The (very loose) film adaptation of an offshoot of the Flaming Carrot comics, Mystery Men tells the story of a bunch of loser superheroes, constantly overshadowed by the big-name, big-ego Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear). While the Trio of Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) and The Shoveler (William H Macy) try desperately to get themselves taken seriously, Captain Amazing laments the lack of decent villains for him to fight.But after Super Villain Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) gets released from a mental institution — thanks to the machinations of Captain Amazing himself, who is rapidly losing his corporate sponsors due to his crime-free city — it's no time at all before he's gathered the local gang leaders (including Eddie Izzard), built himself a super weapon, the Psycho-Fraculator, and captured Amazing.The not- exactly- kinda- eponymous characters are left needing to recruit Champion City's other underdog supers, including The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), The Spleen (Paul Reubens) and Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), train under the enigmatic tutelage of the Sphinx (Wes Studi), using weapons created by Mad Scientist/Gadgeteer Genius Dr. Heller (Tom Waits) in order to save the day.Mystery Men is a superhero Affectionate Parody, with bizarre powers, and an odd look at (and much Lampshade Hanging on) various conventions of the Super Hero Genre, and how they would fit into normal life.
Eddie Izzard makes a reference to "the god of haircare". In his Stand-Up Comedy routine, he mentions that the Romans previously had crappy gods, like Simon, the God of Hairdos.
Captain Amazing's agent objects to Amazing's recent activities, complaining, "I'm not a magician!" The actor, Ricky Jay, is in fact a famous card magician.
And depending on your interpretation, there could be something significant about Michael Bay being cast as the leader of the Fratboys gang ("Can we bring the brewskies?")
Aerosol Flamethrower: Tony P. uses what appears to be a custom one of these in his final confrontation with the Bowler.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Captain Amazing, who has the best reputation of all heroes, actively bargains to be the villain's assistant upon capture.
Alas, Poor Yorick: Carol carries Carmine's skull around with her in a bowling ball.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Parodied/subverted - Roy (a.k.a Mr. Furious) would very much like to be a bad boy, and struts around making a fool of himself acting like one in the hope of impressing Monica, the waitress on whom he has a crush. Monica, for her part, is never anything less than dismissive of him... until the point when he finally just starts acting like the sweet Nice Guy he ultimately at heart is, at which point she begins to warm to him.
All-Star Cast: Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Reubens, Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, Kel Mitchell, Eddie Izzard, Tom Waits... maybe this is why the title of the song Smash Mouth made accompanying the film is "All Star".
Becky Beaner: Well, whatever you call them, Champion City will forever owe a debt of gratitude to these mystery men. The Sphinx: Wait! Wait, that's it! We are... the Super Squad! [awkward silence] The Bowler: No, no, alliteration in these situations is corny.
Ambiguously Gay: The Blue Raja. Not only is his mother discovering his superhero identity played like a coming-out story, when the two Wonder Woman-esque women start catfighting, all of the other men are staring with interest and he just sort of looks vaguely annoyed and confused.
Ascended Fanboy: Invisible Boy. At the start, he's part of a network of super wannabes that gravitates around a costume store catering to people like them.
Mr. Furious briefly attempts to convince his crush that his name is Phoenix Dark, before admitting that his name is actually Roy. Its part of his super hero 'image' as a Hot Blooded brawler.
Badass Longcoat: Mister Furious wears a black overcoat, drives a black motorcycle and refers to himself as the "lone wolf".
The Shoveller: God gave me a gift. I shovel well. I shovel very well.
Shoveller's Wife: You shovel better than any man I've ever known!
Bedlam House: The asylum that Casanova Frankenstein is locked up in.
Becoming the Boast: Mr. Furious supposedly has the superpower of rage-induced super-strength, but, when called on it near the end of the film, he reveals it's all an act. However, when rescuing the Love Interest from the clutches of the Big Bad, he becomes genuinely furious, genuinely gains rage-induced super-strength, and starts kicking ass.
