History Literature / TheReckonersTrilogy

** [[spoiler: ''Literature/{{Firefight}}'' reveals that an Epic's weakness is based on whatever they most fear. Sourcefield, for example, is vulnerable to Kool-Aid because her parents tried to poison her through it. Megan is vulnerable to fire because she almost burnt to death.]]

* BewareTheSuperman: Every superpowered person is evil, with few arguable exceptions. [[spoiler: Conflux and the Professor are the nicest ones in the book, and it's stated this is because they give away most of their power on a regular basis.]]

%% Add tropes for Firefight at the bottom of the page.

->''I've seen Steelheart bleed. And I '''will''' see him bleed again.''

Chicago is ruled by one of the worst Epics of them all, a tyrant who calls himself Steelheart. Imagine {{Superman}} as an EvilOverlord: he can fly, he is superhumanly strong, he shoots energy beams, he appears to be completely invulnerable, and he is a ruthless dictator who commits mass murder without qualm or hesitation.

The only people who dare to fight back, anywhere, are a band of freedom fighters called [[CapeBusters the Reckoners.]] They study Epics, try to learn [[KryptoniteFactor the weakness each one has]], and assassinate them whenever possible.

The protagonist, David, is an 18-year-old who has lived under Steelheart's tyranny since the beginning. For ten years, since the day Steelheart [[YouKilledMyFather murdered his father,]] he has studied Epics, plotted revenge, and searched for a way to join up with the Reckoners. Because David, alone out of all the people who were there, survived the incident, and was a witness to the only time that Steelheart showed that he also has a weakness. David has seen Steelheart bleed.

!!''Steelheart'' contains examples of the following tropes:

* AGodAmI: Epics generally consider themselves superior to ordinary humans, and they aren't shy about talking about it. Steelheart takes things a step further by outright proclaiming himself to be a divinity, with every indication he believes it.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: ''Steelheart'' opens with an Epic named Deathpoint robbing a bank and generally wreaking havoc. What with his ability to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin kill people by pointing at them]], he seems an extremely formidable guy. Then Steelheart (who is basically an evil version of Superman, except maybe even ''more'' powerful) shows up, and suddenly Deathpoint doesn't look so scary after all...
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: David is a very observant young man, which makes him useful to the Reckoners.

* {{BFG}}: ''Lots''. The Gauss gun and Abraham's 'Manchester 451' are two standout examples.
* BlackBox: It's somehow possible to create new weaponry or technology through researching the principles on which Epic powers work, then applying them to gadgets such as cell phone networks, motorcycles, or {{BFG}}s. However, this does not necessarily mean that the people researching the principles and reapplying them actually understand in any way how they work, or even if that's physically possible.
* BottomlessMagazines: Curveball, one of the Epics, never runs out of bullets when he uses a handgun. [[WordOfGod This was done deliberately as a shout-out to action movies.]]
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Averted. David is shocked when Steelheart instantly recognizes him ten years later, after never having spoken to him, nor even significantly interacted with him in the few moments they were in the same room. It's likely Steelheart's memories of that day were as sharp as David's, since that day was the only time Steelheart was ever injured.
* CapeBusters: The plot revolves around the Reckoners, who are trying to defeat the evil superhumans.
* CastingAShadow: Half of Nightwielder's powers. He blocks out all natural light (except that of Calamity) 24/7 throughout Newcago, and can use solid shadows as weapons to kill with.
* CoDragons: Nightwielder, Conflux, and Firefight are Steelheart's Dragons. [[spoiler: Well, Nightwielder and Firefight are. Conflux is actually a captive, little better than a slave forced to use his energy-boosting powers to fuel the city. And not only is Firefight just an illusion cast by an illusionist epic, but the illusionist happens to a DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent and the hero's love interest.]]

