History Megamind / TropesAToL

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-->'''Minion:''' Uhh, sir, I think this is a bad idea...\\
'''Megamind:''' Yes! It's a very, ''wickedly'' bad idea for the greater good of bad!
--->''[a lot of [[WhosOnFirst confusing arguing]] later]''
-->'''Megamind:''' You don't know what's good for bad.

*** After hitting him with the forget-me stick, Minion states that Hal doesn't look like a hero and we see that Hal is reading the book "Best Comic Book Villains Ever".
*** When Hal is surprised at seeing Megamind and Minion in his home and suspecting a robbery, he tries to deflect them into robbing his neighbor instead.

* BaitAndSwitch: When [[spoiler:Hal is destroying the city, Metro Man looks like he's going to put the costume back on.]] He doesn't.

* ChangedMyMindKid: Played with. Metro Man returns to the fight after saying he wanted to retire as the defender of Metro City. [[spoiler: It turns out it is actually Megamind in disguise in an attempt to intimidate Titan in leaving the city for good.]]

** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Metro Man, [[SupermanSubstitute the Superman equivalent]] and HeroAntagonist to Megamind's VillainProtagonist. While a good guy, Metro Man is much more of a SmugSuper who acts like a jerk to Megamind, who's more of an AntiVillain out of expectancy than being truly evil like Luthor or Brainiac. [[spoiler:And Metro Man fakes his death because [[HeroicFatigue tired of heroism]] since it's something he felt was thrust upon him, compared to Superman [[GoodFeelsGood enjoying being a hero for the sake of it]] ]]. [[CharacterDevelopment He does wise up to his more jerkish tendencies as time passes]].

** The movie examines what might happen if a Superman-like hero never seems to cultivate a secret civilian identity once they embark on their superhero career. [[spoiler:He still has the drive to do good and is idolized by everyone, but has no real friends, feels detached from humanity, and has no identity in which to pursue his personal dreams because of the demands of being a full-time hero. It ends up with him thinking that the villain who keeps trying to kill him is his best friend, and he's ''right'' because it's the only individual with whom he has an honest, long-term relationship.]]

* EasilySwayedPopulation: The citizens of Metro City have latched onto the idea of Metro Man always-and-forever being their savior, and not letting go in the slightest, but Metro Man has an existential crisis about the fact that he and Megamind have been going at this hero-villain business for so long, formulaic-move-by-move, and he's never realized what he's wanted to do for ''his'' life. So, to [[spoiler:free himself, he fakes his own death.]] When Roxanne finds out that [[spoiler:he's still alive, she's completely furious, breaking not just his trophies, but his guitars and even a person-sized speaker over his head, claiming that he let the city down and cowardly deserted them, while Metro Man is completely unfazed, and has a completely drained and exasperated expression on his face that just says "You're just proving my point... Why are you doing this?"]]

** Megamind's watch can disguise himself or others into anyone he's scanned it with, but the only thing that doesn't change is the wearer's eye color. Anyone who remembers this will notice [[spoiler:that the "warden" Megamind apologizes to]] and later [[spoiler:"Metro Man" returning]] have the wrong eye color.
** The only exception is when [[spoiler:Minion reveals himself to be disguised as Megamind towards the end; his eyes were green like Megamind's, presumably the creators had to break the rule in that instance not to risk ruining that particular reveal. One might also assume Minion uses a new watch Megamind made (since Megamind's using the other one) and thus he upgraded it to changing the eye color as well.]]

** There's also the scene where Roxanne takes Megamind to [[spoiler: 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, [[spoiler: 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, WordOfGod 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.

* ForcedTransformation: The De-Hydrate function of the De-Gun. It turns whatever or whoever is hit into a small transluscent blue cube which can be perfectly restored through simply putting it into water. [[spoiler:After noticing that he's falling towards a water fountain, Megamind shoots himself with the De-Gun and turns himself into a cube to break his fall in the water.]]

* HesBack: Metro Man saves Roxanne and Megamind from a rampaging Titan. [[spoiler: Except that it turns out it's just Megamind disguised as Metro Man, and Minion was disguised as Megamind.]]

** After Metro Man returns and scares Titan away never return to [[ExactWords "Metrocity"]], it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was Megamind, posing as Metro Man, and everyone is relieved... until Titan returns, pointing out [[OutOfCharacterAlert that Metro Man would never mispronounce "Metro City" like Megamind did]].]]

