Irredeemable is an ongoing

Ongoing series

The term "ongoing series" is used in contrast to limited series , a one shot , a graphic novel, or a trade paperback...

 American comic book

American comic book

An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...

 series written by Mark Waid

Mark Waid

Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well 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...

 and published by Boom! Studios

Boom! Studios

BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....

. The series follows the fall of the world's greatest superhero, the Plutonian, as he begins slaughtering the population of Earth. His former allies, the superhero group The Paradigm, attempt to find a way to stop his rampage while dealing with their own problems of betrayal and hopelessness. Irredeemable was first published in April 2009 as Irredeemable #1 and as of September 2011 consists of thirty-one issues, six volumes, and one special. Art on the series was provided primarily by Peter Krause

Peter Krause (artist)

Peter Krause is an American illustrator and comic book artist. He is best known for his work on various DC Comics titles, most notably the Superman-related titles and a three-year run on The Power of Shazam! with Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family....

. Krause left the series in September 2011 after twenty-four issues, and was replaced by Diego Barretto. A spin-off titled Incorruptible

Incorruptible

Incorruptible is an ongoing American comic book series written by Mark Waid and published by Boom! Studios. The series follows former supervillain Max Damage in his quest to become a superhero. The book is a spin-off of another Waid comic, Irredeemable, which follows the transformation of a...

was released in December 2009, which follows one of the Plutonian's greatest enemies, Max Damage, on his journey to become a superhero in the wake of Plutonian's fall.

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

Boom! Studios

BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....

 released a trailer, by Craig Kennedy at CK Creative, for the series on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 and posted the first 7 pages of the first issue on the company website.

The first issue, which included an afterword by Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...

, featured a cover by John Cassaday

John Cassaday

John Cassaday is an American comic book artist and writer, born in Fort Worth, Texas and currently residing in New York City. He is known for having a high level of precision and realism in his work....

, a 1-in-4 variant cover by Barry Kitson

Barry Kitson

Barry Kitson is a British comics artist best known as a penciler of major superhero comic books published by Marvel and DC.-Biography:Kitson's first professional work was Spider-Man for Marvel UK...

, 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

Diamond Comics

Diamond Comics Pvt. Ltd. is the largest comic book distributor and publisher in India.-Overview:Diamond Comics is responsible for popular Indian comics characters such as Chacha Chaudhary. Diamond Comics has been publishing many foreign characters comics such as Phantom, Superman, Batman,...

 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.

In April 2011, Krause announced that he would be leaving the series to focus on opportunities outside of comics. Krause claimed that he made the decision in February 2011 after finding himself facing stress and deadlines from multiple commitments. These commitments resulted in art duties for multiple issues of the series being shared between Krause, who drew pages involving the Plutonian, and Diego Barreto, who drew pages relating to the Paradigm. Staring with Irredeemable #29 in September 2011, Krause officially left the series, being replaced by Diego and his father Eduardo Barreto

Eduardo Barreto

-References:...

.

Creation and development

Irredeemable is author Mark Waid's third and "most complex" story concerning the "cost of superheroics" or the "path of villainy". Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come (comics)

Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...

concerned the "ethical price of heroism" and Empire

Empire (comics)

Empire is an American comic book limited series published by Gorilla Comics and DC Comics, created by Mark Waid and Barry Kitson....

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

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

 or Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

, a "Twilight of the Superheroes

Twilight of the Superheroes

Twilight of the Superheroes is the title of a proposed comic book crossover that writer Alan Moore submitted to DC Comics in 1987 before his split with the company...

"-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."

During the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International, Waid stated that he had developed ideas for ending the story but had no end issue planned while sales of the book continued. During the same event, he added that he did not have any intention of rehabilitating the Plutonian character or redeeming him for his actions, saying "There's no hope for Plutonian...but that said, I never actually said the title Irredeemable refers to Plutonian."

Volume 1 (#1 - #4)

The Plutonian, a powerful being once thought to be the world's greatest superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

, has now become its greatest supervillain

Supervillain

A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...

