History Fridge / Megamind

** [[spoiler: Metroman quitting seems to stem from the fact that he realized that his whole life had been defined by an idiotic rivalry. When Metroman and Megamind meet, the former has clearly lost a lot of his arrogance and is trying to encourage Megamind to be the hero, implying that he realizes that Megamind just needed bit of positive reinforcement]].

** Another instance of Hal's lack of genuine care for Roxanne is as follows. In tie-in properties (the simplified book, the comics, ect.) Roxanne is explicitly attracted to intelligence. In the movie proper, Hal's description of Megamind/Bernard as 'some intellectual dweeb' points to disrespect and hostility towards intelligence. Hal is so incompatible with Roxanne, he actively scorns her preferences.

* Why does Roxanne and Megamind disagree on Metro Man's talent? It might be that Roxanne was focusing on the horrible singing, while Megamind was focusing on the competent guitar playing.

** I wouldn't go that far. Megamind's idea of 'evil', even before his HeelFaceTurn, is clearly more along the lines of the melodramatic CardCarryingVillain who twirls his evil mustache and laughs his EvilLaugh as he uses his evil rope to tie the DistressedDamsel to the evil train-tracks, all of which conveniently takes long enough for the good guy to swoop in and save the day -- the sort of villain who makes a lot of noise about being a villain but once you look beyond the surface is actually more-or-less [[HarmlessVillain harmless]]. He's clearly bluffing because he's got no idea what he's doing and has never imagined a day where he'd ever have to think this far ahead.

* Megamind's sense of style and taste in music would seem an odd fit... until you consider when he landed in that prison. If you say Megamind is in his late 20's and the film is set in 2010, that makes him an 80's baby. Being raised by cons in an 80's prison, any radios would likely have been tuned to hard rock stations (AC/DC, Guns 'n' Roses, George Thorogood & the Destroyers.) Plus, since we see that his cell had a TV in it, he was likely exposed to MTV and [=VH1=], and very likely would have gotten his sense of presentation from the likes of Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne and Michael Jackson. Now, the Minnie Ripperton still doesn't fit... until you remember that Minion was controlling the boom box. That was likely his taste in music peeking through, which means when Megamind plays it after Titan bails out of their debut battle, he was wishing Minion was still around.

* Roxanne asks Metro Man how he could give up his hero life, but it’s actually very simple: it’s not heroism if there’s no real danger. Megamind was a flamboyant but goofy villain, his plots only serving to defeat Metro Man and failing every time. Whenever he appeared it was entertainment with no serious threat; people just stood and booed him, and even his frequent hostage Roxanne was joking along. Metro Man described it as "going through the motions", which is probably what it was: any heroism that’s playing along would eventually feel staged and somewhat worthless.

** Megamind is blue: this is the color of water. It’s actually emphasized in him having a fish sidekick and using aqua-styled equipment (squid bots, dehydration equipment. It’s a neutral color, which symbolizes Megamind switching between villainous and heroic roles. Also, the sea is calm and placid but once roused it’s unstoppable, which fits Megamind in the film.

* Megamind uses presentation as a weapon in the film, using Minion as a diversion while he impersonates Metro Man to frighten Titan off. That doesn’t work for too long since Titan can see through it, so he falls back on his more natural ability of using his intellect to secure an advantage against Titan’s strength.

[[/folder]]

*** Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you remember that up until that point in the movie, we had only seen one watch, while the climax requires two. At some point Megamind must have made another one, and while he was at it, upgraded it to eliminate the eye color issue. In the battle with Tighten, Minion got the new version, while Megamind kept the old one, thus the discrepancy.

* Megamind's sense of style and taste in music would seem an odd fit... until you consider when he landed in that prison. If you say Megamind is in his late 20's and the film is set in 2010, that makes him an 80's baby. Being raised by cons in an 80's prison, any radios would likely have been tuned to hard rock stations (AC/DC, Guns 'n' Roses, George Thorogood & the Destroyers.) Plus, since we see that his cell had a TV in it, he was likely exposed to MTV and [=VH1=], and very likely would have gotten his sense of presentation from the likes of Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne and Michael Jackson. Now, the Minnie Ripperton still doesn't fit... until you remember that Minion was controlling the boom box. That was likely his taste in music peeking through, which means when Megamind plays it after Tighten bails out of their debut battle, he was wishing Minion was still around.

** Even better? Megamind saving the city from Tighten and then repairing all the damage with his bots? The ultimate in community service.

* It's extremely foggy on the day that Space-Dad takes Tighten out for flying lessons. It's easy to miss because they're flying above it. This is, of course, so that nobody gets a preview of the new hero before he's ready.

*** It is worth noting, however, that when Roxanne and "Bernard" stumble into Megamind's hero workshop, there is a dress form with clear female features wrapped in a sparkly orange fabric with a red undershirt, two of the colors that Megamind eventually works into the Tighten costume.

