Vicious

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

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Themes

The Meaning of Being Alive

Through traumatic death experiences and their aftermath, Vicious explores the definition of life. In the hospital after their deaths in the lake, Sydney and Serena miraculously begin breathing again, which Schwab notes is “all living is, really” (140). However, while breathing is a physiological sign of life, Schwab explore how living is also more complex than this autonomic process by using different character views, behaviors, and EO abilities to present various views on the definition of life.

In Vicious’s world, one requirement for becoming an EO is a strong will to live. All EOs come back from a death that followed a traumatic experience. Through Eli and Victor’s perspectives, Schwab debates whether this second-life counts as truly being alive. Eli, Victor, and other EOs report feeling different following their deaths, as if something is missing. While their bodies resumed normal functioning after recovering, EOs are fundamentally changed in a way that’s never explicitly defined. Eli believes EOs lose their souls in death, and through his particular religious view, this means EOs are not truly alive because they are missing what makes them human.

The actions and behaviors of other EOs contrast Eli’s view. While Victor, Sydney, and others also feel as if something is missing, their actions and emotions suggest post-death life is different, rather than less. Once he learns the truth about Eli’s crusade against EOs, Victor’s reason to stop Eli changes. Rather than simply a personal vendetta, Victor now wants to keep Eli from murdering innocent people. To Victor, life is precious, regardless of whether it’s before or after a death experience. Sydney also contrasts Eli’s view. Rather than missing something, Sydney self-actualizes after her death. Serena notes how Sydney seems more alive following her death, suggesting that EOs, like anyone else, respond to trauma differently. Where Eli sees something wrong with himself following his death, Sydney uses her second chance to live the life she wants.

Sydney’s gift also offers a perspective on what it means to be alive. Where EOs return to life following a traumatic death, Sydney instills life back into people who died from mundane, as well as extraordinary, circumstances. This begs the question of whether the non-EOs Sydney brings back are also fundamentally different in their second life, as well as whether these people are truly alive. While they resume breathing (the most basic sign of life), they may or may not be missing the same quality as EOs. In Chapter 35 when Sydney brings Barry Lynch back, his EO ability is damaged, and Victor cannot affect Lynch with his gift. This suggests people, regardless of EO status or how they are brought back to life, may lose a little more of themselves each time they return.

The characters of Vicious hold different opinions on what makes someone truly alive. While none of them are proven fully right or wrong, each offers an outlook on the definition of living. Through these perspectives, character actions, and EO abilities, Vicious does not try to define life, but rather sets the groundwork for a dialogue about what it means to be alive, and what makes life worth living.

The Ambiguous Morality of “Heroes” and “Villains”

Throughout Vicious, Schwab distorts traditional comic book definitions of heroes and villains. Rather than a clear black-and-white look at good and evil, the book presents EOs in moral shades of gray. Vicious shows actions both heroic and villainous—murder and resurrection, sacrifice and manipulation—and the characters, regardless of the “hero” or “villain” label they apply to themselves, perform both. Victor and Eli’s confrontation, different outlooks on the same actions, and Serena’s use of the word “hero” to define Eli show how heroes and villains are constructs, not inherent identities.

The book’s main conflict centers on Victor and Eli’s inevitable confrontation. Both men begin the book believing that extraordinary abilities could make them heroes and believe the other to be villainous. As the conflict escalates and the men find themselves on opposing sides, they discard their hero and villain labels, rather taking on the “role as opposition, adversary, foe” (158). Until Victor knew the truth of the Merit bank robbery, he also believed Eli was a hero, saving the city from a rogue EO. Victor, motivated by vendetta, is not afraid to cast himself in opposition to a hero, rejecting moral absolutes. After Victor learns of Eli’s crusade to destroy EOs, Victor no longer sees Eli as a hero, but he still doesn’t apply the label of “villain” to Eli either. Similarly, Victor doesn’t think of himself as either a hero or villain. His quest to stop Eli is partially fueled by personal feelings, which means it is not truly heroic, and Victor recognizes that Eli’s desire to murder EOs is driven by his inability to cope with the difference in himself following his death. Eli, by contrast, condemns other EOs to try and fix himself and uses the label of “hero” to try and hide this truth.