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Minion [[spoiler: disguised as Megamind]] on the skyscraper's antenna when Titan throws it like a javelin.
* ImposterForgotOneDetail: Titan realizes that Metro Man [[spoiler: is actually a disguised Megamind when he pronounces "Metro City" as "Metrocity".]]

-->'''Hal:''' If I were Metro Man, Megamind wouldn't be kidnapping you all the time.\\

'''Hal:''' And I'd be watching you, like a dingo watches a human baby! ... Okay, that sounded... Okay, that sounded a little weird...\\

--> '''Titan:''' This is for stealing my girlfriend! This one's for Space Dad making a fool out of me! And Megamind, this one's for [[PaperThinDisguise Space Stepmom]]! [[ComicallyMissingThePoint You]] ''[[ComicallyMissingThePoint lied]]'' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint to her!]]

** Megamind never expected to be able to kill Metro Man. When he actually succeeds, there's a short time of him celebrating but he quickly realizes that he's now without a purpose in life and struggles to figure out what to make of his new situation.

* BecomingTheMask: Megamind in his disguise as Bernard with Roxie.

* CantBelieveISaidThat: When Hal tries to get Roxie to go to his 'off the hook' party, he lists the things he's arranged, including a bouncy house and a wedding photographer - you know, just in case they do anything they want to keep forever... as a memory. When Roxie passes, Hal berates himself for mentioning the bouncy house, because "girls don't like bouncy houses, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint they like clowns!"]]
-->'''Hal:''' And I'd be watching you. Like a dingo watches a human baby. ...OK, that sounded a little weird.

* CitywideEvacuation: Megamind disguises himself to train Hal the cameraman, who accidentally ingested Megamind's SuperSerum to be Titan, his new superhero foe to replace the recently deceased [[SupermanSubstitute Metroman]]. When Megamind reveals himself to have been training Hal to be a superhero simply because he was bored of not having an ArchEnemy to fight, [[ThatManIsDead Hal decides that as Titan]] he would use his powers to show everyone he's done being pushed around by everyone, and after Megamind narrowly escapes Titan's murderous wrath, [[BewareTheSuperman Titan starts knocking down buildings in a fit of rage]], and the authorities are seen guiding large crowds of refugees out of the city.

** When Hal asks Roxie to come over to his house for a date, he points out that he arranged for a bouncy castle. After displaying some weird and disturbing behavior, Roxanne is understandably unnerved and declines. Hal berates himself for being so stupid... in getting a bouncy castle, because everyone knows girls love clowns.

* CrimeSpreeMontage: After Megamind (supposedly) destroys his life-long nemesis Metro-Man and declares himself Metro City's ruler, he and Minion go on a crime spree where they graffiti the city, steal all of the art from the Art Museum and have pillow fights with (presumably stolen) cash, all set to "Crazy Train" by Music/OzzyOsbourne.

* DidNotSeeThatComing: As he is used to losing to the superhero every time, Megamind didn't actually expect to see Metro Man get caught and perish in his sun-ray trap.

* DownerBeginning: As infants, Megamind and Metro Man's home planets are seen being sucked into a black hole, with Megamind's parents placing him in an escape pod with his binky and Minion. Upon entering Earth, Megamind is shoved away by Metro Man from a lavish mansion to the prison, although he was at least somewhat raised without issue by the inmates and the Warden.
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Hal agrees to become a hero because he wants to impress Roxxane, not because he wants to fight evil.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Want to defeat your arch-nemesis and rule the world? Go knock yourself out. Want to ''destroy'' the city because of [[WhosLaughingNow all your bottled-up resentment from a lifetime of rejection]]? Not cool. At least, Megamind knows how to take "no" for an answer.

* EyeScream: Roxy blows a spider ''right into Megamind's eye''. Minion then punches him in the same eye.

* FakeWeakness: Metro Man claims that copper, which the Observatory dome is lined with, drains his powers leaving him helpless. This deception is part of the plan to fake his death.

** As expected, Metro Man and Megamind are foils for each other, being complete opposites in level of superpowers, moral outlooks, and style Megamind revels in his role even as he loses, while Metro Man is tired of his role, despite his victories.

** There were many hints that show Hal isn't as heroic as Megamind assumed he was:
*** In the training sequence, you see him gleefully ripping Megamind mannequin apart and melting its face with his heat vision. While played for laughs at the time, it shows he has a dark side that is willing to ignore the ThouShaltNotKill superhero standard.

