What Makes A Supervillan "Incorruptible?"

Comic: Incorruptible
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Jean Diaz
Publisher: Boom! Studios

"Mark Waid is evil." That's the line I read wherever I find something about his series "Irredeemable." And trust me, they mean it in a good way.

Let's start with the situation in the story.

Imagine a world where the greatest of all superheroes, the Plutonian (who is essentially Superman), decides he's going on a killing spree. An unstoppable supervillain is created. That is the situation in Irredeemable. Mark Waid turns superheroism on its head and leaves a dark hopeless world behind. Incorruptible is a spin-off of that series where he does just the opposite: a man-of-steel supervillain decides that he must change his ways and become a hero.

Max Damage is this man. He is attempting to "go straight" and become the incorruptible force of good any superhero is expected to be. In the first two issues, the ones I've had the pleasure of reading, we see his first attempts at heroics.

The opportunity for the creators to show his transition to becoming a hero in the body of the comics are used wonderfully. Intertextuality with other comic book heroes and the symbolism of Max's portrayal are key tools to do this. These are the things I'll be addressing today.

I'll start with the first issue (the cover page of which is above). Max Damage is immediately comparable to two of the most incorruptible and famous superheroes around: Batman, and Superman himself. Take a look at the page on the right and tell me that's not a Superman flying stance. If it's not, then my name is Shirley Sunwell McDougall. Since that is definitely not my name, I have now proven with math that that is totally a Superman stance. :) He's even got a hair curl going on!

The call to Superman is of course partially undone by Max's so very un-Superman appearance! No cape, no tights; heck, Max is looking much more like the Punisher with his dark jeans and jacket. So we have a mixed image: half-representing the pure good Man of Steel, half-representing the vengeful violent Punisher. The dark look on his face isn't helping the goodie-goodie half either. On the other hand, trigger-happy police officers sure look like evil henchmen in the second panel, shooting at our hero.
Then, there are a few Batman-esque aspects of Max's portrayal as well. First of all, he's got a batcave. And even though he doesn't have a batmobile, he does have a sweet car. When we first see him in the comic, he is a shadowy figure jumping down from a high post to save the day. Sound like our Dark Knight? And the topping on the cake is that he's working with a member of the police to help him do his good deeds (so, a Gordan equivalent) despite a corrupt department.

So where is our caped man in tights? Right here! Burning the world to the ground around him. It will be the duty of a villain to stop a hero from destroying everything.


In the second issue, we see Max Damage portrayed as half-way between being a hero and a villain. Most prominently, this is seen when he is only able to shave half of his stubble before having to go out and start being a good guy. For a good deal of the issue, we see him from his clean-shaven side when he's representing the force of good. When his heroic methods are somewhat questionable, we see the two sides of his face (and of his character). My favorite example of this is when he loses some control at the violent actions of three police officers (see right). Look at the dark shading on the stubble-covered side of his face. That says it all.

As stated before, despite his best efforts he only manages to be a half-way hero in this issue. Again, here, police shoot bullets that just bounce off his body, they look like bad guys shooting at Superman. But Max Damage, besides not being in absolute control of himself, also can't convince anyone of his change of heart. He tries to assure the police, they shoot at him. When he tries to ask people questions nicely, they beg for their lives, requiring him to ask harshly to get them to talk. Unfortunately it seems like nobody is appreciating the clean-shaved half of his face!

On a final note, he also seems to be missing another common superhero quality: a second identity. He has no mask, no disguise, and the closest thing to a costume he has could resemble the get-up of a common biker. To his credit though, he, like any superhero in his world, has no time for non-super life.

This being my first monthly-comic experience, I didn't stay on top of things and missed the third issue (sold out when I called in for it). I'm certainly on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what comes next. I plan to follow both series, and if you even almost like superheroes (in movies, cartoons, or comics) then this will be an engaging read for you as well. It intelligently plays with what is expected of heroes and entwining it with the manners of villains. With the role reversal played out not just in the plot, but images and characteristics as well, it should prove to be a fascinating ride.