* When Tighten is terrorizing the city, why doesn't Metro Man stop him? At the very end, we see that he turns up to Megamind's first public appearance as a bona fide hero and whispers "Way to go, little buddy. I ''knew'' he had it in him!" He was fully expecting Megamind to rise to the occasion.
** It is also quite likely that when Metro Man went underground, he blocked out all incoming communication and cut himself off from what was happening in Metro City. In this troper's mind, he probably didn't even know that Tighten existed until Megamind and Roxanne showed up and told him.

** For all we know, Metro Man ''was'' saving people during Tighten's rampage. Using SuperSpeed makes him undetectable, remember? MM could've been zipping around in the background, [[NoEndorHolocaust deflecting rubble from bystanders or moving them out of danger]], without giving away the fact he was still alive. If the driver of that tossed gas truck suddenly finds himself lying in the road near the blazing wreck of his vehicle, with no memory of how he got out, he's going to assume he was "miraculously flung clear" and knocked out, not rescued by a dead superhero. Metro Man wouldn't want civilians to ''die'' so he could retire; he just didn't want the pressure of being the city's ''only'' recourse in times of trouble, anymore. Considering just how much damage Megamind and Tighten do to the city, yet the happy reactions of the citizens at the end, this is pretty much the only logical explanation as to why there's no InferredHolocaust.

*** Piggybacking on that last bit, Megamind's almost giddy exclamation that they're going to die. The entire point of the movie is how VictoryIsBoring and how Megamind lived not for his stated goals, but for the fight against a hero. The brilliance shows up when you realizes he ''never'' expected to win. Megamind - in addition to his determination to stop Tighten and save Roxanne and the city or literally die trying - had probably resigned himself years before that he would likely die during on of his schemes and embraced this more familiar idea quicker than Minion.
** There's also some fridge brilliance in that Minion's plan was literally just not dying. His only role was to get Roxanne (and himself) out of danger, and set the scene for Megamind to scare off Tighten.
* Roxanne and Megamind comment that Metro Man was really good at 'last minute escapes'. Given that neither of them seem to be aware of his SuperSpeed at this time - Megamind doesn't train Tighten to use it, Roxanne never brings it up - maybe that's how he'd been escaping the majority of Megamind's traps all these years.

* A lot of the story is a Silver Age throwback - the ridiculous hero-centric villain Megamind, Metro Man faking his death for a new life, referring to ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'', the deliberate good bye to the Silver Age character. Then we have Nineties Hero Titan, becoming Nineties Villain Tighten - gifted with unbelievable powers from a vague cosmic entity seems very ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'', particularly when it all turns out to be an illusion. And then a Noughties-style character reconstruction, complimented by an Antihero Heel Face Turn.

* ''Of course'' Minion-as-Megamind's plan mostly involves not dying. His job is just to get Roxanne to safety and distract Tighten while Megamind gets into position!
** Plus, when breaking Megamind out of prison, Minion doesn't exactly react well to Megamind's claim that they're going to die fighting Tighten.

* When fighting Tighten, Megamind plays Music/GunsNRoses's "Welcome to The Jungle". Why did Megamind choose this song? Because it is connected to his plan. He lures Tighten into a the mouth of a giant head made out of robots which proceeds to devour the superpowered villain. Welcome to the Jungle was released on the album Music/AppetiteForDestruction.

** In an ironic twist, while Tighten became a by-product of Megamind's evil teachings, the new and improved Megamind becomes a new hero thanks to Roxanne's influence. She unintentionally taught Megamind that being a hero is about doing nice things for good people because [[GoodFeelsGood it makes them happy]], not because you get something in return. He also learned to utilize his abilities for good (cleaning the city for instance), which explains why Megamind is later [[CharacterDevelopment disgusted by Hal/Tighten's blatant abuse of his powers for selfish purposes]].

** He should probably have stepped in when Tighten appeared and proved himself a legitimate threat. But then, he had put his faith in Megamind to stop him. Which he did, and thus by proving himself a hero in the face of serious adversity Metro Man knew he could retire in peace.

* In the beginning of the movie, Megamind's ultimatum is that Metro Man either '''leave Metrocity forever''' or never see Roxanne Ritchi ever again. During the climax, Megamind (whilst disguised as Metro Man) tells Tighten to '''[[BookEnds stay out of Metrocity for good]]'''. If anything, this demonstrates Megamind had the makings of a hero all along, he just needed a proper way to channel his potential.

** Hal/Tighten is red: a color symbolic of rage and destruction.

* Megamind uses presentation as a weapon in the film, using Minion as a diversion while he impersonates Metro Man to frighten Tighten off. That doesn’t work for too long since Tighten can see through it, so he falls back on his more natural ability of using his intellect to secure an advantage against Tighten’s strength.

