Sanderson crafts the narrative around David’s hunger for revenge. Every activity, interest, and emotion that David feels after his father’s death somehow leads back to Steelheart. His singular focus on revenge helps him cope with internalized shame: He hates how he didn’t have the strength or courage help his father (not crediting the fact that he was only an eight-year-old boy), and he redirects that anger and blame toward Steelheart. He believes that if he kills Steelheart, he can redeem his actions and bring justice to his father. The narrative doesn’t counter the idea that Steelheart deserves full blame for his father’s death, but it does demonstrate how David’s singular motive for revenge leaves him glaring blind spots.

David’s greatest blindness is overlooking his actions’ far-reaching implications for both the Reckoners and Newcago’s population. David reflects, “Moral considerations had stopped bothering me years ago. Who had time for morals in a world like this?” (139). David holds an uncomplicated view of justice, believing that all Epics deserve death. Hoping to find similarly motivated and like-minded people, David seeks the Reckoners to help implement his detailed plan to assassinate Steelheart. Initially, the Reckoners reject his plan because—contrary to David’s simplistic logic—they maintain a future-focused mindset, believing they do the most good by eliminating as many feasible targets as possible.