** Not long before he quits the superhero thing, Metro Man says in his speech to the people of Metro City, "and at the end of the day, I often ask myself: who would I be without you?" Earlier we were shown Metro Man as a child playing a banjo in front of classmates indicating a long-standing interest in music.

* HellBentForLeather: Megamind is this in spades, he even claims that he wears "Custom made, baby seal leather boots". During his first fight with Titan, he wears two layers of leather.

-->'''Megamind:''' If only my parents could see me now.\\

** After the death ray destroys the observatory, it appears that Metro Man emerges from the explosion and is swooping in to save Roxanne. Turns out it is just a caped skeleton propelled by the explosion.

--> '''Metro Man:''' Well, I think your warranty is about to expire!

--> '''Megamind''': Oh, you're a ''villain'' alright. Just not a ''super'' one.

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Invoked by Hal, who mistakes Roxie's frightened terror for a lover's argument.

** Played with concerning Hal. While Roxie's rejection of him is what caused him to decide to become a villain, it's more of a straw the broke the camel's back. As pointed out several places here, Hal was already entitled and most likely would have become a villain anyway.

* BalefulPolymorph: The De-Hydrate function of the De-Gun. It turns whatever or whoever is hit into a small transluscent blue cube which can be perfectly restored through simply putting it into water. [[spoiler:After noticing that he's falling towards a water fountain, Megamind shoots himself with the De-Gun and turns himself into a cube to break his fall in the water.]]

* EskimosArentReal: Played completely straight with Hal when he says "There is no tooth fairy, there is no Easter bunny, and there is no queen of England!"[[note]][[AccidentallyCorrectWriting Technically, he's right.]] There hasn't been a monarch of England since 1707, when the kingdoms of England and Scotland merged to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, having been in personal union since 1603.[[/note]]

** The people of Metro City were calling out for someone to save them from Megamind. Titan comes in and does just that. However it turns out that he didn't actually liberate the cityt only put it under new management which is so much worse under his "protection".

--> '''Megamind''': Oh, you're a villain, alright- just not a ''super '' one.

-->'''Megamind:''' ''(as Bernard)'' I tried my best, but he's too ''fantastic''.

-->'''Hal:''' And I'd watch you like a dingo watches a human baby. ...OK, that sounded a little weird.

--> '''Minion:''' Sir, you really need to empty your pockets more often.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Titan becomes a hero because wants to impress Roxie, not because he wants to defeat evil.

-->'''Megamind:''' Now it's time for some witty back-and-forth banter! You go first!\\
'''Titan:''' [[{{Angrish}} RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH]]!\\
'''Megamind:''' Okay, look, I don't really know where to go with that!

--->'''Titan''': "This is the last time you make a fool out of me!"\\
'''Megamind''': "I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself!"

* EskimosArentReal: Played completely straight with Hal when he says "There is no tooth fairy, there is no Easter bunny, and there is no queen of England!"

** The people of Metro City were calling out for someone to save them from Megamind. Titan comes in and does just that. However it turns out that he didn't actually liberate the city only put it under new management which is so much worse under his "protection".

* BaldOfAwesome: As Megamind undergoes his CharacterDevelopment and learns to become the protector of the city, his appearance shifts from BaldOfEvil to this.

* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Why else is Minion in a gorilla-style MobileSuitHuman?

** In the scene just before Titan fights Megamind, he holds up a torn magazine with Metro Man carrying Roxanne. The top of the magazine is torn off, and he holds it up in a way that puts Megamind's head where Metro Man's originally was (with "HERO" prominent on what's left of the cover). It's also an IronicEcho, given that the roles were reversed, with the replacement idea explicit, earlier.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY:
** Megamind pronounces a lot of words oddly. Sometimes it is intentional in order to sound more evilish, other times it is just mispronunciation. For example, he says "Ollo" instead of "Hello", "Shul" instead of "School" and "Metrocity" (rhymes with "atrocity") instead of "Metro City". It becomes SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay later in the film. He's not oblivious to this but does have to make a concentrated effort to make the proper pronunciation.
** After being kidnapped and held in Megamind's "deathtrap", Roxanne points out the spider. Although Megamind originally pronounces it correctly when he asks "Spider?"[[note]]probably because he was repeating the word Roxanne had said back to her[[/note]], he quickly tries to pretend it's part of the deathtrap and pronounces it "spee-ider", as an attempt to make it sound more evil and exotic. However, the "Button of Doom" short has him referring to the "Spee-ider-bot", so apparently that's how he likes to say it.