The same event viewed from multiple angles shows how perspective defines a situation’s “hero” or “villain.” The newspapers report Eli as a hero in the Merit bank robbery. To the police and bystanders, it appeared that Eli saved the bank from a dangerous criminal. Later, Victor and Sydney learn that Eli set up Barry Lynch as a villain so Eli could emerge as a hero. In addition to being named so by the media, Eli views himself as a hero because he destroyed one more EO, protecting the world from what he believes an abomination. To Victor and Sydney, Eli’s actions paint him as a villain who orchestrated a situation where he could publicly murder someone who didn’t do anything wrong.

In the latter part of the novel, Serena, backed by her power, tells the Merit police force that Eli is a hero. Because of her ability, the police believe her, and they allow Eli access to their confidential information so he can pursue his crusade against EOs. Serena’s influence assigns the label of “hero” to Eli’s actions, and he uses this to cover his tracks. After Serena’s death, her influence over the police force fades. Without the “hero” label, the police see Eli for what he is—a murderer. Without Serena, Eli’s actions never would have been called heroic, showing how labels depend on perspective.

The characters and EO abilities in Vicious show how “hero” and “villain” labels may be applied to anyone, regardless of whether their actions or intentions match the labels’ definitions. “Hero” and “villain” are a matter of perspective, and while Eli tries to identify as a hero, too many opposing perspectives exist for him to be unequivocally deserving of the label. Rather, “hero” and “villain” are constructed definitions that may shift at any time.

The Power of Belief

In Chapter 4, Eli observes that “everything starts with belief” (30), an idea that is explored throughout the book. The characters in Vicious hold strong beliefs or rely on faith at moments where all else seems lost. Their beliefs give them power over themselves, others, and even life itself. Without their beliefs, events may have worked out the same, but believing allows each character the self-confidence to achieve goals that may have otherwise remained out of reach.

Eli’s quotation from Chapter 4 refers to the idea of wanting to believe in EOs, which leads to his and Victor’s successful experiments. Until Eli becomes an EO, Victor doesn’t truly believe people can develop abilities. His lack of belief results in his failed attempt to become an EO. Because he doesn’t believe, he introduces elements the research says will lessen the chance of gaining powers. After the evidence of Eli’s success, Victor both believes and craves his own abilities. For Victor, seeing is believing, and his next attempt is successful because he now thinks the process can work and wants it to be a success.

Eli’s belief extends beyond developing abilities. Throughout the book, Eli believes he has a special relationship with God. Prior to developing powers, Eli views this connection as hope for guidance from his deity. After becoming an EO, Eli becomes obsessed with the idea that God bestowed the powers upon him as a reward for this faithfulness and his inherent superiority. Eli’s belief in hope becomes a certainty that he was recognized by God and made more because he is worthy. This belief triggers Eli’s crusade against EOs. He wants to believe he is special because his gift allows him to heal only himself—a sign God is protecting him. He also uses his belief to shield himself against the wrongness of his actions. By believing he does God’s work, Eli justifies the murders that should offend his moral sensibilities. In this way Schwab resists assigning a moral value to faith, as characters manifest both good and evil results.

Where belief allows Eli to validate murder as acceptable, it plays a very different role for Sydney. When Dol is shot during the book’s climax, Sydney refuses to accept the dog’s death. Because she’s already brought Dol back to life once, her power doesn’t work how she expects, and she fails to revive Dol a second time. Only by believing she has the ability is Sydney able to reach beyond how she’s used her power before to find Dol in the afterlife. Belief, driven by want and desperation, fuels her success, showing that belief alone isn’t always enough.

Belief gives the characters of Vicious abilities beyond themselves or their EO powers. To become an EO, Victor needed proof. Eli needed validation in the form of his own ability to justify his actions, and Sydney required strong need to bring Dol back a second time. Each change or action begins with belief but needed something more, supporting Eli’s observation from Chapter 4.