Why Syndrome is an Incredible Villain

[@Rockotarthepurplehatguy]

Fun Fact: Syndrome is named that as a reference to "Hero Syndrome" in which a person intentionally creates a problem that only they can solve.

[@Jack_Saint_Archive]

*Why Rockotar is an Incredible KZbinr* 👍👍

[@admama_]

that makes sense actually...

[@aceash5.065]

@@Jack_Saint_Archive And also why Pixar (used to be) is a great studio.

[@williehampton3855]

Pixar's next greatest villain, Lot's-O-Huggin' Bear, falls in the same category. Like Syndrome, Lotso was also a once good character who was blinded by his own delusional beliefs that someone who he once cared for didn't care for him in the slightest. You should do an analysis on him next.

[@gsdtxz]

@@aceash5.065 they never was good studio

[@n19ntendods]

Fun fact: Syndrome is one of the few Disney characters who shares the same voice actor as both a child and adult!

[@Edwinaopt]

I didn't think about that

[@vwin9112]

Guess puberty didn't really go that way for his voice XD.

[@nathancruz9172]

Jason Lee

[@brainthebrian3690]

And?

[@silashurd3597]

@@nathancruz9172still surprised that that was him

[@ScorbunGame]

Bob's line "you killed all those supers so you could PRETEND to be one?!" really nails home how dilluded Syndrome is. Bob understands that being a hero requires empathy and a willingness to use his power to help others.

[@n19ntendods]

Wow! Nice attention to detail.

[@KudaGeatsune3821]

Unfortunately Bob kinda missed the boat on how that empathy could've been what saved buddy from being a villain Encourage him to use his talents elsewhere away from possible bodily harm his rocket boots alone could've been an incredible idea if refined Instead of endangering his young life

[@ScorbunGame]

@@KudaGeatsune3821 Bob, by being stubborn and clinging to his toxic belief that only a few "deserve" to be heroes, was the man that broke Buddy's faith in them.

[@ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ]

I disagree. Buddy was a dumb kid putting himself in danger. Bob was right to send him home and dismiss him

[@ScorbunGame]

@@ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣΛΑΧΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ He should've been more gentle with him then, explained why his line of work is dangerous instead of just dismissing him outright as a annoyance.

[@tespenkr9924]

"Because he isn't stupid" The rarest line I've heard for describing a villain.

[@konnorrose3652]

Exactly! Palpetine was smart up till a certain point. But one could argue that’s just the approach to everything. But also. He killed his apprentice. I know it’s a different franchise, but going back to have villains can be stupid at times, syndrome is one of those perfect ones. Up till a certain point. No capes

[@itap8880]

Creating a character that consistently surpasses the creator at a real aspect is a challenge. Some aspects are harder to do well than others.

[@nickthebabba7767]

Why is he not stupid? Is he smart?

[@Hypercube2017]

Agreed, I really would like to see smarter villains who are defeated by the heroes using their strengths/experiences to outmaneuver them. As opposed to villains who do things like go to make popcorn before making sure the hero is defeated. To build on the first reply here, I would argue for villains like Thrawn who actually feel like a real, competent, threat. Not just because of their powers, or weapons, or intelligence, but because they're smart enough not to make obvious mistakes/poor choices. (And yes, I'm differentiating intelligence and "smart" here, since Syndrome is clearly brilliant, but he's not _smart_ ).

[@guineapig0983]

@@nickthebabba7767syndrome is literally brilliant, have you seen what he’s made?

[@CriticalMaster95]

You forgot to mention another thing: Jason Lee absolutely KILLED it as Syndrome. He sells every aspect of the character, from his comedy, to his narcissism, to his disregard for his cohorts, and to the sadistic glee he takes in being evil. His performance as Syndrome is incredible (no pun intended) and just adds to how great of a villain Syndrome is.

[@theserpent8667]

Guess I'm a sly dog. I got you monologuing! I can't believe it...

[@seanchukwuezi3079]

His talents are glorified when he is in talented people's hands unlike wonderdog and Alvin and the chipmunks

[@winkone101]

Now that you mention that, it's funny how Syndrome's death was pure KARMA

[@theserpent8667]

@@winkone101 You know how his cape was the cause of his death and he chose to wear it? The thing about that is that, well THAT WAS HIS MISTAKE!

[@occultnightingale1106]

@@seanchukwuezi3079 It's hard for an actor to put out a good performance with a bad script

[@Aceofwolves]

Syndromes line "you got me monologuing" is in the offical list of 100 greatest movie lines of all time.

[@BenjaminHull-mw1dv]

The best part is that he doesn’t monologue anymore until all of the incredibles are caught.

[@cr8618]

@@BenjaminHull-mw1dvomgggg wow

[@BornAgainBrother]

“Turns out, there are a lot of people, whole countries, who want respect, and they will pay through the nose to get it.” Is another, and Syndrome’s other line “When everyone’s super, no one will be” is even more ingenious because of how Dash mirrors the same sentiment earlier in the movie: Helen: “Everyone’s special, Dash…” Dash: “Which is another way of saying nobody is…”

[@davecrupel2817]

​@@BornAgainBrother I thought of that too. The parallels on this movie are numerous and unreal.

[@Koopalingfan]

@@BornAgainBrotherGood point.

[@rafaynoman1180]

Fun fact: In the origional draft of the script Syndrome was meant to be a minor villian, but the writers loved him so much they made him the main villian.

[@Darkchao_berserko22]

Well they definitely made the right choice

[@sxatcychan1988]

I remember watching that deleted scene on DVD. (Yes, I know I'm old.) Syndrome was originally going to be an exposition-spouting house robber at the beginning of the film.

[@ethatsgoodwine5888]

@@alexvaughan1013Damn bro, you must be fun at parties.

[@capncake8837]

@@alexvaughan1013 You don’t have to make everything about race.

[@luv-velvet]

@@capncake8837dang i hate i missed what was said 💀 y’all made fool delete his comment

[@kamikazelemming1552]

One thing I love about Syndrome is how, unlike so many other supervillains from comics, games, and movies, he is constantly improving upon a single plan. The Omnidroid was designed to kill supers, so he built one, and had it fight super after super until one of them succeeded in destroying it. Then, rather than just make a brand new robot with completely different abilities, or just a whole other plan that didn't involve the robot, he smoothed out the flaws of the original, and repeated the process of having it fight supers, again, and again, and again, until he had a machine that was nigh invincible.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

A villain that is actually smart and doesn't just pretend to.

[@tunebeat3809]

If we think about it, that just make Syndrome all the more dangerous.

[@jaredpatterson1701]

Now if only he applied that concept to his morality and ideals

[@scottwendt9575]

It was a bit of worldly realism Brad Bird and Pixar used to be known for…. Syndrome would have fit right in at SpaceX! This concept was also jammed into Monsters Inc. About the only thing not based in reality was the concept of scream and the Monsters who captured it. The factory, emphasis on processes, safety protocols and corporate org chart could of come from any manufacturing company in the country.

[@bassbusterx]

​@@HappyBeezerStudios reminds me of the villain of watchmen, not gonna name him due to spoilers

[@Jackie-McCann]

As a few other people have pointed out, it was a particularly clever bookend to his character that what had nearly (and foolishly) cost Syndrome his life all those years ago was ultimately what did him in at the end; his failure to realize until it was too late that his cape was an occupational hazard whilst emulating (or even trying to surpass) a hero who _never wore a cape to begin with._

[@twelved4983]

It’s been speculated that Syndrome actually visited Edna Mode and asked for a suit. However, if that’s the case, then it’s further speculated that Edna could see how dark Syndrome’s heart was, how he really didn’t have any good intent. As a result, she gave him a suit *with a cape* since she knew that’s what most killed supers (to her deep regret).

