MovieChat Forums > The Incredibles (2004) Discussion > The lawsuit and names make no sense

The lawsuit and names make no sense


This movie goes against its OWN premise and explanations.

First we're introduced to the IMPORTANCE of having masks and hidden identity - who wants to be super all the time?

Then we have lawsuits.

Hang on a second - in early Spider-Man comics, the promoters that would pay him some money do not believe he's the Spider-Man, because ANYONE can wear that kind of stuff and maybe do some wallclimbing tricks and whatnot. Then he can't be paid because "Spider-Man" can't have a bank account (because Peter Parker's person is the only one of the two that can).

You see what's going on here?

HOW can there be lawsuits concerning "Mr. Incredible" or ANY superhero, for that matter, since they DO NOT EXIST officially in the system that does lawsuits? They don't even have 'natural person' (human), let alone 'artificial person' (legal fiction), so _HOW_ can they be sued? If they don't show up in court, where are the cops gonna go, since "Mr. Incredible" does NOT have an address or social security number or a phone number?

For the same reason, 'my client' makes no sense - HE CAN'T HAVE A DAMN LAWYER, EITHER!

The whole IDEA of 'secret identity' means that NO ONE KNOWS WHO THEY REALLY ARE, so no one can ever sue them, find them, summon them, etc. Officially, as far as the system is concerned, they DO NOT EXIST, they don't pay taxes, they don't have anything you can summon, imprison or sue.

Superman doesn't need the system's approval to do his super deeds; he's saving the world without anyone knowing who his alter ego is. No matter what the system bans, it has NO power of law over him, because he doesn't exist under the law, LET ALONE the legal system!

I could go on, but I think I made my point.

Now, let's talk about names. Helen Parr (whatever her maiden name was), Violet Parr, Robert Parr. Nothing very weird or exceptional there.

However, DASH Parr? D_A_S_H for someone that has SUPER SPEED?!

It would seem to be not a big deal and very fitting and blah, but think about it; HOW did the parents _KNOW_ he was going to have super speed BEFORE naming him? Naming happens VERY early in the life cycle, and judging by the baby, it takes a LONG WHILE for the Parr family people to gain their full super powers.

We can safely assume Dash didn't exhibit super speed BEFORE they named him.

Therefore, how the F can they know to name him 'DASH', and wouldn't that be SUSPICIOUS anyway, drawing attention when they're trying to lay low? What kind of sense does it make that HELEN of all people, who is ALL about 'family' and 'denying superpowers', would let her son be the target of the government or superhero haters, and also evoke possible excitement about those powers by contantly reminding her son that he's superfast, BY NAMING HIM DASH?!

These things make absolutely no sense whatsoever. Also, why does everyone else get a 'normal' name, but Dash gets a 'superhero name'? It's also inconsistent that way. Why doesn't Dash have an alternate superhero name called 'Dash' or whatever, and have a REAL name for his 'mild-mannered alter ego', like Kyle or Derek?

WHY DASH?!

People really don't think when they write things. I mean, GREAT MOVIE, but damn.

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WHY DASH?!


That's his nickname. Dash's given name is actual Dashiell and he was lovingly named after Ellen's grandfather Dashiell Jean Pierre LaMontagne, a WWII French collaborator (the skunk). It was just by fortuitous happenstance that when shortened, the nickname Dash would also describe his superpower more or less.

Earlier scripts had Ellen's grandfather a Nazi Gestapo lieutenant and Dashiell's name was going to be Blitzkrieg, shortened of course to just Blitz, which would have also been appropriate to his power. Strangely, the writers felt that there might be some backlash to having Ellen's grandfather a Nazi so Blitzkrieg Parr became Dashiell Parr.

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OMG too funny good thing my phone has an otterbox protecting it from coffee spray.

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"I could go on, but I think I made my point."

Yes but by not trying to stop the supers the cities and the government are pretty much endorsing the help the supers are giving the cities to fight crime.

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dammit! I opened and started reading BEFORE I noticed who posted it.

lost my time

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His full name is Dashiell. As in Dashiell Rae the singer, Dashiell Hammett the American writer or Dashiell Connery the actor.

The rest of your post regarding lawsuits makes a great point though.

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The rest of your post regarding lawsuits makes a great point though.


I think Sue above had a good point about that. By not arresting or even actively discouraging the Supers, the government and the local municipalities were giving tacit approval for the Supers to operate as crime fighters. Even if the lawsuits ultimately failed, the gov had to keep cleaning up the mess and relocating them.

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Yeah, Sue makes a decent point

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