Why Evelyn Should Have Had Superpowers (The Incredibles 2)

I know, I know, this movie came out in 2018, where have I been? Truth is I think about things long after they’ve ended…movies are no exception. Incredibles 2 has had polarizing reviews since its release, like most films do. I’ve watched it several times at this point, even sitting down sometimes just to focus on color theory, and I have to say I like the film well enough. I definitely went in with high expectations because the first one is one of my favorite Pixar films ever made, right beside one of the darkest films I’ve ever seen in my life…Wall-e. I told you I like horror movies. So, why can’t I just let go and fall in love with Incredibles 2? Watching Evelyn getting shot out of a plane was my favorite part of this kids movie, because I don’t like her.

If you disagree with my assessment of this movie, no worries. We can go out in the parking lot and fight about it. So much of this movie is done well. I really love the role reversal for Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible in this movie. Bob already had his mid-life crisis, and seeing how badass Elastigirl was in the first movie, it was a smart move to have her take center stage. A lot of this movie’s conflict comes from a desire to change things in the political and social climates of the country, too, so having female, nonbinary, and other characters who’s government has yet to arrive for them makes sense. I like the way they handled a lot of the family arcs in this movie too. Sequels have a tendency to rewrite characters so they can do something different and then the overarching story lacks cohesion, but Incredibles 2 handles this transition well. Bob and Helen still have similar stances on how to raise their kids and make decisions for the family. Bob is more passionate about their powers and the glorious change they’ll bring to the world, while Helen still favors a more grounded approach, and she sees her family as more than genetically bound superhumans. 

Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack all grow in this movie too. Dash is probably the weakest, but even then, their problems aren’t just about their powers anymore and whether or not they should use them. Helen was right that they’re more than children with unique abilities, and Bob learns that first hand when he’s thrust into taking care of them on his own.

Side note, Violet is one of the best parts of this movie. Every time she’s on screen I feel and pang in my chest as I’m transported back to my time as an adolescent.

I never want kids but I can appreciate the way this movie uses the family’s dynamics, and I would argue that it’s done even better in this film than in the original. The aesthetic of the movie and the animation is obviously sharper given that fourteen years passed between each installment, but even this change tells a story. The second movie isn’t set in a completely different world, but it’s far more vibrant than the first. The Parr family’s life as a whole is more vibrant than it used to be, as is the rest of the country now that supers are coming out of hiding and showing the world their true colors. Those types of comments, people, are what I went into debt for. Now I have a degree in Theater and English, I have no money and I’m sad and alone with a dog. My first impressions of this movie were sky high. I was really enjoying it, until Evelyn turned around and fucked it all up.

I really love Katherine Keener, and she does a wonderful job voicing this character. The voice acting and look of Evelyn are easily the best parts of this character. I just wish she had more substance overall, and a better reason for being the villian. 

Also, her name, the fuck? Evelyn Deavor...subtle as a sledge hammer to the face.

What pisses me off so much about her is how much of a Syndrome she’s trying to be. I’m not breaking new ground when I say Syndrome is one of, if not, the best Pixar villains they’ve ever made. What makes him so great? Well…

From the beginning, even when we first see him, Buddy is an outcast. Even without dialogue we have a pretty clear idea of who he is. His costume is handmade and he likely put a lot of time into it, but even with his best efforts still has a poorly cut cape and gloves. He has crooked teeth and big ears that he still has baby fat. All normal for a child his age, but kids are cruel and they suck so it’s safe to assume he’s bullied a lot.

What makes Buddy unique and a threat is his intelligence. Sadly, smart kids or teachers' pets don’t fare well in school either. Especially when someone is as smart as Buddy. I doubt even some adults in his life can fully support him, even if they want to. I get the vibe that Buddy’s parents are pretty absent, considering he manages to run around the city with an adult man who can blast through walls with a sneeze. Even when Bob mentions telling his mother what he’s been up to, we never see her in the film, or a reaction shot from buddy like he knows he’s going to get in trouble or even get a reaction from his parents. To be fair, I doubt they could find a book at Barnes and Noble that would help you talk to your kid about zero point energy.

Still, for a child to idolize someone like Mr. Incredible to the extent that Buddy does, I don’t think he has anyone else to really look up to. He’s actually willing to risk his life for a superhero that he doesn’t even know. 