[@geoffreyedgson7875]

Good observation. Plus simple with a lot of further details. Buddy Pine, when anything did not occur as he mentally envisioned or desired, would reject or habitually ignore such details. 1)his last encounter with Mr. Incredible as a kid was at the train crash; not the bank vault. How much bad fall-out happened from the train accident from the bomb stuck to his cape, which he never clicked? 2) Syndrome idolized “supers” to the point of emulating them in the most dramatic fashion possible. He’s a sociopath and an overgrown 10 year-old. Just basic research into ways to kill supers to build the Omnidroid would identify how so many were crippled or killed by capes. Heck, the Omnidroid might have used a cape to kill some, yet Syndrome still kept a cape believing “they are supers, I am Syndrome.” 3) when Mr. Incredible was caught, Buddy ignored any chance the plane Helen flew wasn’t connected to him, and after Mirage was nearly killed Syndrome was genuinely bewildered why she was angry. He cann’t mentally Process anything other than his own assumptions.

[@rus0004]

@@geoffreyedgson7875 About point 3: Buddy knew that Helen's plane was there for Bob. He knew that a transmission of some kind came from Bob, and a few hours later, a government plane entered his airspace. Of course, anyone in Bob's position would have denied knowledge of any distress call, and if Bob hadn't slipped, Buddy might have decided to just maintain radio silence. But when Bob said Helen's name upon hearing the radio transmission, it confirmed that, not only were they here to aid him, but it was someone he knew personally, and that he could kill two birds with one stone; removing the intruder, and adding to the torment of Mr Incredible.

[@EthanKiz]

@@geoffreyedgson7875 Not all hero’s were capes they’re firefighters, doctors , policeofficers.

[@evil778]

Another detail is that earlier in the movie, Hellen tells Dash that everyone is special, and he replies with "Which is another way of saying no one's special", which is eerily similar to Syndrome saying that with everyone super, no one is.

[@konnorrose3652]

I imagine at a different timeline, Dash got so fed up that he actually started thinking more about what syndrome and his actions caused. better yet, if syndrome lived teaming up with him. Since reading your genius, comment, my friend. either him or Jackjack.

[@sweethistortea]

@@konnorrose3652That would have been an interesting idea for a sequel.

[@jackinthebox301]

@@sweethistortea Yeah its too bad they never made one.

[@cristhianramirez6939]

​@@jackinthebox301Wrong, they did

[@jackinthebox301]

@@cristhianramirez6939 First, why are you resurrecting a 7 month old thread? Second, it was a joke. The sequel movie sucked.

[@zacharygilmore1075]

I loved this video analysis, but I’d like to point out a couple of things that you missed. In Syndrome’s flashback when Mr. Incredible said, “Fly home Buddy”, you said that he remembered it perfectly. However, he didn’t remember that Bomb Voyage was there as well, instead thinking that Mr. Incredible’s attention was entirely on him. Mr. Incredible also had plenty of reasons to reject Buddy. Their first interaction in the movie showed that that was far from their first encounter, with Buddy appearing to be more of an obsessed fan stalking a celebrity. He even breaks into the guy’s car. So it’s no wonder why Mr. Incredible brushed him off so quickly.

[@teresaw2028]

I agree! Furthermore, it wasn't like Mr. Incredible completely disregarded Buddy altogether, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to save him when that Bomb Voyage bomb was attached to his cape. Buddy could have realized that, but instead his only care was that Mr. Incredible was "ruining how good he looked" (omg... I just realized what incredible foreshadowing that scene was to his demise at the end 😱)

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

Also, when he recalled on how Mr. Incredible treated him that time, he omitted Bomb Voyage's presence and made his quote ("Fly home, Buddy. I work alone.") in a condescending tone rather than for his own good.

[@Katerine459]

Just to add yet another reason, I don't remember this being explicitly stated, but it's definitely there in the character design: Buddy was, like, 12. He legitimately had no business getting into dangerous activities with a superhero. Bob was just being responsible in trying to send Buddy home.

[@RetroPhantomFrog]

Also it said that bob had sign all of his all of his posters. Meaning Bob was nice to him when they first met but Buddy kept on pushing and pushing becoming a stalker

[@williamdaviddiazcuchimaque7511]

​@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967y olvido la parte de la bomba sino fuera por bob buddy habría muerto

[@dr.c2195]

Even though Syndrome thinks that he is not a super, he actually is a super. And not only that, but his superpower is the most powerful of them all: super intelligence. He thinks that he is a normal person hating supers but he really is a super hating supers.

[@ragg232]

Being super smart comes with the weakness of being super emotional. And being smart means you're better at lying to yourself.

[@101jir]

​@@ragg232Being super emotional is not inherent to being super smart, but they do trend together. Did you mean the latter?

[@TeenWithACarrotIDK]

@@ragg232 Just like having super physical attributes also creates a super-want-to-save-lives-with-said-strength.

[@seriouspeople123]

@@ragg232idk about that, can you explain why?

[@101jir]

@@seriouspeople123 Past a certain IQ (I'd have to look up what it is), mental illness (particularly depression) increases significantly in frequency. I think this is what they meant, but they haven't confirmed.

[@silverscorpio24]

Even in his younger days, Buddy didn't really understand what being a hero was all about. He thought being a superhero was cool and flashy and all about "moves and catchphrases". He wanted the attention and glory. He spent all his time and energy inventing things that *HE* could use and make people think he was a hero, not using his talents to really help people. Granted, he was still a kid and Mr. Incredible didn't handle the situation the best, but you could see that Buddy already had the wrong mindset when it came to superhero work.

[@paulocorreia9670]

If mr incredible mentored him he could be the greatest hero ever.

[@silverscorpio24]

@@paulocorreia9670 Maybe. Maybe not. Mirage pointed out to Syndrome's face his cowardice and narcissism and it didn't change a thing.

[@Dingghis_Khaan]

@@silverscorpio24 Mirage also pointed this out when he was already an adult and had been holding onto this mindset and petty grudge for years. A young Buddy would be impressionable enough to be taught not to be a glory hound, but Syndrome had already built that wall.

[@silverscorpio24]

@@Dingghis_Khaan Still didn't occur to him to help the cat out of the tree, despite being in the area and knowing that's what Mr. Incredible would do.

[@peterwhite6415]

I think one scene that really shows how he doesnt understand what being a Hero is like is when Bob/Mr. Incredible finds Bomb Voyage... Buddy butts in as they are about to throw hands, and pulls Mr Incredible aside to talk. We see in that scene what hes able to do at hes age, but also shows hes serious lack of awareness, especially when theres a Villain in the room... wich also in a way shows how lil Buddy knows about Villains. Youd think such a massive fanboy would know at least who some villains are and what their capable off, but he pretty much ignores Bomb Voyage and barely acknowledges him.

[@elsakristina2689]

“I’ve finally figured out who I am: I am your ward!” The fact that Buddy/Syndrome uses that word specifically really shows how much he likely saw Mr. Incredible as a father figure to him since for all we know he probably has either a bad father or an absent or unknown father, and it adds even more depth to why he took Mr. Incredible’s rejection as such a deep, personal and life-changing betrayal.

[@HasufelyArod]

All people idolizing or loving a singer, celebrity, actor or whatever need to understand this. And they are complete morons if they don't realize their idols need privacy too.

[@kristinahuchison2511]

Same! I always thought maybe Buddy’s dad wasn’t in his life or he hated him, and viewed his idol as a father figure instead. Mr. Incredible has a line where he tells an officer “And make sure his mother knows what he’s been doing.” It always made me wonder if Buddy’s dad wasn’t around so Buddy saw Mr. Incredible as a role model and someone he’d kill to have as his father. The problem was Buddy didn’t actually understand what being a hero actually meant, valuing others above yourself. He always viewed heroism as having cool powers or gadgets and getting to beat up bad guys and soaking up all the glory. He didn’t realize how dangerous being a hero actually was, and treated it more as a way to get attention and recognition. And while Mr. Incredible shouldn’t have been so dismissive and rude about his abilities and gadgets, he still tried to get Buddy to understand he was too young to be constantly endangering his life, especially if something happened to him and Mr. Incredible has to tell his mother why her son is in a coma, and potentially might not wake up.

[@ScrambledAndBenedict]

The thing I love the most about Syndrome is how he still acts as childish as he did as buddy. He geeks out over Bob's escape, his "You gotta admit this is COOL!" line, and stuff like that. For as much as he's changed and become such a horrid villain, he's still that exact same kid he was that day he tried to be Incrediboy. Not only does it make him fun, but it shows just how completely lost in the past he is: he hasn't matured a day and is still that same immature kid just now twisted to evil.

