Why Syndrome is a Pathetic, Amazing Villain

[@Jan12700]

Syndrome feels like Ironman but without having the live changing experience that Stark had.

[@stuartbarron7117]

So, Doctor Doom basically.

[@cameronnorris2055]

@@stuartbarron7117 but Doom is actually competent in what he plans to do

[@dennisbeaman958]

​@@stuartbarron7117doom also has tragedy shoot he even asked Dr strange for help to break into it was either hell to save his kidnapped mother he literally trained in magic just so he'd save his mom and his face is melted quite a bit also unlike Tony he actually cares about his people latveria actually loves doom his societies are a utopia in in Spider-Man tas he made a utopia and cured Ben who reed says he can't cure him yet says he's a better scientist then doom

[@hunterhewitt7059]

@@stuartbarron7117 I reckon more like Justin Hammer

[@rungunninja1289]

No even at his worst Tony still had self respect and wouldn’t spend this much time being that petty. He definitely be petty in the moment or spend a month doing something petty but not this level of it.

[@danielbilodeau9045]

There are a lot of moments demonstrating Syndrome's complete lack of situational awareness and disregard for other people, but one of the best, I think, is the scene where Mirage chews him after he gambles with her life with Mr. Incredible. Look closely at the expression on his face as she storms off; it's one of _genuine confusion._ He literally _cannot_ understand why she's mad at him.

[@stuartbarron7117]

True. Even the fact that he goes in for a kiss while discussing how he told Mr Incredible to kill her says a lot about him.

[@draco2097]

Dang😅 he's not as smart as he think he is LOL.

[@knox7945]

​@@draco2097 hes smart, but lack understanding people's lives.

[@canisblack]

He’s intelligent without wisdom or empathy.

[@skylerloggins4902]

Syndrome is a sociopath. He may be smart and intelligent but he lacks empathy and compassion

[@tylerharris7081]

This movie was so ahead of its time, it called out the superhero genre becoming more obsessed with being super than being a hero.

[@isaiahvilla6691]

Facts

[@tomlxyz]

Weren't those movies always about that tho?

[@dods453]

The boys belike

[@AerinstadasChronicler]

A shame the sequel fell into the trap that its predecessor called out.

[@kyriss12]

That’s been an issue with comics for quite awhile now. Comics like Kingdom come, and whatever happened to truth justice and the American way have been calling that out for decades.

[@SparkpadArt]

Another thing worth mentioning about Syndrome's death by cape is how it was foreshadowed in the prologue. Bomb Voyage got away by sticking an explosive on Buddy's cape, and he had no idea it was there even as Mr. Incredible stopped what he was doing to save him. His lack of awareness almost cost him his life back then, and he ultimately pays that price.

[@TreWimsical]

It was also foreshadowed when Bob went to see Edna cuz she refused to add a cape to the uniform due to all those supers that died via cape

[@SparkpadArt]

Yeah, that's the obvious one. But the bomb scene perfectly bookends Syndrome's villainy. It started and ended with a cape mishap, and a push from Mr. Incredible.

[@RedEveTillDawn]

You know, I had always connected his death with Edna's monologue about capes. But this has blown my mind and it was so obvious!!! That is amazing and SO TRUE 😱

[@desu38]

Really shows that he never changed. He never really grew up.

[@Toku-k1c]

Honestly shows how much of a villain bon voyage was

[@molatorenicklas]

No, Edna stopped making capes because she felt responsible for all the supers who died because of HER designed capes. She knew all the supers by name and even knew how they died. She designed those uniforms.

[@zebaguettefromfrance1287]

I wanted to mention it as well what was mentioned is part of the point the main takeaway is that she was against those designs because it's some of her greatest failure, failures that have caused the deaths of people, heroes, she wanted to help by making suits for. She failed badly but instead of deflecting those death on other factors she confronted the fact that their deaths were at least partly her fault as well and improved her craft so those mistakes would never be made again another contrast to syndrome who refused to confront his own shortcomings and ended up repeating them again and again

[@nkbujvytcygvujno6006]

“I never look back, darling, it distracts from the now.”

[@KingsBard]

Two things can be true at the same time y'know

[@Nic_2751]

@@nkbujvytcygvujno6006and yet she remembers the EXACT dates of everyone who she feels unintentionally died It all adds up

[@pptemplar5840]

Oh no, she feels genuine guilt for putting people in danger and changed as a result Let's think about who didn't do that.

[@mr.j3rs3y]

Man, you just gotta love the incredible irony of him constantly improving the Omnidroid, making it smarter, stronger, faster, etc - only for the Omnidroid to outsmart Syndrome by getting rid of his remote control. He was so shortsighted and full of hubris, he didn’t even consider giving the Omnidroid protocols where it cannot hurt him, almost getting himself killed by it.

[@stuartbarron7117]

Well that's the thing. He probably just assumed he could defeat it, just like he assumed he had what it took to be a superhero.

[@dragongamerx12]

@@stuartbarron7117 i do wonder what if he did succeed there is still the superhero ban and if the people found out he lied he be in a worse situation than he was when he did fail

[@antarath517]

Mr Incredible foreshadowing, "Let me guess, it got smart enough to wonder why it had to take orders"

[@mr.j3rs3y]

@@antarath517 Holy crap i completely forgot about that line. God this movie is so tightly written.

[@rachelryan84]

@@antarath517 Pathetically I'm not sure its even that. My interpretation he gave the drone orders and it used its intellect to follow through, simple as that. Essentially it was programmed to destroy, not to do some damage then lose to Syndrome but make it look good.

