any heroes who step in his way. The remaining superheroes are all in hiding, jumping from one safe house to another, always only a few steps away from Plutionian's wrath.
What happened?
Is someone controlling him? Some sort of sorcery? An alien parasite?
Or more frightening, is this what has always been lurking under the surface of the world's most powerful being?
And how do you stop a god?
That's the premise and Waid does an excellent job making this story feel fresh. I don't think it's necessarily a new idea, but that doesn't matter. There aren't really that many new ideas out there, but if you can take a concept and give me characters I care about and a plot I'm interested in, I'm happy.
I've read Irredeemable several times before but I've never actually been able to read the ending. For some reason, my library has every volume but the last one. So when a friend gifted this omnibus to me, I nearly fell over from excitement. <--or possibly I nearly fell over because this omnibus is huge and unwieldy.
Regardless. I nearly fell over.
The ending? It was great. It's not exactly a happy ending for all kind of thing, but it was a perfect ending for this sort of book. And it has a note of hope mixed with nostalgia that I really appreciated.
If you enjoy darker superhero stories like Injustice or The Boys, then Irredeemable is not to be missed.
Recommended.
The opening pages are incredibly compelling as you see Plutonian gleefully killing his best friend and fellow hero, Hornet (a thinly-veiled Batman), and his wife and children.
The rest of that world's superheroes are stunned as Plutionian's wave of destruction wreaks havoc across the globe, wiping out millions of people in days. Attempts are made to stop him, but he quickly cuts down any heroes who step in his way. The remaining superheroes are all in hiding, jumping from one safe house to another, always only a few steps away from Plutionian's wrath.
What happened?
Is someone controlling him? Some sort of sorcery? An alien parasite?
Or more frightening, is this what has always been lurking under the surface of the world's most powerful being?
And how do you stop a god?
That's the premise and Waid does an excellent job making this story feel fresh. I don't think it's necessarily a new idea, but that doesn't matter. There aren't really that many new ideas out there, but if you can take a concept and give me characters I care about and a plot I'm interested in, I'm happy.
I've read Irredeemable several times before but I've never actually been able to read the ending. For some reason, my library has every volume but the last one. So when a friend gifted this omnibus to me, I nearly fell over from excitement. <--or possibly I nearly fell over because this omnibus is huge and unwieldy.
Regardless. I nearly fell over.
The ending? It was great. It's not exactly a happy ending for all kind of thing, but it was a perfect ending for this sort of book. And it has a note of hope mixed with nostalgia that I really appreciated.
If you enjoy darker superhero stories like Injustice or The Boys, then Irredeemable is not to be missed.
Recommended.
July 19, 2022
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. Some of the issues before the final arc drag some which is the only reason this didn't get five stars. Still as a whole, this is a terrific series.
Krause is so good with how he depicts the Plutonian's mood swings. He'll be having a normal conversation (often with the other person looking worried or terrified.) Then after a page of dialogue, a look of murderous rage comes over his face and the next thing you know there's nothing but skeletons left in the room. It really ups the tension and brings it home just how terrifying it would be to have a murderous Superman loose in the world.
Now on to the quality of the materials used in this collection. They are crap. It's a massive omnibus only wrapped in a thin cardstock cover. Sections of the binding started coming loose from the glue before I even got half way through. There are also no extras, not even the regular covers for each issue and no chapter breaks. It's as bare bones as it could possibly get.
Krause is so good with how he depicts the Plutonian's mood swings. He'll be having a normal conversation (often with the other person looking worried or terrified.) Then after a page of dialogue, a look of murderous rage comes over his face and the next thing you know there's nothing but skeletons left in the room. It really ups the tension and brings it home just how terrifying it would be to have a murderous Superman loose in the world.
Now on to the quality of the materials used in this collection. They are crap. It's a massive omnibus only wrapped in a thin cardstock cover. Sections of the binding started coming loose from the glue before I even got half way through. There are also no extras, not even the regular covers for each issue and no chapter breaks. It's as bare bones as it could possibly get.
December 27, 2025
Eeeeeeeexcelent.
Grafica nu e mereu superlativă, și există câteva personaje care chiar sunt de umplutură, dar e una dintre rarele ocazii când personajele geniale chiar sunt scrise genial. E adevărat că interminabilele device-uri la care apeleaza Qubit pentru a salva ziua devin la un moment dat incredibile, dar înțeleg necesitatea lor.
Iar finalul, felul în care se leagă totul de apariția lui Superman... e chiar mai bun decât „Red Son”.
Super-recomand.
Grafica nu e mereu superlativă, și există câteva personaje care chiar sunt de umplutură, dar e una dintre rarele ocazii când personajele geniale chiar sunt scrise genial. E adevărat că interminabilele device-uri la care apeleaza Qubit pentru a salva ziua devin la un moment dat incredibile, dar înțeleg necesitatea lor.