* CueTheSun: [[JustifiedTrope Justified.]] [[spoiler:When David kills Nightwielder, it allows the sun to finally rise.]]
* {{Depower}}: This is the result of a Transference Epic taking his or her powers back after giving them to someone. [[spoiler:Conflux does this to all of the power he was giving out in Newcago, effectively shutting down most of the city and the Enforcement.]]
* DevilButNoGod: A variant. Every Epic is evil to some extent, effectively creating a non-religious variant of this trope.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Part of the Epic attitude is that being mildly inconvenienced should be responded to by killing the person responsible. Refractiony is mentioned as having sent a car with kids in it crashing into someone's house as retribution for being cut off in traffic, [[spoiler: and Megan clearly intends to shoot David for spilling steel dust on her until she remembers herself.]]
* {{Dissimile}}: David is ''painfully bad'' with analogies, and well aware of it.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Fortuity's weakness. He's normally impossible to surprise thanks to his extremely powerful precognitive abilities, but if he's sexually attracted to a person it scrambles his precognition.
* DividedStatesOfAmerica: America is known as the "Fractured States" by the time the story starts up, on account of Epics being able to take and set up their own fiefdoms wherever they see fit.
* TheDreaded: Steelheart [[spoiler: [[InvokedTrope has a PR team to turn him into this]], as he can only be harmed by someone who isn't afraid of him.]]
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Deathpoint can kill people by pointing at them. Even he admits the name isn't that creative, but hey, it gets the idea across.
* {{Expy}}: Steelheart to Franchise/{{Superman}}, intentionally. He has the cape, the general appearance, the LanternJawOfJustice, the FlyingBrick powerset. The only major difference is that Steelheart trades in Supes's secondary powers for energy blasts and the ability to transform objects to solid steel. Oh, and Steelheart is evil.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Deathpoint is a rather cheery fellow, chatting and bantering with the customers and staff at the bank he's robbing, while casually talking about the fact that he ''is'' there to rob it and disintegrating anyone who strikes his fancy.
* FullCircleRevolution: Prof is well aware of this trope, which is why he flat-out ''refuses'' to even consider the idea of taking over if they defeat Steelheart. [[spoiler:Also, he's an Epic fighting his own megalomania, and said megalomania happens to be transferable to people he gives his powers]]. In the end, [[spoiler:they help install a democratically elected mayor, and stay around as some sort of ill-defined police force to keep the city safe. Ill-defined in-universe, that is]].
* FlyingBrick: Steelheart himself; his powers include flight, invulnerability, SuperStrength, ElementalPowers, and the ability to transform nonliving material into solid steel.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Cody mentions that [[spoiler:the other members of his police force in Nashville became even worse when they stayed on while he left]]. This foreshadows [[spoiler:the fact that Epic powers, even when Gifted, have a high probability of causing the same arrogant amorality in ''other people'' when used by them instead, much like how David nearly believes that the Reckoners should take over the infrastructure of Newcago for what would surely be a FullCircleRevolution]].
** Megan [[spoiler:can't use any of the technologies of the Reckoners, which, combined with Conflux's reveal of the fact that Epics can't be Gifted powers by Transference Epics, foreshadows that she is in fact an Epic herself]].

* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: Weaponized by Deathpoint, with his eponymous power.
* GunsAkimbo: How Megan kills Fortuity, by "Checkmating" him between a rifle in one hand and a handgun in the other. [[spoiler:Repeated by David when killing Nightwielder, holding a UV flashlight-equipped, stripped rifle in one hand and his father's borrowed gun in the other. The similarity in the kills is what lets Megan remember who he is.]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Steelheart likes to use people's own guns to kill them, but only bothers if they've impressed or annoyed him personally in some way. [[spoiler:This comes back to bite him, when David rigs his own gun to activate explosives when Steelheart pulls the trigger; Steelheart is the only one left no longer afraid of himself, so he's the only one who can hurt him]].
* ImNotAfraidOfYou: [[spoiler:Steelheart can only be harmed by someone who does not fear him. Unfortunately, thanks to his campaign of terror and propaganda, there's only one person left in the world who fits that description.]]
* IntangibleMan: The other half of Nightwielder's powers. Sunlight forces him to solidify, but other than that no physical attack can touch him.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Taken one step further, as David actually hunted down the call and pestered the Reckoners into letting him join the gang.