[@felixleong61]

Same Immature kid with a lot of money lol

[@theserpent8667]

One of the main reasons why he's one of cinema's best villains is because he is created as a direct result of the protagonist's character flaw. Because of Bob's pride and workaholism, he pushes Buddy away, and inadvertently creates his nemesis. Also, he was technically an inevitable villain. Because of his narcissistic personality disorder, he'd probably have kept showing up even if he'd been accepted, and even if Bob had suggested an alternative, Buddy's ego wouldn't allow him to see the reason of it. He *wanted* to be Bob's sidekick, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. So Bob's logical decision to rebuke him cones across as irredeemable slander to him. And because of that, he wanted nothing more than to prove his superiority to the man who rejected his help.

[@williehampton3855]

Couldn't have said it better myself. He's one of the many examples of a twist villain that is actually not good but great!

[@StormyStars64]

Syndrome would never take no for an answer and had the belief of having everything planned out

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

Ultimately, Mr. Incredible rejected him not only because he preferred to work solo, but also that it would have been irresponsible of him to take a child under his wing in a dangerous field of work. His ignorance and unawareness of the danger almost got himself killed by Bomb Voyage had Mr. Incredible not forgone apprehending him to save him, therefore he brought his own misery onto himself. Although Mr. Incredible could have handled it better, he still went far beyond the excuse. So therefore, it's not Bob's fault since rejecting Buddy is the right choice for reasons.

[@williehampton3855]

@@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967 Agreed. Had Mr. Incredible had taken Buddy under his wing, he would've been a terrible sidekick. Always jumping in headfirst into danger and Bob always fishing him out of trouble. And Buddy never learning anything from his mistakes. It would've been a toxic version of Batman and Robin's relationship.

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

@@williehampton3855 Glad to see that you understand the info.

[@coldfire-blitz3122]

The line "After All... I *am* your biggest fan" was so perfect that even 6 year old me was amazed and grasped the threat and got the reveal. So chilling, especially when paired with Mr Incredibles face as he is realizing it at the same time

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

I am in love with the line "and when everyone's super, no one will be." It is such a diabolical plan that makes him so different from any other villain. He plans to destroy the very idea, the very concept of superheroes beyond repair. If his plan succeeded the very definition of a superhero would change in society. Making the very idea of your enemies into something they themselves hate, is so much more than simply killing them and the things they love. Another detail that people never catch is during the “Fly home buddy, I work alone” scene, we see Bob confronting and dealing with Bomb Voyage, yet in Buddy’s perspective and flashback, we just see Mr. Incredible denying and turning him down in a freshly lit room for no good reason. This really lets us know that Syndrome’s obsession with Mr. Incredible is so far off the deep end that he forgot why he liked and idolized Mr. Incredible in the first place, being a superhero. Love how Syndrome is the representation of being greater, stronger, smarter, wicked...but not better. We should try to be better that the people who hurts us in some ways, using this skills in our favor, but yeah, Syndrome was too attached to the past, so full of resentment that makes it his flaw, but he did taught Mr. Incredible a lesson: what he was becoming by not getting over the past, and that's a parallelism I never thought about until this video! Even his death was poetic and huge!

[@randomspider725]

Another interesting facet to Syndrome’s character is that he’s essentially a fan who feels entitled to his idol’s work, and when he doesn’t get what he wants, he feels like extreme behavior is justified. For a real-world parallel, imagine if [insert toxic fandom here] had access to murder robots.

[@zacharybosley1935]

Oh shit, this same fuckin story is covered in Across the Spider-verse

[@asdasdasdasd61932]

Spot had a glow up at the end lol

[@zacharybosley1935]

@@asdasdasdasd61932 more of a breakdown imo

[@iceburgess461]

No

[@mrcritical6751]

I dunno, in Spot’s case it was kind of a justified want for vengeance. Miles did inadvertently ruin his life when he blew up that supercollider, Spot had every right to be pissed at him. Honestly it was more on Miles for not trying to help the poor guy who admitted in front of him that he’d been forced into a life of crime because he’d been rejected by society, instead just making jokes about him and treating him like a joke villain when it’s clear he was just a desperate man trying to survive using powers he didn’t even understand

[@self-absorbed5269]

The real problem with Syndrome is that he only wants glory. The combination of achievement and praise that comes with heroism. He doesn't really care about morality , just approval. He needed a dad that Mr. Incredible could not be , even to his own kids for a good while.

[@deadponic117]

one thing to note: when Mr.Incredible tells him to go home, he's holding Bomb Voyage, but when Syndrome retells what happened, Mr.Incredible isn't holding anyone, showing how warped Syndrome's recollection of that moment truely is. Side note: Mr.incredible was being a responsible adult by not taking a kid along to fight crime with him, also i didn't even realize that this comment would get so many likes & comments.

[@theguybehindyou4762]

Didn’t catch that until now

[@jaredpatterson1701]

Probably intentional by the editors to show how delusional Syndrome was.. missing the big picture

[@kyndrablankenship1758]

I always assumed it was an animation error.

[@deadponic117]

@@kyndrablankenship1758 it wasn't i actually went back and rewatched the movie and turns out that is exactly what the director intended.

[@kyndrablankenship1758]

@@deadponic117 I know that now. I've seen other people comment about it on another video before it got labeled. I'm just saying that's what I used to think as a kid.

[@NadieNobody-k1r]

Imagine if Syndrome got his costume from Edna and she put a cape in it on purpose

[@admama_]

wait what

[@Mussinsky1839]

Amusing.

[@Drakonus75]

she is the main costume creator for heroes. it would make sense that he'd go to her and she'd see he's a bad egg

[@VeryPeeved]

Perhaps she gave her reasons for not using capes, and he insisted. So she decided "well, it's in darwin's hands now".

[@BEATL96]

You know, I never even considered that possibility before, but … maybe. I mean, Syndrome had to get is outfit from somewhere, right? Perhaps Edna thought “Hmm, this boy’s up to no good, check this out.” Not all heroes wear capes. Hell, it would seem some don’t even wear a uniform at all.

[@lambertopedulla8565]

"And when everyone's super... No one will be!". As a kid I didn't really understand how utterly genius writing this line is. It encapsulates Syndrome 's entire motivation in a single sentence. The Incredibles is a true masterpiece of filmmaking...

[@vylbird8014]

The line is also very requotable, changing one word. I've seen it more than ones used when discussing the introduction of generative AI models: "When everyone is an artist, no-one is."

[@gregorymarengoni1886]

After all these years, I have kept on understanding the meaning of this quote.

[@thewackykid]

​@@vylbird8014yeah.. another variation is "when everyone is special.. then no one is.."

[@Almighty_Mage]

@@vylbird8014that example doesn’t work

[@clownworld4655]

That line describes progressive ideology as well. When everyone is smart, beautiful, perfect, etc. no one is

[@SparkpadArt]

I don't think Bob was explicitly looking down on Buddy for not having powers. If anything, he was concerned for the boy's safety, since he didn't seem to understand how dangerous it is to be a superhero. Indeed, Bomb Voyage takes advantage of this naiveté when he slips a bomb on Buddy's cape (foreshadowing much?), since he knows Mr. Incredible would drop everything to save an innocent life. Nevertheless, Buddy _thinks_ it's about powers, and it's this misunderstanding that motivates Syndrome to make supers obsolete with his technology.

[@PopeDuwang]

I agree. There’s a time and place to prove yourself to be a Hero and showing off your Rocket Boots during a Super Villain capture isn’t one of them. Buddy endangered not only himself but others (since his stunt led to the bombing of that railroad track) because he wanted to impress Mr. Incredible. Buddy was a False Hero from the start. A Hero that cares more about the Fame and Glory aren’t Heroes. Bob did care about his glory days but it was because he felt like he was making a difference whether it was saving a Cat or stopping a Robbery or stopping a Bomb Terrorist or preventing a Suicide. Hell, he choked his former boss when he prevented him from saving a Life while telling him how he needs to ruin lives at his job so they do better as a company.