Iar finalul, felul în care se leagă totul de apariția lui Superman... e chiar mai bun decât „Red Son”.
Super-recomand.
October 6, 2020
I read this entire series in a week and a half.
Why five stars? It’s far from perfect. But for whatever reason I couldn’t stop reading it—I loved it despite its flaws (for instance what point is Max Damage, and does incorruptible make sense of where he’s at in this?).
On that ending:
People are either gonna like it or not. I was bracing myself because I knew it was a divisive ending. I ended up liking it quite a bit.
This takes well worn territory of “what if Superman was bad” and made a very engaging fresh take on it by dealing with themes of redemption and punishment in interesting ways. Weirdly, as dark as this all was, it was hopeful.
As far as creator owned super universes, this is up there with The Boys and Invincible for me personally, for whatever reason.
8/10
Why five stars? It’s far from perfect. But for whatever reason I couldn’t stop reading it—I loved it despite its flaws (for instance what point is Max Damage, and does incorruptible make sense of where he’s at in this?).
On that ending:
People are either gonna like it or not. I was bracing myself because I knew it was a divisive ending. I ended up liking it quite a bit.
This takes well worn territory of “what if Superman was bad” and made a very engaging fresh take on it by dealing with themes of redemption and punishment in interesting ways. Weirdly, as dark as this all was, it was hopeful.
As far as creator owned super universes, this is up there with The Boys and Invincible for me personally, for whatever reason.
8/10
January 20, 2021
Very good. Its hard to compare anything else against one of my fave non marvel dc superhero stories(Invincible) however this does come close. Its pretty much what happense if superman was to go bad. Cool story and great artwork
October 7, 2022
Un cómic algo cafre y divertido al estilo The boys. Nos cuenta las andanzas del plutoniano, un superheroe al estilo superman, con multiples habilidades que es como un dios en la tierra pero se vuelve loco y empieza a exterminar a gente.
Sus antiguos camaradas intentarán parar la masacre con diferentes planes para que no acabe con el planeta.
No es lo mejor del género pero si es entretenido y extrañamente adictivo.
Sus antiguos camaradas intentarán parar la masacre con diferentes planes para que no acabe con el planeta.
No es lo mejor del género pero si es entretenido y extrañamente adictivo.
August 1, 2025
I see a lot of people say that this book goes completely south by the halfway point, but I'm not sure if I agree.
Irredeemable starts incredibly strong. From the beginning you see what exactly would happen if you had a Superman-like being go completely rogue. The Plutonian truly is a despicable person that will never find redemption. The side characters are interesting enough and I hardly felt many overstay their welcome. Qubit was great and I found myself really enjoying him the more I read. The first half it's what you expect and more. Just chaos and finding ways to to stop The Plutonian. The second half takes a completely different shift and a lot of things don't completely work. It tries to fit things in that came out of nowhere in the book and it just doesn't match everything else we read up to this point. And because it's such a sudden thing, it creates room for a lot of exposition that not many would care about. I don't believe it's bad, but it doesn't compare to the first half of this story. It feels like Waid tried to add too much complexity into a story that did not need it. The last 1/4th of the book falls in quality due to a number of reasonsas it just feels like this either should've been cut by 10 issues and that way, we would've avoided some messy arcs.
That said, I feel like I'm in the minority or something, but I think Mark Waid wraps this book up in a nice bow. This was a story deconstructing heroes and I felt like the ending came full circle and was a homage to heroes. I'm not saying it's perfect and I get why some wouldn't like it, but I also don't believe people should take the ending literally. At least, not completely. It's just a reminder of something greater.
Irredeemable starts incredibly strong. From the beginning you see what exactly would happen if you had a Superman-like being go completely rogue. The Plutonian truly is a despicable person that will never find redemption. The side characters are interesting enough and I hardly felt many overstay their welcome. Qubit was great and I found myself really enjoying him the more I read. The first half it's what you expect and more. Just chaos and finding ways to to stop The Plutonian. The second half takes a completely different shift and a lot of things don't completely work. It tries to fit things in that came out of nowhere in the book and it just doesn't match everything else we read up to this point. And because it's such a sudden thing, it creates room for a lot of exposition that not many would care about. I don't believe it's bad, but it doesn't compare to the first half of this story. It feels like Waid tried to add too much complexity into a story that did not need it. The last 1/4th of the book falls in quality due to a number of reasonsas it just feels like this either should've been cut by 10 issues and that way, we would've avoided some messy arcs.
That said, I feel like I'm in the minority or something, but I think Mark Waid wraps this book up in a nice bow. This was a story deconstructing heroes and I felt like the ending came full circle and was a homage to heroes. I'm not saying it's perfect and I get why some wouldn't like it, but I also don't believe people should take the ending literally. At least, not completely. It's just a reminder of something greater.
August 26, 2022
Great art, great plot.