* MagicFeather: [[spoiler:The Tensors, the Reckoner Jackets, and the Harmsway. All of these "devices" are simply nonfunctional electronics, used to hide the fact that the matter disintegration, energy shields, and healing abilities are powers that Prof, a Transferrence Epic, shares with the Reckoners.]]
* MagicIsEvil: There is not a single case where an Epic is heroic. [[spoiler:It is implied that this is ''literal''. While Gifters can give out their powers in small doses safely, they experience the [[DrunkWithPower effects]] when they use the powers themselves. Keeping from using Epic powers for a time allows the Epic to regain their original personalities, which are not always evil. It is unclear why this happens, but the effect is instantaneous, and lasts for some time depending on how the powers are used.]]
* MagicPoweredPseudoscience:
** One of the Reckoner's greatest assets are a handful of mysterious gadgets apparently based on Epic powers. Specifically, we have the tensors, glove-like objects which can destroy non-living matter; the jackets, which project a sort of force-field to protect their wearers, and the harmsway, which grants you a temporary HealingFactor. [[spoiler: Turns out the devices don't actually do anything. Prof is an Epic, and he manages to control his power and maintain his sanity by giving bits of it to the rest of the team.]]
** It's also suggested in the story that ''all'' devices created from Epic powers work this way.
* TheManBehindTheCurtain:
** Zigzagged with [[spoiler: Firefight]]. One of Steelheart's Dragons is a [[PlayingWithFire powerful fire Epic]] [[spoiler: who actually doesn't exist, being an elaborate hoax. The ''actual'' Firefight is an illusionist who creates the image of the fire Epic. However, as the climax shows, an illusionist is just as dangerous -possibility more so- than a fire wielder, just in a different way]].
** Played straight with [[spoiler: Conflux, who despite his reputation as the mysterious and feared head of Steelheart's enforcers, is actually a mild-mannered little man who is basically Steelheart's slave/living battery]].
* MeaningfulRename: Every Epic gets one. Most of them seen don't even go by their given name at all, nor is it stated.
** In addition, the fact that Edmund Sense prefers that name to his Epic name (Conflux) is the first hint that [[spoiler: he's one of the very few (three so far) Epics with some degree of humanity.]]
* MugglePower: Mostly subverted. Humans are treated as second-class citizens of the world, and the Capitulation Act of the US Government even mandates that there is no reason nor way to fight against Epics. Part of the reason why the [[CapeBusters Reckoners]] exist is to prove them wrong.
* NewNeoCity: Newcago.
* NighInvulnerability: Several of the most powerful Epics are said to have "prime invincibility"; that is, they can't be killed by ordinary means. Steelheart has the classic "bulletproof" form. Fortuity's precognition lets him anticipate and avoid attacks. Nightwielder is intangible and most attacks simply pass through him. Firefight [[spoiler: (Megan) reincarnates after death, ''sans'' her most recent memories]].
* OhMyGods: "Calamity!"
* ReignOfTerror: Steelheart holds Newcago under one, and the majority of Epics do the same to the whole world. [[spoiler:Steelheart's is deliberate and necessary, as he is only mortal to those who do not fear him.]]
* ScienceHero: Prof plays up the image, wearing a black labcoat as his Reckoner outfit. [[spoiler: He was actually an ''elementary school'' science teacher. [[SubvertedTrope His wonder gadgets are produced using his Epic powers, not his own expertise]]]].
* SecretTestOfCharacter: One of the theories about the Epics is that they were sent to see how mankind would weather the storm. Megan wonders about it from another direction, to see how humans would react to being given supreme power. [[spoiler:The fact that she looks at it from the Epic point of view foreshadows the fact that she is an Epic herself]].
* ShoutOut: As expected in a work about super-powered beings, there are references to their roots.
** There's [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Siegel Street and Schuster Street]], the [[ChristopherReeve Reeve Playhouse]], and [[Creator/SteveDitko Ditko Place]].
** Abraham wears an amulet shaped like Superman's ''S''.
** Diamond the weapons dealer is likely a reference to [[http://www.diamondcomics.com Diamond]], the dominant comic-book distributor.
** Study of the Epics' effects on the laws of physics produced [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Durkon's Paradox]].
** The insurance company for the bank hit that David was in on the Day of Annexation was [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Johnson Liberty Agency]].
* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: David's [[RunningGag habit]] of making up his own idioms inevitably derails the conversation briefly into him trying to explain them.
* SmugSuper: Every Epic. An easy way to tell an Epic from a normal human is to see how they act when they are in charge of everything. [[spoiler:This is a symptom of using Epic powers. Megan shows less of it when she doesn't use her power, and more when she does; the same is true of Prof.]]
* StrippedToTheBone:
** What happens to the victims of Deathpoint's eponymous power.
** [[spoiler:Happens to Steelheart in the end; the only remains left behind are a stripped skeleton made of solid steel.]]
* SuperEmpowering: Transference Epics, or "Gifters", are able to give their powers [[spoiler:and their addictive, insanity-inducing effects]] to others. However, as revealed by [[spoiler:Conflux]], these cannot be given to other Epics, only to normal humans.
* SuperVillain: A basic part of the premise is that there are supervillains a plenty, but not super ''heroes'' to counter them.
* TheMole: The complexity of the plan is not the only reason the Reckoners find it much harder than previous adventures. [[spoiler: Nobody would suspect Megan]].
* TheTrainsRunOnTime:
** Steelheart may be a brutal dictator, but he also provides more stability and order in his little empire than most of the rest of the world has. Because of this, not everyone (even among the Reckoners) believes he deserves to die. On the other hand, others see it as part of the problem:
---> '''Prof:''' Everyone talks about how great Newcago is. But it's ''not'' great; it's good by comparison only! Yes, there are worse places, but so long as this hellhole is considered the ideal, we'll never get anywhere. ''We cannot let them convince us this is normal!''
** Note that the comparison Prof mentions could very easily be 'Leave Portland, Oregon a lifeless wasteland.' Small wonder then that Newcago's considered the ideal.
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler: "Gifters", or Epics who can transfer part of their power to someone else, are implied to be able to avoid the psychotic side-effects of Epic power by spreading their power among multiple people. If they make extensive use of their powers, though, the mental effects come back quite quickly.]]
* WeakenedByTheLight: Nightwielder, Steelheart's IntangibleMan lieutenant, becomes solid when exposed to sunlight (or more specifically, UV light).
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: The most powerful Epics are basically gods. Then you have Curveball, whose only power is not needing to reload his handgun.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Some Epics have fairly unimpressive weaknesses. The minor Epic Refractionary, for example, can create illusions and turn herself invisible, but her powers are canceled by any kind of smoke.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Some of the Reckoners, especially Abraham, don't consider the Epics human. However, in an inversion, this is because they have ''more'' power, not less.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: One of the theories as to why all Epics are evil is that the powers themselves do something to your mind. [[spoiler: Strongly implied to be true by TheReveal. Prof's personality visibly changes when he has been using his powers, and David reports finding the secondhand power of the tensors mildly addictive. Also, Megan becomes angry and hateful when hiding herself and David in the elevator chute.]]
* WorthlessYellowRocks: Inverted. Gold is one of the few commodities remaining (besides food) that still has value, because it's one of the few materials that Epics don't seem capable of creating out of thin air. Steel, for example, is literally worth less than dirt in Newcago due to Steelheart's transmutation ability.
* YouKilledMyFather: Steelheart killed David's father, and David wants revenge.

