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What does it take to be a hero? What does it take to be a villain? How does one become one or the other? These are tough questions that Mark Waid has decided to tackle. 

Modern comics are dominated by heroes and villains. Each story brings a different definition of what makes a hero and what makes a villain. Now, here comes Mark Waid and his two comics - “Irredeemable” and “Incorruptible” – in which his characters take another shot at defining heroes and villains.  But is this something we have already seen?

We all know the great heroes in comics: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Spider-man, etc. We also know great villains: Lex Luthor, Joker, Genocide, Red Skull, Green Goblin, etc. We know the origin stories of each, and based on those origins we as readers have come to a conclusion about what makes a hero and what makes a villain. Mark Waid has decided to change that up, he has decided to make a hero a villain.

In “Irredeemable” the world’s greatest hero becomes a villain. Instead of saving the planet he destroys it at every turn. The character uses all his Superman-like powers for destruction. This is where readers have to take a pause and reflect on the actions of a hero in this situation. Does this new turn make him a villain immediately or a lost hero? On the flip-side of this, Mark Waid’s comic “Incorruptible” is the story of the world’s greatest villain trying to defend the planet from the wayward hero. Does this new plan make him a hero or villain still looking out only for himself? It’s tough to say.

We’ve all read countless stories were the heroes have had to prove they’re actually good guys, such is the ongoing struggle for the X-men. Villains really never have to prove they are villains, it’s really self-explanatory. But how does a hero prove that they are not a hero anymore? How does a villain prove they aren’t villainous?

There are no easy answers to this but I know this kind of story isn’t new. There have been numerous stories where a villain has turned his ways and tried to be a good guy, but I can’t think of one where the good guy has decided to be a bad guy. In a sense we have seen this before, from evil to good, but almost never from good to evil. So it is a bit of both something new and old and it has caught my interest.