[@levievil9220]

@@PopeDuwanghell he even gave advice to the people who’s lives he was supposed to ruin bob ain’t exactly the best person but he knows at least when to be a decent enough guy to help hell he even helps a old lady and she played along probably knowing what he’s telling her isn’t something he should which good on her

[@flowerbloom5782]

Bob tone was off but understandable. I mean you have a kid you told off multiple times wanting to show off during a terrorist situation. Syndrome was too young and hurt to see that and warped his worldview.

[@JYMa-ps9bh]

@@flowerbloom5782 Exactly. I was grinding my teeth throughout the whole time the Rockotar was telling Mr. Incredible off. He doesn't seem to acknowledge at all that Buddy had been in need of a restraining order for all the stalking and inappropriate lurking he was up to. :/ Pretty sure we'd all have that tone towards a stranger if they kept bothering us.

[@Deadlyspark]

​@@JYMa-ps9bhyeah I agree. People put heroes on such an impossible pedestal on how to interact with others, but imagine if this was a police officer in this position, or a bomb squad unit member doing their job and some random fan of theirs just starts interrupting and interfering I can promise it wouldn't go well. The fact Mr Incredible actually even acknowledged him was more than what should have been expected I bet if Mr Incredible ignores him completely and take in bomb voyage, the 'glory days' never end, and heroes don't get banned

[@TheFacelessStoryMaker]

I feel like Syndrome DID have powers which was his intelligence. As a kid he made rocket propelled boots and designed a line of machines to systematically kill every superhero that visited his island.

[@MacabreMole]

He also is completely unbothered by finding out there are children on the aircraft he has sent hostile fire at. Mirage is horrified when Helen radios that there are children aboard, but we don't actually see Syndrome until he tells Bob "Aw, you'll get over it. I seem to recall you prefer to "work alone."" Mirage has a shaking voice and is clearly distressed just delivering the news they've confirmed the target was destroyed. Yet Syndrome is totally unmoved and just laughs in his face over it. His power play with Mirage directly after doesn't seem as emotionless to me. He seems thrilled to see how far he might have pushed Bob, while trusting that he is too good to kill anyone purposefully/in revenge - tho it does seem as if he doesn't mind losing her if it nets him getting to see his hero go evil. Which I think is why he gets so frustrated with him and calls him weak and pathetic. He was disappointed yet again by Mr. Incredible.

[@RJALEXANDER777]

I'm not letting Mirage off the hook. She was an accessory to murder, who enabled Syndrome to kill dozens of superheroes, and who knows how many civilians when the robot was sent to attack the city. I'm assuming she gave every hero the same brief about the Omnidroid, she was able to look those men and women in the eyes and smile before sending them off to their deaths. Sure she was regretful about blowing the plane out the sky, but she did nothing to stop it. She only truly turns against Syndrome when he demonstrates that he doesn't value her life either. I feel like Mirage is a character that doesn't entirely get fleshed out, all she really says about herself is that she's "attracted to power". Mirage serves her purpose as a plot device but as a character she's not too deep, maybe more could've been done with her.

[@MacabreMole]

@@RJALEXANDER777 I wholeheartedly agree, I think it might have been the first thing close enough for her to feel any level of emotion towards her victims. I think everything else has been through screens but she had to be in close proximity to someone experiencing the consequences of her actions here and that seemed to jar her. She still had something within her to be good. But yes she is tragically unexplored.

[@fullmetalgamer6062]

I do wonder why Mirage pushed Syndrome out of the way before getting grabbed by Mr. Incredible.

[@crazyscotsman9327]

@@fullmetalgamer6062 I think she thought that Syndrome would actually try to save her. And that Mirage thought they both had a real loving relationship. Because Syndrome could have just unlocked the thing and Bob would have let her go. But when Syndrome was willing to risk her life on a furious grieving father's restraint. She knew he did not actually love her.

[@carolinavelluto]

@@fullmetalgamer6062 i understood that she likes him .

[@bradleyhauertheedtruncanfa5020]

Syndrome is easily Pixar's most evil villain of all time. While he's not my favorite Pixar villain, I can't deny that he is an incredible (pun intended) villain and is well-written.

[@minecrafter3448]

I actually think that title goes to hopper. He’s evil solely for the sake of being evil, with no real cause or goal, other than a pathetically small amount of self satisfaction and a tiny bit of gain in that he can be lazy the rest of his life.

[@bradleyhauertheedtruncanfa5020]

@@minecrafter3448 Nah. Hopper has one redeeming quality, which is that he kept his promise to his mom on her deathbed to not kill Molt. Syndrome's excuse however does not justify his actions. He may have gotten rejected from being a super, but does that really justify luring over a dozen superheroes to his lair and killing them by having them fight his Omnidroids and shooting missiles at Elastigirl's plane with her children aboard?

[@minecrafter3448]

@@bradleyhauertheedtruncanfa5020 some other candidates include: lotso, Ernesto de lacruz, (forgive my butchered spelling) and (forgive me for bringing up the name of the worst villain in cinema history) miles axelrod

[@bradleyhauertheedtruncanfa5020]

@@minecrafter3448 Lotso and Miles "Terrible Villain" Axelrod are an easy 2nd and 3rd place for most evil Pixar villain.

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

@@bradleyhauertheedtruncanfa5020 Hopper did stated that if he hadn't promised, he would kill Molt as he wanted but couldn't.

[@tashahemlock8195]

Aside from the Omnidroid needed to be destroyed by itself, it was also another part of his downfall cause he made the Omnidroid TOO smart and adaptive as once it realized that Syndrome had the remote for it, it quickly turned on its creator and fired at him in a attempt to blast off the remote so it can continue to rampage.

[@meta527II]

I agree, he really is a good villain, and he deserves the praise he gets.

[@TheHManShow]

Syndrome went from a overzealous psycho fan kid, to an annoying man child, to proving to be a real genius and genuine threat!

[@Im-BAD-at-satire]

He's a genius with zero-wisdom.

[@bane2201]

@@Im-BAD-at-satire Yeah, max INT but no WIS. Paraphrasing a D&D analogy: Syndrome was intelligent smart enough to see a cape and calculate precisely how much stress it could tolerate without ripping. He wasn't wise enough to think "I shouldn't wear a cape."

[@hispanicwitch4929]

Brad Bird's two main villains, Kent Mansley and Syndrome, show us that persons who don't really have anything, or very little, to lose are the most dangerous of all, because they'd do anything to get what they want. Also, I love how The Incredibles is a movie that improves, like, a billion times, once you re-watch it as an adult (just like The Iron Giant). Brad Bird is another director which prove that Guillermo del Toro's "Animation is cinema, not a genre" is, as a matter of fact, 100 % right. Sidenote: the most sinister and evil thing about Syndrome is that he is completely fine with murdering children. He is so dilluded in his idea of revenge against Mr Incredible that when Hellen says through her headphones that there are children on board the plane (being Violet and Dash), Mirage is absolutely horrified, but Syndrome is like "yeah, whatever".

[@knightofkorbin888]

I took it as he actually didn't believe a rescue jet would have children on it. I didn't assume he knew or believed what little evidence he was given.

[@hispanicwitch4929]

@@knightofkorbin888 This, tbh.

[@sydney8631]

​@@hispanicwitch4929 I'm kinda curious about this, but can I hear your thoughts about Kent mansley? I know you mentioned him, but I'm still curious.

[@Rediscool9]

The fact that they followed up this legend of a villain with the Screenslaver is one of the primary reasons why Incredibles 2 was so disappointing.

[@palladiamorsdeus]

You mean Incredibles 1.5?

[@jmaster4941]

I disagree a tad. Screenslaver itself was an interesting concept because the character seemed to embody and weaponize the idea of how interconnected we are to mass media and sensationalism. Revealing Screenslaver as Evelyn was the disappointing part. They took a somewhat interesting villain concept and tossed it out in favor of a terrible "twist" trope that Disney had been overusing.

[@ceddavis7441]

​@@jmaster4941 personally I think it plays into the themes a bit more. The twist definitely could've been handled better, however the twist that the screenslaver we knew was a puppet is a really good representation of how some are able to hide a face behind screens really well. Playing into the idea that alot of what we see on the screen is carefully picked to mislead us into a different direction.