!!''Firefight'' contains examples of the following tropes:

* FaceYourFears: Turns out David is terrified of open water; he was completely unaware of this before he he went to Babylon Restored, aka Manhattan. In the climax, he has to shoot out an underwater window to escape in the desperate hope that he'll be able to swim to the surface. [[spoiler:It doesn't work (the glass was built to survive a bomb), but the intent is enough to give him immunity to Calamity's influence. Megan braves fire (her weakness) to save David, and is reborn completely sane]].
* GenkiGirl: Mizzie is...oddly cheerful for someone who grew up in a post-apocalyptic world.
* TheReveal:
** [[spoiler:Calamity is an Epic. He's still up there, watching the world and making new Epics when it amuses him]].
** [[spoiler:Epic weaknesses are whatever scares them the most...and if they face that fear, they become immune to Calamity's corruption]].

The first book, ''Steelheart'', was released in September 2013. The second book, ''Firefight'', will be released in January 2015. The third and final book, ''Calamity'', will be released sometime after the third book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''.

%%!!''Firefight'' contains examples of the following tropes:

!!This series contains examples of the following tropes:

* BlackBox: It's somehow possible to create new weaponry or technology through researching the principles on which Epic powers work, then applying them. However, this does not necessarily mean that the people researching the principles and reapplying them actually understand in any way how they work, or even if that's possible.

* DividedStatesOfAmerica: America is known as the "Fractured States" by the time the story starts up, on account of Epics being able to take and set up their own fiefdoms wherever they see fit..

* MagicPoweredPseudoscience: One of the Reckoner's greatest assets are a handful of mysterious gadgets apparently based on Epic powers. Specifically, we have the tensors, glove-like objects which can destroy non-living matter; the jackets, which project a sort of force-field to protect their wearers, and the harmsway, which grants you a temporary HealingFactor. [[spoiler: Turns out the devices don't actually do anything. Prof is an Epic, and he manages to control his power and maintain his sanity by giving bits of it to the rest of the team.]]

* TheTrainsRunOnTime: Steelheart may be a brutal dictator, but he also provides more stability and order in his little empire than most of the rest of the world has. Because of this, not everyone (even among the Reckoners) believes he deserves to die. On the other hand, others see it as part of the problem:
--> '''Prof:''' Everyone talks about how great Newcago is. But it's ''not'' great; it's good by comparison only! Yes, there are worse places, but so long as this hellhole is considered the ideal, we'll never get anywhere. ''We cannot let them convince us this is normal!''

