The world of comics has many fun topics of debate: Who's stronger, Thor or the Hulk? How can Spider-Man stick to walls through his costume? How can Spawn walk around with a cape that's (at least) 20 feet long?You get the idea.
One of my favorites is: How does Superman's powers work? The common explanation is that his cells charge up in the light of the yellow sun and power his Kryptonian body. Which still doesn't explain how he shoots lasers out of his eyes, flies, etc. But as comic book explanations go, it's not bad.
John Byrne got in on the debate some years back when he suggested that Superman's powers were psionic in nature, and he hinted at it in his Man of Steel mini-series - but the idea was quickly dropped amid howls from the fans.
All of which brings us to this issue of Irredeemable, where we get an explanation for the Plutonian's superpowers (which, we note, are amazingly similar to Superman's). It turns out that they're psionic in nature, although there's much more to the explanation than that.
It's a well thought-out pseudo-scientific explanation for the myriad of powers, and kudos to writer Mark Waid for sorting out the process - which is more than DC ever did.
In the comic, the Plutonian continues his attempts to escape from an insane asylum at the heart of a sun, while back on Earth there's plenty of drama to keep everyone busy.
The art is by Peter Krause and Diego Barreto, and it's solid, professional work.
I have to admit the "Space Prison" story is wearing thin, but with strong writing and an unpredictable story, this is a book that's difficult to put down - so I continue to hang with it.
Grade: B+
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