Megamind / YMMV - TV Tropes

Accidental Aesop:
- When looking to give someone a life-changing job, make sure you actually interview them first and test their character, rather than just taking advantage of an accident and hiring the first person available. If Megamind paid attention to Hal or looked up other valid candidates, his first attempt at making a new superhero wouldn't have been so disastrous.
- Don't rely on a single person to do an important job: have someone waiting in the wings in case that person isn't available. Metro Man being killed or more specifically quitting his post would've left the people of Metro City in a bad position had Megamind turned out to be a genuinely dangerous person. When Hal proves to be a genuinely violent psychopath, the city is helpless to stop him from terrorizing the populace.
- The opening scene can be read as a warning against bullying and stigmatizing others. Megamind was shown to have been unfairly ostracized almost from when he started growing up, making him believe that he could be nothing but a villain. Metro Man received praise all his life and thus grew up believing he could be a hero.
- Hal's relationship with Roxanne can become one: love and romance aren't transactional, and just because you find someone attractive doesn't mean they owe it to you to find you attractive. Solely being nice to someone isn't going to convince them to date you, and you can't force them to date you either. If you really want to impress someone, you can start by improving your attitude, dressing smart, and sharing interests with your desired partner. Confidence and genuine kindness are attractive qualities when they are done sincerely and without expecting anything in return.
Adorkable:
- Minion is a dorky "yes-man" who loves to be melodramatic.
- Megamind himself falls under this at times, being just as, if not more so, melodramatic as Minion and for his Affably Evil personality.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- When the Warden kept Megamind's gifted watch for himself, was it really just an attempted Kick the Dog (Pay Evil unto Evil from the Warden's perspective), or was it because he suspected the watch was an Evil Genius device which Megamind mailed to himself but erroneously assumed Megamind needed it inside his cell for it to work?
- Hal gives us several different interpretations:
  - Some believe Hal's behavior is symptomatic of some disorder.
  - Is he lashing out at Megamind for "stealing" Roxanne, or is he angry at Megamind for pretending to be this righteous father figure and then mocking him? Maybe both?
  - Does he see Roxanne as just an object to possess, or does he genuinely like Roxanne but expresses it poorly due to his poor social skills?
- Is Metro Man a deconstruction of the Superman paragon — who ultimately is willing to sacrifice everything for his own happiness? Or is he a true paragon of faith who knew that Megamind could rise to the challenge and that plunging the city into darkness was necessary for both their happiness? Also, did he realize that since Megamind is a Poke the Poodle sort of Harmless Villain, being a superhero against him was pointless? Is part of why he fakes his death and lets Megamind fight for his happy ending to atone for how his own actions contributed to how the latter was ostracized and ended up as a villain?
  - Worth noting here is that Metro Man is speaking for no one else's benefit when he expresses his happiness and admiration for Megamind's Heel–Face Turn. Whatever the case, he did sincerely want Megamind to better himself.
- Was Metro Man a narcissistic bully who really enjoyed hurting Megamind, or was he acting that way so he could drive Megamind's character development? This could be likely as Megamind is a Harmless Villain, and Metro Man was shown to have been aware of this toward the end.
Awesome Ego: Megamind is hardly humble and is clearly quite proud of his villainy (at least at first), but his flair for the dramatic and Laughably Evil personality make his overinflated ego all the more entertaining as a result. It helps that he's not really a villain at heart and when he becomes a full-on good guy, he grows even more confident, but now has the skill to back it up. His whole "PRESENTATION!" boast really sells it.
Awesome Music:
- One of Hans Zimmer's best scores, notably "Giant Blue Head", "Rejection in the Rain", and "Black Mamba". Additionally, he also composed a new version of the Dreamworks Animation theme, and it manages to be epic without losing the whimsical feeling that this tune usually brings.
- The music that plays during Psycho Delic's boss battle in the video game.
Broken Base:
- Is Hal's super"hero" alter ego spelled "Titan" or "Tighten"? Some prefer "Titan" because it isn't as ridiculous. In contrast, others prefer "Tighten," due to the symbolism attached to the character as "Tighten" is the name that Hal unintentionally gave the supervillain that he turned himself into. However, unlike most of the examples of this trope, such discussion is rather lighthearted.
- Note that Hal himself spells it as "Tighten" (when he uses his Heat Vision to write the name of the city as "Tightenville"), and the credits identify him as "Tighten".
