Some dads have man caves in their basements. This one has a superhero lair.
Secret Headquarters is a 2022 superhero comedy film directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost (Project Power). It stars Owen Wilson, Michael Peña, Walker Scobell, and Jesse Williams. It premiered on Paramount+ on August 5, 2022.The plot follows Charlie Kincaid, a young boy who discovers his average suburban father, Jack, is a superhero known as the Guard when he uncovers his high-tech secret headquarters beneath his house. Soon, it is up to him and his friends to protect the alien tech when villains discover the headquarters.
Previews: Trailer
, Behind the Scenes featurette
Provides examples of:
- Aliens Speaking English: The Source speaks in English the moment it pops out of its wrecked spaceship.
- Benevolent A.I.: The AI that controls the Source only wants to improve the fortunes of Earth, specifically trying to avert the extinction of the human race, and chooses Jack as its avatar.
- Big Bad: Argon, the owner of a massive weapons manufacturer whose profits have taken a hit from the Guard’s peacekeeping efforts.
- Boring, but Practical: Jack turns the suit into a fanny pack when he is not using it, which he defends as a practical choice because it is a clever way to hide and carry it around anywhere in case he needs it.
- Clothes Make the Superman: There's nothing particularly special about Jack; he only has superpowers because he has his suit.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Jack's primary suit has silver plating and blue energy effects. Meanwhile, his winter suit, which Argon ends up stealing, is red and dark gray, with red energy effects. Both of these are unlike the apparent "default" color for Source-created items, which tend to be dark gray with gentle orange energy effects.
- Deflector Shields: Jack's jacket can generate hexagonal barriers to block attacks, which Maya ends up using. His full suit can produce them, too, and much more flexibly. (Or maybe he's just more experienced at using them.)
- "Die Hard" on an X: It's Die Hard on the Expy of Iron Man's armory, with kids in the McClane role.
- Elaborate Underground Base: The titular secret headquarters are located deep beneath the house, accessible by a hidden, high-speed elevator.
- Expy:
- The design of the Guard’s super suit echoes that of Iron Man, complete with the light on the chest. To drive the point home, there’s an interior shot of him in his helmet, not unlike those of Tony Stark in those films.
- However, his origin is closer to that of Green Lantern’s, having been chosen by the mysterious alien orb to protect his planet.
- Groin Attack: Lizzie kicks Virginia in the crotch as they fight.
- High-Tech Hexagons: The alien technology that comprises Jack’s suit has hexagon patterns. Several holograms and energy shields in the HQ are hexagonal as well.
- Home Base: Literally the title.
- Imported Alien Phlebotinum: The source of Jack’s technology is a mysterious alien orb that chose him to protect his planet after it arrived on Earth.
- Jet Pack: One of Jack's gadgets. It comes in handy a few times after Lizzie figures out how to fly it.
- Lightning Lash: Another of Jack's gadgets is an energy whip that can levitate magnetic objects and taser people.
- Machine Monotone: When the Source or one of its creations speaks, it's in this voice.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The kids accidentally lead Argon to the Guard's headquarters because they don't know that Argon has been trying to track the Guard's energy signature, and thus don't know to activate the signal blocker Jack installed on his gadgets to block said signature.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: Played with. The Source chooses Jack as its guardian, but the technology he develops from it is both user-friendly and completely unprotected. For that matter, once Jack is chosen, there appears to be nothing stopping others from exploiting the Source for evil beyond him protecting it, as it never demonstrates any agency beyond giving visions to some people.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Jack's password to his secret headquarters is his son's birthday, a fact the kids figure out with almost embarrassing speed. For that matter, the door itself is revealed by playing with a Newton's Cradle on his desk. To his credit, Jack at least has his house rigged with a ton of defenses and only screws up when Charlie tricks him into thinking his mom will pick him up soon.
- Phlebotinum Battery: The Guard's tech runs out of power after a while and needs to be recharged via the Source. It usually lasts long enough that this isn't an issue, but when he's just coming home from a mission, only to encounter a new threat and a missing Source…
- Pimped-Out Car: The G-Mobile, a Hippie Van that Jack has drastically enhanced with tech produced by the Source.
- The Place: The title refers to the secret superhero headquarters located beneath a peaceful suburban home.
- Powered Armor: The Guard's signature suit, though he certainly has other gadgets.
- Power Glows: There's always something glowing on the stuff the Source creates, unless it's out of power.
- Prison Dimension: The Source appears to be able to teleport people to some sort of alternate dimension, which Jack primarily seems to use as a last resort to get rid of people. The epilogue shows Argon is still trapped in there.
- Reed Richards Is Useless: Averted. The Guard has been such a massive force for peace that many weapons manufacturers are worried he's going to render them obsolete.
- Shooting Superman: While Jack has force fields up and the kids are running behind them, Virginia continues shooting to no effect.
- Super Wrist-Gadget: Charlie picks up a slap-on bracelet that allows the wearer to fire energy blasts, enhance their strength, and make objects levitate.
- Thinking Up Portals: One of the gadgets the kids play with is a pair of discs that generate a portal between them. Among other things, it's used to cheat on a test by hiding one under a desk and passing the paper through to the recipient in the library.
- Weaponized Car: The G-Mobile has a pop-out "discombobulator" mounted on the top. It's initially identified as a machine gun, but once it's actually used, it seems more like a Ray Gun.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Much of the conflict between Charlie and Jack stems from Jack’s superheroing forcing him to be absent from Charlie’s life.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: According to the epilogue, Irons has become the new Mission Control for the Guard, Big Mac and Lizzie continue to date, Berger has used the portal device to become a DJ, Maya might be interning at the CIA, the Kincaid family have begun to fight crime together, and Argon is alive but trapped in another dimension.
- With Great Power Comes Great Perks: When the kids find the Guard's gadgets, some of the first things they use them for include cheating on a test and throwing baseballs at impossible speeds.
- The World Is Not Ready: The Source's seemingly infinite energy and ability to fabricate fantastical gadgets out of nothing would be immense game-changers for humanitynote . Unfortunately, the Source itself predicts that all that would result is famine, war, extinction, and other less-than-ideal prospects.
- Would Hurt a Child: While some of his men disagree, Argon has no problem murdering kids to get what he wants.