. He has destroyed Sky City—the metropolis he once protected—and has murdered millions of people across the globe. The series starts with the Plutonian killing another hero, the Hornet, along with his entire family. The remaining superheroes, known as the Paradigm, attempt to discover the reason behind Plutonian's change by speaking to his former sidekick Samsara, who Plutonian lobotomized. Former enemies of Plutonian attempt to work with him but when he offers them a way to earn his trust, they turn on him, resulting in a self-destruct of the facility in which they are meeting. The resulting explosion kills Scylla and wounds Cary, superhero brothers who were observing the villains. The United Nations attempt to make the Plutonian their leader, hoping to avoid his wrath. The Plutonian takes offense when, after speaking to the Singapore representative, he realizes that the decision is made out of fear. In response, Plutonian sinks Singapore into the ocean. Meanwhile, Qubit is revealed to be searching for Modeus, the Plutonian's arch-nemesis, using multiple robots designed to look and think like Modeus.

Volume 2 (#5 - #8)

Qubit and the other heroes discover Modeus' location within the Plutonian's hidden citadel. When Plutonian is alerted to the heroes' secret base, Cary waits to confront him while the others take the opportunity to explore the villain's lair. When Plutonian arrives at the heroes' base Cary reveals that he knows that Plutonian (while still a hero) used alien technology recovered from an invasion to buy the silence of a scientist who was a vociferous Plutonian critic. Plutonian thought the technology was safe, but it released a virus that resulted in the deaths of thousands of children. Initially trying to conceal his involvement in the deaths, the Plutonian finally snapped when his sidekick Samsara ended their partnership after learning the truth. Plutonian prepares to kill Cary but Cary reveals that with his brother's death he is significantly more powerful and the equal of the Plutonian. The heroes return, having failed to find Modeus, in time to see Cary beat the Plutonian. Plutonian flees and hides in Samsara's grave.

Volume 3 (#9 - #12)

Qubit flees from Cary as he acts unstable, taking with him Encanta, a villainess whom Plutonian had been holding prisoner in his citadel. Qubit realizes that although Modeus had ultimately not been in the citadel, they had been led to Encanta who would know where he is. Encanta reveals she worked with Modeus to cast a spell that would put him in the "safest place on Earth". Samsara awakens in his grave to the surprise and gratitude of Plutonian, but Modeus is shown to be secretly possessing Samsara's body. Meanwhile the US military, having seen Cary's display of power and fearing him to be as unstoppable as Plutonian, summon the demon Orian to destroy the heroes entirely. Orian captures the hero Bette Noir, hoping to use her as bait, and learns her secrets after threatening the life of her husband Gil. Orian discovers that Plutonian had an affair with Noir and he showed her a candle that renders him mortal while it burns. Noir stole a piece of the wax but failed to reveal it to anyone after Plutonian began his rampage out of shame for the affair and fear of her former lover. The Paradigm attacks Orian but even Cary is unable to hurt him. Noir is revealed to have been bait in a US military plot to capture the team. The Paradigm, save for Bette Noir who successfully flees and Cary, dragged by Orian to Orian's home dimension, are caught.

Volume 4 (#13 - #15)

Encanta is teleported from Qubit's lab by unknown means. She arrives at the side of Scylla, Cary's brother, who is revealed to be alive and the prisoner of Qubit's rogue Modeus android. Cary and Orian return to Earth, having made a deal to work together and kill Plutonian. Bette helps break Qubit, Kaidan and Volt out of prison but finds that Gil has already escaped. Knowing where he is going, the Paradigm teleport to Bette and Gil's home to recover the wax from the candle capable of rendering Plutonian mortal. There they find that Gil already has it and that Bette had fashioned it into a bullet. Cary, Orian, Gil and Bette agree to work together and kill Plutonian, leaving the rest of the Paradigm behind. Cary, Orian and Gil fight with Plutonian while Modeus, in the body of Samsara, lures Volt away and pushes him off a cliff to his death. Bette fires the wax bullet at Plutonian but Qubit, having correctly surmised that Orian has an invasion force prepared to attack Earth, opens a portal in the path of the bullet, teleporting it towards Orian. The bullet shoots through Orian's head, killing him. Plutonian and Samsara retreat as the Paradigm blame Qubit for their missed chance. Qubit is revealed to have secretly retrieved the wax bullet after it killed Orian.