* Some people may think that Hal was originally a DoggedNiceGuy who was only pushed over the edge after he’s [[EntitledToHaveYou rejected by Roxanne,]] but throughout the first and second act [[{{Jerkass}} he’s arguably equally as insensitive, whiny, and cruel as he is when he becomes Tighten]]. He’s very pushy towards [[NotGoodWithRejection asking Roxanne to come over to his apartment and won’t take no for an answer,]] [[NeverMyFault blames his van when he breaks a finger punching it out of frustration,]] and treats Roxanne like a HystericalWoman when she’s trying to talk to Megamind/Bernard [[CrazyJealousGuy because he’s jealous she’s talking to another guy]]. In other words, Hal was always a terrible entitled person, and getting superpowers simply [[FromNobodyToNightmare gave him a means of getting what he’s always wanted.]]

** It's perfectly summed up when he appears to her in his Tighten persona for the first time; he boasts that he knows everything about her... [[ImmediateSelfContradiction then immediately says he wasn't sure what flowers she'd like the most]], perfectly proving how little he actually understands her.

* Roxanne twice tries to talk Tighten/Hal down from his rampage, insisting that there is still good in him. Why would an otherwise smart person think such a childish thing would work? Because it worked on [[LoveRedeems Megamind]] without her even knowing it. Also, she might still think Hal is just a dork in over his head.

** Tighten/Hal sees Roxanne having dinner with Bernard.
** Megamind and Roxanne see Tighten destroying the city. This moment for Megamind symbolizes that as villainous has he has acted, he never sought to devastate his home town.
** Metro Man sees his suit in the glass case during Tighten's rampage, with his had reflected on it. This symbolizes him fearing he'll get trapped into the hero's job once more.

** And what was Metro Man being brought back for? To fight Tighten, who is just another Megamind character type but angrier and more selfish. Coming back to fight the same villain isn't a change at all.

* Whenever Roxanne wants to address Hal as, well, Hal, and not Tighten, he flips out. Doubly so when she describes him as someone who loved "being a cameraman and eating dip and being a nerd". Of course he would flip out, he ''hated'' all these things. He hated being fat, boring, unattractive Hal. "It's Tighten, not Hal" perfectly sums that up.

* A news report mentions that thousands of people fled Metro City once Tighten took over. This is notable considering that Megamind's earlier takeover apparently wasn't scary enough to convince them to do the same. Even if it's only subconsciously, the citizens can recognize on some level that Megamind means them no real harm. Hal on the other hand...

* Better hope no one was in that building that Tighten threw at Megamind. Or the buildings that got hit by that building...

* What did Megamind do with Metro Man's powers after he took them back from Tighten?

* As shown during Metro Man's mid-life crisis and subsequent decision to fake his death, his SuperSpeed is strong enough that he could essentially [[TimeStandsStill stop time]] whenever he wanted. Imagine if [[AxCrazy Tighten]] ever got enough experience with his powers to realize he could do the same thing: he could kill Megamind, Roxanne, Minion and anyone else who dared get in his way in the blink of an eye, with them being none-the-wiser.

* Before he became "Tighten", Hal fibbed to Roxanne about his lousy apartment to get her alone with him. What the heck would he have pulled on her if she accepted his offer?