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

The funny part is: He is by the middle of the Movie very clearly more powerful then any other super by a wide margin. And he still fails because of his own incompetence.

[@EzraReay]

That's a great point! Heck, he didn't even really need to make the giant robot, his zero point energy was already a game changer. He froze an ENTIRE super family in the MIDDLE OF COMBAT without so much as a sweat. If he just decided that "hey, let me go out, save the day a couple of times, and be worshipped!" That would've been it. He was just arrogantly overdramatic and made the robot for basically his own ego.

[@richardkenan2891]

He was an unparalleled inventive genius with the tactical acumen of an ice cube.

[@demi-femme4821]

He shuts down the whole family *easily* with his Zero-Point Energy projector.

[@tabby5555]

Also, Edna’s whole speech about “no capes” was because she considered the capes to be her mistakes. Heroes died because of her capes, so she learned from that and never made a cape again. So it makes sense for syndrome, a character who refuses to learn from mistakes, to die from a mistake Edna (and by extension the incredibles) had already learned from.

[@Dragon_Lair]

One of the highlights for Syndrome for me is also really subtle. In the beginning with Bomb Voyage Mr Incredible was dealing with a villain when telling him to fly home. Syndrome doesn’t remember the villain, just the rebuke. In his flashback it is just Mr Incredible there. This shows how obsessed he is but also how blind to what is going on around him he is.

[@rishabhanand4973]

Yeah he had no idea how close he was to dying that night. He probably had no idea that the reason bob jumped onto him was to get the bomb off him.

[@Dragon_Lair]

@@rishabhanand4973 Not only did he not know how close he was to dying, he was not even registering that Mr. Incredible was telling him there was a bomb, he was so determined to prove he could help that he wasn't actually listening to what Mr. Incredible was saying.

[@rebajoe]

​@@rishabhanand4973 and it doesn't cross his mind that Bomb Voyage would do something like that to him, especially with Buddy just casually telling him to give them a minute and pulling Mr Incredible off to the side to talk to him despite him being a dangerous criminal. (don't know if it was intentional or not, but in a way it comes back when Helen tells Violet and Dash that the people they're up against will not hesitate to kill them despite being kids)

[@jackagonis9302]

Syndrome when he was a kid was almost killed by a bomb attached to his cape, only surviving because Mr incredible acted to save him. So it’s really fitting that he died because he refused to believe the cape was a mistake back then, and because he didn’t have anyone to help him since he burned all his bridges.

[@anamericangrizzlybear8315]

I feel like if Syndrome had realized his own potential as a hero and not a side kick he could've been your friendly neighborhood Incrediboy I mean the kid invented his own rocket shoes and other gadgets, he does little things like rescueing cats from tree's giving supers the time they need to focus on more important crisis' probably becoming a well respected kid in the community and appreciated by supers and as he got older he could move on to more serious things He wouldn't even be the first hero to take the gig for the glory and mature and realize there's more to it than that, but he just couldn't accept his faults and became a monster

[@bestaround3323]

The problem is he never wanted to help people as his main goal. He wanted attention. I doubt saving cats from trees would have been flashy enough for him.

[@phucjack6270]

He want the glory and admiration of being a hero not the responsibility of one.

[@Dragon_Lair]

@@bestaround3323And the hero he was obsessed with was the number 1 hero. He couldn’t accept not being the ward of anyone but the best.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

"If it mattered to you Luthor, you could have saved the world years ago" - Superman to Lex Luthor

[@RosesTeaAndASD]

If he'd intended on being a hero, then I agree - he probably could've taken that path. Unfortunately I think he lacked the empathy to help others and would have eventually turned to criminal activities and became a super villain if any one in town rejected him. I don't think he was capable of accepting any forms of critism.

[@matityaloran9157]

8:36, for what it’s worth, Batman has a reason for his cape to exist. He needs to fold it into wings so that he can glide.

[@stuartbarron7117]

Oh absolutely! It's just the vast majority of superheroes have capes because they look cool.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@stuartbarron7117 True

[@HunhowsShadowStalker]

Also keep in mind that, unlike the Supers, Batman has no superpowers of his own. He uses gadgets to compensate for his lack of powers. Edna, meanwhile, designs suits tailored to the wearer's powers. Why would she bother designing some gadget when the heroes don't need them?

[@zoeschmitt1624]

Also for his kids to hide under. Very important!

[@matityaloran9157]

@@HunhowsShadowStalker Good point

[@Match25]

Actually the Daily Bugel is a reliable and trustworthy news source.. as long as it doesn't involve Spiderman

[@tylerharris7081]

At the very least JJ Jameson has the guts to protect his employees when he's threatened by Green Goblin.

[@Match25]

@@tylerharris7081 and the Rhino as well as personally inform of Aunt May's injury to Peter in the Spectacular Spider Man. He is a blowhard but overall a good man who just has an irrational hatred of spider man. In one comic Peter realized that not once has his spider sense gone off when around JJ, meaning that hes never wanted to actually harm him

[@livelybubbs6242]

Bruh, what are you implying?? Spider-Man is a menace!!

[@wastelandlegocheem]

​@@tylerharris7081yo facts. "I don't know this stuff just comes in the mail!" Immediately keeps peter safe. And i bet spidey appreciated that

[@danielbilodeau9045]

Don't forget the time Jameson fired Eddy Brock for giving him deliciously incriminating but ultimately fake pictures of Spider-Man. He even went so far as to print a retraction (something he hadn't done for 20 years) apologizing to the web-head. He may be a hard ass with a hate on for the masked vigilante, but he's got _integrity,_ godammit!

