SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles 2, in theaters now.
One of the main things which made 2004's The Incredibles memorable, not just as a family adventure, but as a superhero flick, was the villain the altruistic and ambitious Parr family faced. Buddy Pine, aka Syndrome, wasn't simply interested in taking over the world. He was an immature grown-up who was once a superfan and felt rejected by Mr. Incredible, a hero he idolized as a kid.
Thanks to his wounded ego, Syndrome grew up despising the concept of superheroes, viewing them as arrogant individuals who looked down on mankind. With this relationship looming large over the film's plot, we ended up getting a fun-filled ride and more so, a personal dynamic with the Incredibles trying to save the world, as well as Buddy's soul.
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Come the highly-anticipated Incredibles 2, fans were eager to see if the new nemesis, Screenslaver, could live up to the standards Syndrome set. And while Screenslaver does have a strong villainous presence for the most part, the film ends up offering audiences a very intriguing twist regarding the identity of the true villain of the story.
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Incredibles 2 actually features a number of villains, starting with the Underminer (John Ratzenberger), who debuted at the very end of the original movie. Director Brad Bird's sequel picks up right where that film ended,as the Underminer arrives on the scene in Metroville, and uses his tunnel-drilling technology to successfully complete a robbery. This leaves society with a bitter view of superheroes, their ire focused mainly on the Incredibles thanks to the mass destruction caused in their failed attempt to stop the heist.
This then leads to the main villain, Screenslaver, commencing his big plan: The hijacking of news feeds and broadcasts in order to hypnotize the public and sway opinion against capes. Basically, Screenslaver is waging a PR war against superheroes, and it's a war he's winning, with laws quickly put into motion to make costumed crimefighters illegal. Eventually, Screenslaver's caught by Elastigirl, and, shockingly... he turns out to be some random pizza delivery guy.
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However, the ever-intuitive heroine (played by Holly Hunter) pieces things together and realizes Screenslaver isn't all he's cracked up to be. In fact, in discovering the ruse, she finds out he isn't a he at all. It's a front set up by none other than Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener), sister to the wealthy tech tycoon Winston (Bob Odenkirk) of DEVTECH, the company that's trying to rehabilitate the images of superheroes globally. It turns out Evelyn has been using her genius and of course, her gadgets, to brainwash society, and the delivery guy fits the fall-person she needs for Screenslaver. This allows her the time to go about her slash campaign behind the scenes, undetected.
If all this sounds familiar, well, it's because we saw a similarly sinister plot unravel in Shane Black's Iron Man 3. There, the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) was hired as the public face of evil, misdirecting Iron Man and Co. while Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian pulled his strings from the shadows and acted as a lord of war in the arms-dealing sector. In this case, Evelyn's deception is a bit harder to suss out because she's been helping Elastigirl almost every step of the way in trying to make society believe in heroes again. In fact, not even her brother knows about the dupe because he firmly wants heroes to be loved again, especially after their parents died believing in them. When all's revealed, he's especially stunned but Evelyn doesn't care as she looks down at him as a naive child for admiring these "false idols."
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By the time Elastigirl and her family save the day and imprison Evelyn, the villain isn't repentant at all, making it clear that even though Elastigirl rescued her from death in their final fight, she still doesn't owe her anything. However, with her actions here just as personal as Syndrome, you can't help but empathize and feel sorry for her.
When Winston revealed his parents died trying to call superheroes when criminals broke into their house, as opposed to trying to escape, it's clear where Evelyn got her motivation from. She thinks that because they didn't answer the call that night, they're the reason why her parents got shot. Fortunately, Winston has a sense of optimism and hope instilled in him, and thankfully, by movie's end, the entire world does as well, as superheroes are made legal once more.
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Written and directed once again by Brad Bird, Incredibles 2 stars Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Sophia Bush, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Isabella Rossellini and Brad Bird. The film opens Friday nationwide.