[[folder:FridgeLogic]]
* There no mention of or allusions to Megamind ever moving his lair, yet the kidnapping at the start of the film is apparently the first time he's brought Roxanne there? Just seems unlikely.
** It's more likely he built the fake observatory (on top of his existing laboratory) for that specific plan.
* Megamind tells Roxanne he can't use the same infuser/defuser gun that created Tighten because he left it in the back of the invisible car when she dumped him, and (he was so distraught over being dumped) that he walked away and forgot where he parked it. Why didn't Megamind ''just build another infuser/defuser gun''? [[FridgeBrilliance Because]] he was also so distraught over losing Roxanne that it simply didn't occur to him. And then, he was so eager to salve his wounded pride that he went and picked a fight, which backfired in his face, and that's what drove him to go find Roxanne to seek out Metro Man's hideout.
** Possibly it takes longer to build a new infuser/defuser gun than either of them expect they can afford to let Tighten rampage, unchecked. It may also require materials he can't easily replace, now that Tighten's booted Megamind out of City Hall and he no longer has the entire city's resources to draw upon.
** And Megamind doesn't have Minion with him either.
** A key component of the infuser/defuser gun is Megamind's binky (pacifier). He doesn't ''have'' another one of those.
* Why doesn't Megamind try shooting Tighten with his dehydration gun? He has it with him all the time in the last battle (and presumably all the previous battles, as he even carries it when wearing pajamas), and it sure is not nearly as hard to do as trapping Tighten with a copper sphere.
** I'd be willing to bet somewhere in the collection of superpowers Metro Man has is one that makes him (or someone else with his powers) immune to being compltenetely dehydrated. Maybe aliens from his planet look vaguely human but have some kind of amorphous solid putty (or gas) in place of blood. I mean it'd be pretty stupid if Megamind hadn't used his signature weapon against his signature foe in all of their various different show downs... Granted, they could have slipped in a scene showing how Metro Man is immune to being dehydrated back when they were both in school, and maybe there already is a deleted scene to that effect, but either way, that's my two cents...
** Megamind's had the Dehydrate Gun since childhood. Presumably in one of his many (many many) battles with Metro Man since then, he's tried it out and long-since learnt it didn't work. And since it didn't work with Metro Man, it's not going to work with Tighten now.
*** The reason for it not working, might be that Metro Man (and Tighten) can just sidestep anything thrown at him. While no one may have known the full extent of his SuperSpeed (several minutes worth of living back in a few milliseconds), it might have been known that he was faster than a bullet, as that would be a standard power for a FlyingBrick. When Megamind first grabs the Defuser Gun, he is so close to Tighten that he might think he has a chance of shooting him regardless... And when he actually uses the Gun, he shoves it up Hal's nostril, making avoiding it nigh-impossible.
* The opening of the Metro Man Museum was PACKED - the entire area around the lake was wall-to-wall people. Easily well over a hundred thousand. However when Metro Man takes his break to do a little soul searching (during which all those people were watching the events on the big screen), there are ''plenty'' of people at the park, the library, and the cafe. I guess there were a few folks who really didn't care much themselves.
** Maybe they just didn't think that there was much point in going there in person to join the back of a multi-million person crowd to see a speck in the distance.
** Same reason that even, say, an incredibly popular rock band doesn't get everyone in any given city at their gigs; not everyone could safely fit into the space provided, lots of people probably had other stuff to do at the time, and of course, some people probably just weren't interested anyway.
* Over several dates, why does Roxanne not wonder why "Bernard" never changes his clothes? The closest we get is her wondering why he was power walking in a suit...
** He looks like - and acts, and Megamind probably insists that - he's the type of guy who buys multiple versions of the same clothes.
* How did Megamind dehydrate Carlos? By that point he'd sacrificed his gun holster for thigh-high boots.
** He probably had an alternate holster made somewhere else on the costume.
*** Where? The outfit gets progressively stripped down to the point that he's in nothing but the jumpsuit by the end, and there is still no gun visible anywhere on him.
*** Perhaps he took a quick trip back to his lair to get the gun before looking for Roxanne.
** For that matter, Megamind says a few minutes later that he lost the gun in the invisible car, doesn't he?
*** There are two guns, the multipurpose one which he likes to use for dehydration and the single purpose one that is only used to empower/depower Tighten. The first one was with him, the second one was left in the car.
* Why did Megamind use Metro Man's dandruff to get DNA to create Tighten rather than the actually skeleton, which would clued him into the fact that Metro Man had faked his death?
** On the DVD commentary the creators mention this point, saying they were originally going to have the skeleton turn to dust, but couldn't show it and just had to leave it.
** This troper is willing to bet that Megamind, being an antagonist in mourning, tastefully placed the bones somewhere he'd never have to look at that again so as not to be reminded of the actual act of killing him. Using dandruff, was likely a bit to exploit and revel the weakness of a man who he described very early on as having "great hair".
** Megamind freaks out when the skeleton lands on him, and his style as a supervillain was never slanted towards a skull-and-bones motif. He probably claimed the cape as a trophy and left the bones (which creeped him out) for Metro Man's admirers to give a proper burial.
* No one wonders why there even is a skeleton after that explosion, why the bones don't look charred at all, or why the cape survived? Megamind clearly knows his biology, and is a general genius, so how did he miss this?
** He was hit with a death ray powered by THE SUN. Never heard of bleach dried bones? Multiply that by a weaponized scale.
*** The sun is more powerful than a high-grade nuclear weapon, and even low-grade nukes can completely vaporize bone, ergo there shouldn't be a skeleton at all. For that matter, that sort of heat would have bunt to cape to ashes well before bones ever became an issue.
*** Your bones or my bones, sure. A sort-of-Kryptonian alien's bones? Who knows what those would be made of. As for the cape, it's probably Metro Man's indestructible baby blanket.
** That, and Megamind was clearly freaking out. It might have occurred to him later, if he weren't so distracted by everything else.
* Megamind is a rather... waif-ish man. Minion on the other hand has a bulky, gorilla-shaped body. How the ''hell'' did Roxanne not realize that it wasn't Megs by virtue of the fact that his body was bigger?
