It is canon that many of Megamind’s inventions were designed by Dreamworks to look as if they’d been cobbled together from junk. At the same time, it is common (although not universal) fanon that Megamind is rich because how could somebody that brilliant not figure out how to get rich? These two are not contradictory.
IRL many illegal mind-altering drugs with high street value are actually quite easy to make. Any third year undergraduate chemistry major can do it. All they need is the right equipment and ingredients, all of which also have legal uses and are sold on the open market. So the law requires that sellers of that equipment and those ingredients report all sales to the relevant government agency, along with the identity of the buyers. When they see one buyer accumulating everything necessary to make one of those drugs, they figure this person is in the process of setting up as a dealer and they put that person under surveillance.
In the Megaverse, where supervillains exist, the government of course has a similar policy regarding the equipment and supplies needed to build basic evil inventions. So Megamind has to get those by stealth. I imagine him and Minion disabling the security cameras at junkyards and scrap metal buyers, helping themselves to what they need, then leaving cash on the counter to pay for it all because he want those businesses to survive so he can go to them repeatedly. Later, after he makes his connection in Romania and can get all his equipment and supplies new, he still hangs onto the old stuff because he has become sentimentally attached to it. Also, because he finds maintenance boring, he doesn’t bother fixing damage unless it directly impacts either functionality or presentation. You know that dent on the chest plate of Minion’s gorilla suit? Megamind could fix that in an hour or two, but he doesn’t because he always has something more important or at least more interesting to do. (Although now that I think about it, it could be that Minion wants a scar because it makes him feel tough and dangerous.)
I read this this morning and I’d like to add a counterpoint. I agree that when you’re a supervillain, particularly one with a focus on evil devices and feats of engineering, certain materials that are vital to whatever you’re doing are going to be difficult to come by through legal official channels. I would not necessarily think, however, that the materials and tools that are currently regulated in real life would not be much different from things that would be regulated in the movieverse. The things that are dangerous here are going to be dangerous there for the same reasons, even if extraordinary individuals can subvert and abuse unexpected materials. Most people are not going to be able to access, for instance, a Cold War-era submarine. Or the means necessary to produce nuclear fusion. Or massive quantities of ketamine. But on that note, there ARE people who can procure and move ketamine by and for illegal means, and they’re either clever enough to not get caught or they don’t make it.
What I’m trying to say is, while I believe he’s intelligent enough to avoid detection if he wanted, I don’t think Megamind would care if he was on a government watchlist. Even if it WAS for attaining the massive amounts of fertilizer required to make a bomb or synthesize meth (not that he did either of those things; it ended up on the Scott’s lawn. All 10 tons of it. ‘Because their grass was looking a bit sad’, was his answer when Roxanne got the chance to ask.) He’s a criminal mastermind who happens to be an alien with blue skin and a giant head that’s been labeled as a menace since he was what, 6? He’s a known evil, there’s no need to be shy about illicitly breaking into a factory to steal the tools he needs to do his own machining, especially when he can gloat about it loudly and publicly.
Which brings me back to the question of ‘then why, if he’s such a clever boy, does his stuff look like junk when he has the means to make polished, NICE objects of destruction?’
My thoughts are that he grew up in a prison. He grew up INVENTING in a prison. If Necessity is the mother of Invention, then Invention’s twin in this case is Resourcefulness. He made himself a weaponized trike out of his BINKY and license plates. He made a bomb out of blue paint and chemicals from a class supply closet. I’m sure he could use better materials if it was a priority for him, but I don’t think it is. I think he has a compulsion to use what’s around him, find new uses for old things and fit broken parts into his finished whole. Something about the idea that he’s the kind of guy who spends the Witching Hour of a Wednesday morning in a junk yard looking for a carburetor from a 1982 Chevy C10 because it’s perfect for the Flaming Wheel of Death Mark 2 is rather charming and extremely comfortable. That he would rather use the things around him and pour all his energy into molding them into a shape they were never intended to be. Maybe that’s what feels like home to him. Also there’s something to be said for the fluidity and spontaneity of using found materials, especially when it comes to a manic approach to the creative process.
Holy shit this got long. TL;DR I will stan the Megamind that lovingly upcycles junk into tools of mayhem forever and ever amen.
I think it’s because he works at the Metro Man Museum. The books, I think, were something he was putting away; the cart he was pushing looks like a library cart. Probably the Museum has a collection of Metro Man books.
