History YMMV / Irredeemable

** Survivor: Is he a heroic man who snapped from the stress of the Plutonian's rampage, losing his brother, and bearing the responsibility of keeping order in the world, all of that combining with the distrust he knew everyone else had for him? Or a snake in the grass whose [[spoiler:power boost]] and loss of his admittedly reckless brother (as he no longer needed to keep him in check anymore) gave him the opportunity to act upon his hidden desires? And in regards to Kaidan, is he trying to act like his brother in the hopes of winning her over, or is he acting like his brother as a coping mechanism due to his brother's death?

* AbusiveParents: The only foster father who didn't reject him is a strange case, while he did try to teach Tony right from wrong, his methods sometimes were... questionable, the example, we are most prominently shown is when at christmas his foster parents get him ''exactly'' what he wants for christmas, even gets to open them and see what he got, upon thanking them for getting the presents his foster father immediately tell him to rewrap them up and come with him to give them to homeless kids, not even allowed to keep one, while not exactly super abusive like most examples of the trope, it's apparent this way of "teaching" was common for his foster father to do, meaning Tony was probably deprived of even the slightest things that would maybe help him be a kid, probably what gave him his perfection complex that added to insecurities, probably the icing on the cake was the next panel show Tony listening in as his foster parents arguing about the fact that the kids did not even like or appreciate the presents that Tony had to grudgingly give away.

* AbusiveParents: The only foster father who didn't reject him is a strange case, while he did try to teach Tony right from wrong, his methods sometimes were... questionable, the example, we are most prominently shown is when at christmas his foster parents get him ''exactly'' what he wants for christmas, even gets to open them and see what he got, upon thanking them for getting the presents his foster father immediately tell him to rewrap them up and come with him to give them to homeless kids, not even allowed to keep one, while not exactly super abusive like most examples of the trope, it's apparent this way of "teaching" was common for his foster father to do, meaning Tony was probably deprived of even the slightest things that would maybe help him be a kid, probably what gave him his perfection complex that added to insecurities.

** Did the supervillains in Inferno's hide-out really think that the Plutonian would reveal to them the thing that would kill them right away?

** Survivor: Is he a heroic man who snapped from the stress of the Plutonian's rampage, losing his brother, and bearing the responsibility of keeping order in the world, all of that combining with the distrust he knew everyone else had for him? Or a snake in the grass whose [[spoiler:power boost]] and loss of his admittedly reckless brother (as he no longer needed to keep him in check anymore) gave him the opportunity to act upon his hidden desires? And in regards to Kaidan, is he trying to act like his brother in the hopes of winning her over?

* HistoricalInJoke: Despite Neo-Nazis' worship of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, most of them are poor, and often of what the Nazis would refer to as inferior genetic stock. Just as Hitler wouldn't have spared a decent portion of his worshipers, neither would the Plutonian have spared the Diamonds.

** The Plutonian. For all the horrible things he does throughout the series, it's clear that he's also '''very''' deeply emotionally and mentally messed up, [[BlessedWithSuck his powers have made his life unbearably miserable]], and it's shown that he does still want to be genuinely loved as a hero again, but his own underlying issues make him unable to truly accept it.

* HilariousInHindsight: Volt complaining about black men with electrical powers being a cliché was funny before ''TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' gave Electro a RaceLift. Now it's riotous.

** The first thing we see the Plutonian do is incinerate the Hornet's wife and child right in front of him -- and that's not even the ''first'' atrocity he's committed. He shows no sign of slowing down.

** Chronologically, Tony likely passed the MEH when he destroyed Sky City and lobotomized Samsara.
** The Survivor started inching towards it since Scylla's death, but the action that puts him over this line is when, upon Tony's escape from the Vespans' captivity, he was willing to [[spoiler: murder his ''other'' brother Elliot in order to become even stronger and have enough power to kill Tony]]. This could be taken as a ShootTheDog moment, but given the Survivor's sizable ego, growing temper, [[TookALevelInJerkass the many levels in jerkass he's taken]] since [[spoiler:his power boost]], and the fact that his main claim on personal suffering was Tony killing Scylla, that rings a tad hollow.

