When Everyone's Super, No One Will Be - VoVatia

VoVatia All views expressed herein are my own, and do not reflect those of the Olympians, the Aesir, the Fairy Fellowship, or the Court of Ozma of Oz. Skip to content

• Home
• About

← Ys Into It Hair Club for Warriors →

When Everyone’s Super, No One Will Be

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Nathan

The Incredibles – This was a good movie, although I’m not sure I’d say it was incredible. It centers around a family of superheroes loosely based on the Fantastic Four. At least, one of them can stretch, one turns invisible and makes force fields, and Mr. Incredible’s super strength and durability made him similar to the Thing without the rocky appearance. The fourth member of the family (not counting the baby, who doesn’t appear to have any powers until the end of the movie), however, ran really fast instead of being able to control fire. The story tells how a multitude of lawsuits against superheroes led to costumed crime-fighting becoming illegal. Mr. Incredible is now working at an insurance agency, and his desire to help the clients means the agency is making less money. I’m not sure why he hasn’t already been fired, or why the guy in charge of relocating former superheroes would give him a job in such a cutthroat industry, but I guess everyone but insurance CEOs can get behind skewering the insurance industry. There was even a Saw movie that did that. Anyway, Mr. Incredible has taken to crime-fighting behind his wife’s back, and starts doing undercover assignments for a secret organization that turns out to be led by a supervillain. Not only that, but he’s a former fan of Mr. Incredible who wanted to join him, and became jaded when the hero rejected him. They did something kind of similar in Iron Man 3, although Tony Stark was much more of an ass about it (something that I’m sure surprises nobody). Is the moral supposed to be that celebrities should humor their annoying fans? Because I know there are obsessed fans who will take a mile if you give them an inch. I also thought the family dynamic of Elastigirl being nagging her husband and his repeatedly lying to her was rather clichéd, but Brad Bird has said he based the characters on archetypes anyway. It does make it kind of hard to root for Mr. Incredible when he’s lying to his loved ones, although the film does establish some sympathy for him in that superheroics were what gave his life meaning.

When Mr. Incredible is captured, his wife goes to rescue him, and their kids stow away with them. The older one, Violet, is a shy girl who can turn invisible, and is voiced by Sarah Vowell. has she gotten any more voice work since then? Her brother Dash acts out because he’s unable to do anything else with his powers. They have to work together as a family to defeat the villain Syndrome, who plans to launch a killer robot against the city and then stage defeating it. Not only does Syndrome end up flat-out dying, but he’s said to have killed a bunch of other heroes. We all know death is cheap in the superhero world, but it’s still pretty dark for a children’s film, especially when we’re assured that the people Mr. Incredible throws out of cars or through walls remain alive. Syndrome’s death is foreshadowed with the rant against capes by Edna Mode, a costume designer based on Edith Head. It kind of reminds me of a Darkwing Duck episode where the titular hero got his cape caught in a car door, and Negaduck later congratulates himself on the fact that HE doesn’t buy rip-proof capes.

I suppose you could say that the film was an affectionate parody of superheroes, combined with some family drama. Writer and director Bird has said the family element was the most important part for him. That said, the superhero characters were quite clever, and names like Elastigirl, Frozone, Bomb Voyage, and the Underminer are ones that comic writers probably wish they’d come up with. The city in which the Incredibles live, Metroville, is shown on a map near the beginning to be pretty much exactly the shape of New York City. There were also a lot of designs that hearkened back to the fifties or sixties, even though the setting was modern in other respects. But then, that kind of fits the comic aesthetic.

Share this:

• Share

• Tumblr
• X
• Facebook

Like Loading... This entry was posted in Cartoons, Comics, Revisiting Disney, VoVat Goes to the Movies and tagged brad bird, darkwing duck, edith head, fantastic four, iron man, iron man 3, pixar, sarah vowell, the incredibles. Bookmark the permalink. ← Ys Into It Hair Club for Warriors →

2 Responses to When Everyone’s Super, No One Will Be

1. Nunya Beeswax says: July 20, 2016 at 1:24 am

   Elastigirl was thought up by a comics writer, She was a member of the original DOOM PATROL, which was sort of DC’s take on the Fantastic Four, written by Arnold Drake and drawn by the very talented Bruno Premiani. As for the INCREDIBLES, I have Mr I=Superman, E-girl=Plastic Man, Dash=(Kid) Flash and Violet=Invisible Scarlet O’Neill. “Shrinking Violet” was a Legion of Super-Heroes character who, like Minimidget, Doll Man or the Silver Age Atom, shrank. Bob Parr =/Ben Grimm: too handsome and well-liked in his prime.