The first dozen pages left me hanging if I would continue, but the narrative kept pulling me into the story, so I marched on till the end of the 37th issue.
Full of plot twists, while carefully disclosing (surprising) key details all along the volume.
I'm not a big fan of this genre, but I really enjoyed this epic saga, when a superhero turns (very) bad.
The first dozen pages left me hanging if I would continue, but the narrative kept pulling me into the story, so I marched on till the end of the 37th issue.
Full of plot twists, while carefully disclosing (surprising) key details all along the volume.
I'm not a big fan of this genre, but I really enjoyed this epic saga, when a superhero turns (very) bad.
October 16, 2022
This was really good, but there were also a lot of moments that felt off. Character motivations that didn’t make sense. The art was excellent and the story continued to reel me in, but I also couldn’t wrap my head around the “why.” Something just felt off balanced. Maybe someone here can tell me what that is. Definitely a worthwhile read.
June 8, 2025
Oh maaaan this has literally taking me YEARS to read. Not to be confused with Invincible (lol) but definitely in that vein of The Boys etc. Stories of heroes who are corrupt and honestly just like us!
Irredeemable is about The Plutonian who breaks bad in the most insane, horrifying way and it's a (justified) reminder of why Amanda Waller created CADMUS. But I digress, you've got this Superman style entity who after being ground down by humanity goes on a total and utter rampage. His old team tries to take him out but all fail terribly.
The Lex Luthor stand-in of Modeus is super well done and the frankly disturbing twist in that relationship makes for some WILD scenes. The story spans galaxies, dimensions and the end of time while also highlighting that no one being should be expected to be good all the time to shoulder the stuff that we can't.
Really recommend...but maybe put aside many days to read it 🤣🤣
Irredeemable is about The Plutonian who breaks bad in the most insane, horrifying way and it's a (justified) reminder of why Amanda Waller created CADMUS. But I digress, you've got this Superman style entity who after being ground down by humanity goes on a total and utter rampage. His old team tries to take him out but all fail terribly.
The Lex Luthor stand-in of Modeus is super well done and the frankly disturbing twist in that relationship makes for some WILD scenes. The story spans galaxies, dimensions and the end of time while also highlighting that no one being should be expected to be good all the time to shoulder the stuff that we can't.
Really recommend...but maybe put aside many days to read it 🤣🤣
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2024
Phenomenal. Great from cover to cover and keeps taking the story in interesting directions as soon as I thought it would start getting bland or boring. Mark Waid is quickly one of my favorite comic writers. Time to devour everything else he’s wrote!
June 25, 2023
The whole drama with Plutonian (and the ~billion or so lives lost. And the untold galaxies destroyed) could've been averted if Modeus just told him from the start that he likes him and they should go out on a date.
January 27, 2024
I had some issues with this as I was reading it but the ending changed all of that in a great way. Probably the only "superman but evil" story worth my time that i've encountered so far.
March 20, 2021
The classic story of what if Superman went bad has been told before... a lot. I don't know if this is the best version of it, but it is a really good one. The first few issues of this series immediately pulled me in, with Waid introducing several mysteries (why is the Plutonian bad? What happened to his sidekick?) and introducing a compelling cast of characters at the same time. In the Grant Morrison essay at the back of his book, he laments how Waid has been pigeon-holed as a "good ole superhero comics" writer. There's nothing wrong with that when this feels like the best classic superhero stories with a modern edge on it.
My favorite parts of this book were all in the first half, and I've seen some complaints that the book doesn't stick the ending. I'll agree that after the initial awesomeness, the book meanders at times. Unlike most Marvel and DC books though, you get a beginning, middle, and end here. While as a whole, this series can't compare with something like Kirkman's Invincible, I enjoyed this much more than most 12 issue maxi-series as Waid was able to develop plenty of fun characters to provide stakes for the reader. Qubit is definitely the biggest stand out but I also enjoyed the ideas of Modeus, Samsara and Bette Noir.
As a collection, this felt complete. I liked that the entire crossover with Incorruptible was included. The series struggled the most when it went to extreme sci-fi, with Plutonian's parents and the space prison both losing my interest a bit. Still, the overall drama and adventure was so good I never got wanted to put it down; instead I pushed through those portions even more to get back to Plutonian's conflict with the Paradigm. The art was also solid throughout, with only a few pages in this thick collection feeling inconsistent or substandard to the rest. Highly recommended.
My favorite parts of this book were all in the first half, and I've seen some complaints that the book doesn't stick the ending. I'll agree that after the initial awesomeness, the book meanders at times. Unlike most Marvel and DC books though, you get a beginning, middle, and end here. While as a whole, this series can't compare with something like Kirkman's Invincible, I enjoyed this much more than most 12 issue maxi-series as Waid was able to develop plenty of fun characters to provide stakes for the reader. Qubit is definitely the biggest stand out but I also enjoyed the ideas of Modeus, Samsara and Bette Noir.