Berserk Button: Most of the characters. Subverted with Mr. Furious, who acts like everything will set him off in a blind rage.
The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In/Stepping Stone Sword: Initially, Blue Raja's forks bounce off everything, until the Sphinx teaches him to concentrate on the throwing itself rather than stylizing the throws, and then they always land tines in and can be climbed on.
Breakaway Pop Hit: "All Star" by Smash Mouth was one of the most popular songs of 1999 and appeared on the Mystery Men film and soundtrack months before the release of their album Astro Lounge. Its high-concept video features all the main cast members of Mystery Men...who were then later cut out after the song far eclipsed the movie in popularity. "All Star"'s subsequent appearance in dozens of movies in the next few years only muddied the waters of its original origin.
Captain Ersatz: Captain Amazing has obvious Batman/Bruce Wayne elements with references to Superman. He's a billionaire lawyer who is secretly a vigilante crimefighter who uses glasses as a mainstay of his disguise.
Captain Ethnic: White Flight and the Black Menace. ("They work together.")
Chain Pain: One of the disco gang has a chain for a weapon. Mr. Furious hangs a lampshade on this when he asks why it isn't at least a gold chain.
Chekhov's Gun / Deleted Scene: Dr. Heller's Tornado-in-a-Can was intended to be a Chekhov's Gun but ended up on the cutting room floor. Rather than throw The Bowler's bowling ball into Casanova Frankenstein's machine to destroy it, the alternate scene shows them throwing a Tornado-in-a-Can into it instead. The effect for this can still however be seen in the theatrical release; just after they toss the bowling ball in and it does its damage you can see the green swirling smoke coming out of the hole.
Chekhov's Skill: Just about everything The Sphinx teaches the heroes (that stayed through training) is useful at the end, including the group hug.
Civvie Spandex: Most of the group wears their "costumes" all the time (The Shoveler even using his uniform from his job as a miner), especially Invisible Boy, who until the end doesn't even come close to having a costume.
Mr. Furious: Seems there was a little controversy there regarding your father's death.
The Bowler: Yes, the police said he fell down an elevator shaft. Onto some bullets.
The Blue Raja: You know, I've always suspected a bit of foul play.
Tony P refers to himself as "the guy who gave your Daddy the shaft" suggesting that the coroner's report was and correct and that Carmine's death was murder.
Curbstomp Battle: The final fight between Casanova Frankenstein and Mr. Furious starts out with Casanova completely beating the crap out of him. Once he makes the mistake of triggering Furious' Unstoppable Rage, the tide completely turns in Furious' favor.
When the Disco gang beats up the trio, they literally throw them on the ground and stomp them.
Cursed with Awesome: A mixed blessing with Spleen, who cut the cheese and blamed it on an old gypsy woman who was walking by. She cursed him with farts of amazing potency and accuracy.
Dark Age of Supernames: Parodied when Roy tries to pretend his name is Phoenix Dark (ne้ Dirk Steel), only to give in and say his real name.
Dark Mistress: Dr. Anabel Leek, Cassanova's psychiatrist and then lover.
Disney Villain Death: Casanova is sent plummeting into his doomsday device by Mr. Furious. Though the machine itself kills him instead of the fall.
Doesn't Like Guns: Notable in one scene where the supers mock gun-wielding Mooks for being completely uncreative in theming their weapons to match with their Gang of Hats.
The Blue Raja refuses to use guns or knives.
The Blue Raja: I won't use guns. I've been crystal clear about that.
Emergency Weapon: The shoveler, sans shovel, deflects an attack with a trowel.
Empathic Weapon: Carmine, though The Bowler ends up arguing with him more often than not.
Enforced Method Acting: When The Bowler examines the charred, mutilated and partially inside-out corpse of Captain Amazing the actress didn't know that his arm would break off as she tried to take it's pulse.
Enlightenment Superpowers: The Sphynx. He can cut guns in half with his mind because he's a 'terribly mysterious' mystic.