   Reply

2. Pingback: Superfueled Elasticycle | VoVatia

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Δ

• Search for:

• Recent Posts

  • New Year, Nuwa
  • Shoot to Krill
  • Thrown to the Wolves
  • Married to the Sea Goddess
  • When You’ve Had Your Fill of Fillory

• Archives

  • February 2026
  • January 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010

• Categories

  • A. Lee Martinez
  • Adventism
  • Advertising
  • African
  • Age of Exploration
  • Albums
  • Alchemical Journeys
  • Alchemy
  • algonquin
  • Alquerque
  • Altaic
  • Amanda Palmer
  • American Civil War
  • American Dad
  • american revolution
  • Amish
  • amtor
  • Anabaptists
  • Anglicanism
  • Animal Crossing
  • Animals
  • Animism
  • Arabian
  • Arabian
  • Arrested Development
  • Art
  • Arthurian Legend
  • Astronomy
  • Atticus Gannaway
  • Australian
  • Authors
  • Awards
  • Aztec
  • Babylonian
  • Baha'i Faith
  • barsoom
  • Beatles
  • Beatrix Potter
  • Belle and Sebastian
  • Ben Folds
  • Big Bang
  • Bill Campbell and Irwin Terry
  • Biology
  • Board Games
  • Body Image
  • Book Reviews
  • Breath of Fire
  • Brentford Trilogy
  • British
  • Bronze Age
  • Buddhism
  • Byzantine Empire
  • C.S. Lewis
  • Calvinism
  • Camilla Townsend
  • Camper Van Beethoven
  • Capitalism
  • Captain N: The Game Master
  • Caribbean
  • carl barks
  • Carolyn Mark
  • Carribean
  • Cartoons
  • Castlevania
  • Catharism
  • Catherynne M. Valente
  • Catholicism
  • Celebrities
  • Celtic
  • Chanukah
  • Characters
  • Checkers
  • chemistry
  • Chess
  • China
  • Chinese
  • Chris Dulabone
  • Christian Science
  • Christianity
  • Christmas
  • Christopher Moore
  • Chronicles of Chrestomanci
  • Chronicles of Kazam
  • Chronicles of Narnia
  • Chrono Trigger
  • Climate
  • Cold War
  • Colonization of America
  • Comics
  • Communism
  • Concerts
  • Confucianism
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Coptic
  • Corporations
  • Cracker
  • craig shaw gardner
  • Crusades
  • Cults
  • Current Events
  • Daniel Handler
  • Dave Barry
  • David Tai
  • Dennis Anfuso
  • Diana Wynne Jones
  • Diane Brzozowski
  • Dice
  • Dick Martin
  • Dirk Gently
  • Discworld
  • Disney Afternoon
  • Dominoes
  • Donkey Kong
  • Douglas Adams
  • Dr. Seuss
  • Dragon Quest
  • Dreams
  • Drugs
  • Easter
  • Eastern Orthodox
  • Economics
  • edgar rice burroughs
  • Education
  • Edward Einhorn
  • Edward Lear
  • Egyptian
  • Eloise Jarvis McGraw
  • elvis presley
  • England
  • Environmentalism
  • Eric Shanower
  • Ethnicity
  • Etymology
  • Evolution
  • Fairy Tales
  • Families
  • Family Guy
  • Feminism
  • Final Fantasy
  • Finnish
  • Focus on the Foes
  • Food
  • Fox News
  • France
  • Frank Black
  • Frank Black/Black Francis
  • Fred Otto
  • French
  • Fundamentalism
  • Futurama
  • Games
  • Gender
  • Genetics
  • German
  • Germany
  • ghost roads
  • Gina Wickwar
  • Global Warming
  • Gnosticism
  • Golden Sun
  • Great Depression
  • Greek Mythology
  • Greek Philosophy
  • Halloween
  • Harry Potter
  • Health
  • Hellenistic Greece
  • Heroes of Olympus
  • Hinduism
  • Historical Personages
  • History
  • Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  • Hittite
  • Hmong
  • Holidays
  • Holy Roman Empire
  • hopi
  • Hugh Pendexter
  • Humor
  • Iberian
  • In Memoriam
  • Inca
  • incryptid
  • India
  • infocom
  • Introspection
  • Inuit
  • Iran
  • Islam
  • J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Jack Chick
  • Jack Snow
  • Jainism
  • janelle monae
  • Japan
  • Japanese
  • Jared Davis
  • Jasper Fforde
  • Jeff Rester
  • jenny lewis
  • John R. Neill
  • Jonathan Swift
  • Judaism
  • jules verne
  • Kane Chronicles
  • Kelly Hogan
  • Kid Icarus
  • king's quest
  • Kirby
  • Korean
  • L. Frank Baum
  • Language
  • legend entertainment
  • Lewis Carroll
  • Libraries
  • Live Shows
  • lucasarts
  • Lutheranism
  • madeleine l'engle
  • Magic
  • Magic Items
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Magnus Chase
  • Mahjong
  • Malaysian
  • Mana/Seiken Densetsu
  • Maps
  • March Laumer
  • Marcus Mebes
  • Marin Elizabeth Xiques