As a collection, this felt complete. I liked that the entire crossover with Incorruptible was included. The series struggled the most when it went to extreme sci-fi, with Plutonian's parents and the space prison both losing my interest a bit. Still, the overall drama and adventure was so good I never got wanted to put it down; instead I pushed through those portions even more to get back to Plutonian's conflict with the Paradigm. The art was also solid throughout, with only a few pages in this thick collection feeling inconsistent or substandard to the rest. Highly recommended.
December 29, 2020
A curate's egg. Starts great, but it keeps going too long, which leads to an inflationary spiral of secrets, surprises and plot twists that are initially gripping but soon get stupid. From the title and Qubit's moral insistence throughout, you would think the story could end in redemption, but it turns out that trick the apparently far-sighted Qubit plays with the bullet halfway through turns out to be a dumb move whose only purpose was the keep the story going for another few hundred pages.
Grant Morrison says that Waid was "inexplicably" regarded as the champion of Kennedy-era values. Certainly not on the strength of this book, in which no character seems ethical, sane or redeemable. Even Qubit advances only self-interested arguments for why murder is wrong. Everyone else is vile enough that by the end you almost wish the Plutonian had done them all in.
Grant Morrison says that Waid was "inexplicably" regarded as the champion of Kennedy-era values. Certainly not on the strength of this book, in which no character seems ethical, sane or redeemable. Even Qubit advances only self-interested arguments for why murder is wrong. Everyone else is vile enough that by the end you almost wish the Plutonian had done them all in.
January 6, 2021
Starts out very good and slowly but steadily gets worse. It seems like Waid has a cool idea (what happens if Superman went bad!) but then couldn’t really figure out what to do about halfway through. Not a terrible read and the first few issues are pretty great, but also not a must read by any stretch.
September 30, 2025
*tl;dr* **Yet another proof that superhero books unshackled from the Big Two can be as fresh and interesting as any other comic. The Plutonian is a fascinating commentary on Superman, and while the plot sometimes meanders, the overall story is very much worth it.**
I'm very fond of Superman and have enjoyed all of the books re/deconstructing the archetype. *The Red Son* Superman, Marvelman, Omni-Man, Homelander, and even the more favourable commentary of *Astro City*'s Samaritan - they are all very unique answers to the question: what would the real world look like had Superman existed? I was curious to see if *Irredeemable* has anything to say that I've not seen in other books of its ilk, and was really pleasantly surprised.
Tony, the Plutonian, is a really good take on this trope. Each iteration of "the Superman type" has a very human critical flaw, and this one's is giving into the criticism and pressure, fear and expectation he has to face coming from the human race. Lacking the selflessness of Superman or Samaritan, while not being as over-the-top hateful and callous as Homelander, the Plutonian feels much more realistic in his mallice. This authenticity reminds me most of Alan Moore's *Marvelman* than any other book of the fashion (although this might have much to do with the hairstyle).
He is a multifaceted character; on one hand the ultimate bully, tired of pretending to be otherwise, on the other a man broken by responsibilities he could not ever choose, on yet another... and I could go on like that. He is the center-piece of the story and never ceases to be fascinating. The ever-present, titular idea of his ability to redeem himself is played out to a really satisfying conclusion.
Superhero genre always had this special flavour of serialised drama, a soap opera with superpowers as set dressing, and it comes with both pros and cons. While the supporting cast of dubious heroes and villains is very strong, the drama between them often feels filler-ish. Too many times critical information is convieniently withdrawn to be revealed at the most dramatically appropriate of times, and while it often works, it falls flat just as often. Still, the characters themselves were captivating enough.
The pacing and timeline of the story is sometimes confusing, especially in the latter half of the story, with so many moving pieces and plots happening concurrently, but it's only so in hindsight. It's always enjoyable in the moment, and none of the 40 issues collected feel like a slog to read.
Orian is the GOAT and I wish his "team up" with the Paradigm was longer, but oh well.
The art was appropriate for the story. Solid work in service of great scripts.
Lastly, I looove this softcover omnibus format, becoming ever more prevalent and making collecting these books easier than ever before. It took me 5+ years to track down the whole of Hellboy, and while I do love the library editions, I appreciate the convienience of this format (even if I need a table to read it).
I'm very fond of Superman and have enjoyed all of the books re/deconstructing the archetype. *The Red Son* Superman, Marvelman, Omni-Man, Homelander, and even the more favourable commentary of *Astro City*'s Samaritan - they are all very unique answers to the question: what would the real world look like had Superman existed? I was curious to see if *Irredeemable* has anything to say that I've not seen in other books of its ilk, and was really pleasantly surprised.