[@jmaster4941]

@@ceddavis7441 I'll give you that but I wish Screenslaver itself was the actual villain regardless.

[@mrcritical6751]

Screenslaver’s design was awesome and it sucks he was only really in one scene. The concept of a villain who’s pissed off about humanity’s reliance on televised entertainment and wants to use it to control the minds of humanity is an interesting one, that speech he gives about it is genuinely kinda chilling and paints an interesting picture, but then Evelyn is the villain and we never even see The Screenslaver costume again

[@TheManWhoLived800YearsAgo]

I once saw Syndrome on a Mid-Disney villains list and I was deeply disappointed by people's taste in villains

[@yuri-sama.questionmark]

If Ellen Endeavor was on top of their list before Syndrome I would be disappointed too

[@eglol]

Yeah, maybe they didn't really put much thought into it or hadn't watched the movie in a while. Well, don't fear; we look into the details and appreciate this villain as being a really very well-done one.

[@thomasdasilva1464]

I realized upon rewatching the film that one of the reasons Syndrome's reveal as Buddy is so shocking is because the film pays him as little attention as Mr. Incredible does at the start - both the viewer and Mr. Incredible are blindsided by how this seemingly unimportant event from the past has led to the development of this genius, entrepreneurial terrorist.

[@The_onset_tutor]

The fact that his voice actor Jason Lee was also in Scientology at the time kind of makes this villain even darker.

[@cerulee]

The hero's hubris creating the villain, and the villain's hubris leading to his own demise is just 👌

[@huntercool2232]

Not so much a genius blinded by jealousy. But a fan who felt betrayed by his hero. That is one of the most powerful ingredients to make a very dangerous villain.

[@Lazyguy143]

More evidence of syndrome was only really after glory: Notice how in syndome's flashback of when Mr. Incredible told him to go home he completely removed Bomb Voyage from the scene. Meaning he wasn’t actually focused on the villain or the dangers around him, just Mr. Incredible's approval.

[@gabrielmarrero2763]

He’s easily the most entertaining Pixar villain. He’s an amazing character.

[@andecidreweye]

Syndrome is basically the definition of taking jealousy too far

[@HasufelyArod]

Nah, and yeah. More than just jealousy, it's also obsession causing the sufferer to take things beyond far. He's an insane fan idolizing a celebrity.

[@Mabra51]

Syndrome got you monologuing.

[@jdsimmons97]

I swear Syndrome would thrive in the MHA based on his inventions alone. Whether he's a superhero or villain. And Stain would thrive in the Incredibles world.

[@marianxendor3974]

What really stands out about Syndrome for me is just how iconic he was. Extremely recognizable design, great voice acting and characterization, and specially unforgettable lines and dialogue. Imo a modern classic villain

[@thebe_stone]

I read the title as "Why Syndrome is an Incredibles Villain" and just clicked out of confusion, because obviously he's an Incredibles villain.

[@RozayMalikOG]

Same😂🙏🏽💯✔️

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

If you look at the non-super geniuses of the film Edna's a perfect foil for Buddy. She's a highly intelligent woman who most likely faced discrimination for her dwarfism and has no 'super' ability to speak of but rather than being petty over her lacking physical abilities Edna uses her gifts to make sure the people who are out there fighting in ways she cannot do so as safely as possible. Also, unlike Syndrome who is stuck on the past Edna always looked to new ventures/future possibilities. As she says in the movie to Bob, "I never look back, it distracts from the now". Even when supers are banned which means the government canceled her main industry Edna reinvented herself as a modiste, having recently been in a fashion show on Milan when Bob visits her. There is also an ironic thing about Syndrome. Syndrome builds a robot that is capable of learning from its past mistakes and deficiencies, but Syndrome never truly did himself. As a kid, his cape was a liability that allowed Bomb Voyage to plant a bomb on him and as an adult his cape was what caused him to get sucked up in the plane turbine. He never fixed his own flaws. I think Mr. Incredible was more concerned about Buddy endangering himself, his inexperience with being a hero and negligence of his own safety rather than having no respect nor admiration for Buddy's courage and determination after all Buddy was still a civilian and didn't know how risky it was to be a Superhero showing how short sighted he was.

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

It also doesn't help that the one day we really see Buddy pushing the issue (Bob mentions the multiple pictures and signings, but never this particular behavior) is the day that Bob is getting married - meaning he's doing all of his hero work with the constant pressure to get to the church on time in the back of his mind, so the obsessive ramblings of a hyperactive child, something he doesn't typically deal with during his normal hero routine, is going to cause an incredible (😎) amount of stress. Honestly, the only thing Bob did "wrong" was not knock Bomb Voyage out immediately so that he could quickly turn both him and Buddy over to the police (and to be fair to Bob, the only real reason he didn't is because Buddy kept rambling on and on, distracting him from his hero work). Heck, if Bob had made quick work of BV, he could have gotten paramedics for the suicidal guy fast enough that his injuries likely wouldn't have been nearly as long-lasting, and maybe even been able to give the guy a stirring speech that would give the guy hope to continue living. Really, everything that goes wrong in the beginning is on Buddy's head.

[@N3gro74]

Syndrome's line "And when everyone is super, no one will be" is unironically one of the best lines I've heard from any villain in media.

[@tappajaav]

"Unironically"?

[@Seminooos]

Syndrome could have become the greatest hero of all time and accomplishing things that no other hero could ever do. The man literally could have changed the entire world for the better and vastly improved everybody’s lives.

[@joeleboeuf]

Sometimes, the worst types of villains, are the ones created by their own heroes.

[@Pudding404]

Syndrome had character development in a sense that he pushed himself to improve his inventions by being repeatedly rejected by his idol, but at the same time, didn't, because he never let it go.

[@AGuyNamedZach]

If any good came from Syndrome's actions, it's that they helped set Mr. Incredible on the right path by showing what he could've become if he let his obsession with the past control him.

[@comedygold6249]

Also syndrome's cape was blue, the same color as mr incredible's old costume, meaning that he still wanted to hold on to the past to fuel his grudge, with the cape, the symbol of this grudge and clinging to the past being the thing that doomed him in the end and got him shredded

[@ambiguousreptilian4624]

Ok, don't mind me but, I'm a minute in but I had a moment where I was like, the cape on Syndrome's suit is like a metaphor for the fact that he never could be a true hero because good quality heroes don't where capes.

[@johnsantos507]

Even villains don't wear capes too.

[@konnorrose3652]

@@johnsantos507 fair enough. But also. Superman, Batman would like to have a word. probably a few others but I’m not listing all of them. 😂

[@johnsantos507]

@@konnorrose3652 Not just those 2 characters, all Marvel and DC characters have capes. Batgirl, Batwoman, Red Robin(Tim Drake), Robin(Damian Wayne), Shazam, Black Adam, Doctor Fate, Supergirl, Powergirl, Martian Manhunter, Raven, Thor, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Magneto, Black Panther, Cloak, Spider-Man 2099 and Baron Mordo and Loki.

[@johnsantos507]

@@konnorrose3652 Oh yeah. I forgot. Vision and Scarlet Witch are also wearing capes.

[@konnorrose3652]

@@johnsantos507 I got hit hard. I didn’t realize so many characters wore capes, even the wizards. Sorry about that. I’m fully blind, so I don’t see any of the character designs. Even though I love both universes to death. I just figured that some of them didn’t wear them.

[@TheAzulmagia]

I'm going to have to contest one point you made: I dont think Mr. Incredible rejected him because of bias. It's clear from Buddy's first scene that his obsession has taken him to the point of stalking and other behaviors that Mr. Incredible is tired of dealing with. So while Buddy is gifted, his inability to respect boundaries is the cause of frictio, not his lack of ingrained abilities. Granted, Buddy no doubt BELIEVES that he was rejected because of a lack of natural ability.

[@Rockotarthepurplehatguy]

I still think that Mr. Incredible was far too harsh and refused to see Buddy's perspective, instead he chose to insult and belittle him rather than respectfully turn him down.