[@lunarwaffles7696]

on the side note of capes. Buddies almost gets him killed if not for mr. incredible. i know you pointed it out when ranting about how syndrome blames everyone else, but right from the get go in the movie, capes were out for blood.

[@stuartbarron7117]

OH MY GOD, YOU'RE SO RIGHT! That is an amazing detail! No joke, I was glancing through comments just now while writing another video and this blew my mind so much when I read it, I had to stop to reply. Well spotted!

[@AFeralTrout420]

So true

[@borjankosarac3645]

One more thing: Mr. Incredible specifically throws the car he bought *with money Syndrome paid him* at said “nemesis”, which threw him towards the turbine… To the end he undoes himself.

[@logicmeister1821]

Ironically, Syndrome possibly *did* have superpowers, i.e. super-intelligence, inventing stuff decades, if not centuries ahead of his time, but like the villain of Sky High, his abilities weren't recognized for what they were, & dismissed as a "nerd" Not saying this justifies his actions, but imagine what he could've done with proper guidance Also, weird how the smart guys almost always are villains while the strong guy is a hero in action/superhero flicks

[@yami122]

It's for the same reason that many villains are rich where most superheroes work more modest jobs with some noticeable exceptions such as Batman the smart guy is seen as the Schemer who's not doing things himself and who is making others fight his battles with the smart character rarely once again Batman being an exception putting themselves in actual danger while you're more brute force superhero such as Superman or ironically like the also rich Batman our scene is heroes because they put themselves in danger and do things themselves Also I find it hilarious how without intending Batman is an exception to all three of my point which I feel is a reason why he's one of the more popular heroes is because he is so different from most heroes

[@samwallaceart288]

Yeah but he got infinite money and baddies like Mirage working for him; he had every opportunity to just let it go and take his W. But instead he threw it all away obsessing over an underpaid depressed superdad

[@lv1543]

@@yami122poor people hate rich nerds because it reminds them of their inadequecy. He got that way with hard work. Which is anathema to the liberal normie. “How could a dork outdo me???” This completely flips the heiarchy of someone who should be at the bottom placed at the top. This breaks alot of peoples heads and they hate this

[@ajjean2720]

@@samwallaceart288wait you explain the movie too perfectly, now I can’t stop laughing. The man was a billionaire, what was he doing? 😂

[@samwallaceart288]

@@ajjean2720 mostly LARPing

[@raven3067]

3:26 Well yes but in Buddy's childish mind that's exactly how Mr. Incredible made him feel. Shoving his hand in his face and slowly turning his back away from the very kid who idolizes him. We know that in reality Bob never really did that but in the mind of a child that is exactly what young Buddy felt. And it hurt him so badly. But yes you're right. It's still pathetic...

[@Here_is_Waldo]

Ten minutes of therapy for Buddy as a child might have made a completely different story.

[@lv1543]

@@Here_is_Waldocringe. Therapy diminishes you as a person and turns you into a controllable npc devoid of personality. Thats truly pathetic. You should have tun and be yourself to the fullest even if people hate you

[@shawerful5209]

Men will want to kill every superhero in media instead going to the therapy

[@LORDOFDORKNESS42]

People have actually survived getting sucked into jet engines in real life. Would be an interesting twist for a future Incredibles movie, honestly. Like... the villain just got incredibly lucky, perhaps outright actual super luck, and still refused to learn anything. Perhaps outright so lucky, that Syndrome devices SHOULD be nonsense, but he just... slaps something together, and it actually works.

[@stuartbarron7117]

I'm personally okay with Syndrome being a one time villain but it's an interesting perspective. Since we're getting Incredibles 3 though, my main hope is that whatever the story is, they don't rush it like Disney forced them to do with the second film.

[@knellycornnan5132]

What about that massive explosion? I am gonna go out on a limb and say even if he survived the jet engine, the explosion or even the fall would definitely get him.

[@hannahmetzger4880]

​@@stuartbarron7117I feel like I'm one of the only people who actually liked Incredibles 2 😭...

[@TYKZY.BRANX._TEEK.SEE.BRANCH.]

@@hannahmetzger4880 iT HAD SOME GREAT SCENEZ & NONSENSiCAL ONEZ, BUT WHAT REALLY HELD iT BACK WAZ THE PLOT, ESPECiALLY AFTER SCREEN SLAVER'Z REVEAL / EViL ENDEAVOR'Z MOTiVATiON SCREEN SLAVER CHARACTER HAD A NiCE POiNT ON THEiR OWN TOO, HOW WE'RE TOO GLUED TO OUR TELEViSiONZ TO DO ANYTHiNG MEANiNGFULL BESiDEZ SOME BARE NECESSiTiEZ NEEDED TO STAY ALiVE THEY SHOULD'VE NEVER KiLLED OFF SYNDROME EiTHER, THEY COULD FUCK HiM UP, BUT NOT KiLL HiM LiKE HE TAKEZ OFF THE CAPE AT THE LAZT SECOND & DiVEZ TO THE SiDE OF THE ENGiNE BUT STiLL FALLZ BUT AT A SURViVABLE SPEED B CAUZE 1 BOOT STiLL WORKED, BUT THEN BOB FiNALLY GETZ HiZ HANDZ ON HiM & PUNCHEZ OR MALAY'Z HiM CLEAN OUT BUT HE STiLL BREATHEZ [NOT YELLiNG, JUZT LiKE TYPiNG iN CAPZ]

[@TYKZY.BRANX._TEEK.SEE.BRANCH.]