Tony, the Plutonian, is a really good take on this trope. Each iteration of "the Superman type" has a very human critical flaw, and this one's is giving into the criticism and pressure, fear and expectation he has to face coming from the human race. Lacking the selflessness of Superman or Samaritan, while not being as over-the-top hateful and callous as Homelander, the Plutonian feels much more realistic in his mallice. This authenticity reminds me most of Alan Moore's *Marvelman* than any other book of the fashion (although this might have much to do with the hairstyle).
He is a multifaceted character; on one hand the ultimate bully, tired of pretending to be otherwise, on the other a man broken by responsibilities he could not ever choose, on yet another... and I could go on like that. He is the center-piece of the story and never ceases to be fascinating. The ever-present, titular idea of his ability to redeem himself is played out to a really satisfying conclusion.
Superhero genre always had this special flavour of serialised drama, a soap opera with superpowers as set dressing, and it comes with both pros and cons. While the supporting cast of dubious heroes and villains is very strong, the drama between them often feels filler-ish. Too many times critical information is convieniently withdrawn to be revealed at the most dramatically appropriate of times, and while it often works, it falls flat just as often. Still, the characters themselves were captivating enough.
The pacing and timeline of the story is sometimes confusing, especially in the latter half of the story, with so many moving pieces and plots happening concurrently, but it's only so in hindsight. It's always enjoyable in the moment, and none of the 40 issues collected feel like a slog to read.
Orian is the GOAT and I wish his "team up" with the Paradigm was longer, but oh well.
The art was appropriate for the story. Solid work in service of great scripts.
Lastly, I looove this softcover omnibus format, becoming ever more prevalent and making collecting these books easier than ever before. It took me 5+ years to track down the whole of Hellboy, and while I do love the library editions, I appreciate the convienience of this format (even if I need a table to read it).
September 14, 2020
I rarely read comic books, so it's a bit of a challenge for me to rate this. But my attention span seems to have gotten shorter as I've gotten older, and yet, this series managed to hold my attention until the end. So, my review will come from the perspective of someone who doesn't read comics but has a passing familiarity with the superhero genre, thanks to its immense popularity in mainstream culture.
I feel like the series touched on some very interesting themes of what can cause a person to go ‘bad.’ The concept of evil has taken some interesting turns in recent years, from something that used to seem a lot more black and white, to, more recently, various shades of grey.
One theme that was particularly compelling was the idea of how people have recurring patterns of behaviour in their lives. Specifically in the case of Tony, he craved love and acceptance, yet continually found ways to sabotage himself. It reflects a lot of unconscious behavioural patterns that people follow that cause them to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
The theme of how mistakes can end up defining a person also caught my interest. And with it, the question of what can or can’t be forgiven. Some mistakes can’t be fixed, and will haunt a person for the rest of their lives. I think people often get caught up in the just world fallacy and want to believe things happen for a reason. But sometimes, bad things happen. Some mistakes can’t be fixed. It’s a dark and stark message, but no less meaningful.
There were a few things that pulled me out of the story. I know that superhero stories often have fantastical elements, whether it’s gods, aliens, magic or other entities. But I didn’t realize how much of a difference it makes to have each element introduced in its own story to make it easier to swallow. I read a lot of fantasy, and even fantasy is often constrained by ‘rules’ of the world. While I enjoyed the fantastical elements (travelling to other planets, visiting the alien insane asylum etc), it still pulled me out of the story, to some degree.
I also wish there was more character development for some of the cast. There were a lot of characters, and more development would have made me invested in their struggles. By the end, I almost felt like there was more of a focus on creating a clever story rather than a story about human (or superhuman) struggles.
But overall, it was a compelling tale with lots of twists and turns. I’d give it a 3.5/5
I feel like the series touched on some very interesting themes of what can cause a person to go ‘bad.’ The concept of evil has taken some interesting turns in recent years, from something that used to seem a lot more black and white, to, more recently, various shades of grey.
One theme that was particularly compelling was the idea of how people have recurring patterns of behaviour in their lives. Specifically in the case of Tony, he craved love and acceptance, yet continually found ways to sabotage himself. It reflects a lot of unconscious behavioural patterns that people follow that cause them to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
The theme of how mistakes can end up defining a person also caught my interest. And with it, the question of what can or can’t be forgiven. Some mistakes can’t be fixed, and will haunt a person for the rest of their lives. I think people often get caught up in the just world fallacy and want to believe things happen for a reason. But sometimes, bad things happen. Some mistakes can’t be fixed. It’s a dark and stark message, but no less meaningful.
There were a few things that pulled me out of the story. I know that superhero stories often have fantastical elements, whether it’s gods, aliens, magic or other entities. But I didn’t realize how much of a difference it makes to have each element introduced in its own story to make it easier to swallow. I read a lot of fantasy, and even fantasy is often constrained by ‘rules’ of the world. While I enjoyed the fantastical elements (travelling to other planets, visiting the alien insane asylum etc), it still pulled me out of the story, to some degree.