[@TheAzulmagia]

@@Rockotarthepurplehatguy Oh yeah, I think the film would agree that Mr. Incredible is at least partially in the wrong for how he handled the situation. Granted, we don't have a full picture of his interactions with Buddy, but I always got the vibe that he never really just sat down and leveled with the kid, instead just letting his frustrations boil over.

[@alexysspowell9710]

@@Rockotarthepurplehatguy I kind of have to disagree with you about Mr. Incredible being too harsh. Just with Buddy’s intro in the first couple minutes of the movie, you can tell this isn’t Their first interaction. Bob knows this kid is kind of crazy and isn’t going to stop with his shenanigans. I would like to assume Bob had conversations with Buddy and tried to let him down gently but Buddy wasn’t hearing it. Again he was a kid and kids don’t always see what adults are trying to get at but somebody NEEDED to be firm with Buddy.

[@kristinahuchison2511]

@@Rockotarthepurplehatguysomething I’d like to mention, I always thought maybe Buddy kinda viewed Mr. Incredible as a father figure. There’s a line where Bob tells an officer to speak to Buddy’s mother, indicating maybe his father wasn’t around. So maybe he saw his idol as someone so cool he’d absolutely love to have as a father, hence why he kept bugging him and relentlessly pressured him into letting him be his sidekick. Also, I really think Buddy didn’t understand what being a hero actually meant, he viewed heroism as having powers, cool gadgets and getting to beat up bad guys while soaking up the glory. He didn’t really care about making the world a safer place or helping those in need, he more cared about showing off and getting attention. And I really don’t think he ever understood how dangerous being a superhero actually was, and the last thing Bob needed was an annoying kid following him everywhere and then getting seriously injured because he was being immature and reckless. Heck, Bob didn’t even trust his own children with their powers and Helen had to remind them how dangerous heroism is, hence why they couldn’t go on missions until they were old enough to make their own decisions. Case in point, Buddy didn’t actually care about protecting others or helping those in need, he more just cared about showing off and making himself better than everyone else. As you said, he had the perfect chance to become a real hero by using his super intelligence to make strides in the medical industry or even transportation industry (etc) BUT he chose to use his “powers” for himself and didn’t care if his weapons got misused or hurt innocents. As long as he got respect and credit

[@kallemattiwaris2422]

Ironically, just one of his inventions, Zero-point energy, would have represented a 1000 year leap in technology and in general humankind's progression.

[@SkyEcho751]

You missed that Syndrome displayed selective memory, where he remembers everything that "Mr. Incredible" said and did, but can't even remember Bomb Voyage being there at all.

[@toplaycool21]

There’s a complexity to Syndrome and the writing for his character arc was brilliant. I love his development and connection to Mr. Incredible.

[@bigbangbot-SuperSqank]

Great analysis as always. The Incredibles in general is a true masterpiece and another aspect about Syndrome which is really well done is how they introduce him. At the beginning of the movie, you see Incrediboy and then the movies disposes of him. The cops take him home and the movie jumps forward in time. You don't know what happened to him and it's possible that you forget about him completely, just like Mr Incredible did. Most of the other characters during the opening (outside of the main cast) end up disappearing for the rest of the movie so it is logical to think the same happened with Incrediboy. But then Mr Incredible takes his job to Nomanisan Island and we learn that while Mirage is taking him under her wing, there is a big boss behind the whole operation. We know nothing about this big boss whatsoever. When we learn about the Omnidroid for the first time, the movie gives us a fake and rather cliche story but for all we know, that is the story behind the Omnidroid. We don't know the real story and it is the kind of story we've heard many times before, so we just roll with it. But then after Mr. Incredible beats the Omnidroid, we get our first glimpse at Syndrome. We still know nothing about him but we do briefly see him in the shadows. But if you pay close attention, you may recognise his voice and think "wait, is that a grown up Incrediboy"? You don't know for sure as the movie draws no attention to it but it is something you might wonder. And then when Syndrome is revealed, things begin to add up. We truly find out who he is and we find out what happened to Incrediboy after that day with Mr Incredible all those years ago. It all makes sense and it feels satisfying as the movie set it up earlier but it also did not make it blatantly obvious either. We learn how Syndrome felt after the events happened and we get a glimpse of what he ultimately became because of his past experiences. It is set up so well and the payoff is so strong and satisfying, making complete sense. But even with that, we don’t learn a lot about Syndrome’s plan and little do we know at the time, Syndrome has done and will do a lot more than we are aware of. But later, we get that one scene in the computer room, one of the greatest scenes not just in the movie but in animation history. Here, we learn that what Syndrome has done is so much worse than what we could have imagined. The movie did actually already elude to Syndrome's greater scheme earlier on. We see Gazerbeam at Mr Incredible's wedding and we later learn that he went missing. After Mr. Incredible's encounter with Syndrome, he finds a dead Gazerbeam, which not only confirms to us what happened to him but it also shows us that there is more to Syndrome's plan than what we thought. And then this computer room scene reveals all of it. It shows us the sheer extent of what Syndrome has done, with Syndrome doing much more than we could have imagined (even if you already picked up on Gazerbeam earlier on). The man eliminated so many supers via the Omnidroids, and it just goes to show us just how dangerous this man truly is. Combine this with the impeccable music and cinematography and you truly have an incredible scene which manages to elevate the movie further. The scene is near exclusively visual but it manages to further its story and characters in an extremely powerful way despite that. A true cinematic achievement if you ask me And then later on in the movie, we of course get to see more of Syndrome, learn more about his plan and get a better understanding of the kind of person he has become, which continues all the way until his demise at the end of the movie. Syndrome is just such an ingenious villain, being set up in a powerful way while also being a highly complex and enjoyable character. They got everything right with Syndrome and the Incredibles in general is a movie that got everything right. Easily a contender for the best movie Pixar has ever made, the best superhero movie and even the best animated movie. It is truly an Incredible movie with an Incredible villain. It's just a massive shame that Incredibles 2 fumbled so hard with its villain.

[@coffeelover0876]

Syndrome is basically Lex Luther & Reverse Flash combined, a brilliant person who is actually has potential to be better at being a hero but is evil out of petty jealously

[@phousefilms]

Some things in this can show that Buddy is not fully in his right mind. Similar to Mysterio/Beck in "Far From Home", the flashback takes out parts of the context of the scene. Beck sees the audience laugh at Tony Stark calling his technology "BARF"in "Civil War", when the audience didn't laugh in the actual movie. Buddy ignores the fact that Bob was busy with Bomb Voyage and instead has Mr.Incredible just walk away.

[@heatzeeker1320]

I loved Syndrome. He was evil and a genius but still a fan boy of heroes even though he wants to destroy them. He was super charismatic and funny. His design is amazing as well.

[@brillopower1492]

I kinda see Syndrome and Titan ("Tighten" from MegaMind) as the same type of character. The nice guy who got artificial super powers, was rejected by the object of his attraction and decided to make that everyone else's problem.

[@justaguywhowatchesyoutube5588]

They are less of a nice guy and more of a naive but creepy man child that haven’t matured a day in their life

[@davidbraccini4770]

When The Incredibles was in pre-production there was a deleted intro where Syndrom actually tries to kill a newly married Mr incredible and his family. Originally there was a villain who was supposed to be Mrs Incredible ex boyfriend but then since Sydrom was liked so much by the executives they decided to make Syndrom the main villain. Also I don’t think that Syndrom, even as a kid, wanted to be a hero to save people but more to flex mussles towards a crowd of people and his favorite hero. While Mr Incredible recognizes that it was a mistake to always think for himself and to work alone, I do not think he was wrong into rejecting Syndrom since he probably was intelligent enough to understand that the kid was unprepared and wanted only fame. If Syndrom wanted to be a hero he could have just asked to be trained, not pretend to immediately become his sidekick in dangerous situations because he is good in creating new technologies.

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

Exactly.

[@levievil9220]

Hell if he did ask he probably would’ve gotten a job as a mechanic for super hero’s who uses tech kinda like the guy who fixes suits in the marvel comics except only for good guys

[@bacongaming1353]

It’s spelled: Syndrome. There’s a fucking E at the end.