@@hannahmetzger4880 iT HAD SOME GREAT SCENEZ & NONSENSiCAL ONEZ, BUT WHAT REALLY HELD iT BACK WAZ THE PLOT, ESPECiALLY AFTER SCREEN SLAVER'Z REVEAL / EViL ENDEAVOR'Z MOTiVATiON SCREEN SLAVER CHARACTER HAD A NiCE POiNT ON THEiR OWN TOO, HOW WE'RE TOO GLUED TO OUR TELEViSiONZ TO DO ANYTHiNG MEANiNGFULL BESiDEZ SOME BARE NECESSiTiEZ NEEDED TO STAY ALiVE [NOT YELLiNG, JUZT LiKE TYPiNG iN CAPZ]

[@lunerblade13]

2:50 I don’t think he even did it on purpose. Just like with Mr. Incredible he has a habit to unconsciously lose control of his zero point beam.

[@merciful_poseidon]

3:38 this backs up the theory

[@329link]

There's also an interesting moment that shows Mr. Incredible's own inability to understand Syndrome. When he threatens to kill Mirage, he's doing a gambit that he's probably seen villains do dozens of times before. Not only does this show his desperation in the moment, but it also shows his ignorance in why that gambit ever works. It specifically plays on a hero's good nature, so using it on a sociopath is completely futile. Neither of the two can truly understand the other, and that makes the dynamic really compelling.

[@rebajoe]

And as with the "you got me monologuing" from earlier, Syndrome is genre savvy enough to know: 'You're not really gonna do it' and calls his bluff, but you're right, he wouldn't care if Mr Incredible really does kill Mirage, so what would it really accomplish?

[@kllk12ful]

Also given how just before Bob had been forced to listen to Helen and the kids 'die' how was Syndrome so confident that Bob a furious and grieving husband and father wouldn't have snapped Mirage in half in fact Bob tries to kill Mirage a second time when she releases him (the only reason why Bob didn't kill her a second time was that Mirage told him that Helen and the kids were alive)

[@rga1605]

I feel Syndrome is one of the biggest examples of how petty evil can be. Like, some people might argue he could've kept his money, but he made all that money to get back at Mr. Incredible, you can't separate that from his character unless you actually want another character, this is why he'd just repeat the same events if he had survived. And that single-mindedness could make him even more dangerous.

[@speedracer2008]

Syndrome's incompetence arguably makes him even more dangerous, because it means that he has no qualms about letting other people get hurt or even killed as a result of his shortsightedness if it means he gets what he wants. For example, when he recklessly throws the truck away in the direction of the people he was supposedly trying to save, he doesn't spare a thought to the potential deaths he caused, instead prioritizing showing off how awesome he is to them.

[@kenb2957]

What's especially funny about Buddy's defeat isn't that his defeat is a callback to Edna's speech on capes. It's a callback to his first scene where his cape caused his defeat in the first place! And yet he refused to ever recognize that his fashion sense could be a negative and his first warning didn't hold. Also he's never seen in clothes that aren't a super costume, not when eating dinner or not when in his home.

[@RamdomLolola]

i also like his line "And when everyone's super, no one will be"

[@WilliamLovell-oh1rb]

"You always say, be true to yourself, but you never say which part of yourself you should be true to?" Wow, that line hit me like a bag of wet mice.

[@matityaloran9157]

10:13, all he cared about was being seen as a hero. I know he does a terrible job distinguishing between perception and reality but it’s a relevant difference

[@stuartbarron7117]

Fair point.

[@flyforce16]

10:35 Also, this motivation isn't even to help the general public-it's only to further invalidate any special qualities about Supers.

[@Juggler1525]

I feel the best villians can usually be defined as the hero's biggest fan.

[@brynniefresh9746]

i’d like to shed light on the theory that edna mode designed his outfit knowing that he was bad news, and knowing that it would come back to bite him…or simply that he was so stuck on the idea of him having a cape that he ignores her insistence that capes are bad i don’t really believe she did this, considering she would probably not set someone she knows is gonna harm people out into the world…but it’s still a fun idea (it could work if she didn’t know he was evil and he just REALLY wanted a cape so she obliged)

[@kjd-s5b]

I think that the wrestler, MJF, took much of his inspiration from Syndrome for his heel persona. In his feud against CM Punk, he played the role of a scorned-fan-turned-nemesis.

[@SnakeMan448]

Syndrome is really bad at listening to and understanding people all throughout the movie, in keeping with his sociopathy and not helped by the "do as I say and don't question me" attitude adults had towards kids in the mid-20th century. He instantly twists everything he hears into something he wants to hear and cannot read others until they're about to harm him. Like, he gets into Bob's car and assumes that Bob is only reluctant to take on a sidekick because they'll need training, even though Bob is clearly uncomfortable with personal boundaries being crossed. He keeps assuming that Bob is prejudiced against non powered people, when Bob never shows prejudice and actually hates Buddy's stalking, phoney hero work and genocide. And finally and fatally, he assumes that Bob is not father or father figure material at all, which Bob proves wrong by throwing a car at his plane and kills him in order to protect his son from Buddy.

[@RedMint_Tea]

This video’s pretty well done! Syndrome’s a really interesting character, and it’s nice to see peoples perspectives on him.