Volume 5 (#16 - #19)

After Volt's funeral, Kaiden reminisces about their fallen comrades with Qubit and discovers she can summon their spirits. In retaliation for their alliance with Orian, Cary attacks the US military and destroys the controls to their nuclear arsenal, making them dependent on the Paradigm for offensive power. Meanwhile, Samsara/Modeus offers Plutonian a chance to undo his destruction of Sky City. While summoning spirits, Kaiden struggles to understand why she cannot summon Scylla's until she realizes that it is because he is not dead. Plutonian and Samsara/Modeus travel to the remains of Sky City with a gem, sister to the one which granted Samsara his regenerative abilities. Samsara/Modeus convinces Plutonian that with enough energy the gem may be able to resurrect Sky City but the attempt to use his heat vision on the gem fails. Plutonian remarks that the only person capable of figuring out how to use the gem is Modeus. Plutonian reminisces about his history with the villain leading to his ultimate discovery that Modeus was in fact in love with Plutonian and attacked him to remove obstacles from his life so that his attention would be focused on Modeus. Plutonian reveals that he is aware that Modeus is in Samsara's body and blasts him in the face with his heat vision. Qubit meanwhile shows Kaidan and Cary a recording made by the Hornet before his death. The video explains that Hornet was wary that the Plutonian may eventually snap. When Vespan aliens invaded Earth, Hornet traded them teleportation technology and the location of habitable alien worlds in exchange for them leaving Earth alone and subduing the Plutonian if necessary. Qubit then reveals that Hornet activated a signal to the Vespan before his death and that they have arrived on Earth. The Vespan attack Plutonian using weaponized teleportation technology to bypass his invulnerability. The injured Samsara/Modeus is found by the rogue Modeus robot and Encanta transfers his consciousness into the robot. The Vespan, using restraints formed from his own cloned skin, capture Plutonian and trap him in a mental fantasy where he is a hero again.

Volume 6 (#20 - #23)

Cary announces himself as leader of the heroes to the world, taking credit for Plutonian's defeat and pledges amnesty for superpowered beings if they join the Paradigm to help rebuild Earth. The Vespan attempt to wake Plutonian from his fantasy but are unable to, hypothesizing that he is choosing to remain in the fantasy. The Plutonian remains in his fantasy while his body is equipped with a remotely-controlled exoskeleton to allow him to be used to mine deadly Terromite on an Alien world. On Earth, Qubit confronts Cary on taking credit for Plutonian's defeat and his amnesty for criminals which has resulted in many criminals who had disappeared resurfacing. Qubit finally asks why Cary is not searching for his brother and Cary reasons that if his brother is found, he will lose his full power and be unable to control the supervillains. Cary threatens to tell the world that Qubit tried to save Plutonian if he does not stop questioning him. Modeus prepares to have Encanta transfer him into Scylla's body but decides against it, preferring his emotionless, robot body. Modeus declares that he will return Plutonian to Earth. Qubit and Kaidan begin the process of gathering the supervillains who are joining the Paradigm. In space, the Vespan, realizing they can not contain the Plutonian, send him to Genhom, an insane asylum in the heart of a sun. On Earth, the rebuild of Paradigm headquarters begins. Cary uses Burrows, a telepath, to read the minds of the villains and tell if their intentions are pure. Qubit has Burrows secretly scan Cary to learn his true intentions and learns enough that he deems Cary as big a threat as Plutonian. Modeus captures Kaidan, forcing Qubit into an alliance to help him recover Plutonian to spare her life. On Genhom, Plutonian wakes from his fantasy to find the Auroran, an heroic figure from his dreams, is present in the waking world.

Volume 7 (#24 - #27)