* SpiritualAntithesis: To Webcomic/OnePunchMan. While both series deconstruct the classic overpowered super-hero giving them existential crisis regarding their own powers, One Punch Man is more comedic and deals with a super-hero that doesn't care about heroism and is just bored about winning all his battles, while Irredeemable is more cynical and the super-hero in question gets tired of always having to save ungrateful people and then snaps, turning into a OmnicidalManiac.

** Survivor: Is he a heroic man who snapped from the stress of the Plutonian's rampage, losing his brother, bearing the responsibility of keeping order in the world and the distrust he knew everyone else had for him? Or a snake in the grass whose [[spoiler:power boost]] and loss of his admittedly reckless brother (as he no longer needed to keep him in check anymore) gave him the opportunity to act upon his hidden desires? And in regards to Kaidan, is he trying to act like his brother in the hopes of winning her over?

** Plutonian: A [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]] AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild in waiting whose rampage was guaranteed as soon as he found an excuse? Or a deeply emotionally damaged BrokenAce who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation and tried to be a good hero (even if it was ultimately [[SecretlySelfish for selfish]] [[LoveHungry reasons]]) until he was pushed over the edge after making a tragic mistake that cost him the things that he valued most? In light of [[spoiler:the reveal that Tony was a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents that took on a human form after responding to the strong emotions of a distraught woman who went insane from the death of her child, possibly corrupting him from the start]], one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

** TheReveal of what Hornet did to secure his BetrayalInsurance seems to be one in-universe. [[spoiler:Namely, he sent the coordinates of peaceful, undefended worlds to the Vespans to help them secure and expand their empire on the condition that they return to Earth to take Plutonian away if it came to that.]] Hornet himself is almost breaking down as he discusses it, Qubit dismissively grunts, "Go to Hell, Jim." as he terminates the message, and [[EveryoneHasStandards Survivor is shocked and appalled to hear about it]]. Made worse by the fact that, as he admits, had Tony never snapped, he would have done what he did AllForNothing.

* SpiritualAntithesis: To Webcomic/OnePunchMan. While both series decosntruct the classic overpowered super-hero giving them existencial crisis regardng their own powers, One Punch Man is more comedic and deals with a super-hero that doesn't care about heroism and is just bored about wining all his battles, while Irredeemable is more cynical and the super-hero in question gets tired of always having to save ungrateful people and then snaps, turning into a OmnicidalManiac.

* CompleteMonster: [[BewareTheSuperman The Plutonian]] was once a superhero who only saved lives for the [[AttentionWhore adoration it brought him]]. However, his [[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond inability to handle any form of criticism]] led to him snapping and becoming the most evil being the world had ever known. Starting his evil campaign by painfully lobotomizing his teenage sidekick, Plutonian later massacred the population of Sky City, numbering in the millions, to keep a mistake he made from going public. After hunting down his former teammates and brutally murdering them and their entire families, [[WouldHurtAChild children and babies included]], Plutonian annihilates the country of Singapore solely because an ambassador from said country lied to him. Seemingly locked away forever on an alien planet, Plutonian [[RedemptionRejection rejects an alien's attempts to redeem him]] and leads a breakout with a group of psychotic criminals. Returning to Earth, Plutonian carves his own insignia into the U.S.A., killing thousands of people; slaughters entire cities; and uses dozens of superheroes as ammo to fling into space. After trying to murder the last remaining superheroes, Plutonian is fully willing to let the entire Earth perish due to radiation poisoning just to spite his nemesis, Qubit, only saving the planet because his own life is on the line. Though having many possible [[FreudianExcuse excuses]] and sympathetic moments throughout the story, it is slowly revealed that Plutonian was ultimately nothing more than a [[PsychopathicManchild childish sociopath]] who would kill innumerable innocents just because he wasn't universally loved by all, while [[ItsAllAboutMe caring for no one but himself]]. Truly, he lives up to the book's title.