** Because the watch somehow alters the physical properties of the user, as demonstrated by the fact that MM could shove cube-Bernard into a coat-pocket despite wearing buttoned pajamas.
* So Minion is fitting Megamind in a basic frame for ''the Black Mambaaaaaaaaaa'' right before they have their big falling out. Minion leaves, Megamind goes on his date, gets dumped, comes back... and the cape is now finished. [[FlatWhat What?]]
** What in the world makes everyone think the cape is ''finished''? It... Looks ''no different'' - at least to my eyes - and actually it looks as though the collar needs finishing off with more material over the base structure. Honestly, I think Megamind donning the unfinished cape, despite his adherence to 'preparation' is supposed to be what tells us that he means ''business''.
*** No, it's finished. When Minion is talking about altering it, you can see a wire frame that reaches up behind Megamind's head, and when Megamind puts it on to fight Tighten, the frame is covered by a dramatic sort of cobra-hood-esque piece of cloth. Maybe the Brain Bots finished it.
** This Troper previously considered the same question during a movie re-watch, and thought of one plausible in-universe explanation. First, here is the event shown in the movie: After Minion says he'll [[StockPhrases just]] [[ParodiedTrope pack up his thing (fish food) and go]], right before Megamind leaves for his date, Minion exits the hideout through a door near the garage. Next, here is a ''possible'' off-screen event: Before reaching his next location, Minion could've noticed the sound of the invisible car leaving the hideout, the garage door opening and closing. (We aren't shown how far Minion got from the hideout in that time.) Even without that as a reminder to figuratively look back, Minion could've next considered that he did get the cape's measurements but didn't finish the cape (yet). He then could've returned to the hideout, finished the cape, and left again before Megamind's return. (The movie shows that 1. Megamind waited before his date arrived, 2. his date apologized for tardiness, and 3. Megamind got back to the hideout even later--by foot, not by car. It therefore seems, to this Troper, safe to conclude that Minion would have enough time, off-screen, to finish the cape while Megamind was away.) This Troper also found the idea plausible, based on other scenes from the movie that showed Minion taking care of the details for Megamind. One such example, in an earlier scene: Minion replaced and tested Hal's apartment door for function, after Megamind blew it open.
*** In short/TLDR version: Minion could've gone back, completed the cape, and left all while Megamind was out.
* Metro Man claiming Copper as his KryptoniteFactor is all well and good... until one remembers that copper is one of the most widely used metals in modern technology, almost equal to steel (put it like this; every single electrical appliance you have around you at this moment? They all contain copper). It's possible Metro Man didn't pay attention in science class, but how did Megamind, whose superpower ''is'' SuperIntelligence, not remember that fact and so find it suspicious that it could actually lead to Metro Man's death?
** This fact doesn't entirely escape Megamind because he actually asks Metro Man "You're kidding right?" about copper as a weakness. If he had taken a little more thought to it, he might've realized something was off, but the death ray fired and well... events from there probably took his mind off to other matters.
** Presumably it would take a ''lot'' of copper to drain Metro Man's powers enough to actually render him helpless, if in fact he did have that weakness. The rather small amounts present in electronic gadgets might reduce his strength slightly, but when you're strong enough to toss skyscrapers around, "slightly" isn't going to be much of a factor.
*** Notice in the observatory, Metro Man is still flying around and leaving massive dents in the dome, implying that he's greatly weakened, but ''not'' DePowered.
* If you look carefully during the scene where the death ray is firing at Metro Man, you can tell that Metro City is in Michigan. Before automobiles moved in, copper mining was Michigan's biggest industry. Metro Man's weakness is copper. Weaksauce Weakness indeed (if he hadn't been making that up). Probably just a neat little coincidence, but cool if it was intentional.
* The infuser/defuser is capable of puncturing Tighten's skin enough to let it drain Tighten's powers. So...if it's capable of overcoming Tighten's invulnerability, why not simply stab him with it?
** Megamind never punctured Tighten's skin, he shoved the gun up his nostril. And even if he could, it would hardly be sporting, would it?
* When Megamind points out to Roxanne that ice cubes are what happens when water gets cold, he may not be trying to be deliberately sarcastic or snide, or even be oblivious. The issue is that he's so intelligent in relation to most people that her pointing out how to make ice sounds just as simple a statement to him as the full explanation of how he made a Metro Man infusion gun. Megamind liked her at that point so he was just being polite about it and explaining something to her.
* When Megamind and Minion go into their Space Dad/Space Step-Mom disguises, Minion has a PaperThinDisguise, presumably because he doesn't have Megamind's hologram watch. But later he is disguised as Megamind while Megamind is disguised as Metro Man. So why didn't Minion have a better Space Step-Mom disguise?
** At the time there was only one watch. Once they needed two watches, they made a second.
** It seems kind of dumb that Hal is taken in by 'Space Stepmom', but he's never met Minion. Apart from everything else, how's Hal meant to know that his alien space-father ''wouldn't'' marry some kind of hyper-intelligent fish in a robot gorilla suit and wig? Why wouldn't their alien customs seem rather... alien? It's not a high-tech disguise like Mega-Mind's, but it didn't ''need'' to be. When it DID need to be a great disguise, he DID get a watch.
* A couple of times, Minion thinks of Roxanne seemingly randomly; once when he is trying to cheer up a depressed Megamind by suggesting a kidnapping, and again when he correctly assesses that Megamind has been seeing her. On the DVD commentary, it's confirmed that Megamind had been attracted to Roxanne since before the proper story (discounting the framing device and the flashbacks) begins. Evidence can be seen in their semi-flirtatious banter in the beginning and his expression at the previously mentioned kidnapping suggestion. It's absolutely no stretch that Minion, being Megamind's right-hand fish, would know full well if the guy had a crush.
[[/folder]]

