The Incredibles

The film starts during a Golden Age of superheroes, also known to the public as "supers", when government-sponsored superheroes assist a grateful public with everything from freeing cats stuck in trees to foiling bank robberies. The plot itself begins when Bob Parr, a.k.a. Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), who is gifted with super strength, saves a man attempting a suicide. He then foils a robbery by the villain Bomb Voyage, while being harassed by Buddy Pine (Jason Lee), a young fan who wishes to be his sidekick. When Bomb Voyage plants a bomb on the young would-be superhero, Mr. Incredible manages to dislodge it, but in doing so, causes a train wreck that injures many. He then races to his wedding, where he marries Helen, a.k.a. Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), a dexterous, flexible super. Βoth the suicidal man and the victims of the train wreck sue the superheroes community for prevention of suicide and injuries sustained in these events respectively. As part of the government's settlement, all superheroes are placed into a government-sponsored protection program similar to witness protection, and forbidden to use their powers for heroism.

The film then jumps 15 years later; Bob and Helen Parr have settled into relatively normal suburban lives raising three kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell ("Dash") (Spencer Fox) and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile). The children have powers which reflect their personalities; Violet (a shy 15-year-old) has the power of invisibility and the ability to create force fields, while Dash (a hyperactive 10-year-old) has super speed. Jack-Jack appears to be a normal baby without powers. Bob, stuck in a thankless job at a corrupt insurance agency, laments the passage of his superhero glory days. He and his friend Lucius Best, a cryokinetic super and fellow retiree called Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), still occasionally listen to police radios and secretly aid the authorities, much to the consternation of Helen. On one such night, the two are watched by a mysterious white-haired woman. The next day, Bob is called into the office of his unsympathetic boss. As he is receiving a lecture, Bob notices a man getting mugged outside. Bob offers to go help, but his boss threatens to fire him if he does. Enraged, Bob throws his boss through several walls, ironically losing his job anyway.

Upon arriving home, Bob discovers a video message in his briefcase featuring Mirage (Elizabeth Peña), the white-haired woman from before. She appears to know his secret identity, and offers to hire him (at a salary triple that of his current one) to subdue a renegade robot, the Omnidroid 8000, on Nomanisan, an uncharted island. After telling Helen and his family that he is going on a business trip, Mr. Incredible completes the task. Upon returning, Bob finds his life has begun to improve. He begins spending more time with his family and starts to work out more (Bob had become immensely obese due to his years of inactivity). Over the next two months, Bob maintains the image of still being employed, but secretly works out in preparation for his next assignment. One day, Bob notices his super suit had gotten damaged in the Omnidroid battle. He takes the suit to his costumer, Edna Mode (Brad Bird), who instead offers to create a new suit for him and made it clear about the two words she uses: "No capes!" Meanwhile, Helen begins to have doubts and starts to suspect Bob of having an affair.

Bob is again summoned to Nomanisan, but is overpowered by an improved Omnidroid, and encounters Buddy Pine again, now revealing himself to be a psychotic villain and wealthy weapons designer called Syndrome. Buddy had been embittered upon rejection by Mr. Incredible, and wished vengeance upon his former hero. Mr. Incredible escapes and dupes Syndrome into thinking he is dead. He then learns that Syndrome used previous versions of the Omnidroid to kill other supers, and that the device learns and adapts from any previous defeat.

Discovering Bob's old patched up suit, Helen contacts Edna, who insists she come visit. Edna reveals she's designed matching super suits for the entire family, and also that each suit has a homing beacon on it. Using this, Helen learns where Bob really is, but her use of the signal device results in Bob's capture. Reluctantly donning her new super suit, Helen flies a private jet to the island. Nearing the island, she discovers Violet and Dash have stowed away, wearing their own suits. The jet is attacked by missiles from Syndrome's base, and Helen attempts to evade them, while telling Violet to put a force-field around the plane. Neither are successful, and the plane is destroyed by the missiles. Helen and the children narrowly escape the explosion, and make it to the island.

Helen urges the children to stay hidden in a cave, and pursues Bob herself. However, the cave is found to direct the flames of a rocket, and the children are forced to flee it. Upon being discovered, the children are pursued by Syndrome's henchmen. Meanwhile, Helen discovers Bob with Mirage, but realizes that Mirage was merely there to rescue Bob from capture (Syndrome had previously allowed Mirage to be used as a hostage by Bob, though Bob had proved too "weak" to kill her). After a brief argument while running through the island, Bob and Helen later meet up with their children, and together impressively take down their pursuers. Syndrome, however, appears and personally takes the family captive. He informs the family of his ultimate plan: unleash the Omnidroid on Metroville, and use his most impressive weapons technologies to stop it, making himself appear to be a superhero. After playing the superhero game for long enough, he would sell his weapons, so everyone could be "super", thus making the true superheroes less impressive.

Violet is able to release herself and her family from confinement, and the family attempt to return to Metroville to battle the Omnidroid. They find themselves in need of the same kind of rocket used to launch the Omnidroid to Metroville, and Mirage gives them the command codes to operate it. In the city, the Omnidroid "learns" that Syndrome's remote controls it and blasts it off of Syndrome's wrist. Shooting one of his rocket boots, Syndrome is knocked unconscious into a building. Bob and his family then arrive and with the help of Frozone, subdue the robot. Returning home, they discover Syndrome attempting to kidnap Jack-Jack, who then flies off to his jet above. Jack-Jack then begins to display a whole slew of powers, causing Syndrome to drop him. Bob then throws Helen to catch Jack-Jack, as well as his car at Syndrome, knocking him into one of the jet's turbines. Syndrome's cape is caught in the turbine and he is sucked in, causing the jet to explode; the wreckage falls on the family's house, but Violet creates a force field to protect them from the falling debris.

Three months later, Bob is now content with their civilian life, Dash controls the use of his powers in track events, and Violet, having found confidence, is asked by her heartthrob on a date. However, a new villain, The Underminer (John Ratzenberger), appears and attacks the city. The family members don their masks, and prepare to fight anew.