History Fridge / Irredeemable

* Why is Max Damage Incorruptible? Because one of the primary recurring themes of Irredeemable is that part of being a hero is accepting that not everyone will always appreciate what you do or trust you for it, especially when you inevitably make a mistake. Since Max was originally a villain, he already expects people not to trust him and so is emotionally prepared for rejection the way the Plutonian and Cary aren't. He's not incorruptible because he's striving to be morally perfect, he's incorruptible because he has the trait of real heroism that the Plutonian lacks. Basically Max is a hero despite acknowledging his flaws while Tony is a villain to deny his own.
** Alternatively, it seems Irredeemable and Incorruptible were both named after what the central character of the other ''isn't''. Max isn't irredeemable and Plutonian isn't incorruptible after all.
* The Plutonian is seen to have a father who’s upright and strong, if slightly resentful towards others, and who breaks down upon realizing he couldn’t save his wife from a terminal illness and kills him and her. This capacity carries on to his son, on a more godlike scale...
* Why does the Plutonian agree to leave Coalville alone out of respect for Max Damage? As noted under the Heartwarming entry, Max's sincere gratitude to the Plutonian is perhaps the one thing that can move Tony. All of the ungrateful masses muttering behind his back and its one of his most hated enemies that can genuinely say "thank you" to him. It's all Tony ever wanted.
** On another level, it's possible that Tony not only figured out that for all their bad blood he and Max understood each-other in a way others didn't, but they were also kindred spirits as godlike men alienated from humanity. Tony even noted how Alana telling Hayes Bellamy secrets of Max was like how he himself had his secret identity as Dan Hartigan outed by her to their coworkers.

** Qubit is not the only one who understands the Plutonian's situation. Hornet, Tony's best friend on the team, noticed that Tony was going to crack under the pressure eventually. And in a later volume, the American President muses that maybe the Plutonian had one really bad day; as the leader of a nation, he is probably fully aware of the pressures of [[ComesGreatResponsibility dealing with huge responsibilities.]]
*** Bette Noir noticed that Tony had a dark side to him [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys and perhaps was attracted to him for it]], having started to slowly become estranged from her husband Gilgamos.
** Max Damage also suspected (correctly) that Plutonian's heroism was just a persona he put on, which suits him being in many ways Plutonian's foil. So among those who all noticed or suspected that Tony's image had cracks that were spreading, we have his Badass Normal cop best friend Hornet who being just a non-superpowered human has to be more paranoid to survive the threats his team deals with, his other best friend (who cheated on her husband with him) Bette Noir who had the personality to notice cracks on and inner flames within men, the acting president of the United States who being a ruler of a country would know both the pressure of responsibility and the difficulties of pleasing the masses, and Max Damage who not only met Tony as a kid but knowingly defined himself as Tony's antithesis.
* Leave it to Hornet, a former policeman, to stay watchful and pick up when a situation is going bad.

* What guarantee is there that Modeus, with his vast intellect, wouldn't be able to find a way to escape Qubit's mental prison and [[GrandTheftMe bodyjack him without anyone noticing?]]

* Considering that Max Damage was willing to even kill children back when he was a villain, what OTHER atrocities did he commit when he was evil!?

* Why is Max Damage Incorruptible? Because one of the primary recurring themes of Irredeemable is that part of being a hero is accepting that not everyone will always appreciate what you do or trust you for it, especially when you inevitably make a mistake. Since Max was originally a villain, he already expects people not to trust him and so is emotionally prepared for rejection the way the Plutonian [[spoiler:and Cary]] aren't. He's not incorruptible because he's striving to be morally perfect, he's incorruptible because he has the trait of real heroism that the Plutonian lacks. Basically Max is a hero despite acknowledging his flaws while Tony is a villain to deny his own.

** He also actively seeks to redeem the Plutonian throughout the story; he knows very well that a lot of the Plutonian's actions came from the inability to deal with people, and [[spoiler: sets in motion a plan that will restore the Plutonian's heroism, but also {{mercy kill}} him since he’s done too much for anyone to ever accept him again]].

* Going by what happened in the main ''Irredeemable'' plotline, [[spoiler:that entire world is probably now slated to be conquered by the Vespa on account of being sold out by Hornet along with every other peaceful world Qubit discovered.]] Which is an entirely different sort of FridgeHorror.

** Max Damage also suspected (correctly) that Plutonian's heroism was just a persona he put on, which suits him being in many ways Plutonian's foil. So among those who all noticed or suspected that Tony's image had cracks that were spreading, we have his Badass Normal cop best friend Hornet who being just a non-superpowered human has to be more paranoid to survive the threats his team deals with, his other best friend (who cheated on her husband with him) Bette Noir who had the personality to notice cracks and inner flames within men, the acting president of the United States who being a ruler of a country would know both the pressure of responsibility and the difficulties of pleasing the masses, and Max Damage who not only met Tony as a kid but knowingly defined himself as Tony's antithesis.

*** Bette Noir noticed that Tony had a dark side to him [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys and perhaps was attracted to him for it]], having started to slowly become estranged from her husband Gilgamos. ** Max Damage also suspected (correctly) that Plutonian's heroism was just a persona he put on, which suits him being in many ways Plutonian's foil. So among those who all noticed or suspected that Tony's image had cracks that were spreading, we have his Badass Normal cop best friend Hornet who being just a non-superpowered human has to be more paranoid to survive the threats his team deals with, his other best friend (who cheated on her husband with him) Bette Noir who had the personality to notice cracks and inner flames within men, the acting president of the United States who being a ruler of a country would know both the pressure of responsibility and the difficulties of pleasing the masses, and Max Damage who not only met Tony as a kid but knowingly defined himself as Tony's antithesis.