[@deinonychus1948]

@@levievil9220 I mean, if he put his knowledge to good use; at the very least, he'd be Disney's Iron Man and at most, he could produce combat armour, weapons and/or vehicles for every Super! He could give Elastigirl a suit that gave her resistance to cold temperatures; one of the few weaknesses she has, along with a bike that could connect to her body, allowing her to more finely control her movements when at the wheel, or he could give any fire based Super a suit/gauntlets/mask/visor (depending on how the fire is produced) that helped focus their flames to reduce collateral damage while increasing the power output when used on a Supervillain He could also build special weapons that helped combat other rogue heroes to keep the public's fears in check... but no, he chose revenge...

[@levievil9220]

@@deinonychus1948 he’s basically be a good tinkerer if he didn’t immediately go for revenge (spider-man villain makes gadgets for a gang)

[@edgaropts5257]

I rewatched this movie fairly recently and found it far more mature than I remember.

[@karmore17076]

Buddy worshipped Mr Incredible until his hurtful remarks got to him and made him what he is now, He learned that people don’t take you seriously until you’re a threat to them. He didn’t understand that being a hero doesn’t mean getting praised or famous for it.

[@brendaspence1824]

I’ll play devils advocate.bob could have mentored him and attempted to help him understand the true purpose of a hero

[@HasufelyArod]

There's a difference between not being taken seriously and putting out of harm's way, which was what Mr Incredible was doing when he "rejected" Buddy. He, Mr Incredible, was being a responsible adult by not taking a literal child to fight crime, which is in itself a life-threatening occupation. Mr Incredible did a better job than Batman in letting children fight the crime.

[@eternalnos2179]

Syndrome has always been one of my favorite movie villans with his straying down the wrong path after having his passion tarnished at a young age by his idol. I've always thought he was a super with his super power being super intelligence. He's a super villian And hey you're on your way to 30k! Congrats dude! I really dig your channel and the passion you have put into all your videos since the start. Cheers to the future!

[@Laz3rCat95]

Syndrome is definitely one of the best animated movie villains imo

[@CountOfMonteCristo_]

Man Syndrome is such an interesting villain, he’s so complex and memorable that I’d go as far to say he’s one of the best written of our time. The concept of a narcissist committing genocide on a super hero’s, just for him to fly around and pretend to be one not just out of spite, but out of a misguided mindset of what it means to be a superhero. His jealously is beautifully tragic, yes it’s sad that Mr Incredible was mean to him, and in a way he did create the villain we know him to be, but his behavior shows that he still would be selfish and envious no matter what. It’s incredible how every time he’s on screen, he gives a very memorable performance, I can quote him all these years later that says a lot. Beautiful video man, this is why the Incredibles is not only my favorite Pixar film, but one of the best animated films of all time.

[@yubakrarai]

Syndrome said something I will always remember " You only respect me now because I'm a threat "

[@alexjewett7455]

1:53 I think Mr incredible just realized that the *live bomb* about to go off was more important than humoring a 10 year old who wanted to play dress up during a high stakes situation.

[@n19ntendods]

I’ll never be able to wrap my head around the fact that Sydrome is played by Dave Seville from the live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. 😳😳😳 “ALVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!”

[@AmishParadise27]

When I watching this video, an ad played after Syndrome said "And when everyone's super...", so it sounded like: "And when everyone's super... every sunset is a sign to eat Reece's"

[@n19ntendods]

Even tho I don’t love The Incredibles that much, I still think Syndrome is an *incredible* villain and easily the best part of the film. He was just this quirky, naive, energetic fanboy obsessed with Mr Incredible. He only ever wanted to be his sidekick, but was denied the opportunity, due to the latter preferring to work alone. After an incident which resulted in him getting arrested by his hero, he became consumed by rage and aggression, swearing to get revenge on his idol by perfecting his Omnidroid by having supers fight multiple revisions, and get revenge on Mr. Incredible for shunning and rejecting him by become a "hero" in the eyes of the public and make superheroes widespread by selling his technology to render "real" superheroes useless and destroy the entire concept of them. having them killed in the process. “And when everyone’s super… *no one will be.* OMG, that’s such a brilliant line!

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

Uh, he was never a good person at heart for real. Even as a child, he thought that being a hero was all about fighting bad guys and not saving people. Essentially, Syndrome just cared for the "Super" part and not for the "Hero" one. This was proven when Syndrome tells Mr. Incredible that all he wanted is to help him, a flashback of Syndrome's memory is seen and the terrorist Bomb Voyage is absent from his mind. Therefore, although Mr. Incredible could have treated him better, perhaps even if Mr. Incredible had not rejected him, he would either still become a villain eventually, or at least an anti-hero as his reckless nature aside, Buddy's self-serving nature made him unworthy of being a hero. To be fair, however, he was a kid at the time, so he may not have understood what being a superhero really meant, though despite this, he didn't realize as he grew up that Mr. Incredible wasn't in the wrong, and even if he didn't want to forgive Mr. Incredible for his harsh treatment on him, that didn't justify going after supers who had nothing to do with his rejection. villains.fandom.com/wiki/Syndrome pure-evil-villains.fandom.com/wiki/Syndrome

[@christianbell8347]

Why don't you like the Incredibles? Opinion disregarded.

[@n19ntendods]

@@christianbell8347I don’t dislike it. I still like it. It’s just that family dramas aren’t really my thing. But I love the superhero aspect.

[@christianbell8347]

@@n19ntendods I'm afraid that's not good enough. You must start loving it. I'll give you 4 weeks to start rewatching it until it finally clicks with you. Get to it!

[@kiarawolfe4723]

​@@n19ntendodscareful we have another "buddy" in chat

[@Pink-Computer]

Syndrome has always been one of my absolute favorite villains. He's so delightfully evil and has fun with his villainy, and given the character is endearing enough, I love gleeful villains who have fun being evil. he has some very quotable lines as well. funnily enough, his most sinister line is "the baby's sleeping". out of context it's really funny to me 🤣

[@ZorLink21]

1:21 actually he never knew what being a super meant. He wanted to become Mr. Incredible’s sidekick just for fame and there’s no doubt that even if Bob hadn’t rejected him, he still would’ve ended up as an antihero at best.

[@RoundOfApplauseChannel]

S hut up bro!! Your head canon doesn't matter. Buddy genuinely wanted to help

[@bizzyg5751]

What I hated about Buddy, which is what I think made him an excellent villain, is that I knew kids (plural) like him in real life at the time, and he was so relatable. I grew up with them, and years later, that's how I came to learn how much work went into developing this character. People like Buddy aren't just egotistical or narcissistic, they have this obsession with social constructs such as "respect" and "dignity" and wield tactics such as manipulation and lies/half truths like hidden weapons to control people, so it's hard for "their puppets" to see. They are cute when they are kids, but they get angry when they can't fool people. By time they lose their cute charm they have learned how to be charismatic and charming, which gets them by just fine regardless of what one or many grubby slobs may say. They like to make people, particularly strangers and close acquaintances feel like they know them. That's Syndrome all the way.

[@learn2chillax]

One of my favorite theories about Syndrome is the possibility that his parents were Supers. Ones where he might've gotten his genius from which could add extra context to him being a obsessive fan to Mr. Incredible at first (if his parents were Supers, they were likely too busy to watch over their son and Mr. Incredible could give Incredaboy attention he wants as a kid, a connection to his busy parents) to becoming a villain (the theory also suggests he offed said Super parents and used the gains there to help his revenge plan). The idea Syndrome could be a Super possibly ate at his core of revenge, so he could've been in hard denial about it, much like how he thinks he's a hero when he's really not. But yeah Syndrome is so good, so well thought out in terms of character, design and execution, I fucking love this movie, haha~

[@JoseHernandez-kl2ng]

There is a related theory in which Syndrome is an unrecognized son of Mr. Increidible based on their similar facial features. This would make Syndrome's obsession have even more sense.

[@Mohico-San]

Nice Video, Syndrome is one of my favorite villains too. Also i'm happy to see my name in the credits.