** Plutonian: A [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]] AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild in waiting whose rampage was guaranteed as soon as he found an excuse? Or a deeply emotionally damaged man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation and tried to be a good hero (even if it was ultimately [[SecretlySelfish for selfish]] [[LoveHungry reasons]]) until he was pushed over the edge after making a tragic mistake that cost him the things that he valued most? In light of [[spoiler:the reveal that Tony was a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents that took on a human form after responding to the strong emotions of a distraught woman who went insane from the death of her child, possibly corrupting him from the start]], one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.
** Max Damage: Is he a former career criminal who was pushed to make a genuine effort to reform after seeing the horror the Plutonian inflicted and how helpless he was when it happened, along with figuring that the Plutonian's fall would have dark consequences for humanity? A man who had the potential to become a great hero all along but wasted it on crime? And just how much of his reformation was pushed by genuine regret for his crimes as opposed to rational self-interest or even trying to one-up his longtime rival Tony?
** Survivor: Is he a heroic man who was pushed over the edge from the Plutonian's rampage and the responsibility of keeping order in the world? Or a snake in the grass whose [[spoiler:power boost]] gave him the opportunity to act upon his hidden desires?

** Plutonian: A [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]] AxCrazy PsychopathicManchild in waiting whose rampage was guaranteed as soon as he found an excuse? Or a deeply emotionally damaged man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation and tried to be a good hero (even if it was ultimately [[SecrectlySelfish for selfish]] [[LoveHungry reasons]]) until he was pushed over the edge after making a tragic mistake that cost him the things that he valued most? In light of [[spoiler:the reveal that Tony was a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents that took on a human form after responding to the strong emotions of a distraught woman who went insane from the death of her child, possibly corrupting him from the start]], one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

** Plutonian: A PsychopathicManchild [[TheSociopath sociopath]] in waiting whose rampage was guaranteed as soon as he found an excuse? Or a deeply emotionally damaged man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation and tried to be a good hero until he was pushed over the edge after making a tragic mistake that cost him the things that he valued most? In light of [[spoiler:the reveal that Tony was a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents that took on a human form after responding to the strong emotions of a distraught woman who went insane from the death of her child, possibly corrupting him from the start]], one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

** Survivor: Is he a heroic man who was pushed over the edge from the Plutonian's rampage and the responsibility of keeping order in the world? Or a snake in the grass whose [[spoiler:power boost]] got him the opportunity to act upon his hidden desires?

** Plutonian: A PsychopathicManchild [[TheSociopath sociopath]] in waiting whose rampage was guaranteed as soon as he found an excuse? Or a genuinely heroic man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation and was pushed over the edge after making a tragic mistake that cost him the things that he valued most? In light of [[spoiler:the reveal that Tony was a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents that took on a human form after responding to the strong emotions of a distraught woman who went insane from the death of her child, possibly corrupting him from the start]], one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Both Plutonian and Max are complex enough to give us several different takes on them, and to some extent they all might be true. Other popular subjects are Survivor, Qubit, Modeus, Hornet, Jailbait and Alana.
** Plutonian: A {{Complete Monster}} in waiting whose rampage was guaranteed as soon as he found an excuse? A genuinely heroic man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation that culminated in the incident with the child killing soundbased virus where even his closet companion ended up doubting him once he learned of Tony's role in the mess? In light of [[spoiler: the reveal that Tony is a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents who was corrupted by his first human mother,]] one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.
** Max Damage: Is he a former career criminal who was pushed to make a genuine effort to reform after seeing the horror the Plutonian inflicted and how helpless he was when it happened, along with figuring that the Plutonian's fall would have dark consequences for humanity? A man who had the potential to become a great hero all along but wasted it on crime? How much of his reformation was pushed by genuine regret for his crimes as opposed to rational self-interest or even trying to one-up his longtime rival Tony?
** Survivor: Is he a heroic man who was pushed over the edge from the Plutonian's rampage and the responsibility of keeping order in the world? Or a snake in the grass whose empowerment got him the opportunity to act upon his hidden desires?
** Alana: Is she a kind woman who suffered from the dangers of dating a man like the Plutonian (who also played her for a fool using his Dan Hartigan persona) and not surprisingly got angry at him for keeping her in the dark about his human disguise? A reformed {{Bitch In Sheeps Clothing}} who took advantage of the prestige that came from dating Tony and was petty enough to out Tony's secret identity even if her anger was warranted? Alana is shown to blame herself for the Plutonian's rampage since she tattled his secret identity so either one can fit with this.