  • Mario
  • marissa meyer
  • Marxism
  • Mathematics
  • may day
  • Mayan
  • Medicine
  • Mega Man
  • Melody Grandy
  • Mennonites
  • Mesoamerica
  • Mesopotamia
  • Metroid
  • Middle Ages
  • Middle East
  • Minus 5
  • Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
  • Monarchy
  • Monkees
  • Monopoly
  • Monsters
  • Monty Python
  • Mormonism
  • Mr. Show
  • Muppets
  • Music
  • Mystery Cults
  • Mythology
  • Names
  • Native American
  • Navajo
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Neko Case
  • Nellie McKay
  • New Church
  • New Pornographers
  • New Year's Day
  • Norse
  • Nursery Crime
  • Nursery Rhymes
  • october daye
  • Once Upon a Time
  • Onyx Madden/Jim Nitch
  • Oz
  • Oz Authors
  • Pac-Man
  • Pachisi
  • Pacific
  • Passover
  • pellucidar
  • Percy Jackson
  • Persian
  • Peter Clarke
  • Phantasy Star
  • Phil Lewin
  • Philippine
  • Philosophy
  • Phyllis Ann Karr
  • Piers Anthony
  • Pixies
  • Places
  • Playing Cards
  • Plays
  • Poetry
  • Pokémon
  • Politics
  • Popeye
  • Poul Anderson
  • Power Rangers
  • Prejudice
  • Presbyterianism
  • Protestant Reformation
  • Punch-Out
  • Rachel Cosgrove Payes
  • Rasputina
  • Rastafarianism
  • Ray Powell
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Relationships
  • Religion
  • Renaissance
  • Revisiting Disney
  • Rick Riordan
  • Robert Rankin
  • Robyn Hitchcock
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle
  • Roman
  • Roman Empire
  • romani
  • Ron Baxley Jr.
  • rosh hashanah
  • Russian
  • Ruth Plumly Thompson
  • Santeria
  • Satanism
  • Scandinavia
  • Science
  • Scientology
  • Scottish
  • seanan mcguire
  • Search Terms
  • Self-Esteem
  • Semitic
  • Sesame Street
  • Seventh-Day Adventism
  • Sexuality
  • She and Him
  • Shinto
  • Sierra
  • Sikhism
  • Sims
  • Slavic
  • Snobbery
  • Socialism
  • Songs I Don't Care For
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • South American
  • Space Program
  • space quest
  • Spanish
  • sparks
  • Spiritualism
  • Sports
  • Stan Freberg
  • Star Trek
  • Star Wars
  • Stephin Merritt
  • Stratego
  • Street Fighter
  • Sumerian
  • Super Mario Bros. Super Show
  • Switzerland
  • Taoism
  • tarzan
  • Technology
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Television
  • Terry Pratchett
  • Thanksgiving
  • The Colbert Report
  • The Daily Show
  • The Flintstones
  • The Jetsons
  • The Simpsons
  • The Sims
  • Theosophy
  • They Might Be Giants
  • Thursday Next
  • Tiles
  • Tom Holt
  • Tori Amos
  • Toys
  • Trials of Apollo
  • Ultima
  • Uncategorized
  • United Kingdom
  • up-and-under
  • Urban Legends
  • Ursula K. LeGuin
  • ursula vernon
  • Valentine's Day
  • Video
  • Video Games
  • Vietnamese
  • Voodoo
  • VoVat Goes to the Movies
  • Wayward Children
  • Weird Al Yankovic
  • Welsh
  • Wicca
  • William Shakespeare
  • Winnie-the-Pooh
  • Wizards & Warriors
  • Xanth
  • XTC
  • Year in Review
  • Yoruba
  • Young Fresh Fellows
  • Zelda
  • zork
  • Zoroastrianism

• Blogroll

  • Dare I Read?
  • Disney Weirdness
  • Hungry Tiger Talk
  • Oz and Ends
  • Power of Babel
  • Press the Buttons
  • S.P. Maldonado's Oz Art
  • The Oz Enthusiast
  • The Royal Blog of Oz
  • There's More to Oz Than the Yellow Brick Road
  • Wannabe Wonderlands

• Celebrity Blogs

  • David Lowery

• Comics

  • Captain SNES
  • Dinosaur Comics
  • Jesus and Mo
  • Lit Brick
  • Married to the Sea
  • Medium Large
  • Namesake
  • Questionable Content
  • The Comics Curmudgeon

• More Stuff from Me

  • My Facebook Account
  • Stratovania

• Meta

  • Create account
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

• Twitterpated

  Tweets by VoVat

VoVatia Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

• Comment
• Reblog
• Subscribe Subscribed
  • VoVatia
  Join 142 other subscribers Sign me up
  • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• • VoVatia
  • Subscribe Subscribed
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Copy shortlink
  • Report this content
  • View post in Reader
  • Manage subscriptions
  • Collapse this bar

%d Design a site like this with WordPress.comGet started