Line #25 Literature/SoledadORoarke


1	[[quoteright:750:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/815x2pk6gil_sl1500.jpg]]
2
3	''Soledad O'Roarke'' is a duology of novels by Creator/JohnRidley following the adventures of the titular character. A black woman of Irish extraction, Soledad O'Roarke is part of a special task force which hunts down (and exterminates) superhumans. Soledad is not conflicted about this mission, she hates and despises them with every fiber of their being for the fact they failed to protect San Fransisco from a supervillain's weapon.
4
5	[[NominalHero This is our heroine, folks.]]
6
7	''Those Who Walk in Darkness'' and its sequel ''What Fire Cannot Burn'' can be described as {{Superhero}} {{Deconstruction}}s in the manner of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', they follow Soledad "Bullet" O'Rourke, a cop who specializes in [[CapeBusters hunting down]] {{mutants}} [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual and "freaks"]].
8	----
9	!!These books contain the following tropes:
10
11	* AnimatedAdaptation: There was a movie based on the first book where ''Music/LilKim'' voiced Soledad.
12	* ArcWords: In the first book: "What bullet can kill a telepath?" The question was asked when Soledad created a customized pistol loaded with a variety of bullets for killing nearly any mutant, but didn't have an answer when asked about [[SuperpowerLottery the most dangerous freaks of all]]. [[spoiler: Turns out, plain old lead works just fine.]]
13	* AscendedExtra: Eddi Aoki, a colleague of Soledad's, originally notable for her TragicKeepsake of a ''hunting knife'' she plans to use to cut out a mutant's heart. In the sequel she takes on more of a prominent role, and eventually [[spoiler:[[TakeUpMySword becomes the main character after Soledad's death]]]].
14	* BittersweetEnding: The public is turning against the MTAC unit for their genocidal activities and [[spoiler: people like Aoki are working from the inside to protect superhumans. Soledad ends up getting killed for her crimes.]]
15	* BlackAndGrayMorality: ''Most'' of the "freak" targets are more willing to get their hands dirty than the average superhero, although typically with reason or after being attacked. The protagonist is an unabashedly [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] who kills an unarmed woman for having the power to stop other people from being hurt. This may go as far as VillainProtagonist.
16	* BrokenPedestal: As a child, Soledad idolized the superheroine Nubian Princess (best described as a black {{Expy}} of Franchise/WonderWoman.)
17	** [[spoiler: Soledad to Eddi in the second half of ''What Fire Cannot Burn'' after the latter reads her hate-filled and self-righteous journals]].
18	* CapeBusters: The [=MTacs=].
19	* CapePunk: A misandrist view of the situation. Humanity will turn on superhumans the moment they fail and do so with a genocidal brutality.
20	* ComplexityAddiction: The [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual metanormals]] really, really would be more effective if they weren't obsessed with style, irony, or practically being comic book characters. Justified with the metanormals with more revenge-driven motives, but when a shapeshifter trying to run turns into a big, lumbering brick wall, he [[TooDumbToLive almost deserves]] the inevitable rain of shotgun shells.
21	* CoversAlwaysLie: A mild case, but one that appears on seemingly every edition of both books. Soledad repeatedly describes herself as a BAMF (Badass Mother-Fucker), and the covers show her as having those letters tattooed on her shoulder. In the story, her tattoo instead reads "[[StupidSacrifice We don't need another hero]]."
22	* CrapsackWorld: Averted. It's only America which treats its superhumans as worse than animals.
23	* DeadlyEuphemism: When [=MTac=] "serves a warrant", there's a good deal more bullets, poisons, and sedatives and much fewer actual arrests involved than you'd expect.
24	* DishingOutDirt: Strictly speaking, this is the ability to communicate with the planet and talk it into shifting itself. Users of this ability are AlwaysLawfulGood, and tend to [[ActualPacifist hate fighting]]. [[KickTheDog Not that this stops MTac from killing them]]...
25	* ExtraOreDinary: Almost a straight copy of ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, but can create {{Golem}}-like allies.
26	* EyeBeams: Invisible eye beams, no less.
27	* FantasticRacism: It's not immediately apparent, but the author's rooting for the mutants. So far, only one has been evil, and another even begged for his life.
28	* GadgeteerGenius: Soledad customized an O'Dwyer [=VLe=] to fire AbnormalAmmo she designs herself. Most shots target the AchillesHeel of a specific enemy type, though [[MadeOfExplodium Semtex bullets]] can be used against anything.
29	** It's implied Soledad may, herself, be a superhuman of the ''inventor'' variety but doesn't realize this. It's also a kind impossible to test for. [[spoiler: She, herself, never realizes this before she's killed.]]
30	%%* HealingFactor
31	* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:Aoki has one in the second book when she realizes Soledad is a psychopath.]]