[@derekmendoza1690]

"what is better? Not having a strong belief? Or believing in something so strongly that it blind your from any other perspective?" Nice

[@breakingbenjamin555]

I get that revenge isn’t the answer, but the idea of making someone suffer the way they made you suffer is so tempting.

[@SpellboundWolf]

Jason Lee did a wonderful, outstanding job in portraying Syndrome. Nobody else could have done it so well. His smooth voice gives me chills of fear when he looks Mr. Incredible in the eyes & whispers "I always was your biggest fan."

[@adawg3032]

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. And after rewatching it, it reminded me of why Pixar movies used to be so amazing. This is one of their timeless classics.

[@ximenaallessandrij.5972]

Rewatching The Incredibles a few days ago, I noticed how BRILLIANT Syndrome was, a true genious like Tony Stark maybe, and that his plan didn't worked out (to me) by two main reasons that worked on the Incredible's favor: that the family life were outcasted and blended with sociaty so he couldn't know the powers of the kids, wich made Violet to set them free, 'cause that torture trap was really monstrous and great (for its porpouse), like literally was her power what helped them on time (perhaps they could have find another way but too late); the other one is that, because Syndrom isn't physically "super", he got knocked-out by his creation the entire fight, I have no clue what could've happened if he was conscious, because that wapon that paralizes them was amazing!, probably the ending wouldn't had change but maybe he could have make things way more difficult... I don't know, maybe I'm just thinking a lot, but I really get to appreciate what a mastermind he was and that only his own "greatnes" was the thing that blinded him Like, creating something SO powerful that could only be destroyed by itself... wow, and that his own creator was the same, incredible indeed!

[@RoyMcRoyerson]

Mr. Incredible was absolutely right to treat Buddy the way he did. It was clear that he was just a kid who thought being a hero was all for fun and games, and Syndrome proved him right when he revealed his entire plan was to just put on a show to get attention as a fake hero.

[@Edwinaopt]

It always made me sad how Mr incredible treated him in the beginning. It's proof that your actions effect people and thier futures. Great video! My favorite hero in the family is Mrs incredible!

[@matthewbrown3194]

Rockotar please make videos talks about other villains in different series and movies in the near future your doing amazing job for real

[@Mussinsky1839]

Well done, Rockotar. Your video essays are outstanding, not only because of the thought you would put into them, but also because of how much they make sense. Excellent use of logic, Sir.

[@Ditto-js1or]

3:59 it’s actually worth noting that even though he remembers how Mr incredible “betrayed” him, he doesn’t actually remember the day perfectly. In the flashback Bob stands over him and looks down on him as if they’re the only two in the room, but in reality, he was trying to apprehend bomb voyage and keep buddy out of trouble for his own safety which buddy was too blind to see

[@silverscorpio24]

Incredibles 2 was SUCH a disappointing downgrade from the first one. And I will fight anyone who says otherwise.

[@williehampton3855]

I actually enjoyed it. But I understand where you are coming from.

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

It really was. It was like watching a paint by numbers movie with predictable beats

[@williehampton3855]

@@Chud_Bud_Supreme But maybe things will fall into place once Incredibles 3 comes. With Superheroes now fully legalized, this would be a great opportunity for the third film to do a time skip where the Parr Family are slightly older than before with Bob and Helen in their 50s, Violet in her early 20s, Dash as a teen and Jack-Jack as a little kid.

[@silverscorpio24]

@@williehampton3855 They should have done that for 2.

[@williehampton3855]

@@silverscorpio24 They'll get another chance.

[@pallasathena1555]

What’s better, not having a strong belief or having such a strong belief that it blinds you to all other perspectives- is the struggle of my life

[@jesserivera2043]

Between this and Sky High you can't help but feel that Disney has a thing for the "Villain Nerd" trope. I still believe that Buddy's ability to create this tech makes him a technopath similar to how Royal Pain was in Sky High

[@levievil9220]

Doubt that most people say he’s has super intelligence because if he was a technopath the robot wouldn’t have needed a ai well not a learning one just one to respond to him like a remote control car waits for a controller for it to move

[@AlphaBookZ]

I think one of the best unintended morals in this is to enjoy _yourself._ I learned years ago the best way to get back at someone via revenge is to do a sort of avenge on one's lost pride or something they lost by instead being able to move on. When I was in middle school, I was bullied (a lot). It angered the bullies more to watch me be happy & unbothered than to take it out back on them. I learned the same when I was in a vile, toxic relationship. Instead of doing what he did (took my friends, manipulated them, generally being a bad person), I chose to remove him from my life. He attempted to apologise later, telling me how much he wished he wanted to be around me for my good spirit alone (I said no). I think if Syndrome went with this instead, it would have hurt Mr. Incredible so, so much more because it's not hard to be a good person! If he really wanted to make everyone super, he could do that by showing how to do so without the need of powers. It would be devastating to watch for Bob to have to endure the idea he was _wrong_ about supers. It would be the same concept, but maybe not nearly as fun

[@GodatLobs47]

It’s crazy how syndrome came back 14 years later, and tried to kill him

[@dontrellmayfieldjr2868]

Actually, 15 years…. Syndrome : too late.. 15 years too late. Syndrome is a great villain by far.. great character arc well written..

[@GodatLobs47]

@@dontrellmayfieldjr2868 his hair kinda looks like pennywise random thing

[@speedracer2008]

Syndrome is a dark reflection of Zeus’ phrase in Hercules (1997). That phrase is “Being famous doesn’t make you a true hero.” Syndrome never understood what it REALLY meant to be a hero. He believed it was about being praised for saving the day, when, in actuality, it’s about putting your life on the line to help others who can’t help themselves. Syndrome’s plan with the Omnidroid epitomizes this flawed perception of heroism. He designed the Omnidroid, so he could defeat it and win the public’s praise in the process. Once the Omnidroid became a greater threat than Syndrome was equipped to handle, he chose to run away and leave everyone else at its mercy, rather than making an effort to save everyone before the Omnidroid could do more damage. Syndrome was unwilling to put his own life on the line to appear as a hero. He just wanted a shortcut to the fame that came with being a hero.

[@gamingmoth4542]

I believe the main reason why Mr. Incredible blew off Buddy's attempt to be his side kick it was because Mr. Incredible was worried for Buddy's personal Safety. For all we know, embellishing in Buddy's wants could've ended up with Buddy turning into Jason Todd (especially considering Buddy's lack of awareness for his surroundings).

[@HexSpeedruns]

an incredible’s video with bowsers inside story music, this is literally a video with all the best forms of media, what a wonderful surprise

[@RandomGuy0627]

When I was young I never really noticed how great syndrome was as a villain. But now that I’ve been considering becoming a filmmaker when I graduate high school, he’s an amazing villain and is not just one of my favorite Pixar villains but one of my favorite villains in general. Another reason why the incredibles is my absolute favorite Pixar movie.

[@TritonsGuard]

The other lesson I see in The Incredibles is that one seemingly small wrong action, at a specific time, and to a specific person can create your worst enemy. A negative "Butterfly effect."

[@Dillon4599]

Another detail of note is that earlier in the film, Dash pretty much says exactly what Syndrome does before it's revealed that Syndrome is even a relevant character. For context, it happens during the drive back home from Dash's visit to the principal's office (which, mind you, was a product of insecurities he unknowingly shared with Syndrome) and Helen says to him "Sometimes, honey, we just gotta fit in, and to fit in, we just have to be like everybody else...everyone's special, Dash" to which Dash responds "Which is another way of saying *no one* is." Stuff like that is why I love rewatching this film.

[@SomeDudeOtaku]

I always like to think that Syndrome does have superpowers and it is superintelligence, which in itself makes him more tragic. The contrast in how onlookers appreciate Mr incredible's more physical capabilities compared to Syndrome's mental ones matches much of the real world's perception. Like how most movies involve action and fighting because people understand it easier.

[@CHADCONTEXT]

I really want to see how Syndrome created his own technology, wealth and carefully made plans to enact his revenge against Mr. Incredible. Sure he mentioned he started to create weapons in the movie but I want to see him creating his prototypes, while having a series of success and failures. There is more than just making weapons, we need a comic based on his origins. The backstory of a villain and how they rise is something that is always interesting.