* AnalogyBackfire: Tighten tells Roxanne that [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids her idealism is unrealistic]], and that beliefs such as goodness being found in all people are as fictional as the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the [[EskimosArentReal Queen of England]].

* AndThisIsFor: Tighten employs this trope when fighting Megamind.
--> '''Tighten:''' This is for stealing my girlfriend! This one's for Space Dad making a fool out of me! And Megamind, this one's for [[PaperThinDisguise Space Stepmom]]! [[ComicallyMissingThePoint You]] ''[[ComicallyMissingThePoint lied]]'' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint to her!]]

* AntiHero: Megamind later in the movie, after Tighten turns into a villain.

** Megamind finds Tighten had been committing crimes, with stolen bank money, stolen safes... and a stolen bicycle.

** Megamind's strongest skill is pulling off very stylish gambits like this throughout the film. At the beginning, he and Minion use one to escape from prison. He lures Metro Man into the observatory death trap by knowing Roxanne would deduce the location of his hideout and reveal it. During the end battle, Megamind provokes Tighten to punch him across the street which actually propels him close to his invisible car.

** The people of Metro City were calling out for someone to save them from Megamind. Tighten comes in and does just that. However it turns out that he didn't actually liberate the city only put it under new management which is so much worse under his "protection".

* BeneathTheMask: Tighten is not as heroic as Megamind thought he would be.
* BerserkButton: Megamind presses a bunch of these to get Tighten to attack him. [[UnstoppableRage Big mistake]].
* BewareTheSuperman: Tighten is a strong example of this trope. The contrast between him and Metro Man is quite extreme.

* BigBad: While he's still ''very'' hammy as a villain and ends up reconsidering things by the midpoint of the film, Megamind ''did'' set up the dominoes that caused a great deal of damage to Metro City, but it's Tighten that ultimately decides to ''collide'' against those same dominoes for a very petty, shallow reason.

** When Tighten has Roxanne tied to the tower, Megamind who is actually Minion in disguise appears amid lasers, smoke, and flashy pyrotechnics to save her.

--> '''Tighten''': Oh yeah? What's the difference?

* BrainsVersusBrawn: Megamind (Brains) and Metro Man (Brawn), again. Later on, after the latter fakes his death, Megamind replaces him with Tighten (also a Brawn, but an evil one), but since Megamind is an AntiVillain at worst, the dynamic still works.

** Megamind taunting Tighten for a fight. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor And damn, does he get one.]]

* CardCarryingVillain: Both Megamind and Tighten openly call themselves villains/supervillains. Megamind's heart isn't really in it and just does so because he believes evil is his "destiny", whereas Tighten is merely honest about the fact that he's going to do what he wants regardless of the consequences, and if that makes him a villain, fine.

* ChangedMyMindKid: Played with. Metro Man returns to the fight after saying he wanted to retire as the defender of Metro City. [[spoiler: It turns out it is actually Megamind in disguise in an attempt to intimidate Tighten in leaving the city for good.]]

* CitywideEvacuation: Megamind disguises himself to train Hal the cameraman, who accidentally ingested Megamind's SuperSerum to be Tighten, his new superhero foe to replace the recently deceased [[SupermanSubstitute Metroman]]. When Megamind reveals himself to have been training Hal to be a superhero simply because he was bored of not having an ArchEnemy to fight, [[ThatManIsDead Hal decides that as Tighten]] he would use his powers to show everyone he's done being pushed around by everyone, and after Megamind narrowly escapes Tighten's murderous wrath, [[BewareTheSuperman Tighten starts knocking down buildings in a fit of rage]], and the authorities are seen guiding large crowds of refugees out of the city.

** When Tighten finds out that "Space Dad" is really Megamind, he gets angry because he feels Megamind lied and deceived "Space Step-Mom".

* ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding: During their first fight, Tighten and Megamind crash through one, starting at the roof and down through every floor, pausing for split second to show each one is a completely open floorplan devoid of any occupants.

** Depending on the cover, the humorous or heroic postures that Tighten is shown in makes him look like he's some sort of PluckyComicRelief or heroic SideKick completely hiding his actual role as the film's true villain.
* CreateYourOwnHero: Done literally and subverted. Tighten doesn't want to be a hero.