- Is Hal an incel? Fans of the movie agree that he is an entitled danger to Roxanne's life, and that he takes the rejection poorly (to say the least), but whether he qualifies under the definition of "incel" (given the term was not prominently used at the time of this movie) is a mass center for debate. Arguments both for and against the use of this label on Hal range from movie reviews, forum arguments, and reddit threads, with highly divided opinions on both sides. Both sides agree Hal is a bad person (mostly... as there are defenders of Hal's character), it's just the definition of incel and whether Hal fits into it.
Character Perception Evolution: Hal Stewart, aka Titan/Tighten, always had his fans thanks to Jonah Hill's standout performance and used to get a lot of sympathy from the viewers who originally felt that his fall to villainy was the result of being rejected by his crush, many interpreting that he was a Nice Guy who let his newfound superpowers go to his head. However, come the rise of the "incel" subculture in the late 2010s, the Dogged Nice Guy trope has become seen as a lot more problematic, with the Entitled to Have You mindset often leading to violence and people getting murdered by those whose romantic and/or sexual interest they reject. Since then, Hal going on a rampage after one rejection too many has been looked at as a disturbingly plausible outcome to a certain kind of Dogged Nice Guy gaining superpowers. Notably, this didn't result in people disliking the character, as the reassessment of him instead resulted in Titan becoming seen as a much more effective, surprisingly realistic villain.
Crosses the Line Twice: Some of Megamind's evil lines are hilariously over-the-top and confident, especially "Oh, I'm shaking in my custom baby seal leather boots!"
Draco in Leather Pants: There are a handful of people who romanticize Hal as a lovable loser who just needed a shot at love. They fail to realize that Hal is a deconstruction of that character type who showed his true nature once he had superpowers, threatening the entire city simply because he got friend-zoned. Some people even say it's not his fault because Roxanne "broke his heart," but they forget that Roxanne has the right as a human being to say no to a man if she isn't attracted to him. Hal seems incapable of taking no for an answer when human, his Never My Fault attitude being a very early symptom that he would be a problem (see him hurting his hand on the van and then blaming the van), and when turned into Titan, he only becomes more entitled.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- The Noble Demon inmates who genuinely care for baby Megamind at the beginning don't have much in the way of names or personalities, but are referenced and beloved for being part of Megamind's sympathetic backstory (and their flashcard scene is somewhat memetic when mocking Dirty Cops).
- For the video games, Psycho Delic gets a special mention thanks to Keith David voicing him.
Evil Is Cool:
- Even after his Heel–Face Turn, the film actually embraces this trope despite Megamind's goofiness. This is helped when music of the caliber of AC/DC and Guns N' Roses plays whenever he does something badass.
- Hal/Titan, due to being a Laughably Evil Psychopathic Manchild.
- Psycho Delic from the video games, a Disco Dan skeleton voiced by Keith David with maximum charisma, and has a kickass theme.
Fanon: Shortly after the film Ape Entertainment made a four part comic of Megamind. The first issue tackled the Fanfic Fuel idea of Megamind, Minion, Metro Man, and Roxanne all being in high school together.
Fandom Rivalry: While some like both films, Megamind fans are still bitter about Despicable Me upstaging their movie, with the omnipresence of the latter being the most common source of blame for the lukewarm reception that Megamind got.
Fanfic Fuel:
- "Too bad that we didn't go to the same school..." Plenty of people like to speculate what would've happened if Megamind and Roxanne did go to the same school. It usually ends with them being each other's Only Friend, which expectedly blossoms into a Childhood Friend Romance.
- What If? Roxanne ended up becoming a superheroine instead of Hal? It goes in both directions; some like to use it as an excuse for Foe Yay Shipping, others explore it in a Dark Fic with Roxanne planning to murder Megamind as revenge.
Foe Yay Shipping:
- Like woah between Megamind and Metro Man: Megamind goes into mourning over Metro Man, bringing flowers to his statue and lamenting about all the battles they'll never have and how it's "not the same" without him.
  - Megamind is visibly relieved Metro Man isn't dead when he sees his cape flying from the explosion, a long moment before his "Oh, Crap!, he's alive and coming towards me."
  - There's also the scene where Roxanne takes Megamind to Metro Man's hideout. He's practically squeeing at all of the stuff and even puts on Metro Man's cape. Roxanne seems uncertain how to take his reaction.
- Megamind and Roxanne have a little bit of this going on among them, right before Roxanne hugs Megamind. Although Roxanne had no idea that "Bernard" was Megamind in disguise, it foreshadowed Roxanne and Megamind's romance that starts at the end of the movie.
  - It's worth noting that on the DVD commentary, Word of God pretty much confirms that Megamind had been attracted to Roxanne for some time by the start of the movie, he just kept things professional to avoid upsetting the dynamic.