I also wish there was more character development for some of the cast. There were a lot of characters, and more development would have made me invested in their struggles. By the end, I almost felt like there was more of a focus on creating a clever story rather than a story about human (or superhuman) struggles.
But overall, it was a compelling tale with lots of twists and turns. I’d give it a 3.5/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2023
What if Superman couldn't handle the responsibility of being... well, "Superman"? What if one day, he just snapped? - What if superheroes don't have the wisdom or integrity to make decisions about complex issues like invading aliens, introducing humans to superior technology, and guiding humanity?
Irredeemable is the best "superman goes evil" comic I've ever read. Artistic, complex, thoughtful, emotional, and compelling. Mark Waid doesn't simply "deconstruct superheroes" or ridicule them as silly, there's actually a lot of respect for the superhero genre here. Waid shows how no human being could handle the titan responsibility that comes with superpowers. These characters are three dimensional; moral shades of grey rather than "all good" or "all bad." You truly feel bad for the fallen "Superman" character while also hate him for what he's doing.
It made me appreciate the integrity of DC's Superman so much more. Superman sees the good and bad of humanity, yet never compromises or gives into weakness. I don't think any human could handle that responsibility.
It also made me appreciate God's grace. God sees the best and worst of all humanity, every day, and yet God is still gracious with us. God has every right to wipe us off the planet, but He doesn't.
What kept this from being 5 stars? - There's points where Irredeemable's sci-fi technobabble was too much for me. (I can put up with a lot of technobabble, I'm a huge Star Trek fan). It's also a very dark book because it deals with moral conundrums and the fragile human psyche. There's a lot of destruction. If you enjoyed Watchmen, you'll probably enjoy this.
Overall, a compelling and worthwhile read that will keep you thinking for days, if not weeks, after finishing it. 4.5/5 stars.
Irredeemable is the best "superman goes evil" comic I've ever read. Artistic, complex, thoughtful, emotional, and compelling. Mark Waid doesn't simply "deconstruct superheroes" or ridicule them as silly, there's actually a lot of respect for the superhero genre here. Waid shows how no human being could handle the titan responsibility that comes with superpowers. These characters are three dimensional; moral shades of grey rather than "all good" or "all bad." You truly feel bad for the fallen "Superman" character while also hate him for what he's doing.
It made me appreciate the integrity of DC's Superman so much more. Superman sees the good and bad of humanity, yet never compromises or gives into weakness. I don't think any human could handle that responsibility.
It also made me appreciate God's grace. God sees the best and worst of all humanity, every day, and yet God is still gracious with us. God has every right to wipe us off the planet, but He doesn't.
What kept this from being 5 stars? - There's points where Irredeemable's sci-fi technobabble was too much for me. (I can put up with a lot of technobabble, I'm a huge Star Trek fan). It's also a very dark book because it deals with moral conundrums and the fragile human psyche. There's a lot of destruction. If you enjoyed Watchmen, you'll probably enjoy this.
Overall, a compelling and worthwhile read that will keep you thinking for days, if not weeks, after finishing it. 4.5/5 stars.
November 26, 2023
Waid crams worlds into this story - flashbacks, time travel, accidental child murder, hero/villain sexual tension, genetic mutation, hell, ghosts, and a nuclear extinction ripped from "On the Beach." The usual handling of a "superhero breaks bad" story, not a new concept when Waid got to it, grounds it in a semi-hard-sf setting. Powers are real, but there's a scientific explanation for them, like a supersoldier program for EvilCorp. A big exception, Alan Moore's "Miracleman," is remembered for recasting the hero's sidekick as a genocidal villain; ensuing writers have ditched his alien/dimension switching origin story for something earthier.
Not Waid. When he's not playing with Marvel or D.C. IP, he smashes his toys together. He opens with humanity living in fear of The Plutonian, a Superman stand-in who has gone mad and destroyed his version of Metropolis. By the end of issue one, he has disintegrated a minor enemy while his child watched, and lobotomized his ex-sidekick. Flashbacks, some induced by the superman's alien parents, reveal the insults, neglect, and trauma that he barely kept suppressed when he debuted as a hero. Overlapping narratives follow the heroes who now have to get rid of him, but can't, for convoluted but dramatically worthwhile reasons.
The ending is the weakest part of this. Waid's said that his goal was "a tale of horror exploring 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." He tells that story, but finishes it with an appeal to goodness and sentimentality. It still works, and doesn't lessen the impact of the preceding 900 pages.
Not Waid. When he's not playing with Marvel or D.C. IP, he smashes his toys together. He opens with humanity living in fear of The Plutonian, a Superman stand-in who has gone mad and destroyed his version of Metropolis. By the end of issue one, he has disintegrated a minor enemy while his child watched, and lobotomized his ex-sidekick. Flashbacks, some induced by the superman's alien parents, reveal the insults, neglect, and trauma that he barely kept suppressed when he debuted as a hero. Overlapping narratives follow the heroes who now have to get rid of him, but can't, for convoluted but dramatically worthwhile reasons.