[@stuartbarron7117]

Thanks. There's really a lot you can say about Syndrome as a character. There are other perspectives other people have that I never considered but are fascinating to hear about.

[@vaguevex7860]

oh wow, ive seen a lot of content surrounding this masterpiece of a movie and ive never noticed that buddy's flashback is innaccurate lol. i appreciate you illuminating that little tidbit. god this movie is crazy good.

[@jefferyandbob3137]

yeah Syndrome is an amazing villain who never would have won. The Incredibles didnt do anything to derail his Omnidroid fight and even if he won, what would he do when a real threat arises to combat him? (tho tbf it doesnt seem like many of the villains are that powerful).

[@alphax4785]

Yup, without the actual superheroes there his Omnidroid would've killed him... or he would've slunk away, it would have devastated the city and the government would've figured it out and run him down one way or another.

[@Connowot387]

“Yammering! I mean the guy has me on a platter, and he won’t shut up!” -Lucius *BEST*

[@ZudinGodofWar]

10:38 "And when everyone is super...no one will be"

[@alterablebark54]

An observation i just made that ive never heard before either is that Buddy even wears a cape as a kid when mr incredible has never even had a cape

[@darkhoodorderofgray6354]

To add a little more to the cape thing that you pointed out. When he was a bright-eyed bushy-tailed kid. Bomb voyage attach the bomb to his cape where Mr incredible was only able to hold on to his cape and tried to get the bomb off. Being a symbol for how he basically never matured, and a really good one at that too.

[@poppie267]

I never cared for the villain of the second movie i hope the villain of the third movie will be of his level.

[@stuartbarron7117]

I have a very "wait and see" mindset with Incredibles 3.

[@MrAspiringactor]

He’s basically Scar from The Lion King with a concrete backstory and without the air of sophistication

[@stephenwillis6937]

Since We never see Buddy parent's in those flashbacks I blame Them for how He turned out. They clearly didn't care about Him otherwise They would have known what He was getting up too and stopped Him. Thus He wouldn't have grown up thinking the way He did. Buddy parent's raised a Sociopath.

[@rebajoe]

And he had to be brought home by the police who probably told his parents what happened, and it gets worse when it comes out in the papers and everyone hears about his part in all this.

[@crazyman8472]

“You sly dog! You got me monologuing!” 😜

[@mewtwo7375]

Syndrome is so similar to the Reverse-Flash in the sense they both went from being their hero's biggest fan to their worst enemy. It just goes to show you what can happen if you meet your heroes.

[@MichaelOrd-k9w]

Yep, and both Syndrome and Reverse-Flash tried to take everything from Mr. Incredible and Barry Allen just for "humiliating them"

[@Chillipeffer]

3:51 he starts monologuing?

[@stuartbarron7117]

He starts monologuing! He starts this prepared speech about how "feeble" he is compared to him and how "inevitable" his defeat is and how "the world will soon be his!" Yada yada yada!

[@bradleyadams5252]

​@@stuartbarron7117 yammering! I mean the guy has me on a platter, and he won't shut up!

[@Ghost-Toast819]

I’m only halfway through this video and I’m so impressed with your analysis. So good.

[@williamoverton7775]

plus edna was written and ad libbed by brad bird the no capes thing is a behind the scenes reference to how animation crews are not like live action crews

[@RPWhitworth]

This video just made me think, "Wow, the Incredibles is a perfect movie" over and over again

[@NocturnalPyro]

8:49 also in the first scene, it’s also ultimately his cape which causes the problems.

[@LilAnonomus]

Little thing I noticed for ghe "no capes" thing, Bomb Voyage attaches the bomb to Buddy's cape.

[@RosesTeaAndASD]

I feel that Buddy lacked the empathy to have EVER helped anyone. ANY form of rejection from anyone would have sent him down the path to villainy because some people just can't cope with rejection and want to punish others. He resented ALL supers because he wasn't one and enjoyed punishing them all out of spite. Mr Incredible was just the catalyst that triggered his hate to fruition as a kid. By clinging to his hatred of Mr Incredible, Buddy could easily convince himself that every decision he made going forward in his life was for the best.

[@GnarledStaff]

Buddy wasn’t stupid, he was young. That makes it all the more tragic. He could have been a hero, if he had the right kind of encouragement. Yeah, he went about it wrong, screwed up and caused problems but that is the first step towards learning. In the right environment he could have been a hero. Mr. Incredible did not take him seriously, and then superheroes got banned so he no longer had any avenue to explore that dream of his. The anger and shame stewed and got internalized. The tragedy of this type of villain is the lost potential. He could have been building medical devices or changing the world. But he chose not too. Edit: this type of villain is supposed to parallel or reflect the protagonist. It shows the difference between them.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Honestly, given how he made himself a hero, Syndrome seems also comparable to Edna Mode. They are otherwise normal people, but their ingenuity and invention skills are unparalleled. They make stuff that would augment heroes’ power, and surprisingly both are aware of superhero story cliches and why they must be avoided in a world with superheroes (Edna realizes capes are superfluous and allow a thing to be jerked by or caught on, and Syndrome is aware an effective villain does not monologue while their plan is in motion and they are actively against a superhero). Both are also for the glory of themselves. It’s just that Edna actually knows what she is doing and helps superheroes, and Syndrome is Wheatley as a supervillain.

[@Itariatan]

Idk, you could make that argument if he hadn't grown up and kept making the same mistakes. Mr. Incredible wasn't even that mean to him, objectively. To a normal kid, the scolding probably would have made them stop and see what they were doing was wrong, but it didn't work for him, because his morals were skewed to begin with.