Metro Man’s main foe is Megamind, so the Metro Man Museum must have a good amount of information on Megamind. And Bernard, working there, would be expected to be knowledgable about all the exhibits. Since he’s an expert on Metro Man, Bernard would probably also be considered an expert on Megamind.
I also think it’s possible that when Roxanne says “you’re an expert on all things Megamind, right?” to ‘Bernard’, she’s talking him up to convince him to go along with her plan.
Bernard might consider himself an expert on Megamind–he clearly thinks he knows enough to recognize Megamind and Megamind’s technology. Really, though, he doesn’t recognize Megamind, or the de-gun!
This is part of the reason I think that published materials on Megamind–like the library books he and Roxanne read–aren’t really very accurate.
If Bernard, who could be expected to have studied Megamind (since he’s studied Metro Man) can’t even correctly identify Megamind and Megamind’s de-gun–well, how much does he really know about Megamind?
Honestly, I think that Roxanne, with her years of close interaction with Megamind, is probably more of an ‘expert on all things Megamind’ than Bernard.
I really think that he was working himself up to telling her who he really was and quitting villainy!
His comment to Minion about how Roxanne ‘will never find out’ who he really is–I think that is him trying to deceive Minion, to downplay this whole thing. No, Minion, of course I’m not wearing cologne! No, of course I’m not going on a date with Roxanne! No, of course she’s never going to find out who I really am; this isn’t a big deal!
But it is a big deal.
The novelization of the movie actually implies even more strongly that he’s planning on quitting villainy, and that he wants to tell her who he is. He says, when the two of them are talking about Megamind, “maybe he’s met someone who changed his outlook on things. He might be thinking of hanging up the whole villainy thing altogether.” Not wanting to be the bad guy isn’t something he just blurts out to Minion on the spur of the moment; he’s actually thought about it.
Megamind wasn’t planning on telling Roxanne in the restaurant, of course, but I do think he was planning on telling her–probably after the date, when he took her home.
His question to her about whether or not she’d still like him if he ‘was bald and had the complexion of a popular primary color’–that’s him testing the waters and also maybe him dropping a hint, I think. And maybe Roxanne’s response isn’t entirely encouraging, as she tells him that you should judge people based on their actions, but it’s also not the most discouraging thing ever, either. She doesn’t tell him that his ‘random non-specific example’ sounds ugly or unappealing, and she doesn’t just laugh off the idea.
She says that you should judge people by their actions, and Megamind knows that a lot of his actions haven’t been good, but he’s planning on quitting villainy; he’s made a new superhero; he’s cleaned up the city and returned all the things he’s stolen, and so maybe, maybe–
He’s not lying when he tells Roxanne that he never thought she would actually be with him, but Megamind’s always been willing to attempt impossible things.
It is canon that many of Megamind’s inventions were designed by Dreamworks to look as if they’d been cobbled together from junk. At the same time, it is common (although not universal) fanon that Megamind is rich because how could somebody that brilliant not figure out how to get rich? These two are not contradictory.
IRL many illegal mind-altering drugs with high street value are actually quite easy to make. Any third year undergraduate chemistry major can do it. All they need is the right equipment and ingredients, all of which also have legal uses and are sold on the open market. So the law requires that sellers of that equipment and those ingredients report all sales to the relevant government agency, along with the identity of the buyers. When they see one buyer accumulating everything necessary to make one of those drugs, they figure this person is in the process of setting up as a dealer and they put that person under surveillance.
In the Megaverse, where supervillains exist, the government of course has a similar policy regarding the equipment and supplies needed to build basic evil inventions. So Megamind has to get those by stealth. I imagine him and Minion disabling the security cameras at junkyards and scrap metal buyers, helping themselves to what they need, then leaving cash on the counter to pay for it all because he want those businesses to survive so he can go to them repeatedly. Later, after he makes his connection in Romania and can get all his equipment and supplies new, he still hangs onto the old stuff because he has become sentimentally attached to it. Also, because he finds maintenance boring, he doesn’t bother fixing damage unless it directly impacts either functionality or presentation. You know that dent on the chest plate of Minion’s gorilla suit? Megamind could fix that in an hour or two, but he doesn’t because he always has something more important or at least more interesting to do. (Although now that I think about it, it could be that Minion wants a scar because it makes him feel tough and dangerous.)