* DamselInDistress: When Megamind and Metro Man clash, Roxanne is a parody of this; she is so used to being kidnapped and rescued that she is not fazed by it anymore. Once Tighten enters the picture, she even {{Exploit|edtrope}}s the trope, getting herself captured to motivate Megamind to stand up to him.

* DarkestHour: Tighten is rampaging throughout the city and holding Roxanne hostage, threatening to kill her. Metro Man is still refusing to come back. Megamind has given up and has gone back to prison. Minion is nowhere to be found. For a little while, the situation looks truly hopeless.

* {{Depower}}: In the end, Megamind takes away Hal's/Tighten's superpowers with the same gizmo that gave them to him.

* DisneyDeath: In the final battle with Tighten, Minion's helmet is smashed leaving him exposed to the air and mortally wounded. After a sad farewell to Megamind, he dies. Ultimately it turns out he's not really dead, he was just milking the moment for all the drama he can and quickly recovers when Megamind tosses him into a fountain.

* DoNotCallMePaul: Tighten tells Roxanne never to call him Hal ever again. He is Tighten from now on.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Tighten becomes a hero because wants to impress Roxie, not because he wants to defeat evil.

* DrunkWithPower: Once Tighten handily defeats Megamind, he realizes that he's now unstoppable and proclaims that Metro City hasn't been freed but is under new management.

* {{Egopolis}}: It's never mentioned in the movie, but after declaring the city is under new management, Tighten burns the new name into the city with his laser vision: "Tightenville".

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: Shown hilariously with Tighten, who's angry at Megamind for, among other things, "lying" to [[PaperThinDisguise 'Space Step-mom']].

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Subverted as Megamind naturally assumes anyone who's given superpowers will naturally use them to help the city and be a great hero. Tighten proves him very, VERY wrong.
* EvilCounterpart: Tighten is the evil reflection of Metro Man.

** Tighten decides to be a villain for this, even more so than Megamind.
* EvilerThanThou: Megamind finds out, to his horror, that Tighten turned out to be a superpowered villain who enjoys wreaking havoc [[ForTheEvulz out of pure spite]].

* EvilIsPetty: Played completely straight with Tighten.

* EvilVersusEvil: Megamind Vs. Tighten, particularly their first fight when Megamind reverts to being evil following Minion abandoning him and Roxanne dumping him. Although it depends on whether his HeelFaceTurn can be considered complete at this point. It is [[EvilIsPetty villain]] vs. ''super'' villain.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Hal's hair is relatively short and straight when he's normal. When he transforms into Tighten his hair becomes a curly, muffin-top afro. [[note]] This was Jonah Hill's (Hal's voice actor) signature hairstyle back when Megamind was in production. [[/note]]
* EyeBeams: Metro Man (and therefore, Tighten) has them.

* FaceHeelTurn: Hal/Tighten, in the second half of the film. It's debatable how much of a face he ''ever'' was, but he certainly didn't start as an outright villain.

* FistPump: When Megamind is in disguise, trying to train Tighten, he pumps his fist.

* FlyingBrick: Metro Man, obviously, and Tighten.
* {{Flynning}}: Megamind and Tighten engage in a round of this with lamp posts; it's actually intended to be harmless {{Flynning}} on Megamind's part, but it quickly becomes clear that the feeling isn't mutual.

** Metro Man and Tighten; same powers but completely different morals.
** And Megamind and Tighten. Both have had less than ideal lives, but Megamind learns acceptance and even pride in his role, while Hal becomes bitter and entitled. When both are given absolute power, Megamind becomes listless and purposeless, while Hal revels in his god-like state.

*** One of the things Tighten does with his XRayVision is to spy on Roxanne.
** Tighten proves that he is not weakened by copper, which is our first clue that Metro Man isn't dead.

** In the scene just before Tighten fights Megamind, he holds up a torn magazine with Metro Man carrying Roxanne. The top of the magazine is torn off, and he holds it up in a way that puts Megamind's head where Metro Man's originally was (with "HERO" prominent on what's left of the cover). It's also an IronicEcho, given that the roles were reversed, with the replacement idea explicit, earlier.

* ForTheEvulz: Subverted by Megamind. His villainous monologues are filled with rhetoric that imply he's a dastardly evil villain, but his actual follow-through is more of a PunchClockVillain who sees his wrongdoings as a form of artistic expression expected from the villain, rather than an end unto itself. However, it's played straight with Tighten, who obviously enjoys causing mayhem with complete impunity.