*** Bette Noir noticed that Tony had a dark side to him [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys and perhaps was attracted to him for it]], having started to slowly become estranged from her husband Gilgamos.

* Modeus knew what was coming, and planned for it by hiding out in Samsara. He told nobody, and allowed Samsara's innocence to shatter and abused Tony's paternal feelings for the boy, because Modeus thought this would help [[UnholyMatrimony Tony to return his affection.]]

* Qubit comes off as coldhearted at times, but this is a story about superheroes getting emotionally unstable and carried away. His cool-headedness makes him sane enough to fix the situation, not perfectly but as best as he can.
** He also actively seeks to redeem the Plutonian throughout the story; he knows very well that a lot of the Plutonian’s actions came from the inability to deal with people, and [[spoiler: sets in motion a plan that will restore the Plutonian’s heroism, but also mercy kill him since he’s done too much for people to really accept him.]]
** Qubit is not the only one who understands the Plutonian’s situation. Hornet, Tony’s best friend, noted that he was going to crack under the pressure. The President muses that maybe the Plutonian had had a bad day; as the leader of a nation, he is probably fully aware of the pressures of dealing with people.


* FridgeHorror: A mad scientist has a one-use portal that can take one and only one person to another dimension, keyed to a world with absolutely no supers. Max Damage attempts to use it to send his sidekick out of the Plutonian's reach forever, but she mistakes the gesture as a combat maneuver, and throws it at her opponent... a rampaging killbot promptly sucked into that paradise, and now irretrievably stuck there with unsuspecting and defenseless billions.

*** Also, going by what happened in the main Irredeemable plotline, [[spoiler:that entire world is probably now slated to be conquered by the Vespa on account of being sold out by Hornet along with every other peaceful world Qubit discovered.]] Which is an entirely different sort of FridgeHorror.
** Remember that auditory virus that slaughtered children, and spread on their dying screams? [[NightmareFetishist Plutonian thought it sounded beautiful even before going nuts.]]
** Modeus knew what was coming, and planned for it by hiding out in Samsara. He told nobody, and allowed Samsara's innocence to shatter and abused Tony's paternal feelings for the boy, because Modeus thought this would help [[UnholyMatrimony Tony to return his affection.]]

* FridgeBrilliance: Why is Max Damage Incorruptible? Because one of the primary recurring themes of Irredeemable is that part of being a hero is accepting that not everyone will always appreciate what you do or trust you for it, especially when you inevitably make a mistake. Since Max was originally a villain, he already expects people not to trust him and so is emotionally prepared for rejection the way the Plutonian [[spoiler:and Cary]] aren't. He's not incorruptible because he's striving to be morally perfect, he's incorruptible because he has the trait of real heroism that the Plutonian lacks. Basically Max is a hero despite acknowledging his flaws while Tony is a villain to deny his own.

* FridgeBrilliance: Why does the Plutonian agree to leave Coalville alone out of respect for Max Damage? As noted under the Heartwarming entry, Max's sincere gratitude to the Plutonian is perhaps the one thing that can move Tony. All of the ungrateful masses muttering behind his back and its one of his most hated enemies that can genuinely say "thank you" to him. It's all Tony ever wanted.

** On another level, it's possible that Tony not only figured out that for all their bad blood he and Max understood each-other in a way others didn't, but they were also kindred spirits as godlike men alienated from humanity. Tony even noted how Alana telling Hayes Bellamy Max's secrets was like how he himself had his secret identity as Dan Hartigan get outed by her to their coworkers.

* FridgeBrilliance: Why is Max Damage Incorruptible? Because one of the primary recurring themes of Irredeemable is that part of being a hero is accepting that not everyone will always appreciate what you do or trust you for it, especially when you inevitably make a mistake. Since Max was originally a villain, he already expects people not to trust him and so is emotionally prepared for rejection the way the Plutonian [[spoiler:and Cary]] aren't. He's not incorruptible because he's striving to be morally perfect, he's incorruptible because he has the trait of real heroism that the Plutonian lacks. Basically Max is a hero despite acknowledging his flaws while Tony is a hero to deny his own.
* FridgeBrilliance: Why does the Plutonian agree to leave Coalville alone out of respect for Max Damage? As noted under the Heartwarming entry, Max's sincere gratitude to the Plutonian is perhaps the one thing that can move Tony. All of the ungrateful masses muttering behind his back and its one of his most hated enemies that can genuinely say "thank you" to him. Its all Tony ever wanted.

* FridgeBrilliance: Why is Max Damage Incorruptible? Because one of the primary recurring themes of Irredeemable is that part of being a hero is accepting that not everyone will always appreciate what you do or trust you for it, especially when you inevitably make a mistake. Since Max was originally a villain, he already expects people not to trust him and so is emotionally prepared for rejection the way the Plutonian [[spoiler:and Cary]] aren't. He's not incorruptible because he's striving to be morally perfect, he's incorruptible because he has the trait of real heroism that the Plutonian lacks.

** Modeus knew what was coming, and planned for it by hiding out in Samsara. He told nobody, and allowed Samsara's innocence to shatter and abused Tony's paternal feelings for the boy, because Modeus thought this would help [[UnholyMatrimony Tony to return his affection.]]
* FridgeLogic: Those things might have helped ''a bit'' in fighting The Plutonian, but remember that The Plutonian has always been Max's archnemesis, so if there was anything in there that was really capable of hurting him, it would have been used already.

** Modeus knew what was coming, and planned for it by hiding out in Samsara. He told nobody, and allowed Samsara's innocence to shatter and abused Tony's paternal feelings for the boy, because Modeus thought this would help [[UnholyMatriomony Tony to return his affection.]]