Friendly Fandoms: Megamind fans like Evil Con Carne because they are lukewarm cartoons featuring supervillains.
Genius Bonus: 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).
Harsher in Hindsight:
- Hal Stewart, who becomes the main villain Titan, gives unrequited advances towards Roxanne even before he becomes a supervillain, continues to do so when he's the "superhero" Titan, and tries to kill Roxanne simply because Roxanne rejected him. In 2014, three years after this movie was released, the Isla Vista killing happened, with the killer having an eerily similar motive to that of Hal since both Hal and the Isla Vista killer became really dangerous threats to public safety after they were rejected by women.
- Hal is voiced by Jonah Hill, who in 2023 would be faced with widespread allegations of controlling and abusive behavior by several of his ex partners. Many were quick to point out the similarities between these allegations and the attitude shown by Hal in this film.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- While the overall character of Titan and his similarity to incels is a more serious matter (see below), it is rather funny how his face remaining chubby despite his now superhero-y physique reflects a popular incel myth: the concept of "gymcel" or the belief that even if an incel hits the gym, they'll still face rejection because of their "ugly" facial features. As with Titan, incels fail to see that the real problem is their personality and attitude.
- During the Mr. Blue Sky training montage, Megamind forces Titan to re-enact Donkey Kong by forcing him to climb a 2D platforming sequence with barrels. The same song would be used in the final scene of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which would be funny enough on its own had Mario not been voiced by Chris Pratt, who also starred in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, where the song was used to great memetic effect.
- During the final battle, Titan threatens Roxanne, "There is no Easter Bunny, there is no Tooth Fairy.'' Cue DreamWorks making an animated movie about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.
- Turns out that Hal Stewart wasn't the last antagonist going by the moniker "Titan" who believed himself to be an Emasculated Cuckold to The Hero.
Ho Yay: A bit is going on between Megamind and Minion. Bridal Carry? Check. "Pillow" fight with bags of money? Check. Having a full-on breakup when Minion learns Megamind is seeing Roxanne? Check. Minion's first words in the entire film being, "Well, hello good-looking, need a lift?" Yeah, it's not even subtle.
It Was His Sled: Titan becomes a villain over being rejected by Roxanne. Thanks to the Internet, it's no longer a twist anymore.
Jerkass Woobie: Hal Stewart/Titan to an extent. While he is an entitled Psychopathic Manchild who was creepy towards Roxanne and then tried to kill her and Megamind and destroy Metro City because she rejected him, it's hard not to feel bad for him when he sees Roxanne and Megamind disguised as Bernard on their date before slowly flying away. Hell, it's the only time you'll feel sorry for the guy because he looks absolutely crushed.
Launcher of a Thousand Ships: Megamind, due to his Tragic Villain nature. Fan work pairing him with all of the major characters is surprisingly easy to find. He's shipped with Minion, Roxanne, Metro Man and even Hal/Titan! Some even ship him with Bernard, despite them only having one non-romantic interaction and him effectively replacing Bernard for most of the story.
Love to Hate: Hal Stewart aka Titan is a Psychopathic Manchild who creeps on his coworker Roxanne and flat-out tries to kill her once she makes clear that she isn't interested and tries to stop him. He's a popular character for being both an innovative idea for a Big Bad, his mindset becoming more and more repulsive as time goes on, and the fact that his fake adorkability actually being incredibly creepy is played 100% straight from the very beginning, something which is still not seen all that often.
Magnificent Bastard: Metro Man was once the defender of Metro City and Arch-Enemy to Megamind. Having fought against his rival for many years, Metro Man grows tired of the process, wanting to move on with his life. Faking his death via a forged weakness to copper and a skeleton decoy, he goes into hiding, allowing Megamind to achieve victory and dominion over Metro City, freeing him from society's strain and allowing him to pursue his passions. At the end of the film, when Megamind managed to defeat Tighten and become Metro City's new hero, Metro Man is seen amongst the crowd of citizens, congratulating his old nemesis, having known that he had it in him to do the right thing.
Memetic Badass: Metro Man's displays of strength and speed (ESPECIALLY the moment he took an entire day's worth of reflection in the course of a microinstant) has endeared him to those who love powerful characters, some even placing him on the same pedestal as Superman or Saitama.
Memetic Mutation: See here.
Moe: Young Megamind when he enters school is simply adorable, with his big innocent eyes.
Moral Event Horizon: Titan crosses it when he starts rampaging through Metro City and tries to kill Roxanne, all because the latter wouldn't return his feelings. And that's if you're not completely freaked out by the sight of him kidnapping Roxanne and dropping her from a great height repeatedly so he could "save" her, then demanding she be his girlfriend out of gratitude.