False Reassurance: When the Blue Raja asks if the Bowler really put her father's skull in her ball, she assures him she didn't — the guy at the pro shop did.
Fartillery: "The Spleen," forevermore he who dealt it.
Happily Married: The Shoveler and his wife may feud over his heroing, but they worry because they love each other.
Heroic BSOD: After his romantic interest tries to convince him to be himself rather than conform to his 'angry' theme, Mr. Furious takes this to mean that he has no powers. He eventually snaps out of it when he gets angry for real.
Heroic Sacrifice: It seemed that Carmine was going to do this at the climax of the movie. Subverted in that A.) He was already dead (a fact that was lampshaded) and B.) It turns out at the end that he 'survived', somewhat to the annoyance of the hero wielding him.
I Call It Vera: Justified in the case of The Bowler, who calls her bowling ball Carmine - because it's possessed by the spirit of her father Carmine (and contains his skull). It talks back, although only she can hear it.
Incredibly Lame Pun: The Blue Raja drops a couple of fork-related puns during the course of the movie.
Informed Ability: The Bowler doesn't have superpowers of her own, she's only on the team because her dead father is a post-mortem bad ass that needs her to tote him around. Though being Baby Bowler might have something to do with it.
Intrepid Reporter: Becky Beaner. Would probably be Captain Amazing's love interest in a happier world.
Invisible Streaker: When Invisible Boy actually turns invisible, he has to remove his (visible) clothes to avoid being detected by motion sensors.
It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: Captain Amazing gets Casanova Frankenstein released from the asylum so he can have someone interesting to fight. It backfires badly.
Mr. Furious: Rage... taking... over... Casanova Frankenstein:[Dismissive] Ya ya ya... we've heard it all before. Mr. Furious: No no no... Rage... really taking over...
Likes Older Women: Heller REALLY likes the ladies at the retirement home.
Malaproper: Mr. Furious. He doesn't appreciate being called on it.
Negate Your Own Sacrifice: The Bowler throwing her ball (containing the spirit of Carmine the Bowler) into the Psycho-Frakulator.
The Bowler: Now, the good news is you're not going to die, because you're already dead.
Never Trust a Trailer: In one HBO trailer, as the narrator starts with saying something evil is brewing, we get to see a creepy closeup of a man screaming or laughing in the midst of some vortex. It must be important! Nah, it's just the Spleen caught in the demonstration of Heller's tornado in a can, which has never been used after that.
Nice Character, Mean Actor: Captain Amazing. Which is to say that the "real" Captain Amazing is kinda a jerk, despite his heroic reputation.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When they kill Captain Amazing during a rescue attempt. Of course, Amazing gets the blame for giving such poor instructions.
The Blue Raja: Oh! My God. Oh, my God. We killed him.
The Shoveler: What do you mean we? I was standing right here.
Nineties Anti-Hero: Parodied — Roy wants to be one of these so very, very much.
Non Indicative Name: A lot of people wonder why the Blue Raja doesn't wear blue.
It Makes Sense in Context: Well, if we could just step out of our literal minds, just for a moment...
It's also a reference to the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, who wore a lot of red.
The Nudifier: One of Heller's weapons causes fabric to shrink. When used on a gang of scantily-clad women, it incapacitates them... and makes Mr Furious feel like his trousers are a little tight, too.
Only Sane Man: Mr. Furious is the only one who thinks that Lance Hunt is Captain Amazing. He's also the only one who sees that the Sphinx just makes up his "mysterious" sayings by rearranging the words.
Our Founder: A gigantic neon-lit statue of Captain Amazing.
Performance Anxiety: Invisible Boy can only turn invisible when no one is looking at him.
Perplexing Plurals: Captain Amazing comments to Casanova Frankenstein that they have always been each other's greatest "nemisises..nemisi..." (It's "nemeses".)
Plot Tailored to the Party: The assault on Chez Casa Casanova. From Invisbility to magic bowling balls to fork throwing etc, everyone's powers are used to solve some problem or obstacle.
