In Irredeemable, there is no hero. Well, let me rephrase. There are heroes in the story. In fact, there is a renegade team of them, but none of them are the focus. If anything, they are really the villains, because the villain is really the hero.
Let me explain and spoiler alert for those who have not yet read the book:
Irredeemable is about The Plutonian, a superman of sorts. He puts on the costume, the cape, the alter ego; he does it all. But the world isn't as nice to him as it is to the Superman we know. This world is, sadly, more like ours.
Example #1: After saving a baseball stadium filled with people from a rampaging robot with a nuclear bomb, one bystander criticizes The Plutonian for being a freak.
Example #2: After The Plutonian reveals his secret identity to the woman he loves, she completely flips out and purposefully spills his secret identity to a group of people who work for the local radio station.
Now, these are but two examples of how The Plutonian is treated, and it comes as no shock to me that this character becomes a mass murderer. And that, dear friends, is scary.
I hate horror films. Not because they keep me up at night, sitting in my bed, chewing on my blankey, hoping for the sun to rise five hours earlier than expected. No, I hate horror films because they don't know how to make a truly scary villain. A guy who chops up every off-duty cheerleader he sees with a machete isn't scary. It's just violent.
This isn't a villain who woke up one morning with a twirly mustache and black top hat with the sudden craving to tie pretty ladies to railroad tracks. No, this is a man who woke up every day, trying to do the right thing, and only got flack for it.
The Plutonian is scary, because he's possible in our society. Falling Down proved such a case. Fatal Attraction is another, perhaps explaining why Alex Forest is one of AFI's Top Villains, despite her lack of machete, evil powers, or gruesome mask. All of these characters are scary, because they could be anybody. They could be us.