** Plutonian: A {{Complete Monster}} in waiting who's rampage was guaranteed? A genuinely heroic man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation that culminated in the incident with the child killing soundbased virus where even his closet companion ended up doubting him once he learned of Tony's role in the mess? In light of [[spoiler: the reveal that Tony is a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents who was corrupted by his first human mother,]] one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

** Alana: Is she a kind woman who suffered from the dangers of dating a man like The Plutonian (who also played her for a fool using his Dan Hartigan persona) and not surprisingly got angry at him for keeping her in the dark about his human disguise? A reformed {{Bitch In Sheeps Clothing}} who took advantage of the prestige that came from dating Tony and was petty enough to out Tony's secret identity even if her anger was warranted? Alana is shown to blame herself for the Plutonian's rampage since she tattled his secret identity so either one can fit with this.

** Plutonian: A {{Complete Monster}} in waiting who's rampage was guaranteed? A genuinely heroic man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation that culminated in the incident with the child killing soundbased virus where even his closet companion ended up doubting him once he learned of Tony's role in the mess?
In light of [[spoiler: the reveal that Tony is a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents who was corrupted by his first human mother,]] one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

** Plutonian: A {{Complete Monster}} in waiting who's rampage was guaranteed? A genuinely heroic man who suffered from a lifetime of rejection and alienation that culminated in the incident with the child killing soundbased virus where even his closet companion ended up doubting him once he learned of Tony's role in the mess?In light of [[spoiler: the reveal that Tony is a probe sent by his multiverse traveling parents who was corrupted by his first human mother,]] one could even debate whether Tony ever really had a choice to become a monster or not.

** Alana: Is she a kind woman who suffered from the dangers of dating a man like The Plutonian (who also played her for a fool using his Dan Hartigan persona) and not surprisingly got angry at him for keeping her in the dark about his human disguise? A reformed {{Bitch In Sheeps Clothing}} who took advantage of the prestige that came from dating Tony and was petty enough to out Tony's secret identity even if her anger was warranted? Alana is shown to blame herself for the Plutonian's rampage having tattled his secret identity so either one can fit with this.

** Alana: Is she a kind woman who suffered from the dangers of dating a man like The Plutonian (who also played her for a fool using his Dan Hartigan persona) and not surprisingly got angry at him for keeping her in the dark about his human disguise? A reformed {{Bitch In Sheep's Clothing}} who took advantage of the prestige that came from dating Tony and was petty enough to out Tony's secret identity even if her anger was warranted? Alana is shown to blame herself for the Plutonian's rampage having tattled his secret identity so either one can fit with this.

* CompleteMonster: [[BewareTheSuperman The Plutonian]] was once a superhero who only saved lives for the [[AttentionWhore adoration it brought him]]. However, his [[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond inability to handle any form of criticism]] led to him snapping and becoming the most evil being the world had ever known. Starting his evil campaign by painfully lobotomizing his teenage sidekick, Plutonian later massacred the population of Sky City, numbering in the millions, to keep a mistake he made from going public. After hunting down his former teammates and brutally murdering them and their entire families, [[WouldHurtAChild children and babies included]], Plutonian annihilates the country of Singapore solely because an ambassador from said country lied to him. Seemingly locked away forever on an alien planet, Plutonian [[RedemptionRejection rejects an alien's attempts to redeem him]] and leads a breakout with a group of psychotic criminals. Returning to Earth, Plutonian carves his own insignia into the U.S.A., killing thousands of people; slaughters entire cities; and uses dozens of superheroes as ammo to fling into space. After trying to murder the last remaining superheroes, Plutonian is fully willing to let the entire Earth perish due to radiation poisoning just to spite his nemesis, Qubit, only saving the planet because his own life is on the line. Though having many possible [[FreudianExcuse excuses]] and sympathetic moments throughout the story, it is slowly revealed that Plutonian was ultimately nothing more than a [[PsychopathicManchild childish sociopath]] who would kill innumerable innocents just because he wasn't universally loved by all, while [[ItsAllAboutMe caring for no one but himself]].