* FreakOut: Hal/Tighten does ''not'' take well to all of his {{Berserk Button}}s being pushed at once.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: After accidentally killing Metro City's savior, the title character decides to train a new one to fight him. He chooses a loser cameraman to become the hero "Tighten," but when Tighten turns out to be a complete psychopath, Megamind himself has to step in to stop him.

* GangstaStyle: Directly Lampshaded by Roxanne when she makes her suggestion for dealing with Tighten.

* GeniusThriller: Becomes this in the third act when Tighten relentlessly tries to kill Megamind. Megamind has to use his devices in creative ways to keep one step ahead of Tighten, as he knows he doesn't stand a chance against Tighten in a fair fight.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Whenever Tighten is about to use his eye-beams especially when he's really angry.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Megamind's decision to make a new hero for him to fight. When Hal accidentally gets infused with Metro Man's DNA, Megamind hopes he will be a decent hero candidate. However, this starts to unravel as Hal's un-heroic qualities are revealed. It culminates when Megamind provokes him into a fight by taunting him with his relationship with Roxanne. Hal/Tighten snaps and is ready to fight Megamind to his destruction not just his defeat.

* HamToHamCombat: Fights between Megamind and Metro Man involve a lot of this. When duking it out with Tighten for the first time, Megamind tries it on his new enemy, but realizes he is too bull-headed and spiteful for this kind of duel.

'''Tighten:''' [[{{Angrish}} RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH]]!\\

* HellBentForLeather: Megamind is this in spades, he even claims that he wears "Custom made, baby seal leather boots". During his first fight with Tighten, he wears two layers of leather.

* HeroInsurance: Acknowledged. After all of the destruction caused by Tighten, Megamind's Brainbots are repairing all of the damage.
* HeroicBuild: Both Metro Man and Tighten are absurdly well-built and muscular, although Tighten wasn't like that before gaining superpowers.

* HesBack: Metro Man saves Roxanne and Megamind from a rampaging Tighten. [[spoiler: Except that it turns out it's just Megamind disguised as Metro Man, and Minion was disguised as Megamind.]]

* HoldingOutForAHero: Played straight with the people of Metro City. They're so used to relying on Metro Man that when he's no longer there, no one is brave enough to stand up to the villain. When Tighten shows up and defeats Megamind, the people are quite eager to accept this new hero and are shocked to discover he's even worse than the villain. It's implied that Metro Man became tired of the city's dependence on him which is what lead to his decision to retire.
* HolographicDisguise: Megamind's holo-watch projects a hologram around him which allows him to appear as someone else. During the course of the film, Megamind uses it to impersonate the warden, Bernard, Tighten's "Space Dad", and finally, Metro Man. It's also used by Minion to impersonate the warden to help Megamind escape, and Megamind himself in the climax.

** For the civilians, they get one after Tighten defeats Megamind... only for Tighten to explain that they aren't ''free'', just "under new management".
** After Metro Man returns and scares Tighten away never return to [[ExactWords "Metrocity"]], it's revealed that [[spoiler: it was Megamind, posing as Metro Man, and everyone is relieved... until Tighten returns, pointing out [[OutOfCharacterAlert that Metro Man would never mispronounce "Metro City" like Megamind did]].]]
* HowDoIShotWeb: The TrainingMontage with Tighten. At first, Megamind and Minion were having trouble teaching him how to be a hero, until Minion suggested using video game-like methods, like out of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''. Amazingly, it works.

** Megamind's huge robot suit he uses in his first fight with Tighten.

* IdiotHero: Tighten, big time. Until he turns evil, that is.
* IfICantHaveYou: Tighten's reaction to Roxanne rejecting him.

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Minion [[spoiler: disguised as Megamind]] on the skyscraper's antenna when Tighten throws it like a javelin.
* ImposterForgotOneDetail: Tighten realizes that Metro Man [[spoiler: is actually a disguised Megamind when he pronounces "Metro City" as "Metrocity".]]

--> '''Tighten''': This town isn't big enough for ''two'' supervillains!

--> '''Tighten''': Yeah? What's the difference?

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Megamind [[ZigZaggingTrope oscillates between this]] and NotSoHarmlessVillain. At first, he seems more like a sympathetic villainous GracefulLoser whose crimes are of the PokeThePoodle variety - and then he apparently kills Metro Man. Then he vandalizes the city, but never does anything THAT evil. Then he creates Tighten. Oops. And finally he atones for his misdeeds, removing him from villain territory altogether.