Qubit and Modeus travel to the Vespan homeworld to demand Plutonian's location. When the Vespan ambassador refuses to tell them, Qubit demonstrates that he can control their teleportation technology based on his designs, closing a portal while a Vespan ship is only partially teleported, severing it in two. The Vespan reveals Plutonian's location and Qubit reveals to Modeus that when they are done, he will return to disable all the Vespan teleportation technology. On Genhom, Plutonian and the Auroran prepare to escape, fighting through the inmates of the Asylum until Plutonian is seemingly eaten by a bestial, white alien named Mordanse. Modeus reveals to Qubit that Plutonian's powers are not physical but psionic, possessing the ability to manipulate matter without realizing, simply believing himself to be strong. On Genhom, Plutonian and the Auroran join forces with the alien Kurne to fight their way through the asylum. On Earth, an inebriated Burrows tells fellow superhuman Thermo about Cary's growing instability and anger that he can find neither Kaidan nor Qubit, thinking they have betrayed him. Burrows is confronted by Cary who tricks him into revealing he has been reading his mind by thinking a question to which Burrows responds. On Genhom, Plutonian, Auroran and Mordanse continue through to the core of the asylum, gathering allies as they pass through each level; Cutter, Kurne, and Mallus, who punches so hard he can send a being through time. As they are about to escape, Plutonian confronts the Auroran about why he resembles the first person he ever saved. Auroran is revealed as a shape-shifting symbiote who fed off Plutonian's dreams and took on the identity of someone important to him, wanting to remain at his side. Plutonian kills the alien and travels with his remaining allies to the core. Qubit and Modeus teleport into the asylum core to find Plutonian is about to arrive. Plutonian has his allies attack Qubit but he activates a shield and then remotely destroys all of his portals to prevent Plutonian's escape while teleporting his allies to random places. Plutonian notices a blur and realizes that it is himself sent back in time by Mallus. When Qubit believed he was sending Plutonian's allies away, the past Plutonian had actually grabbed them and traveled through the portal to Earth. The Plutonian-copy fades away and the Modeus robot collapses into pieces, leaving Qubit and Mallus trapped on Genhom.

Irredeemable: #28 - #31

America joins forces with China, the UK, Brazil and Japan to rebuild their countries. After returning to Earth, Plutonian uses his heat-vision from orbit to carve his symbol across the surface of North America, destroying several cities. Seeing Plutonian's return, civilian's turn against the Paradigm and Cary for having promised they were safe. Plutonian arrives with his alien allies to the Paradigm base but simply stands aside as the Paradigm members attempt to kill Cary for failing to prevent Plutonian's return. Burrows, having peered into Plutonian's mind, hangs himself. Cary convinces the Paradigm members to focus on Plutonian but discover he has left, taking some of their allies with him. China and Japan's representatives meet with the acting American president to inform him of their plan to kill Plutonian which will result in the death of 2 billion people. Plutonian and Cutter find Bette Noir living a hedonist life as she awaits death. Bette tells Plutonian to kill her but he kisses her, saying he, Bette and Cutter will have fun together. Meanwhile, Kaidan escapes capture by summoning Scylla's spirit to fight his body. During the fight, Kaidan kills Scylla's body. Kaidan and Scylla's freed spirit find Gil and ask him to help them stop Cary, believing him to be as dangerous as the Plutonian. Scylla reveals that he and Cary are not twins but triplets. Cary meets with his brother Elliott who has become a priest, tending to the wounded. Elliott admits that he believes Cary is there to kill him and gain his power. Bette repeatedly attempts suicide but is stopped by the Plutonian. He secludes himself from his allies while trying to decide what to do with his future. China, Japan and America's leaders initiate their plan, releasing two towering creatures from a facility, causing the destruction of the surrounding area, and large amounts of radiation that spread around the globe. Scylla leads Gil and Kaidan to Elliott hoping to turn him into a hero. They find him with Cary, but Gil kills Cary to transfer his power into Elliott. Instead, as the source of the power, Cary's death leads to the power being completely lost, from Cary and Elliott. Meanwhile, Cutter confronts Bette and is revealed to actually be Modeus, possessing Cutter's body. He transfers himself into Bette and discards Cutter. Elsewhere, Plutonian is confronted by the large creatures who claim to be his parents.