* DividedStatesOfAmerica: America is known as the "Fractured States" by the time the story starts up.

The first book, ''Steelheart'', was released in September 2013. The second book, ''Firefight'', will be released in Fall 2014. The third and final book, ''Calamity'', will be released sometime after the third book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''.

* [[spoiler:TheMole:]] The complexity of the plan is not the only reason the Reckoners find it much harder than previous adventures. [[spoiler: Nobody would suspect Megan]].

* TheMole: The complexity of the plan is not the only reason the Reckoners find it much harder than previous adventures. [[spoiler: Nobody would suspect Megan]].

* FullCircleRevolution: Prof is well aware of this trope, which is why he flat-out ''refuses'' to even consider the idea of taking over if they defeat Steelheart. [[spoiler:Also, he's an Epic fighting his own megalomania]]. In the end, [[spoiler:they help install a democratically elected mayor, and stay around as some sort of ill-defined police force to keep the city safe. Ill-defined in-universe, that is]].

* KryptoniteFactor: Every Epic is said to have one, though it's not always clear what they are, nor are they necessarily easy to exploit. David is the only person who has even a clue about Steelheart's, because Steelheart murdered everyone else who witnessed the one time he was injured.

** In addition, the fact that Edward Sense prefers that name to his Epic name (Conflux) is the first hint that [[spoiler: he's one of the very few (three so far) Epics with some degree of humanity.]]

* CoDragons: Nightwielder, Conflux, and Firefight are well known to be Steelheart's Dragons.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Steelheart likes to use people's own guns to kill them, but only bothers if they've impressed or annoyed him personally in some way. [[spoiler: This comes back to bite him, when David rigs his own gun to activate explosives when Steelheart pulls the trigger.]]

* ReignOfTerror: Steelheart holds Newcago under one, and the majority of Epics do the same to the whole world.
* ScienceHero: Prof plays up the image, wearing a black labcoat as his reckoner outfit.

* SuperEmpowering: Transference Epics, or "Gifters", are able to give their powers to others. [[spoiler: However, as revealed by Conflux, these cannot be given to other Epics, only to normal humans.]]

* AGodAmI: All [[spoiler: well, almost all]] Epics consider themselves superior to ordinary humans and aren't exactly shy about talking about it. Steelheart takes things a step further by outright proclaiming himself to be a divinity, with every indication he believes in it.

* BadPowersBadPeople: Even given that Epics are pretty much all Bad People, it's hard to come up with benevolent uses for being able to murder people by pointing at them. [[spoiler:Or for fear-based invulnerability, for that matter.]]
* BewareTheSuperman: Every superpowered person is evil, [[spoiler:with the arguable exceptions of the Professor (Leader of the Reckoners) and Conflux, (who is a very nice man enslaved and used as a power source by other Epics) given that they discharge most of their power on a regular basis. It is heavily implied that Epic powers ''cause'' this.]]

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Averted. David is shocked when Steelheart near instantly recognizes him after ten years despite having been only a boy of eight at the time and never having spoken to, nor really interacted with him in the brief minutes they were in the same room. It's likely Steelheart's memories of that day were as sharp as David's, since that day was the only time Steelheart was ever injured.

* CoDragons: Nightwielder, Conflux, and Firefight are Steelheart's Dragons. [[spoiler: Well, Nightwielder and Firefight are. Conflux is actually a captive, little better than a slave forced to use his energy-boosting powers to fuel the city. And not only is Firefight just an illusion cast by an illusionist epic, but the illusionist happens to a DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent and the hero's love interest.]]

