YMMV / The Ables

• Complete Monster:
  • The Ables: "Finch"—true identity Thomas Sallinger—is a Fallen Hero. Finch is an absorber who leads the Believers, a group dedicated to seeking the prophesied reincarnation of a nigh-omnipotent man known as Elben, intending to set himself up as a god using Elben's powers. Finch falsely believes that the protagonist, a blind hero-in-training named Philip Sallinger, is Elben, and spends the book trying to force Philip to unlock his powers. In order to do this, Finch turns Philip and his friends into outcasts with the help of Chad; puts Philip's mother into a coma and later kills her; mounts an invasion of Philip's hometown of Freepoint with an army of Believers, killing hundreds; and finally threatens to destroy the town using a nuclear bomb, claiming that if Philip, his grandson, can't stop it, then "I don't want to live, and you don't deserve to." Finch completely lacks in compassion, loyalty, or honor, and whatever kindness he showed on the outside was a sham to hide his true nature.
  • Strings: Marian Ettinger is the head of the Department of Homeland Security's Custodial Detection unit, and uses the fear of supers to justify capturing and imprisoning heroes, despite having superpowers herself. In order to keep the fear going, Ettinger uses her own superpower to force captured heroes to commit crimes, including forcing Philip's father to fight him. When not being puppeteered, the supers are kept in solitary confinement, with chips in their hands designed to cause agonizing pain if they use their powers. Ettinger lies to her superiors about the presence of a resistance movement in order to deploy the National Guard against Freepoint, destroying most of the town and taking many of its residents prisoner. When the Ables confront her in the capital, Ettinger takes control of Henry and uses him to control the Ables, gloating that with him, she can turn the supers into her private army, attempting to use the Ables' powers against civilians to demonstrate.