** Which emphasizes the importance of sidekicks, minions, and [[Franchise/BatMan Alfred]] in the superhero setting. If the hero/villain is the FaceOfTheBand, then the sidekicks and minions are the Roadies, tying together all of the nitty gritty details while their boss works out the big plan.

** Further, it makes a lot of sense thematically if you consider that Hal was supposed to be a hero, but that plan went sideways. Just as [[BewareTheSuperman Tighten]] is a perversion of what [[TheHero Tighten]] was supposed to be, the same goes for his name.

* Megamind's sense of style and taste in music would seem an odd fit... until you consider when he landed in that prison. If you say Megamind is in his late 20's and the film is set in 2010, that makes him an 80's baby. Being raised by cons in an 80's prison, any radios would likely have been tuned to hard rock stations (AC/DC, Guns 'n' Roses, George Thorogood & the Destroyers.) Plus, since we see that his cell had a TV in it, he was likely exposed to MTV and [=VH1=], and very likely would have gotten his sense of presentation from the likes of Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne and Michael Jackson. Now, the Minnie Ripperton still doesn't fit... until you remember that Minion was controlling the boom box. That was likely his taste in music peeking through, which means when Megamind plays it after Titan bails out of their debut battle, he was wishing Minion was still around.

** Even better? Megamind saving the city from Titan and then repairing all the damage with his bots? The ultimate in community service.

* It's extremely foggy on the day that Space-Dad takes Titan out for flying lessons. It's easy to miss because they're flying above it. This is, of course, so that nobody gets a preview of the new hero before he's ready.

*** It is worth noting, however, that when Roxanne and "Bernard" stumble into Megamind's hero workshop, there is a dress form with clear female features wrapped in a sparkly orange fabric with a red undershirt, two of the colors that Megamind eventually works into the Titan costume.

* When Titan is terrorizing the city, why doesn't Metro Man stop him? At the very end, we see that he turns up to Megamind's first public appearance as a bona fide hero and whispers "Way to go, little buddy. I ''knew'' he had it in him!" He was fully expecting Megamind to rise to the occasion.
** It is also quite likely that when Metro Man went underground, he blocked out all incoming communication and cut himself off from what was happening in Metro City. In this troper's mind, he probably didn't even know that Titan existed until Megamind and Roxanne showed up and told him.

** For all we know, Metro Man ''was'' saving people during Titan's rampage. Using SuperSpeed makes him undetectable, remember? MM could've been zipping around in the background, [[NoEndorHolocaust deflecting rubble from bystanders or moving them out of danger]], without giving away the fact he was still alive. If the driver of that tossed gas truck suddenly finds himself lying in the road near the blazing wreck of his vehicle, with no memory of how he got out, he's going to assume he was "miraculously flung clear" and knocked out, not rescued by a dead superhero. Metro Man wouldn't want civilians to ''die'' so he could retire; he just didn't want the pressure of being the city's ''only'' recourse in times of trouble, anymore. Considering just how much damage Megamind and Titan do to the city, yet the happy reactions of the citizens at the end, this is pretty much the only logical explanation as to why there's no InferredHolocaust.

** Further, it makes a lot of sense thematically if you consider that Hal was supposed to be a hero, but that plan went sideways. Just as [[BewareTheSuperman Tighten]] is a perversion of what [[TheHero Titan]] was supposed to be, the same goes for his name.
** Another note on the name: Titan himself says, after defeating Megamind, that the city is 'under new management', and we see him actively causing destruction, even saying he plans to destroy the entire city, and not even for any real reason. Megamind was debatably pretty bad, but Titan is worse, meaning his reign is 'tighter' than Megamind's was.

*** Piggybacking on that last bit, Megamind's almost giddy exclamation that they're going to die. The entire point of the movie is how VictoryIsBoring and how Megamind lived not for his stated goals, but for the fight against a hero. The brilliance shows up when you realizes he ''never'' expected to win. Megamind - in addition to his determination to stop Titan and save Roxanne and the city or literally die trying - had probably resigned himself years before that he would likely die during on of his schemes and embraced this more familiar idea quicker than Minion.
** There's also some fridge brilliance in that Minion's plan was literally just not dying. His only role was to get Roxanne (and himself) out of danger, and set the scene for Megamind to scare off Titan.
* Roxanne and Megamind comment that Metro Man was really good at 'last minute escapes'. Given that neither of them seem to be aware of his SuperSpeed at this time - Megamind doesn't train Titan to use it, Roxanne never brings it up - maybe that's how he'd been escaping the majority of Megamind's traps all these years.

* ''Of course'' Minion-as-Megamind's plan mostly involves not dying. His job is just to get Roxanne to safety and distract Titan while Megamind gets into position!

* When fighting Titan, Megamind plays Music/GunsNRoses's "Welcome to The Jungle". Why did Megamind choose this song? Because it is connected to his plan. He lures Titan into a the mouth of a giant head made out of robots which proceeds to devour the superpowered villain. Welcome to the Jungle was released on the album Music/AppetiteForDestruction.

** In an ironic twist, while Titan became a bi-product of Megamind's evil teachings, the new and improved Megamind becomes a new hero thanks to Roxanne's influence. She unintentionally taught Megamind that being a hero is about doing nice things for good people because [[GoodFeelsGood it makes them happy]], not because you get something in return. He also learned to utilize his abilities for good (cleaning the city for instance), which explains why Megamind is later [[CharacterDevelopment disgusted by Hal/Titan's blatant abuse of his powers for selfish purposes]].