Central

• The Plutonian - A Superman
  Superman
  Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
  
  -like supervillain who was the world's first and formerly greatest superhero. His origin is unknown, the Plutonian providing alternating stories such as being an alien or an orphaned mutant. As a child he is known as Dan Anderson, and he is moved through various foster homes by parents fearful of him after discovering his abilities. The symbol worn on his chest is based on a similar design embedded on the front door of one of his foster homes. As an adult he uses the secret identity Dan Hartigan, but is eventually outed by Alana Patel, the Plutonian's girlfriend, when he reveals to her this civilian identity. To stop the verbal attacks of a scientist, Plutonian provides him with a sample of alien technology to study. However, the technology proves fatal, unleashing a virus that kills children. His mistake, combined with his increasing resentment of humanity and their lack of gratitude to him for his service culminates when his sidekick Samsara learns that Plutonian is responsible for the viral outbreak. The Plutonian snaps, lobotomizes Samsara, and begins his rampage against Earth by destroying his home of Sky City, killing 3.5 million people in thirty minutes. Irredeemable #25, reveals that Plutonian's powers are not physical but psionic, enabling him to subconsciously manipulate matter on an atomic level: allowing him to heat or freeze the air, see through objects, fly, render himself virtually indestructible, possess super strength and make opponents more susceptible to damage. Modeus hypothesizes that if the Plutonian is made aware of his true abilities he would be able to alter probability, see through time and reverse entropy, concluding "and that's just if he moves from Kindergarten to grade school." Following his affair with Bette Noir, Plutonian becomes obsessed with her, crafting art in her image, forcing his captive sex-slave Encanta to dress like her, and forcing a couple to have sex; the man resembling Plutonian and the woman dressed like Bette.

The Paradigm

A group of superheroes and The Plutonian's former teammates. Established four years before the events of the series by the Plutonian, Bette Noir, Qubit, Charybdis, Scylla, Metalman, Hornet, and Kaidan. The surviving members work together to discover a means to stop the Plutonian's rampage.

• Bette Noir: A female crime fighter who augments her uncanny aim with customized ammunition for dealing with specific threats. Her bullets are capable of blowing buildings apart. Married to Gilgamos, but has an affair with the Plutonian prior to his fall. As a result of the affair, Bette possesses candle wax capable of rendering the Plutonian a mortal man, used to allow them to consummate their relationship. She attempts to kill the Plutonian with a bullet crafted from the magic wax but fails due to Qubit's interference. Unable to deal with the guilt of allowing millions to die by not acting sooner, she goes into hiding. Bette is discovered by the Plutonian in Irredeemable #29, living a hedonistic lifestyle while awaiting death.
• Charybdis / Cary: Twin and partner of Scylla, possesses energy manipulation and projection powers. He is the source of the power that he and Scylla share. Following Scylla's apparent death, Cary's full power is restored and he adopts the codename Survivor. With his full abilities, Cary is capable of rivaling and overwhelming the Plutonian. Cary is jealous of his brother's relationship with Kaidan. Her rejection of his own advances, combined with his increasing responsibilities and power lead to him becoming unstable, causing Kaidan and Qubit to plot against him, fearing he is more dangerous than Plutonian. Issue #30 shows that Cary and Scylla were triplets with their brother Elliott. Cary shared his power equally among his brothers but cannot take it back until their death. Cary is killed by Gil in Issue #31 and all of his and Elliott's power is lost as a result.
• Gilgamos / Gil: A two-thousand year old, 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 against Orian, he tore the second off himself after being incarcerated by the US government, using the bones within to pick the lock of his cell. Following an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Plutonian and the revelation of his wife's infidelity, Gilgamos begins to wander the Earth. Gil returns in Irredeemable #29 when Kaidan and Scylla's ghost attempt to bring him out of retirement.
• Kaidan: Real name Keiko. She and fellow member Scylla are in love, to the chagrin of his brother Cary. Of Japanese ancestry, the women of her family can summon the spirits of folklore through verbal storytelling. 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.
• Qubit: Possesses a genius intellect and is capable of mentally rearranging component machinery to form whatever device he imagines, including teleportation technology. Dispassionate and logical, he acts as the voice of reason and conscience for the team, refusing to kill unless necessary. He repeatedly refuses to kill the Plutonian, insisting that he can be redeemed, going so far as to purposely save Plutonian's life.
• Scylla: Twin and partner of Cary. Romantically involved with Kaidan. Possesses the ability to siphon Cary's energy and use it himself, but in doing so diminishes Cary's own power. While investigating a gathering of villains attempting to join forces with Plutonian, he is caught in the facilities self-destruct and seemingly killed. His mindless but living body is revealed to be in the possession of one of Qubit's rogue Modeus robots and later Modeus himself. When Kaidan cannot summon his ghost, she realizes that Scylla is still alive. Scylla returns as a ghost in Irredeemable #29 after Kaidan frees his spirit by killing his body. He later reveals that he and Cary are not twins but triplets. Following his death, his power is split between Scylla and their brother Elliott.
• Volt: An African-American hero empowered by alien energy during the Vespan invasion. He is capable of emitting powerful electrical discharges from his hands, and flight via controlled use of his powers. He loses the ability to fly after the Plutonian tears off his left arm. When Modeus, in the body of Samsara, deems Volt a threat to Qubit's plan to save the Plutonian, he pushes Volt off a cliff to his death.