Ok but this is the first time I’ve realized… she chose that dress because of the way it looks when she’s tied to a chair. It’s a beautiful dress anyway, and if she wore it for Megamind that’s great, but she also anticipated him kidnapping her. She knew she’d be sitting down, ankles crossed, hands behind her back, and the dress she chose frames that beautifully. Just look at the way her shoulders are spread, and the black band around her waist looks like a restraint, with a skirt juuuuuust the length of the chair.
Presentation!
LOL now I’m imagining Roxanne going out clothes shopping and trying out each prospective outfit by sitting down in front of the mirror with her hands behind her back– much to the confusion of the salespeople and other shoppers.
I think there might be a fic like that on FFN, but I’m not sure–it is an interesting thought!
I feel like it’s more likely to be true of Metro Man than Megamind, as Metro Man’s pod is golden and shining and sleek, while Megamind’s pod looks, to me, as if it’s been thrown together quickly from bits and pieces. Metro Man’s pod looks like an official kind of construction, while Megamind’s looks like something his parents built by themselves.
And I tend to prefer the idea of Megamind coming from a more ordinary family; I think because I like thinking his extraordinary nature is all his own, rather than due to any inherited class distinction. Especially with the ‘anyone can be a hero’ theme of the movie. And my conception of the government on M’ega is elected officials, rather than a monarchy or aristocracy.
I realised something when I was watching Megamind today.
The scene where he almost begs the “Warden” to let him go after Tighten calls him out is the first time we see the real him.
Megamind plays his part and plays it well – he’s every inch the Supervillain, the Showman, the Bad Guy. The only time we really see his mask slip before that scene is, ironically, when he’s disguised as Bernard and we get to briefly see the sweet, genuine guy he really is when he feels like he’s not being judged for how he looks for the first time in his life.
But this scene…
Okay, he does start out being his usual dramatic self when he tells the “Warden” “I… am… sorry!” and smooshes his face against the glass
But when the “Warden” says “…Not buyin’ it” he stops and for the first time, we see his true self.
His weary sigh and reply of “I don’t blame you. I’ve terrorised the city countless times” is delivered with a softly regretful tone. He knows what it’s like to be thought of as “normal” now and he can imagine how his antics must have felt from the other side.
“I lied to Roxanne…”
“And my best friend Minion… I treated like dirt.”
Look at him. The pure emotion that he’s allowing himself to feel here – it’s hit him hard that he’s lost his only friend and that Roxanne is in danger because of what he’s created.
But he doesn’t want a pity party. In the next breath, he pleads with the “Warden” to let him go.
“Don’t make this city pay for my wrongdoings” (because he’s realised how much he loves his adopted home. Look at the way he says “terrorising our” then corrects himself to say “your city” when he’s trying to get Metro Man to help)
He’s surprised when it seems to work. After all, he’s never been so real when he hasn’t been hiding behind a disguise…
But Minion always knew the real Megamind ^^
Megamind’s genuine smile…
The genuine affection in his expression…
This scene is just beautiful (ffs somebody hug him while I pull myself together over here *cries* )
***
(Special mention to the music and Mr Ferrell’s voice acting here because OH MY GODS.)
Honestly you can tell that this man never meant serious harm to anyone within the city and I love how genuine he was about it. And when he sees Minion – what a cute little shit
Will Ferrell is honestly an underrated voice actor and A+++ would want him to voice more characters in the future~
The animators did an amazing job here too!
I do think his mask slips quite a few times before this, but those are mostly either momentary and accidental, or when he’s alone, or, as you say, when he’s in disguise. This is the first time he intentionally drops it in front of another person and as himself. This isn’t an accidental slip, but a conscious choice to be open and honest, and it is, as you say, absolutely beautiful.
I quite enjoy the way masks and disguises and hiding behind them is such a big theme in this movie, both literally and figuratively!
I’ve become
fascinated with the world of @setepenre-set‘s “Temptress” and “Temptress
(Roxanne)”, specifically the implications of the events of the
story. Like, what kind of society authorizes a government agency to
treat someone like Roxanne this way?
oooh you guys both bring up such interesting points! I can tell you some of the background stuff I had in mind when I was writing Temptress. (and which I’ve been thinking of possibly including in some other fic.)