So, we have an incredibly, hah, smart kid who’s isolated because of a superior ability and just wants a connection with someone who might understand. Worse, this is just before superheroes are sent into hiding. Mr, Incredible just busted through a building and has broken s**t, yet, he’s rewarded for his destructive behavior because it’s for the greater good. Buddy isn’t, he’s punished, and then told to just go home. He shouldn’t be encouraged to put himself in danger, fine, but no wonder he’s heartbroken.

The saddest part of Buddy’s arc is he had the potential to contribute to the greater good.

He’d likely be able to do more than even superheroes could. So, what do we get with Evelyn?

I’m not saying losing your parents isn’t a traumatizing thing. I don’t even think they needed to cut out the dead parent cliche for this movie. My problem is the way they use it. 

Evelyn is mad at the supers for not saving her family, but she recounts a scenario where, even if she were distraught, I feel like someone as smart as her wouldn’t blame someone like Mr. Incredible or Elastigirl for.

Honestly, Evelyn, your father was kind of an idiot. This was really disappointing to me. The worst part of this for me is Evelyn’s plan. It completely falls apart under close inspection. She’s trying to legalize supers, to destroy people’s trust in them, to make them permanently illegal… WHAT?

I think Evelyn would’ve been way more compelling as a villain if she had powers herself. I think the stakes would’ve been higher, and each layer of conflict would’ve been far more compelling.

Why? Here are my reasons.

I call total bullshit that every person in the Incredibles universe who has superpowers is morally righteous and on the side of the good guys. This bother anyone else? No? 

How? Every single one of these people is clinically sane, and willing to help society? I know we haven’t seen any overlap with powers, but if there are people in this world who can turn invisible, not one of them tried to rob a bank? Or even just a 7-eleven? We already saw a fight between a super and a regular person who was intelligent and used technology. We already had an us vs. them dynamic in the first movie. Why not tackle in-fighting for the super community? This is an entire group of people who have been ostracized by society, and we know from Bob and Gazerbeam, as well as many others, that adjusting to civilian life was hard. None of these people are jaded and pissed off at the government?

I would think that supers fighting for their rights again and making some headway would cause a supervillian to be emboldened. Bob and Helen were young when they were forced to hang up their capes. They made it work, even if they were reluctant. What about a super who was a bit older and has no life skills?

Spent so much time saving the world, I didn’t have time to learn how to code or use adobe products.

Seems to me a person like this would struggle to find a job, let alone one that would be fulfilling and make them happy. By the way, how is that going for any of us right now?

If they didn’t want to make Evelyn older, she could’ve still had the death of her parents as a motivator. Maybe when the law was passed Evelyn couldn’t hone her skills with her abilities, and thus she was unable to save her parents when their house was broken into. Then she would really have some layers with a dash of self-loathing being added to the mix. Her powers could’ve even involved technology. She could’ve been like the girl from Sky High. Come on disney, try it. It’s not like you’ve avoided ripping off your own content before.

Evelyn’s powers could’ve still led to the development of technology and hypnosis. A lot of what they did wouldn’t need to be scrapped. They could’ve echoed the sentiment of Syndrome’s genius not being respected, and then added the emotional weight of showing how there are in fact supers out there who dealt with a lot of the same life-altering struggles he did. Fighting a fellow super would also add even more weight to Bob and Helen’s argument from earlier. They wouldn’t just need to think about the morals and values they want to embrace for their children’s benefit, but for their peers. It would be devastating, especially after all the superheroes who died in the first movie, to see someone tarnishing the reputation of supers via their own actions. Helen’s argument with Evelyn where she laments how much she trusted her would’ve hit a lot harder.

I also think it’d be interesting to explore how the world of the Incredibles would attempt to handle deviant behavior from someone with superpowers. Would Evelyn go to jail? Would she even be able to be locked up? Would the only solution be to kill her? Now we’re getting into avatar the last airbender territory.

Her attempts to legalize supers would make a lot more sense in this context, too, as the law would be benefiting her. This world pushes the idea that the passing of this law can only be a good thing. But, sometimes laws that exist in society that benefit you aren’t always beneficial to others. There’s a ton of moral gray area out there, and opening one door can’t be done sometimes without opening several others. 

Maybe Bob and Helen would be forced to question if changing things legally is really the best thing, for them and for their children’s future.

Shit, how cool would it have been if Evelyn was an old friend of Helen’s? Her Frozone if you will, who she’d have to take down.

But alas, we didn’t get that with this movie.

As I said before, I think there is a lot that Incredibles 2 handled surprisingly well. I can’t imagine the stress of penning a script for a movie like this with all the anticipation, and knowing that the first movie set such a high standard.

But, that doesn’t make me dislike Evelyn any less.