Recurring

• Modeus - The Plutonian's former arch-nemesis. Possesses a genius intellect and an extreme affinity for technology. Modeus disappears for unknown reasons years before the events depicted in the comic. In Irredeemable #9, it is shown that Modeus had Encanta use a spell that transformed him into pure information before transporting himself as data into Samsara's gem. Although he resides in Samsara's body he is only able to take control after the Plutonian lobotomizes Samsara. In Irredeemable #17, it is revealed that Modeus is in love with Plutonian, but his extreme psychopathy and lack of empathy results in him expressing his feelings by trying to destroy everything else that could divert Plutonian's attention from himself: Sky City, his friends and his loved ones. Plutonian eventually admits that he knows Modeus has possessed Samsara's corpse and uses his heat vision to maim Modeus' face. Encanta transfers his essence from Samsara into Qubit's rogue Modeus robot. He contemplates being transferred into Scylla's shell but decides against it in favor of his emotionless robot body. Modeus pursues Plutonian to an intergalactic asylum to rescue him but is left stranded there while Plutonian returns to Earth. At an unknown point he takes possession of Plutonian's alien lover Cutter, and eventually Bette Noir.
• Samsara: The Plutonian's former sidekick, empowered by a mystical crystal embedded in his forehead. Samsara is capable of projecting a blue mystical energy and is protected from "mortal harm," making him virtually immortal. Samsara cannot regrow lost tissue or limbs but the crystal keeps him alive long enough for any wound to close. When Samsara discovers the Plutonian is responsible for an accidental viral outbreak that killed thousands of children, Plutonian, enraged that the person closest to him has turned on him, snaps and lobotomizes Samsara. Though the crystal allows him to survive the damage, he is unable to regrow the damaged tissue, remaining brain damaged. Effectively dead, he is buried. He manages to ressurrect himself, claiming his gem healed him, and joins Plutonian. It is revealed that his body has been possessed by Plutonian's arch-nemesis, Modeus, as a means to get close to, and manipulate the former hero. Plutonian eventually admits that he has known about the possession since the start, and disfigures Samsara's face to prevent it eliciting sympathy from him. Modeus abandons the body.
• Mordanse - A white, beastial like creature capable of altering it's form. Possesses super-strength, flight, invulnerability, and can emit sonic blasts from his mouth. He joins with the Plutonian on Genhom and accompanies him to Earth.
• Cutter - A green, female alien. a telekinetic self-mutilator whose self-harm injures others rather than herself. Plutonian takes her as a lover after returning to Earth. Issue #31 reveals that Modeus has taken possession of Cutter. He transfers himself to Bette Noir before hurling Cutter's body from the top of a building.
• Kurne - A muscular, purple alien that Plutonian meets on Genhom. Possesses super strength, invulnerability and several mouths on his back which utter conflicting messages. He is driven insane by the mouths until Plutonian, able to detect their voices, binds them to prevent them speaking. He joins with Plutonian and accompanies him to Earth.