People with superpowers–I’ve been calling them ‘Metahumans’–have historically been treated with suspicion and fear and prejudice by non-powered members of society, and getting civil rights for Metahumans has been a big societal issue for quite some time.
Metahumans are classified as ‘threats to society’–level three is the lowest, the ‘low threat’ category, level two is ‘moderate threat’, and level one is ‘severe threat’. Your category level depends on your power type, how strong your powers are, and your social/criminal history.
In the Temptress universe, Megamind, even as a hero, is a Level Two threat–even though he doesn’t actually have a ‘superpower’, his non-human appearance, extremely high intelligence, and criminal history led them to categorize him that way. Minion, who is also visibly non-human, is a Level Three, the ‘low threat’ category. Megamind consciously tried to keep Minion’s threat level low by claiming Minion was always just following his orders, that the planning of any crimes or destructive events had always been Megamind’s alone, etc.
Wayne should obviously be a Level One, since his powers are so strong, but his squeaky-clean record, the fact that he started working as Metro City’s Defender as a teenager, and some very heavy-handed bribery on the part of the Scott family ensured he’s only classified as a Level Three.
The bureaucracy in charge of the classification of Metahumans is a pretty large one, and the lab that took Roxanne is one of the worst offshoots–technically a lot of what went on in that lab was actually illegal, but people are paranoid enough about high-powered Metahumans that a fair portion of society is willing to look the other way as regards human rights violations concerning Metahumans.
Due to society’s widespread negative treatment of Metahumans, and the fact that the government classifies them automatically as ‘threats to society’, quite a lot of Metahumans become villains or supervillains. Which is why superheroes and city Defenders are such a big thing.
Superheroes and Defenders are treated a bit like famous athletes who are also people of color–hero worship and praise, but also that undercurrent of prejudice. And of course other prejudices–racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, classism, etc.–intersect with the prejudice against Metahumans.
Wayne passes for an upper class white human male, so Metro Man escapes much of the other prejudices, while Megamind has to deal with xenophobia and classism, and Roxanne gets hit with a massive amount of misogyny.
The fact that her powers work a bit like mind control and are largely sexual attraction based makes the intersection of misogyny and anti-metahuman prejudice especially bad–her ‘non-human-ness’ is inextricably linked to her ‘incorrect’ performance of what misogyny deems ‘appropriate’ femininity–she is, to them, basically the personification of what they’d call a Bad Woman: a (bisexual) woman who uses her Supernatural Sexual Wiles to lure men (and even women!) away from the Path of Righteousness.
This puts her in an especially vulnerable position, as regards the way the lab treats her–as I said, that particular branch is one of the worst, and they knew that they could get away with treating her especially badly–she was a teenage girl whose family was neither wealthy nor powerful, who had a reputation for being ‘strange’ and ‘antisocial’, and who had very strong, very ‘scary’ / ‘morally questionable’ powers.
Society is slowly improving in its treatment of Metahumans; Metro City is really at the forefront of this social change. Metro Man was their poster child for a Perfect Metahuman, which helped a bit–and then Megamind became a full Defender and moved into the spotlight–Megamind, who is visibly non-human, and who has a criminal record, but who the people of Metro City were forced to accept, as he was the only one who had a chance against the Temptress’ powers.
And as Megamind spent more time in the spotlight, the people of Metro City got to know him better, and came to accept him more–so the stage was set for the Temptress to reform. The city’s acceptance of Megamind’s rehabilitation made its acceptance of Roxanne possible.
In the Code: Safeword universe, Megamind tells Roxanne that her plan to reform him is going to be a very big deal, not just to Metro City, but everywhere.
In the Temptress universe, Roxanne’s reformation from supervillain to superhero is every bit as big a deal.
Headcanon: Metro City is a leader in the pollution control industry and is the cleanest industrial city in North America. This is because neither Metro Man nor Megamind has much tolerance for pollution.
They started doing something about it shortly after they began their respective public careers. Metro Man mainly concerned himself with air pollution. He would visit corporate CEOs during regular business hours and talk about how bad things looked from the air and how poor air quality depressed tourism and citizen morale. If appealing to the CEO’s public-spiritedness didn’t work, he would use threats, but never physical threats. His parents were the undisputed leaders of the city’s elite social life, and his influence with them could get the CEO’s entire family ostracized from it. He could also use his celebrity to publicly embarrass the CEO. If all else failed, he could arrange, through his contacts in government and his family’s position as major shareholders, to have the corporation, or the CEO personally, audited. Polluters are seldom just polluters. They reliably engage in financial crookedness as well. Since an audit could be career-ending and possibly result in jail time and financial ruin, the threat of it worked every time.