The ending is the weakest part of this. Waid's said that his goal was "a tale of horror exploring 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." He tells that story, but finishes it with an appeal to goodness and sentimentality. It still works, and doesn't lessen the impact of the preceding 900 pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2021
Amazing.
At just under 900 pages, I can see how some people gripe about how the story went on for too long, but I loved it even in the midst of all the WTF moments I had. And there were many.
I don't really see this as a "what if Superman went bad" story as much as it is a "do you understand how hard it is for Superman to be good" story? All that power and all that self-imposed responsibility. It's probably why in most Superman stories, Superman realized he had to sometimes shut out the millions of voices he could here. Why he occasionally retreats to his Fortress of Solitude. Why he doesn't feel compelled to stop every bank robbery or every single criminal when he knows that there are police and firefighters and other superheroes around.
Because he knows it would drive him crazy otherwise.
With that in mind, it was inevitable that the Plutonian would snap and embrace his potential as a genocidal narcissist, and that's before you find out he's really [spoiler redacted]. This was a brilliant, wonderful story, well outside the Marvel/DC universes. The characters are rich and nuanced, well-meaning and constantly falling short. But they always keep striving to do what they think is best. Unlike all of the absurdity inherent in many villain stories, and even the heroic ones, no one in Irredeemable is a villain in the classic sense. They all have relatable motivations, and almost none of them are trying to do evil for the sake of doing evil. "There but for the grace of God go I," one might think after reading this.
At just under 900 pages, I can see how some people gripe about how the story went on for too long, but I loved it even in the midst of all the WTF moments I had. And there were many.
I don't really see this as a "what if Superman went bad" story as much as it is a "do you understand how hard it is for Superman to be good" story? All that power and all that self-imposed responsibility. It's probably why in most Superman stories, Superman realized he had to sometimes shut out the millions of voices he could here. Why he occasionally retreats to his Fortress of Solitude. Why he doesn't feel compelled to stop every bank robbery or every single criminal when he knows that there are police and firefighters and other superheroes around.
Because he knows it would drive him crazy otherwise.
With that in mind, it was inevitable that the Plutonian would snap and embrace his potential as a genocidal narcissist, and that's before you find out he's really [spoiler redacted]. This was a brilliant, wonderful story, well outside the Marvel/DC universes. The characters are rich and nuanced, well-meaning and constantly falling short. But they always keep striving to do what they think is best. Unlike all of the absurdity inherent in many villain stories, and even the heroic ones, no one in Irredeemable is a villain in the classic sense. They all have relatable motivations, and almost none of them are trying to do evil for the sake of doing evil. "There but for the grace of God go I," one might think after reading this.
January 30, 2025
One of those essential modern superhero comics. Probably the best "evil Superman" story we have. I think that's because beyond the simple "watch all-powerful guy destroy stuff and be terrible", it's a character study and examination of how we portray people like this. It shows power as an intense burden and intoxicating drug that overtakes The Plutonian completely.
It does fall off a bit. The first half is engrossing issue to issue. Everything is mystery, intrigue, and horror. It moves forward logically but not completely. Hearing some bits of the development, it sounds like was the receiving end of its writers exhaustion. It falls in on itself when it runs out of extremely interesting things to reveal and say. It still has stuff like that throughout, and we still have fascinating discussions and characters, but it's half baked. There's sideplots that turn pointless. There's questions unanswered. Stones unturned.
But that ending. Goddamn perfect. The circumstances around it? Middling, but man is it a perfect finale. Worth reading all the way through.
My biggest complaint really is that they were building this crossover event with its sister comic Incorruptible, and it completely fizzles out. The stories we got there were interesting, (I think, I have yet to read that sister series), but it "concludes" with the two interacting briefly before Max Damage just leaves and doesn't come back even for this confrontation we've been building toward for 4 issues.
Qubit's a real one.
It does fall off a bit. The first half is engrossing issue to issue. Everything is mystery, intrigue, and horror. It moves forward logically but not completely. Hearing some bits of the development, it sounds like was the receiving end of its writers exhaustion. It falls in on itself when it runs out of extremely interesting things to reveal and say. It still has stuff like that throughout, and we still have fascinating discussions and characters, but it's half baked. There's sideplots that turn pointless. There's questions unanswered. Stones unturned.
But that ending. Goddamn perfect. The circumstances around it? Middling, but man is it a perfect finale. Worth reading all the way through.
My biggest complaint really is that they were building this crossover event with its sister comic Incorruptible, and it completely fizzles out. The stories we got there were interesting, (I think, I have yet to read that sister series), but it "concludes" with the two interacting briefly before Max Damage just leaves and doesn't come back even for this confrontation we've been building toward for 4 issues.
Qubit's a real one.