[@rebajoe]

Maybe if it had been any other day, but as it happened stuff was happening one after another and it really wasn't a good time to make his pitch.

[@AbrasiousProductions]

I think an underlining patheticness is actually a valuable trait in a villain, it makes them feel more human, like the viciousness and menace they portray is partially a form of masking and protection, I created a western villain like this myself in a character named Aloysious Brandt, he's only in one episode of my anthology series but after his three trail bandit friends discover he was gonna set them up and take the gold for himself, he begs for his life as they shoot him to death.

[@voxfoxclips8684]

Another parallel to Syndrome young and old is how the mess started. The cape. Bomb-Voyage attached one of his bombs to Buddy's cape before he flew away, not noticing and was going to get offed if Mr. Incredible hadn't saved him. Then as an adult, the cape is what pulls him into the turbine of the jet... he's blind to the real dangers he'd made.

[@lordclash]

One thing that I think most everyone misses about Syndrome is that he doesn't even realize he is a "super". He is super intelligent! And that's even more irony, that a super smart person can't see that they are super smart. Does anyone else see that as well?

[@Karlos1234ify]

Buddy’s villain name is very fitting. Syndrome, could be short for Hero Syndrome. The compulsive urge / need to arrange dangerous events to become a hero.

[@georgeprchal3924]

He's basically Fanboy from Freakazoid with a grudge.

[@thefudgebot]

thank you for making this video! I love the Incredibles and how it manages to be really serious but also really funny. I've watched the film so many times and watched so many videos on it, but yet YOU MANAGED TO BRING UP POINTS I'VE NEVER HEARD BEFORE. that's what i love so much about this film, there's just endless layers of nuance to unpack.

[@mattwright9765]

Syndrome reminds me of the quote about pointing at the moon, and mistaking the moon for the pointing finger.

[@cordyceps7531]

You didn’t even mention one of his most pathetic moves. When the Omnidroid goes rouge and shoots his remote, the first thing Syndrome does is fly through the crowd of people as the robot fires at him. Now this could’ve been a fight or flight move, or he was hoping the robot would hit a citizen and not himself.

[@whatwherethere]

9:40 because Mr. INCREDIBLE only considered heroic violence to be heroic. He was in the only element he wished to foster, violence against the other and society rewarded it. Mr. INCREDIBLE was not going to divert societies attention into creativity, equality, and growth.

[@gideonquartz5527]

Honestly I wpuld love to see a video about you talking if Symdrone does come back and survived his misfortunete end?

[@Wixyification]

Also Mr. Incredible actually enjoyed helping people even at his insurance job. Helping his clients navigate and exploit loopholes to get what they needed.

[@RedEveTillDawn]

Quick comment before watching- just reading the title made me think of my original thoughts while watching as a kid. I knew Syndrome was dangerous for our characters, but I knew he was only dangerous because of his gadgets. He boasts about making everyone super with his smart gadgetry blah blah- but it's not the power that makes the super its the choices they make, the desire to help. He was doing it for selfish reasons and once he lost his gadgets he ran away scared. I always thought he was pathetic even as a danger. I mean I didn't understand it like I do today, but I knew subconsciously he was a pathetic person.

[@puffpuffpassmako]

Fun fact that you didn't mention: Capes were made in comics to help artists convey the motion of flight. There was no practical use for them ever. It was just a visual guide for writers and readers. Superman in his first appearance had NO cape. Instead of flight he could jump really far and high. But artists changed it to flight and added the cape. So Edna is absolutely correct. Capes serve NO purpose other than a cosmetic choice that can be a huge liability. It wasnt until Batman came around who actually needed it as he used it to glide and on occasion as a weapon

[@EzraReay]

Here's another thing that made me think about syndrome's ego. He has this jail, and obviously it was made for powerful people or supers (violet nonwithstanding) but he must have designed it SPECIFICALLY SO HE CAN GLOAT to whoever was captured, because with zero point energy, their would be literally zero point to even having a place for prisoners. Just have a laser that continuously fired and boom, the perfect prison. Literally no one could escape, it's like being frozen solid. Not only that, but since people seem to be aware even when frozen, he not only made a prison to gloat, he also made it so that people would realistically have at least a hope of escaping. Basically, his ego really is just that big. (Also, as to the pain setting, yeah ok he needed mr incredible to talk, but even then, he could've used that prison cell ONLY for that and then put him, (or the rest of the family when captured) back into zero point prison after he was done with them. He seriously just wanted to gloat at them all.)

[@ShourbajiWalid]

Very nice. I love this movie soo much.

[@stuartbarron7117]

As do I, my friend. As do we all!

[@LostSoulSilver]

This is good!!! Why doesn't this have more views?

[@stuartbarron7117]

The view count is climbing. It's very much above average compared to other videos of mine in the first 24 hours. Not to mention, your comments are definitely giving it a boost which is very much appreciated (hint, hint, nudge, nudge.)

[@5h0ckblock]

To add to the cape bit, you can also say it was his destined end. Not because of what Edna said, but because Bomb Voyage had placed a bomb on his cape as a child. Its like a sense of karma or irony. Mr. Incredible saved him from blowing up, only for him to blow up because of his hatred for Mr. Incredible.