Megamind and Minion tended to visit CEOs late at night, and they usually talked about water pollution, both current dumping and the potential of inadequately stored industrial wastes to leak out. Minion was known to pick the target up by the pajama collar, pull the target’s face up to his dome, and point out in a reasonable tone of voice that the cleanliness of the lake was a very, very personal matter for him. Megamind would brandish the de-gun and whisper the name of a company offering pollution abatement services and/or equipment, which he strongly advised the target to patronize. This was inevitably a company backed by Megamind, often one that sold or used equipment invented and patented by Megamind. To the target’s surprise, its services would turn out to be efficient and cost-effective.
The villainous pair would also concern themselves with surface runoff, but in a less heavy-handed way, since it involved dealing with farmers, golf course owners, and other humble citizens. A personal letter delivered by brainbot was usually sufficient. Their efforts pretty much killed the local market for many of the nastier pesticides and herbicides. They also insisted that fleets of vehicles be properly maintained so that automotive fluids did not drip onto the roads. And in the slums, where many owners of very old cars were barely getting by and could not afford proper maintenance, a team of specialized brainbots would appear, surround a car, and proceed to replace worn gaskets and patch leaks. The cars usually ran better after the brainbots were finished with them, and had no problems passing inspection.
i’m uploading this because i only just noticed this..
after megamind has asked roxanne ‘did you ever look back?’ and she yells ‘no!’, she pauses for quite a while in the car, looking regretful.
just got quite emotional about it. which is why she says ‘about the other night, i think an apology is in order..’
oh roxanne and megs i will keep fussing over your little moments until.. until.. UNTIL FOREVER.
When he is revealed in the restaurant, she thinks he’s been lying to her, that she was falling in love while he was tricking her. In the rain scene, she’s too (understandably) upset and not thinking clearly. Roxanne’s response to being hurt is to attack–so she does.
After having had time to process her feelings she’s much calmer now, and so when he starts talking about the break up–she realizes that Megamind is serious, Megamind has real feelings for her, too.
And that hurts. Did you ever look back? he asks and she had, and that last shot of her in the rain, she looks very sad, and like she’s longing for him to come back, to apologise for lying instead of trying to persuade her, and try to fix it. (Which, we see how good Megamind is at apologies, “I was…less right.” Navigating emotional situations like this isn’t something a guy raised in prison and then all alone, with just his fish, has any real experience in.)
So that memory hurts and she reacts again, slamming on the breaks.
And has this moment of regret and also probably, Fuck I really really care about him and want this to work…
Which, she’s not really any better at sensitivity and relationships either. I think after they talk to Wayne, when she suggests going back to the Lair for ray guns, she’s being silly to try and lift Megamind’s spirits and show him that they’re in this together. She’s reaching out–again, she tried to get him to apologise and talk in the hall–because she’s realized I think just how much he means to her and how much she wants a relationship with him. (I think she’s had feelings for him for a long time, but Roxanne really bottles up her feelings.)
But Megamind is dealing with a lot more than just their break up and the Titan situation; he’s feeling like he’s failed at everything he’s ever tried to do, and been abandoned by everyone.
It’s the same story as in the beginning, at the school house as children: you aren’t wanted or needed, no one likes you, you mess everything up. Go away, no one wants to play with you.
He’s not the good guy, he doesn’t believe he’s ever had good in him, he tried to be that with Roxanne and as soon as she found out the truth she dumps him. So when Wayne says, Good will rise up, he’s not thinking of himself; he’s thinking Wayne means a real hero, and go away Megamind, we don’t need you making this worse.
And he doesn’t even have supervillainy any more, Titan is doing a better job of that, too.
So he gives up. Goes back to prison, where everyone has always wanted him. It’s more than Titan he stops fighting.
I don’t think he expected to win, when Roxanne begs him to try one last time. I think he knows there’s no chance to beat Titan and that he will probably not survive. I think the plan is just to save her.
It’s very similar to the Deathray plan–it’s all about Presentation and misdirection.
Roxanne is the one who sees the car, and gives him a chance, and honestly I think gives him hope, from the way she’d looked at him when she turns off the watch.
setepenre-set 