July 9, 2021
The "evil Superman" is not a new idea. Heck, DC Comics probably came up with it first. But what about a Superman-like figure who, one day, just can't deal with the pressure of being perfect anymore and decides to take it out on the world in the most violent way possible. Mark Waid made a name for himself writing superhero comics for DC and Marvel, and he manages to tell this story without resorting to the strong language or excessive sex that many stories like this one use. There's still a bit of violence, but most of it is violence on a grand scale and not particularly graphic. That doesn't make what comes out any less horrifying. Waid just manages to tell the story without the usual trappings, and it is all the better for it, as he does a deep dive into the mind of a Superman who just wanted something he couldn't have, something that even his own awesome powers couldn't have, so he might as well just destroy what he can't protect anymore. Harrowing and psychologically deep.
October 24, 2021
4.5/5
Irredeemable is awesome. That's all you need to know.
But if you're curious, read on.
Irredeemable shows what would happen if Superman snapped and went rogue. Plutonian powers operate outside the realm of known physics. They would make Einstein weep and Newton spin in his grave. He can turn cities and continents into ash in the blink of an eye.
Why did he go rogue? Well, here's the thing with people. No matter how much you give or how hard you try, all it takes is one mistake to make you irredeemable. People always want more. And more. And more. After they judge Plutonian for a mistake, he goes mad and serves them the judgment they so easily put on him.
One could argue the series could be shorter but it changes nothing. It's brilliant.
Irredeemable is awesome. That's all you need to know.
But if you're curious, read on.
Irredeemable shows what would happen if Superman snapped and went rogue. Plutonian powers operate outside the realm of known physics. They would make Einstein weep and Newton spin in his grave. He can turn cities and continents into ash in the blink of an eye.
Why did he go rogue? Well, here's the thing with people. No matter how much you give or how hard you try, all it takes is one mistake to make you irredeemable. People always want more. And more. And more. After they judge Plutonian for a mistake, he goes mad and serves them the judgment they so easily put on him.
One could argue the series could be shorter but it changes nothing. It's brilliant.
December 29, 2023
It’s hard to review an “evil Superman” story nowadays. The concept has been explored so many times from different angles by now. But, it still represents a concept we can’t ignore, because it is so intriguing to see the perfect hero fall from grace, every religion explores this. It takes some time to care for every character, because you just met them and the universe is already built, but as you move through the story they grow on you. Waid does a good exploration on how fragile this hero really is, and how his origin affected his fate. The first half of the series is better than the second one. I think the second one gets weirder and stretches the story a bit too much, but gives an amazing ending.
September 16, 2023
The best version of the evil superman story, in that the idea of an all-powerful being turning evil is the least concerning part of the story. Overall a little messy and a bit incoherent at times (also kinda weird depictions of woman throughout), but also frequently stunning and impossible to put down at points. The great power shown when stories are allowed to have endings and characters are allowed to change and be pitifully humans, just like the rest of us.
Possibly contains the best final page in a comic ever?
Possibly contains the best final page in a comic ever?
November 22, 2023
An amazing book. It's 900 pages, but it doesn't feel that long. The premise is fairly basic (What if Superman went psycho and initiated frequent and random destructive acts?), but the characters are so interesting (even the Superman stand-in, Plutonian) and the story line was so involved, that it was almost impossible to stop reading. If you are a fan of alternate superhero stories, like Watchmen, Squadron Supreme, or the early Authority (before it was pushed into the DC universe), you should definitely check this book out.
May 21, 2025
I went into this series with such high hopes based off the awesome premise, however, from the very beginning this series was terrible.
The art work was good at times but so much of the rest of it was bad; ambiguous speech bubbles made it difficult to know who was speaking, some seemingly out of place frames, confusing action sequences, odd character reactions/motives, no comic relief, and most importantly, NO LIKABLE CHARACTERS!
The ending made absolutely so sense! His essence was split into multiple dimensions…seriously? I’m just happy it’s over.
The art work was good at times but so much of the rest of it was bad; ambiguous speech bubbles made it difficult to know who was speaking, some seemingly out of place frames, confusing action sequences, odd character reactions/motives, no comic relief, and most importantly, NO LIKABLE CHARACTERS!
The ending made absolutely so sense! His essence was split into multiple dimensions…seriously? I’m just happy it’s over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2024
An addictive, shocking page-turner, with tons of great and weird sci-fi concepts and original characters (with original powers!) This reads like everything Mark Waid has ever wanted to do in a story.
The only thing that threw me...SPOILERS...the final page of this is almost literally the exact same final pages of Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman.
The only thing that threw me...SPOILERS...the final page of this is almost literally the exact same final pages of Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2025
If you like the whole “perfect hero gone wrong” trope, READ THIS. Imagine Superman, but he can’t take criticism – it’s not a good combination. The comic doesn’t rely on the trope either; there are several twists and turns throughout that kept me enthralled until the end, which was also interesting and unexpected.
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