Most Wonderful Sound: The opening notes of "Welcome to the Jungle". In-story too: look at the expression on Roxanne's face.
One-Scene Wonder: The real Bernard appears in two scenes. One has him acting cold towards Roxanne and mocking Megamind's "costume" before being dehydrated, and the other has him rehydrated by Minion and getting whacked by his stick.
One True Pairing: The fandom supports Megamind/Roxanne since it's a charming redemption story and they have solid chemistry.
One True Threesome: Megamind/Roxanne/Metro Man. Since they are the most important people in each other's lives, and the movie having Ship Tease between all of them, yes, even Megamind and Metro Man. Even Roxanne's angry rant at Metro Man didn't deter the shippers, though some have Roxanne warming up to him again over time.
Periphery Demographic: Given how superficial the trailers made the film seem, the target audience looked to be the 6 to 11-year-old male demographic; the romantic aspects (which weren't advertised at all) led to a large fanbase of women in their 20's, not to mention having a villain that's portrayed as a disturbingly realistic example of Abhorrent Admirer.
Presumed Flop: Its fandom often refers to the film as "underrated" or believe it's a Cult Classic due to the fact it didn't get any spinoffs or sequels until fourteen years later (barring the additional short film and video game spinoffs that were typical of every DreamWorks film at the time). While other DreamWorks franchises dwarf it in popularity, Megamind actually did quite well during its theatrical run, making back nearly three times its budget.
Realism-Induced Horror: Hal Stewart/Titan is a shockingly realistic portrayal of people who feel like they're owed romantic affection. He pretends to be nice and flirts with Roxanne with every chance he gets, even when Metro Man supposedly died. When he gets powers, he believes that if he rescues Roxanne, she'll automatically fall in love with him. But when he finds out that's not how real life works, he goes on a temper tantrum and starts destroying Metro City, even trying to murder Roxanne for not returning his feelings.
Signature Scene:
- Paired with Signature Line: "PRESENTATION!" and the climax that follows it.
- There's also the rain scene, which is noteworthy for the beautiful rain animation and the detailed shot of Megamind's sad facial expression when Roxanne finds out the "truth" about him.
- Tighten revealing his true nature to the mayor.
Squick: "Come out you little freak! I wanna see what that BIG BRAIN LOOKS LIKE ON THE PAVEMENT!"
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Roxanne's Seen It All attitude vanishes completely after the first act. While Metro Man's death probably shattered it In-Universe, it's part of what makes her more than the generic Love Interest she was initially parodying.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: As Megamind talks to Minion about whom they should make into a hero and how this hero should be "someone of noble heart and mind, who puts the welfare of others above their own," he is interrupted by his cell phone ringing. It's Roxanne. She is right outside. Because she tracked him down to stop him. If he'd been given more than a few minutes to dwell on the thought, he almost certainly would've chosen her. Many have pointed out that this would have been part of a great Deconstruction of the tropes and genre by having the damsel become the hero, the villain becomes the damsel, and the hero becomes the villain, as you could still have Hal become the villain later. Instead, it goes for a more cliche "the villain becomes the hero" trope.
Ugly Cute: Minion. He's an alien fish that gets around in a gorilla-like robot suit, but there's something undeniably cute about him. It's made especially clear towards the end of the film when he's outside of his suit, and we see that he really is just a small fish.
Unintentional Uncanny Valley: A minor case, but the human characters aren't nearly as stylized as the aliens like Megamind, Metro Man, and Minion. Roxanne's cheekbones are a little bit too high for some people.
Unintentional Period Piece: Everyone including Megamind himself using flip phones instead of smartphones, and Megamind's "No You Can't" posters are a direct parody of Barack Obama's "Hope" poster by Shepard Fairey.
Vindicated by History: While it had an okay-to-middling reception upon release, the superhero blockbuster era of the 2010s caused many to look back on superhero movies from before the Genre Turning Point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film then was praised for its strong comedic and narrative writing that manages to both deconstruct and affectionately parody the superhero genre, as well as its excellent animation. This is compounded by Hal's character, as sexual harassment, unwanted advances, and men feeling entitled to women came strongly into cultural focus in the late 2010s.
The Woobie: Roxanne has been constantly harassed by her co-worker Hal and is absolutely devastated when Metro Man supposedly dies. Then she realizes Megamind tricked her into going out with him as "Bernard" and feels betrayed. If that wasn't enough, she gets kidnapped and almost killed by Hal because she refused to be his girlfriend.

YMMV / Megamind

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