* InsistentTerminology: Megamind gleefully points out that, while Tighten might be a Villain, he doesn't have any skill at ''presentation'' to be a ''SuperVillain!''

* IntrepidReporter: Roxanne. She locates and then infiltrates Megamind's secret lair on her own. Later she is totally willing to take on Tighten with just the advanced weaponry Megamind has created.

** When Megamind finds Tighten not wanting to play the game and even becoming a bad guy when he wanted him to be the hero he created, he begins revealing himself as Space Dad and then become Bernard, who Megamind used as a disguise in order to date Roxanne. This more than ignited Tighten into action, though considering how Tighten is intent on killing him, this is proven to have GoneHorriblyWrong.
** Megamind also taunts Tighten in the climax so that he would punch him towards his invisible car, which has the defuser gun he needed to defeat Tighten.
--->'''Tighten''': "This is the last time you make a fool out of me!"\\

* JustEatHim: Played with. Megamind's giant head made of thousands of brain bots ''does'' swallow Tighten, but it's just for show and serves mainly as a distraction to give Megamind time to rescue Roxanne.

* KarmaHoudini: Although Tighten ends up in jail, Megamind, who terrorized the city, "killed" Metro Man, created Tighten, caused him to go crazy by abusing his evil technology, ''and'' committed enough previous evil acts to earn 88 life sentences, is revered as a town hero when all the good things he did was to stop his own creation. Of course, he makes up for it after the events of the movie.

** Megamind, though Metro Man is not far behind him in the pork rating, and they both provide great HamToHamCombat. {{Averted}} with Tighten, who's not much for posturing.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Megamind's parents and entire species died when his home planet was swallowed by a black hole, his only companion being Minion. He was raised in a prison (although, the inmates were nice to him). Then, he entered into school, were he was bullied by everyone, even the teacher. And it was because of their bullying that he thought that the only thing he was good at was being bad and thus decided to be the best at being bad.

* AntagonistInMourning: Megamind, after years of being Metro Man's primary antagonist, feels a complete loss of purpose after successfully but unexpectedly destroying Metro Man.

* AffectionateParody: Of {{Superman}} and the superhero genre in general.

* TheBadGuyWins: The film was based on the premise, "What if Lex Luthor defeated {{Superman}}?"

* BadassBiker: Megamind in a awesome, flying motorcycle kinda way.

* BewareTheSuperman: Tighten is strong example of this trope. The contrast between him and Metro Man is quite extreme.

** Hal Stewart, Roxanne's cameraman, begins the story as an expy of ''ComicBook/JimmyOlsen'', being a geeky redheaded everyman who works with the leading lady covering the exploits of the local superhero. But whereas Jimmy usually gets portrayed as a dorky and helpful NiceGuy, Hal comes off as creepy even before he becomes a supervillain.

*** In the training sequence, you see him gleefully ripping Megamind mannequin apart and melting it's face with his heat vision. While played for laughs at the time, it shows he has a dark side that is willing to ignore the ThouShaltNotKill superhero standard.

* HolographicDisguise: Megamind's holo-watch projects an hologram around him which allows him to appear as someone else. During the course of the film, Megamind uses it to impersonate the warden, Bernard, Tighten's "Space Dad", and finally, Metro Man. It's also used by Minion to impersonate the warden to help Megamind escape, and Megamind himself in the climax.

* InterspeciesRomance: Roxie is widely believed to have a romance with Metro Man, who, despite [[HumanAlien looking human]], is an alien. Later, it is revealed that this no more than a rumor: [[SubvertedTrope Metro Man is just "not her type"]]. And then, [[DoubleSubverted she falls for Megamind]].

** When Megamind finds Tighten not wanting to play the game and even becoming a bad guy when he wanted him to be the hero he created, he begins revealing himself as Space Dad and then become Bernard, who Megamind used as a disguise in order to date Roxanne. This more than ignited Tighten into action, though considering how Tighten intent on killing him, this is proven to have GoneHorriblyWrong.
** Megamind also taunt Tighten in the climax so that he would punch him towards his invisible car, which has the defuser gun he needed to defeat Tighten.

* BrainsEvilBrawnGood: This is the dynamic between Megamind and Metro Man. At least, until Brains wins, becomes bored and then creates a truly evil Brawn.