[@raven3067]

I don't understand why Syndrome didn't kill Bob and his family when he clearly had them all locked away in his containment unit. He could have just simply executed them all right there but instead he rambles on about his plan to make a world where everyone is “Super.” And then he walks away laughing. Also there is a big flaw in Syndrome's plan. He said he creat some sort of equality by selling his inventions so that everybody so that they can be super themselves. But he never overlooked the possibility that if his weapons were to fall into the hands of a crazier more destructive person then the entire world would have been in danger. Maybe anybody would have chosen to become a supervillain if they were to get their hands on Syndrome's technology and resorces. Think about it...

[@stuartbarron7117]

To me, it seems like Syndrome left the Incredibles alive because he wants them to see him "save the day". Everything he does, he does to prove himself to Mr Incredible. Despite what he claims, he never really outgrew him. Not to mention, he's an extremely short-sighted person who would absolutely not weigh the pros and cons of selling his tech to the public. I mean, this is the same guy who assumed he could defeat a giant robot that killed dozens of literal superhumans.

[@matityaloran9157]

Media Zealot brought that up in his “Villains too stupid to win” episode on Syndrome

[@raven3067]

@@stuartbarron7117 So meaning he would willingly sell his inventions to the public without even thinking about the worst outcome. For a genius Syndrome is either stupid or just careless. 🤣

[@stuartbarron7117]

@@matityaloran9157 I'm not familiar with that. I'll have to check it out.

[@stuartbarron7117]

@raven3067 Well the thing about Syndrome is, he's a talented inventor but not particularly smart.

[@Ichigo90]

“I only wanted to help!” That’s just half the sentence. The rest of the sentence: “Just in a way that will make everyone applaud me and compliment me for how good I am and praise me for how much I helped!”

[@rockoweenadventures5070]

The thing is we never directly see him die, all we see is a explosion he could have cut his cape that’s probably why he appeared in bricktoons

[@howdoichangemyusername9802]

“I was wrong to treat you that way. I’m sorry” … “You sly dog! You caught me monologuing!” I love how the exchange during this implies Mr.Incredible doesn’t even feel he plays any part in how Syndrome turns out. He’s not genuine about his apology. Reminds me of Starlight in S4 in The Boys where she fake apologizes to Firecracker about bullying her as kids and takes advantage of it to sedate her. Neither are sorry for their actions in the past nor take any accountability for them.

[@MysteriousTomJenkins]

Well Mr. Incredible isn't responsible. He repeatedly tried to keep a kid away from his dangerous work and after Syndrome nearly got himself, Mr. Incredible and a whole train killed he tells him off for it. In no way is Mr. Incredible responsible for Buddy's actions. He did the appropriate thing because Syndrome would have gotten killed. Syndrome could have gotten over it or decided to try to be a super hero himself but instead decided he'd kill every super hero and steal their fame. Mr. Incredible is faultless.

[@howdoichangemyusername9802]

@@MysteriousTomJenkins Right, and in the same vain Starlight isn’t responsible. Like Syndrome, Firecracker could’ve gotten over the rumors Starlight said about her being a sl*t that cheated in their pageants but instead decided to spread alt-right propaganda and become a pawn to Homelander. Main point being, I like that neither isn’t sorry about the way things turned out for either. Starlight isn’t sorry for bullying Firecracker considering she uses it to lower Firecracker’s guard and Mr Incredible isn’t sorry for Syndrome considering he doesn’t even hear him out. Because BOTH Mr Incredible and Starlight are blameless for the way both turned out.

[@katieboler5806]

Look at him digging to get more comfortable. Seems like he likes his new home!

[@SkyEcho751]

Capes did have a purpose in comics, they helped convey motion and presence in the original comics. Like someone did an edit of Superman without the cape and with the cape, though DC were the ones who mainly did capes, Marvel didn't do nearly as many capes, with only a few characters, like Thor, having them. Mr. Incredible parallels well with Classic Superman(Superstrength and Durability) while Syndrome mirrors the behavior of Classic Lex, an egomaniac who could probably introduce a new era of humanity, but instead takes his time on petty grudges against a single Superhero.

[@ignacioperez5479]

I keep thinking mr incredible could have managed the thing with buddy much better when he was a child. Instead of acting like he acted, he could have told him that he was not ready to be a hero and he can help him with the tech he creates, but until he thinks he is ready, he will NOT take him as a companion

[@MysteriousTomJenkins]

Nah, he acted appropriately and Buddy wouldn't have learned. Mr. Incredible already implies that this isn't the first time Buddy has followed him around, Buddy won't take a hint and nearly gets himself, Mr. Incredible and a whole train full of people killed. He absolutely needed to be told off.

[@MichaelOrd-k9w]

​@MysteriousTomJenkins Yup, and Syndrome tried to ruin Mr. Incredible's life over his OWN blunders

[@rebajoe]

​@@MysteriousTomJenkinsand it doesn't help that stuff is happening one after another, maybe if this had been any other day and things weren't so frantic...

[@P-Star7511]

This film took the "Never meet you're heroes." to a whole new level.

[@millo7295]

I'd like to point out that Mr Incredible had a little animation where he looks down to Buddys' feet before actually listening to Buddy for what seems like the third time this week Showing that Buddy did have a chance to stand on his own but was being careless by forcing himself onto Mr Incredibles' stage

[@nicholaslokos7949]

4:15 same :(

[@Wildfire201X_LIVE]

This balance also reminds me of Across the Spiderverse's The Spot, he is so pathetic but he poses a genuine threat to, like, everything

[@crynosinso8324]

2 things I've realized watching a bunch of Incredibles videos. 1: Bob's physical changes are super interesting. He goes from super buff and slim, almost a similar build to Superman or All Might in his buff form, to a more typical "father" look, to being a sort of a mix in between. 2: Speaking of All Might, Syndrome is almost exactly what people would've expected Deku to become if All Might didn't pass on One For All to Deku.