Minor

• Hornet: A former policeman who relies on skill and gadgets to fight crime. Hornet and his family are murdered by Plutonian at the beginning of the series. Despite his initial resentment of Plutonian for revealing himself to the world as Hornet was about to make his debut, the two come to be partners, with Hornet considering "Tony" his best friend. In Irredeemable #18, it is revealed that Hornet had become suspicious of Tony after he mentions Hornet's wife by name; information Hornet had never shared with him. During an alien invasion years prior to the Plutonian's fall, Hornet makes a secret deal with the aliens, trading them teleportation technology and the locations of various Earth-like worlds in exchange for them not only sparing Earth, but returning to subdue the Plutonian if his fears are realized. Before he dies, he activates a beacon to summon the aliens.
• Encanta - A magic-using villain who needs amulets and other paraphernalia to accomplish her spells. She is kidnapped by the Plutonian (who uses her as a sex-slave), and recovered by Qubit to learn the location of Modeus. Years prior to the Plutonian's rampage, Encanta uses her abilities to transform Modeus, at his request, into pure information, allowing him to possess the body of Samsara. She is later retrieved from Qubit by Modeus so that she can transfer him into a new body.
• Burrows - A mind-reader and former villain recruited into the new Paradigm after Plutonian's imprisonment. After Plutonian's return, Burrows reads his mind. Traumatized by what he sees, he hangs himself.
• Orian - An extraterrestrial alien hunter who has fought the Paradigm in the past and was only defeated because of the Plutonian. He is summoned by the US military to counter the Paradigm and keep them from turning rogue like the Plutonian. He makes an alliance with Survivor to kill Plutonian with Bette's wax candle-coated bullet. While Orian restrains Plutonian for the shot, Qubit creates tiny portals to redirect the bullet and kill Orian instead, knowing that Orian plans to invade Earth.
• Agent Nine: Paradigm member. Mentioned in passing by Qubit as being "off the grid" during the Plutonian's initial rampage.
• Citadel: Paradigm member. Killed by the Plutonian's heat vision alongside Metalman.
• Gazer: Paradigm member. Possesses telepathic powers capable of extending his "sight and hearing" by linking with the minds of others.
• Inferno: Paradigm member. Real name Martin Reber. A "Wall Street billionaire" turned vigilante; he possesses a reputation as an excellent tactician. Punched through the head and killed during the Plutonian's initial rampage.
• Metalman: Possesses superhuman durability. He is torn in half by the Plutonian while defending a school of children from his initial rampage.
• Elliott: Cary and Scylla's brother, the third of the triplets. As a teenager he starts a heroic career with his brothers but grows disillusioned with how their actions result in death and tormented victims, becoming a priest instead and ignoring his abilities. After Scylla's death, a portion of his power fed into Elliott, increasing his own power. After the source of their power, Cary, is killed, Elliott's power is seemingly lost.

Reception

Initial critical reception for the series was positive, the first issue receiving 3.5 out of 5 stars from Comic Book Resources

Comic Book Resources

Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...

, complimenting the way the art worked with the story, and 4 out of 5 stars from Major Spoilers. John Hardick of The Express-Times

The Express-Times

The Express-Times is a daily newspaper published in Easton, Pennsylvania, with an emphasis on local news. It has won awards in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.-Ownership:...

describes the series as "on its way to becoming one of the best books of the year". Stephen Joyce at Comics Bulletin

Comics Bulletin

Comics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...

 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".

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
2010	Eisner Award Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...	Best Continuing Series	Irredeemable (Mark Waid and Peter Krause)
		Best Writer	Mark Waid Mark Waid Mark Waid is an American comic book writer. He is well 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...  (Shared for Irredeemable and The Incredibles)
		Best Cover Artist	John Cassaday John Cassaday John Cassaday is an American comic book artist and writer, born in Fort Worth, Texas and currently residing in New York City. He is known for having a high level of precision and realism in his work....  (Shared for Irredeemable and The Lone Ranger)
	Harvey Award Harvey Award The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...	Best Writer	Mark Waid
		Best New Series	Irredeemable
2011	Harvey Award Harvey Award The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...	Best Writer	Mark Waid

Collected editions

The series is being collected into trade paperback

Trade paperback (comics)

In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

:

• Volume 1 (collects issues #1–4, 112 pages, Boom! Studios
  Boom! Studios
  BOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....
  
  , 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)
  • The Definitive Edition (collects issues #1-12, with extras, 304 pages, Boom! Studios, oversized, slipcased hardcover, September 2011, ISBN 978-1608860715)
• 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

In December 2009, a spin-off titled Incorruptible was released, chronicling the reformation of former supervillain — and one of Plutonian's greatest enemies — Max Damage, into a hero after he witnesses the atrocities committed by Plutonian. As of October 2011, the series has collected twenty-two issues.