Poor Communication Kills: Literally, when Captain Amazing gives confusing instructions on how to deactivate the deathtrap he's in, causing the group to slowly devolve into Seinfeldian Conversation and eventually activate it by accident.
Power Walk: Played straight, then parodied as Mr. Furious doesn't feel powerful enough to continue, and turns around. The two nearest just hook him under the arms and keep walking, dragging him along without even turning their heads.
Mr. Furious is constantly trying to come up with these, but as the Bowler accurately points out 'your wit is a hindrance, so nothing is provocative — it's all mixed metaphors." He does, however, manage to come up with a pretty good one when he finallygets dangerous:
Rousing Speech: Perhaps the best example concerning a sandwich.
The Shoveler: This is egg salad. It's loaded with cholesterol. The wife won't even let me touch it. Hardly seems to matter now, 'cause chances are, we're already dead. Amazing is gone. There's no use waiting for the cavalry, because as of this moment, the cavalry is us. This is our fight, whether we like it or not. Just we few. We're not your classic superheroes. We're not the favorites. We're the other guys. We're the guys nobody ever bets on. But I'll tell you what I think. ... We're all in over our heads, and we know it. But if we take on this fight, those of us who survive it will forever after show our scars with pride, and say, 'That's right! I was there! I fought the good fight!' So whatdaya say? Do we all gather together, and go kick some Casanova butt? Or do I eat this sandwich?
Shoe Phone: Played with in the scene where Captain Amazing initially confronts Casanova Frankenstein and tells him to deactivate a variety of weapons hidden in normally benign objects, only to be snared by a portable enticement snare that looks like a remote detonator.
Shout Out: The scene where Casanova Frankenstein gathers the various gimmicked gangs of Champion City together at his mansion in an effort to unite them all under his rule, culminating with the rousing cry, "Can you dig it?" is a shout out to The Warriors.
Roy does a Six Million Dollar Man slow-motion jump, complete with the iconic sound-effect.
Super Strength: Mr. Furious, but only when his Unstoppable Rage really has kicked in. It's stated he once pushed a bus all on his own (despite him making excuses due to presently suffering a Heroic BSOD at the time). Proven when triggered at the end, which allows him to manhandle Casanova.
That Poor Cat: Happens while The Blue Raja is using a dartboard for target practice.
Technical Pacifist: Doctor Heller, who designs nonlethal weapons, such as the "Shrinker" (which causes the target's clothing to contract painfully tight) and the "Blame-thrower" (which startsarguments).
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Played with for Invisible Boy. He can only turn invisible when no one is looking at him, which seems useless until they encounter an automated defense system. Which is not exactly uncommon, really.
Throw It In: A workman on the set threw a disposable lighter into a trash can, not realizing it was a prop that would later be set on fire. The lighter exploded during a take in a sudden burst of flame behind Paul Rubens (The Spleen) who improvised the famous "Excuse me" line. This was deemed to be hilarious so they kept it in the movie.
TV Never Lies: Parodied during a conversation between Mr. Furious and Monica the waitress:
Mr. Furious: I'll have a steak, please, very rare. That means pink, not bloody. And can I get some ice? I had a little mishap defending justice over at the nursing home.
Monica: I thought I heard on TV that that was Captain Amazing.
Victory Is Boring: After putting away every supervillain in the city, Captain Amazing is left with only incompetent gangs of thugs, which prompts him to get Casanova Frankenstein released.
Wax On, Wax Off: Parodied when the Sphinx trains the eponymous squad with a series of bizarre physical feats justified by odd wordplay, as seen in this exchange:
Mr. Furious: Why am I balancing a hammer on my head? The Sphinx: When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you can head off your foes with a balancedattack! Mr. Furious: And why do I have these watermelons on my feet? The Sphinx: [beat] I don't remember asking you to do that.
When it's not What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?. The Shoveler's power is to shovel really well. There's a scene in the movie where his wife expresses exasperation because most people don't take things like that as a reason to become a superhero.
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