Broken Frontier

The world’s remaining heroes hunt for the Plutonian’s past but what they find along the way may surprise them.

Boom! Studios continues their string of hits as Irredeemable #2 builds upon what has gone before – taking the story to new levels. Mark Waid continues to prove that he is a master at balancing story, characterization, and emotion.

Heroine Kaidan travels to the remains of Sky City as she tracks down the Plutonian’s former girlfriend. As she does so she recalls her own early meeting with the hero – before he went bad. She then hears Alana Patel’s story of a dream romance that has now become a bitter nightmare. Can anything be gained from this story? Could the key to stopping the Plutonian be here?

One of the most interesting features of this issue is the fact that Waid creates a tripartite story and manages to keep each part interesting and vital to the main plot. Kaidan’s flashback allows readers to see one version of the Plutonian, Alana’s story shows us another version, and finally there is the overarching story taking place in the now as readers see the destruction wrought by the hero turned villain. Along the way Waid keeps the characterization moving along as we are introduced to a new heroine, Kaidan, we meet Alana, and we are given more insight into the Plutonian as well. In point of fact, the complexity of the story leads readers to be both horrified by Plutonian’s villainy and yet feel sorry for what happened to him as well.

Artist Peter Krause also continues his winning streak. With this issue he gets to cut loose with scenes of massive devastation and rubble and he does so with a great eye for detail and landscape to emphasize the destruction. His work is not just limited to that and he translates Waid’s script incredibly well for flashback sequences – giving readers a brighter, happier, more golden time that is not only reflected in the architecture but also in the faces of the characters. This helps to emphasize the stark contrast to the bitterness, strain and darkness he crafts for the scenes and characters set in the present.

Waid’s Irredeemable is something out of the ordinary – a superhero story turned on its head, a compellingly complex narrative populated with characters that get under your skin. Even the titular villain is more than what he seems and readers are treated to a ringside seat to watch a slide into madness that is chilling and yet heartbreaking at the same time. It’s not too late to get caught up on Boom! Studio’s latest triumph – you won’t be sorry you did.