** He should probably have stepped in when Titan appeared and proved himself a legitimate threat. But then, he had put his faith in Megamind to stop him. Which he did, and thus by proving himself a hero in the face of serious adversity Metro Man knew he could retire in peace.

* In the beginning of the movie, Megamind's ultimatum is that Metro Man either '''leave Metrocity forever''' or never see Roxanne Ritchi ever again. During the climax, Megamind (whilst disguised as Metro Man) tells Titan to '''[[BookEnds stay out of Metrocity for good]]'''. If anything, this demonstrates Megamind had the makings of a hero all along, he just needed a proper way to channel his potential.

** Hal/Titan is red: a color symbolic of rage and destruction.

* Megamind uses presentation as a weapon in the film, using Minion as a diversion while he impersonates Metro Man to frighten Titan off. That doesn’t work for too long since Titan can see through it, so he falls back on his more natural ability of using his intellect to secure an advantage against Titan’s strength.

** When Megamind (disguised as Space Dad) tells Hal that his new name is Titan, he also hands him a small outfit and explains that it stretches. Hal may have thought his hero name referred to him wearing ''tights''.
* Some people may think that Hal was originally a DoggedNiceGuy who was only pushed over the edge after he’s [[EntitledToHaveYou rejected by Roxanne,]] but throughout the first and second act [[{{Jerkass}} he’s arguably equally as insensitive, whiny, and cruel as he is when he becomes Titan]]. He’s very pushy towards [[NotGoodWithRejection asking Roxanne to come over to his apartment and won’t take no for an answer,]] [[NeverMyFault blames his van when he breaks a finger punching it out of frustration,]] and treats Roxanne like a HystericalWoman when she’s trying to talk to Megamind/Bernard [[CrazyJealousGuy because he’s jealous she’s talking to another guy]]. In other words, Hal was always a terrible entitled person, and getting superpowers simply [[FromNobodyToNightmare gave him a means of getting what he’s always wanted.]]

** It's perfectly summed up when he appears to her in his Titan persona for the first time; he boasts that he knows everything about her... [[ImmediateSelfContradiction then immediately says he wasn't sure what flowers she'd like the most]], perfectly proving how little he actually understands her.

* Roxanne twice tries to talk Titan/Hal down from his rampage, insisting that there is still good in him. Why would an otherwise smart person think such a childish thing would work? Because it worked on [[LoveRedeems Megamind]] without her even knowing it. Also, she might still think Hal is just a dork in over his head.

** Titan/Hal sees Roxanne having dinner with Bernard.
** Megamind and Roxanne see Titan destroying the city. This moment for Megamind symbolizes that as villainous has he has acted, he never sought to devastate his home town.
** Metro Man sees his suit in the glass case during Titan's rampage, with his had reflected on it. This symbolizes him fearing he'll get trapped into the hero's job once more.

** And what was Metro Man being brought back for? To fight Titan, who is just another Megamind character type but angrier and more selfish. Coming back to fight the same villain isn't a change at all.

* A news report mentions that thousands of people fled Metro City once Titan took over. This is notable considering that Megamind's earlier takeover apparently wasn't scary enough to convince them to do the same. Even if it's only subconsciously, the citizens can recognize on some level that Megamind means them no real harm. Hal on the other hand...

* Better hope no one was in that building that Titan threw at Megamind. Or the buildings that got hit by that building...

* What did Megamind do with Metro Man's powers after he took them back from Titan?

* As shown during Metro Man's mid-life crisis and subsequent decision to fake his death, his SuperSpeed is strong enough that he could essentially [[TimeStandsStill stop time]] whenever he wanted. Imagine if [[AxCrazy Titan]] ever got enough experience with his powers to realize he could do the same thing: he could kill Megamind, Roxanne, Minion and anyone else who dared get in his way in the blink of an eye, with them being none-the-wiser.

* Megamind tells Roxanne he can't use the same infuser/defuser gun that created Titan because he left it in the back of the invisible car when she dumped him, and (he was so distraught over being dumped) that he walked away and forgot where he parked it. Why didn't Megamind ''just build another infuser/defuser gun''? [[FridgeBrilliance Because]] he was also so distraught over losing Roxanne that it simply didn't occur to him. And then, he was so eager to salve his wounded pride that he went and picked a fight, which backfired in his face, and that's what drove him to go find Roxanne to seek out Metro Man's hideout.
** Possibly it takes longer to build a new infuser/defuser gun than either of them expect they can afford to let Titan rampage, unchecked. It may also require materials he can't easily replace, now that Titan's booted Megamind out of City Hall and he no longer has the entire city's resources to draw upon.

* Why doesn't Megamind try shooting Titan with his dehydration gun? He has it with him all the time in the last battle (and presumably all the previous battles, as he even carries it when wearing pajamas), and it sure is not nearly as hard to do as trapping Titan with a copper sphere.