* DevilButNoGod: A variant. Every Epic [[spoiler: almost]] without exception is some flavor of evil, effectively creating a non-religious variant of this trope.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Fortuity's weakness. He's normally impossible to surprise thanks to his extremely powerful precognitive abilities, but if he's sexually attracted to a person it scrambles his precognition to a certain extent.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Deathpoint can... kill people by pointing at them. Even he admits the name isn't that creative, but hey, it gets the idea across.
* {{Expy}}: Steelheart to Franchise/{{Superman}} in oh so many ways. The cape, the tall, broad appearance, the LanternJawOfJustice, the FlyingBrick powerset... the only major difference is that Steelheart trades in Supes's secondary powers for hand-projected energy blasts and the ability to transform objects to solid steel with his rage... and Steelheart is evil.
* FailOSuckyname: Some Epics chose the ''stupidest'' names. As David puts it, "Incredible cosmic powers do not equate with high IQ... or even a sense of what is dramatically appropriate." Examples include the Pink Pinkness (say it five times fast), Insulation, and El Bullish Brass Dude.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Steelheart likes to use people's own guns to kill them, but only bothers if they've impressed or annoyed him personally in some way. [[spoiler:This comes back to bite him, when David rigs his own gun to activate explosives when Steelheart pulls the trigger; Steelheart is the only one left no longer afraid of himself, so he's the only one who can hurt him]].

* ReignOfTerror: Steelheart holds Newcago under one, and the majority of Epics do the same to the whole world. [[spoiler:Steelheart's is deliberate and necessary, as he is only mortal to those who do not fear him.]]
* ScienceHero: Prof plays up the image, wearing a black labcoat as his reckoner outfit. [[spoiler: He was actually an ''elementary school'' science teacher. [[SubvertedTrope His wonder gadgets are produced using his Epic powers, not his own expertise]]]].

** Abraham's amulet is implied to be Superman's ''S''.

* SmugSuper: Every Epic; an easy way to tell who is one versus who isn't is to see how they act if they are in charge of everything. [[spoiler:This is a symptom of using Epic powers. Megan shows less of it when she doesn't use her power, and more when she does; the same is true of Prof.]]

* SuperEmpowering: Transference Epics, or "Gifters", are able to give their powers [[spoiler:and their addictive, insanity-inducing effects]] to others. However, as revealed by [[spoiler:Conflux]], these cannot be given to other Epics, only to normal humans.

* WeaksauceWeakness: Some Epics have fairly unimpressive weaknesses. The minor Epic Refractionary, for example, can create illusions and turn herself invisible, but her powers are canceled by... any kind of smoke.

''The Reckoners Trilogy'' is a series by Creator/BrandonSanderson, set not in his usual universe (Franchise/TheCosmere), but TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture in a [[CrapsackWorld devastated Earth]] where people can gain superpowers... but there are no superheroes. Only evil people gain powers--or perhaps the powers make their wielders evil. The US government has officially declared the Epics, as they're known, to be above the law, because they can't be effectively resisted, and their fiefdoms have effectively replaced most of the U.S.

In Chicago lives one of the worst Epics of all: Steelheart. Imagine {{Superman}} as an EvilOverlord: he can fly, he's NighInvulnerable, he shoots energy beams... and he's a ruthless dictator who kills without mercy or hesitation.

Only a few people dare to fight back: [[CapeBusters the Reckoners.]] A group of freedom fighters who study Epics, learn their weaknesses [[KryptoniteFactor (every Epic has one),]] and assassinate them. The protagonist, David, is an 18-year-old who has lived under Steelheart's tyranny since the beginning, for ten long years. And for ten long years, since the day Steelheart [[YouKilledMyFather murdered his father,]] he has studied Epics, plotted revenge, and searched for a way to join up with the Reckoners.

Because he, alone out of all the people who were there, survived the incident, the only time that Steelheart has shown that he, too, has a weakness. He has seen the self-styled Emperor bleed...

* TheDreaded: Steelheart[[spoiler: [[InvokedTrope has a PR team to turn him into this]], as he can only be harmed by someone who isn't afraid of him.]]

* CueTheSun: [[spoiler:When David kills Nightwielder, it allows the sun to finally rise.]]

* TheDreaded: Steelheart goes to considerable effort to be this, [[spoiler: as he can only be harmed by someone who isn't afraid of him.]]

* {{Expy}}: Steelheart to Franchise/{{Superman}} in oh so many ways. The cape, the tall, broad appearance, the LanternJawOfJustice, the FlyingBrick powerset... the only major difference is that Steelheart trades in Supes's secondary powers for hand-projected energy blasts and the ability to transform objects to solid steel with his rage... and Steelheart's CompleteMonster status.

* {{FridgeHorror}}:
** [[spoiler: Prof was a fifth-grade science teacher at an elementary school until that school was destroyed by an Epic. Prof is an Epic and is hinted to have done terrible things in his past. Which Epic destroyed his school?]]

* JumpedAtTheCall: taken one step further, as David actually hunted down the call and pestered into letting him join the gang.

JumpedAtTheCall: taken one step further, as David actually hunted down the call and pestered into letting him join the gang.