[@VirtueCry]

I never thought of Mr Incredible becoming like Buddy, but it all makes sense now

[@HalfTangible]

8:45 And the car Bob throws is the one he bought with the money from the first mission Syndrome sent him on

[@Snoozelightable]

“Heroes don’t wear capes”

[@basilreid257]

You have opened up more reasons for me to watch this again. Syndrome is too caught up in himself to realize what he could have been.

[@inubaka07]

Buddy could've been a hero to heros with his inventions like Edna Mode is. The heros recognize that Edna is the best of best an genius in inventing technology and incorporating it into their super suits. She is revered in their circle because her suits protects their lives and helps keep them alive allowing them to continue protecting civilians. He could have been that person but no he needed the limelight of the world on him.

[@AgentExeider]

You had every point but the last one. the point where he would be helping society by selling/giving his inventions but only in his twilight years is not one of even remote goodness. Because as he points out, _"Everyone is super, and when everyone is super, no one is"_ What he is getting at is A) He wants to destroy the very concept of being a super hero. and B) when everyone is on equal footing, super heroes won't be able to overpower the criminals. In fact precisely because everyone will be roughly equal, it will just create a more dangerous society, because it won't be "mutually assured destruction" like you get with nuclear war in the sense it's the _THREAT_ of Nuclear war. You will have actual super powered hoodlums and criminals running around that the world''s super heroes won't be able to keep up with. In so doing Buddy/Syndrome is saying he's going to give his toys away once he's done with the world and let it go to hell. So 100% selfish, he's had his fun and now the rest of the world can go to hell.

[@notarealcop7673]

8:17 Something that I haven't quite considered before is that the original "Bomb Voyage" Incident, It was Buddy's *cape* that ended up with that entire situation unfolding, too. (Like you can see at 0:51 )

[@Koopalingfan]

That was so nice. Well Bob could’ve handled the situation a little better, he did every right to be annoyed at Buddy for his recklessness and was concerned for his safety.

[@pofigist4375]

I never noticed that the flashback differs from what really happened

[@05-Overseer]

Ive never noticed that flashback was different xD crazy!

[@hardyboy7408]

Thank you for giving me insight because this gave me insight on myself. I need to own up to my mistakes and I need to forgive the child in me.

[@LunarcomplexMain]

god, the animation quality of the smallest bits are... dare I say incredible still to this day... I need to rewatch it again sometime lmao

[@KristopherPrime]

What I love about syndrome throwing the truck is it could be interpreted two ways and still be as narratively effective. Being a kids movie, nobody likely died from such carelessness. But as an adult, you can reinterpret that there was at least one person caught in the explosion if you want to visualize it as being a darker moment. Either way, it highlights he isn’t really a hero at heart since he COULD have killed someone back there.

[@RomaroBrandon]

Syndrome is the greatest Pixar villain and I wish he returned in Incredibles 2 as Screenslaver or at least half of Screenslaver.

[@matityaloran9157]

12:12, if you liked the movie, you should read the book.

[@stuartbarron7117]

Maybe I should make an Incredibles video every time I see something Princess Bride related and make an off hand comment about it every single time. A lot of people probably won't understand the connection but if you know, you know.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@stuartbarron7117 I still have yet to watch your original Incredibles video but that won’t stop me from recommending things based on references you make

[@matityaloran9157]

@@stuartbarron7117 Now that I’ve watched your Mr. Huph video, definitely do that.

[@yoboimichproductionsinc.2948]

Great video, glad my algorithm got you, love your accent, keep up with good work!! Absolutely loved the points you made also the one about Edna. Good job for watching the princess bride too

[@rocwelledwards8017]

its crazy how you can analyze a movie i didnt ever notice there were ulterior themes

[@elijahanderson3288]

If you think about it...Syndrome aligns more with Rand's ideology than the main characters.

[@stretr8251]

I really love how you pointed out the similarities between Syndrome and low point Mr. Incredible. Its both my favorite thing to notice in the movie and so important to understanding the differences between them. When we see how much he misses hero work, we also see what work he is doing. He is working in an insurance company and we see him handle a claim. His client is an elderly woman that needs her insurance honored or she won't be able to afford to pay for the damages herself. What does he do? He double checks to make sure he WON'T get credit for what he is doing. He then provides her with the help she needs while risking personal trouble with his boss that already doesn't like him for being too willing to help people. He then gives the only smile we see any worker have in the entire office. He is happy despite the fact nothing exciting happened and all he did is explain where to go to fill out 2 forms. This is what he does while working in the insurance industry, an industry meant to incentivize people to become like Syndrome. There letting people suffer for your gain, ignoring any sense of responsibility or duty to help, and deliberately manipulating the framing of events are all how you get ahead. We know what happens when Mr. Incredible is forced to his worst lowest point where he is crushed by outside circumstances and isn't allowed to help by apathetic people who have direct power over him. He still chooses to help and cares about helping. Syndrome has to pretend that happened to him to justify his choices. Mr. Incredible literally can not be forced to fall below the standard that Syndrome never rises anywhere even close to. Syndrome is so pathetic he dedicates his entire life to beating Mr. Incredible, competes uncontested against someone who doesn't even spare him another thought, and still can't even fake a best to measure up to their worst.

[@LunaMinuna]

What self sabotaging and self gaslighting can do to someone