#hot flash

What better way to start the new year than with a new Megamind Fan Theory? Yes, I am finally back! And, yes, once again it is not on Thursday but, you know, at least it exists. So there’s that. We’ve all waited long enough so let’s jump straight in. Even though Megamind threatens to clone my most annoying in-laws and send them ALL to my house whenever I say it: SPOILER WARNING!

If you’re part of the Megamind fandom—and since you’re reading this I assume that’s fairly likely—you’ve probably already heard about the Doom Syndicate. After all, although these characters never appeared in the original movie, they can be seen in some of the earlier storyboards and several make appearances in the video games, not to mention populating a great many fanfictions. However, for those few who may be currently scratching their heads and wondering what in the world I’m babbling about, here’s a brief explanation:

The Doom Syndicate is a small affiliation of supervillains, each of whom possesses some sort of special ability. (Hot Flash has fire-based powers, The Conductor controls electricity, Psycho-Delic releases poisonous or mind-altering smokes, etc.) Despite these unusual talents, however, as far as we know all the members of the Doom Syndicate are more-or-less human. This notably differentiates them from Megamind, Metroman, and even Minion, all of whom have extraterrestrial origins.

That’s not really surprising. As the film Megamind was, in part, a spoof on existing superhero franchises, it seems that Metro City’s own Bad Guys’ Club was modeled after evil organizations appearing in comic books, such as DC’s Legion of Doom. (Even the Doom Syndicate’s name, as you can see, is lampooning their counterparts.) Why does that matter? Because many—although not all—members of these fictional villainous cabals are humans who gained extraordinary abilities through bio-engineering experiments, bizarre accidents, advanced technology, or even magic. (According to Comic Vine, Lex Luthor, Cheetah, Riddler, Scarecrow, Black Adam, Poison Ivy, and Bane are all examples.) As the Doom Syndicate was likely intended to be a somewhat less-serious caricature of this, it seems probable that they, too, began life as normal earthlings.

That brings up one important question: if members of the Doom Syndicate were originally ordinary humans, how did they come by their powers? There are two fan theories concerning this. The first is that, similar to the DC and Marvel universes, Megamind’s world boasts a wide variety of superheroes and supervillains. (I’ll be discussing that concept further in another post.) The second, however, is significantly darker.

To understand it, however, we must first examine a related fan theory. If you’ve read the previous blog article entitled The Warden, you know that many believe Megamind and Metroman may have been purposefully pushed into their respective roles of hero and villain from childhood. There is actually some very compelling evidence to support this in the film. Details from the brief school scene, such as the Warden himself appearing in a child’s drawing of a school bus, support the idea of these two aliens being essentially raised to their roles. Furthermore, Metroman’s own actions also offer a likely explanation for why. It’s obvious that, as a boy, he was something of a bully—he constantly picks on and even hurts the other young alien—but it’s just as clear that he loved praise. Fans believe that concerned adults around them knowingly drove Metroman toward heroism to prevent him from becoming a danger to society and similarly pushed Megamind into becoming his nemesis because the former-villain was more likely to survive the ordeal and because, quite frankly, few people cared what happened to him. That may sound horrible—indeed it is—but when compared with the possibility of having an overgrown superpowered bully wreaking havoc on the city, it’s not hard to see why influential people may have felt it to be the lesser evil. (Imagine if Titan had no Megamind to stop him.) Again, feel free to read The Warden for more about that.

That bring us to the specific Megamind fan theory in question. Many fans have taken that idea a step further, suggesting that the Doom Syndicate was created to keep Metroman busy whenever his main antagonist was behind bars. While this idea may seem odd at first, if we accept that Megamind and Metroman were pressured into assuming specific positions, as seems at least possible, then it becomes a logical hypothesis. People may have feared that their “hero,” if left with too much idle time on his hands, could fall back into his old brutish ways.

The idea is not without merit. As discussed in another Megamind Fan Theory post, Does Metroman Know He’s Alien, the city’s original hero differs in some ways from his obvious DC Comics counterpart: Superman. Clark Kent, the famed Man of Steel, had the benefit of being raised in a loving, hardworking farm family, complete with down-home virtues, but Wayne Smith, who later became Metroman, did not. Instead, the previous Defender of Metrocity seems to have spent his childhood as the entitled only son of an ultra-wealthy couple. This means that, while Clark Kent’s upbringing helped him to become genuinely good, Wayne Smith’s likely predisposed him to a certain amount of shallowness and arrogance. This is important because it indicates that the latter’s incentives for heroism were probably not selfless dedication to the good of those around him. So what did drive him? The aforementioned school scene strongly suggests that it was a love of popularity and public adulation. Indeed, this seems to be the case. Consider Metroman’s vaunting behavior at the opening of his museum along with his career change to wannabe rock star. Both display a notable desire for adoration and attention. Therefore it seems probable that that same desire was the driving force behind Wayne’s becoming a superhero and, as mentioned before, the school scene supports this.

So, once more, assuming that this predisposition was leveraged to push Metroman into heroism for the safety of society, it seems only logical that there might be some concern about what he might do during the brief periods when Megamind was not an active threat. After all, if the only thing making his role as Defender worthwhile was the local citizenry’s praise, then it would be necessary to keep that praise coming lest he become disenchanted. In order to do that, he would need to constantly be saving people or battling evil. That would, presumably, leave the city leaders with two choices: orchestrate situations that put their own voters in danger or provide other villains to fight whenever Megamind was behind bars.

This is one major reason why the fan theory has developed that the Doom Syndicate may have been created on purpose, but it’s not the only one. Another consideration is the simple fact that people willing to allow a baby to be raised in prison, under the care of dangerous convicts, would likely have few qualms about turning a few of those they viewed as “undesirables” into supervillains. That, in turn, brings us to a third potential reason. Near the beginning of the film, when the Warden visits Megamind’s jail cell, we can see that a guard is sitting at a bank of monitors displaying what appears to be brain scans and other invasive information about the blue man. In other words, it seems that, while incarcerated, Megamind may have been the subject of experiments. The question is: was he the only one? Is it possible that other inmates were subjected to different scientific procedures intended to give them superpowers and thus make them viable distractions for Metroman? Some fans say yes.

If this is the case, then it rather backfired. In some of the unused storyboards for the movie, we can see the Doom Syndicate deferring to Megamind, practically asking his permission to go on a crime spree after Metroman’s apparent demise, and it appears they may have even wanted him to be their leader. Given the film’s connections to existing comics, the idea is not that far fetched. Much like the Joker in Gotham, it seems that Megamind held a certain amount of sway over the other villains in Metro City. Like DC’s famous evil clown, he didn’t exactly rule the others—they didn’t actually work for him—but in the local supervillain hierarchy he was definitely the proverbial “top dog.” So, rather than creating several individual enemies for their hero to face, the powers of Metro City may have inadvertently created a dark organization. Alone any member of the Doom Syndicate would have been easy for Metroman to defeat; as a group, they could have been considerably more dangerous.

Is there any truth in this supposition? It’s hard to say for certain, but perhaps the upcoming series Megamind’s Guide to Defending Your City may offer some clarification. It will be interesting to find out. At any rate, having once been the Bad Guy other Bad Guys feared is likely going to give the Blue Defender some distinct advantages in dealing with the Doom Syndicate. He probably knows their methods and weaknesses already, and it’s possible they may be less-than-eager to face off with the former Master of All Villainy. I suppose we’ll find out in due time. In the meanwhile, that’s it for this latest Megamind Fan Theory! I hope you enjoyed it!