** Megamind's had the Dehydrate Gun since childhood. Presumably in one of his many (many many) battles with Metro Man since then, he's tried it out and long-since learnt it didn't work. And since it didn't work with Metro Man, it's not going to work with Titan now.
*** The reason for it not working, might be that Metro Man (and Titan) can just sidestep anything thrown at him. While no one may have known the full extent of his SuperSpeed (several minutes worth of living back in a few milliseconds), it might have been known that he was faster than a bullet, as that would be a standard power for a FlyingBrick. When Megamind first grabs the Defuser Gun, he is so close to Tighten that he might think he has a chance of shooting him regardless... And when he actually uses the Gun, he shoves it up Hal's nostril, making avoiding it nigh-impossible.

*** There are two guns, the multipurpose one which he likes to use for dehydration and the single purpose one that is only used to empower/depower Titan. The first one was with him, the second one was left in the car.
* Why did Megamind use Metro Man's dandruff to get DNA to create Titan rather than the actually skeleton, which would clued him into the fact that Metro Man had faked his death?

* The infuser/defuser is capable of puncturing Titan's skin enough to let it drain Titan's powers. So...if it's capable of overcoming Titan's invulnerability, why not simply stab him with it?
** Megamind never punctured Titan's skin, he shoved the gun up his nostril. And even if he could, it would hardly be sporting, would it?

** This ties into the idea that supposedly "dumb" people are often just lacking in drive. Hal may not be a good person, but he's as capable as any other person if he puts his mind to things. He does have experience in one field, camera work, and under the right motivation, he actually uses that knowledge and experience to his benefit.

** In school, Megamind was treated as an unlikeable loser who everyone looked down on. Metroman, meanwhile, was the cool kid who was cheered, even when he put Megamind down and made him feel worthless. Megamind's goal was less "kill" Metroman and more "prove to him and everyone I'm not a loser." Unfortunately, nobody seemed to step in, causing the cycle to continue and escalate into full-on citywide brawls.

* It seems weird that Megamind was treated like a delinquent almost from childhood when he ended up on Earth. But then you remember his appearance is unusually alien, compared to Metroman who looks [[HumanAlien pretty human]]. It is possible the government, fearing Megamind could be a potential harbinger of AlienInvasion, deliberately treated him like a prisoner out of paranoia. As a counterpoint to Roxanne saying she doesn't care about looks, it seems Megamind was judged for his appearance over any of his actual behavior from the time he landed on Earth.

* When the Warden kept Megamind's gifted watch for himself, was it really just an attempted KickTheDog (KickTheSonOfABitch from the Warden's perspective), or was it because he suspected the watch was an EvilGenius device which Megamind mailed to himself but erroneously assumed Megamind needed it inside his cell for it to work?

* A possibly unintentional example, given AnimationLeadTime. Megamind relies on his intellect and technology since he doesn't have actual powers, and he's shown to have a fondness for HardRock, particularly that of Music/BlackSabbath and Music/{{ACDC}}. Though this is initially used to make him a villainous foil to Metro Man, with the latter's more wholesome image and his preference for Music/ElvisPresley, it can also bring to mind [[Film/IronMan1 a certain tech-based superhero with the same taste in music]].

* The news mentions that thousands of people fled Metro City once Titan took over. This is notable considering that Megamind's earlier takeover apparently wasn't scary enough to convince them to do the same. Even if it's only subconsciously, the citizens can recognize on some level that Megamind means them no real harm. Hal on the other hand...

* Roxanne twice tries to talk Titan/Hal down from his rampage, insisting that there is still good in him. Why would an otherwise smart person think such a childish thing would work? Because it worked on [[LoveRedeems Megamind]] without her even knowing it.

* During his attack on Megamind, one of the things that Hal calls Megamind out for is "stealing his girlfriend". This "accusation" is one more example of Hal's obsessive nature toward Roxanne: if Hal actually cared for Roxanne as a human being, he would be upset at Megamind, a criminal supervillain, for going near his co-worker and threatening her. In his fight, he treats Roxanne as a toy to be fought over and is mad at Megamind for stealing his toy.

** As has been discussed above, Megamind has likely never killed a person, in spite of his destructive ways. Considering Roxanne or Metro Man's lack of fear toward him, it shows he isn't someone who could severely harm someone.
** Megamind manages to break out of prison so many times, he treats jail like a game of tag. Eventually, the judicial system [[StoppedCaring might give up]] on locking up someone who can escape.
** Megamind is shown using his tech to rebuild Metro City. It is possible he gained a pardon from the government in exchange for sharing his technology with him. The U.S. did welcome and pardon Nazi and Imperial Japanese scientists in exchange for their reearch.
* Hal and Roxanne's first scene together foreshadows their poor relationship: Hal more or less mocks Roxanne's glowing speech about Metro Man, only to [[VerbalBackspace feebly backtrack to save face]]. Hal has no appreciation for the things Roxanne likes and his attempts to impress her ''reek'' of desperation.