History Literature / Steelheart

* LikeAGodToMe: Upon recognizing Prof as the founder of the Reckoners, an awestruck David reflects that the man is "a god among freedom fighters and assassins alike".

* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler: "Gifters", or Epics who can transfer part of their power to someone else, are implied to be able to avoid the psychotic side-effects of Epic power by spreading their power among multiple people. If they make extensive use of their powers, though, the mental effects come back quite quickly.]]

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Averted. David is shocked when Steelheart instantly recognizes him ten years later, after never having spoken to him, nor even significantly interacted with him in the few moments they were in the same room. It's likely Steelheart's memories of that day were as sharp as David's, since that day was the only time Steelheart was ever injured.

First book in ''Literature/TheReckonersTrilogy'', ''Steelheart'' takes place in a world of supers called Epics. Epics have extraordinary and wondrous abilities, but every single one is, without exception, an evil sociopath who sees nothing wrong with dealing death for even the most minor of offenses.

A short story, ''Mitosis'' (taking place between ''Steelheart'' and ''Firefight'') [[http://brandonsanderson.com/books/steelheart/mitosis/ is available for digital download from Sanderson's website]].

* FullCircleRevolution: Prof is well aware of this trope, which is why he flat-out ''refuses'' to even consider the idea of taking over if they defeat Steelheart. [[spoiler:Also, he's an Epic fighting his own megalomania, and said megalomania happens to be transferable to people he gives his powers]]. In the end, [[spoiler:they help install a democratically elected mayor, and stay around as some sort of ill-defined police force to keep the city safe. Ill-defined in-universe, that is]].

->''I've seen Steelheart bleed. And I '''will''' see him bleed again.''

!!This series contains examples of the following tropes:

* WeaksauceWeakness: Some Epics have fairly unimpressive weaknesses. The minor Epic Refractionary, for example, can create illusions and turn herself invisible, but her powers are canceled by any kind of smoke.

* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Conflux reveals that he accidentally killed his wife with his electricity powers when he first received them when Calamity came, while microwaving dinner.]]

** It's revealed in the sequel that this [[spoiler: is actually done by motivating the cells of Epics to stimulate their powers.]]

[[redirect:Literature/TheReckonersTrilogy]]

->''I've seen Steelheart bleed. And I '''will''' see him bleed again.''
-->--from the prologue

Steelheart is a [[TheCosmere non-Cosmere novel]] by Creator/BrandonSanderson, set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture in a [[CrapsackWorld devastated Earth]] where people can gain superpowers... but there are no superheroes. Only evil people gain powers--or perhaps the powers [[NoManShouldHaveThisPower make]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity you]] [[DrunkWithPower evil.]] The US government has officially declared the Epics, as they're known, to be above the law, because they can't be effectively resisted, and they've begun to carve out their own little fiefdoms.

And in Chicago lives one of the worst Epics of all: Steelheart. Imagine {{Superman}} as an EvilOverlord: he can fly, he's NighInvulnerable, he shoots energy beams... and he's a ruthless dictator who kills without mercy or hesitation.

Only a few people dare to fight back: [[CapeBusters the Reckoners.]] A group of freedom fighters who study Epics, learn their weaknesses [[KryptoniteFactor (every Epic has one),]] and assassinate them. The protagonist, David, is an 18-year-old who has lived under Steelheart's tyranny since the beginning, for ten long years. And for ten long years, since the day Steelheart [[YouKilledMyFather murdered his father,]] he has studied Epics, plotted revenge, and searched for a way to join up with the Reckoners.

Because he, alone out of all the people who were there, survived the incident, the only time that Steelheart has shown that he, too, has a weakness. He has seen the self-styled Emperor bleed...

-----
!!''Steelheart'' contains examples of the following tropes:

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: David is a very observant young man, which makes him useful to the Reckoners..
* BottomlessMagazines: One of the Epics has this as his superpower. [[WordOfGod This was done deliberately as a shout-out to action movies.]]
* BewareTheSuperman: Every superpowered person is evil.
* CapeBusters: The plot revolves around the Reckoners, who operate this way.
* {{Dissimile}}: David is ''painfully horrible'' with analogies, and well aware of it.
* KryptoniteFactor: Every Epic is said to have one, though it's not always clear what they are, nor are they necessarily easy to exploit. David is the only person who even knows about Steelheart's, because he murdered everyone else who witnessed the one time he was injured.
* RedHerring: There's at least one point, where the protagonist seems to do something unexplainable and the accompanying Reckoner gets angry, so maybe it's his Epic powers manifesting, right? [[spoiler: Turns out it was Megan using ''her'' powers]].
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Averted. Though Epics change, drastically, it is not so much a matter of this but an unavoidable side effect of their powers.
* StrippedToTheBone: What happens to the victims of Deathpoint's eponymous power.
* TheMole: The complexity of the plan is not the only reason the Reckoners find it much harder than previous adventures. [[spoiler: Nobody would suspect Megan]].
* TheTrainsRunOnTime: Steelheart may be a brutal dictator, but he also provides more stability and order in his little empire than most of the rest of the world has. Because of this, not everyone (even among the Reckoners) believes he deserves to die.
** On the other hand, others see it as part of the problem:
--> '''Prof:''' Everyone talks about how great Newcago is. But it's ''not'' great; it's good by comparison only! Yes, there are worse places, but so long as this hellhole is considered the ideal, we'll never get anywhere. ''We cannot let them convince us this is normal!''
* TrojanPrisoner: In order to retrieve [[spoiler: David's research notes]]: "We'll give them the thing they're waiting for. Me."
* [[spoiler: WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity]]: Turns out this is exactly how Epic powers work.
* YouKilledMyFather: Why David wants revenge on Steelheart.

* RedHerring: There's at least one point, where the protagonist seems to do something unexplainable and the accompanying Reckoner gets angry, so maybe it's his Epic powers manifesting, right? [[spoiler: Turns out it was Megan was using ''her'' powers]].

--> '''Prof:''' Everyone talks about how great Newcago is. But it's ''not'' great; it's good by comparison only! Yes, there are worse laces, but so long as this hellhole is considered the ideal, we'll never get anywhere. ''We cannot let them convince us this is normal!''

* Dissimile: David is ''painfully horrible'' with analogies, and well aware of it.