32	%%* HeWhoFightsMonsters
33	* HoldingOutForAHero: {{Lampshaded}} and {{Subverted}} in the background. Soledad, at least, seems to think that normal humans were just sitting around whenever a villain popped up, waiting for a hero to save them, but we're also told that the mayor of San Fransisco dropped everything to try and help.
34	* IBelieveICanFly: Although it's stated that each mutant has only one power, flight seems to be an exception. Generally it's NotQuiteFlight, but there's been one WingedHumanoid (who also used WindsOfDestinyChange.)
35	* {{Intangibility}}: On-and-off, fully voluntary, and can affect both objects and other people. Incidentally, that last part is ChekhovsGun.
36	* MoralMyopia: Soledad hates superheroes with a passion, despite the fact their only crime was failing to save an American city (where the people involved died).
37	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The protagonists hunt down, murder, and kill people for the way they're born with a flimsy self-justification. The {{Irony}} in the protagonist being a black woman is completely lost on her.
38	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The first book's BigBad became a villain specifically because Soledad [[spoiler:[[ItsPersonal killed his wife]].]]
39	* NighInvulnerability: Well, it's an invulnerable exterior. These mutants can be killed either by poisoning them, or by overloading their pain nerves.
40	* NobleBigotWithABadge: Almost everyone in [=MTac=] to some degree. A significant portion barely earn the Noble part, and some of the normal cops make it to BadCopIncompetentCop.
41	* NominalHero: Soledad O'Roarke is objectively a horrible person. [[spoiler: Aoki realizes this in the second book.]]
42	* NotQuiteDead: over and over, along with FakingTheDead. At least it subverts [[InstantDeathBullet Instant Death Bullets]]...
43	* OnePersonOnePower: for the most part--see IBelieveICanFly. Also, the super-hunting serial killer in the second book seemingly had multiple powers (he turned out to just have [[spoiler:a suit of PoweredArmor]].)
44	* PlayingWithFire: Some varieties can start fires, others can simply control them.
45	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Regardless of how you interpret the first book, there is one. Either [[VillainProtagonist Soledad's]] unfettered FantasticRacism, or Vaughn's abusive mind control and vicious dislike of the mentally disabled Aubrey. Or both.
46	* RedShirtArmy: The [=MTac=] teams are stated to have a survival rate of 30% to 70% for certain types of encounters, depending on who they are and what they're facing down.
47	%%* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Reese]].
48	%%* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Yarborough]].
49	* ShockAndAwe: Of the blast-from-the-hands variety. Can be stressed into a SuperpowerMeltdown.
50	* {{Sizeshifting}}: Actually two abilities; shrinking and growing. The latter is self-explanatory. The former is only used once (to pass through an enemy's skin, then explode outwards).
51	* SociopathicHero: Soledad O'Roarke is gradually revealed to be this. She feels no guilt for murder, no ability to bond with other people save superficially, and only seems to feel happy when she's killing someone. May double over with PsychopathicManchild given her motivation for hunting superhumans is her perceived betrayal from her childhood idol.
52	* SuperRegistrationAct: they're way beyond that now, at least in America. Any time a mutant is identified, they're ordered to surrender. Compliance results in "a life of sedation in a cell" if you're lucky, [[TheydCutYouUp medical experimentation]] if you're not. Failure to comply is punishable by immediate death.
53	%%* SuperSpeed
54	* SuperStrength: though those who have it don't look it--they tend to be extremely "reedy" since they never get decent exercise. Prone to AceLightningSyndrome.
55	* {{Telepathy}}: this is what you get if you win the SuperpowerLottery, since you can also use PeoplePuppets. Virtually impossible to beat in a fair fight.
56	* ThouShaltNotKill: Not the [[CombatPragmatist main character]], obviously, [[NoNonsenseNemesis who will just shoot her opponents]]. The remaining powered heroes stick to this rule and will try to stop or rat out anyone that violates it, though.
57	* TokenMinority: Most superheroes are white males, with a few exceptions like Nubian Princess. Lampshaded, since Soledad is black.
58	* TwoferTokenMinority: Soledad frequently remarks in her monologue that people underestimate and patronize because she is a black female. There are some times she's correct and a few times where it feels like she's trying to convince herself that the world is out to get her.
59	* UnstoppableRage: A power of its own, and quite effective.
60	* VillainProtagonist: Many readers were stunned to realize Soledad wasn't a heroic cop in a superhuman-filled world but ANaziByAnyOtherName AxCrazy BloodKnight.
61	* VoluntaryShapeshifting: virtually unlimited changes to shape and appearance, sometimes including a ShapeShifterWeapon, but no mass-changing abilities. Goes into a ShapeShifterSwanSong when electrocuted, but dying by any other means makes them look human again.
62	* WhatMeasureIsANonSuper: Lampshaded, and half the reason normal people are fighting back.

Context Literature / SoledadORoarke