Ah, Edna Mode. The eccentric, brilliant, super-suit designer of the forgotten era of heroes. She's intense, inventive, and intuitive. It's that last one we want to focus on today, because I have discovered that Edna not only knew Syndrome...she's responsible for a great deal that goes on during the plot of this movie. I even made a post about it a couple years ago on Know Your Meme, and it actually drew a lot of attention. However, my theory has reached a new depth, and I have four points to blow your mind. 1. She knows Bob was recruited by SyndromeWhen Bob (Mr. Incredible) goes to Edna for a patch job on something that "happened a long time ago," the super-suit designer talks about how she now designs suits for supermodels instead, but complains that there's "nothing super about them." Just selfish young girls, not selfless heroes proudly flying around in her designs. And when she makes Bob's new suit, Edna states that the suit will be ready before his next assignment. But how does she know when his next assignment is? Sure, she could've been confident that she could get it done quickly, but what if his next assignment was that night? If she's always got her ear to the ground of the supers, wouldn't it make sense to know about this plan of Syndrome? And speaking of the ears to the ground.... 2. She knows because she was recruited tooImagine you're Syndrome. Your whole plot revolves around wanting to be more super than any hero ever was, because you were rejected by your idol. But who would design your suit? You could make it yourself, but let's face it: the patchwork onesie didn't go so well. So he tracks down nearly every superhero on file, using his vast resources and impressive intellect. If he could track superheroes, how easy would it be to track their designer? Syndrome wants a great suit for his new hero life, so he naturally would want the best person for the job: Edna Mode. Maybe she gets a vibe that Syndrome isn't truly heroic, but agrees to craft the suit anyway. And the final product is pretty sleek looking. But because she knows he's evil, she formulates a plan. And the funny thing is.... 3. The plan benefits EdnaBy designing the suit for Syndrome---and later Bob and his family---Edna's involvement is win-win. If Syndrome succeeds and takes over the world, everyone will be super, and she'll be able to design suits for everybody who wants one. But Edna isn't actually evil...business minded, but not evil. The world being ruled by a rich brat with hurt feelings would suck. But! If the supers won, good would triumph, and Edna would still get to make the uniforms once the heroes stepped out of the shadows. If one of the most popular heroes needed a new outfit, of course the others will, right? And she may have already started creating them. Remember when Helen (Elastigirl) was walking down the hall with Edna? There were a few mannequins along the wall that had costumes on them. Were they there because Edna was bored, or did they hold suits of other heroes that Syndrome had pitted against his robot and lived? During the sequence where Incredible is looking through the list of fallen supers, the computer shows that a couple of them bested a couple of the machines before they died on their second attempt. Maybe their first victory caused them to go to Edna to design a new suit for them as well, reinvigorated just as Bob was. And since so few of them got a second try, it could be why we only saw three or four mannequins. It could even be a memorial to each one that Edna had trusted in, but couldn't succeed. But Edna doesn't look back. Syndrome must be stopped, and it's only a matter of time before the best hero is "recruited." So to make sure that Syndrome actually fails.... 4. It's all in the detailsEdna successfully designs suits for the entire Incredible family, and puts careful thought into each one. She's literally a fashion genius, privy to function, and very particular about what does and doesn't go on a super-suit. A hero's uniform has to be flawless. Failure in this could result in catastrophe, either for the world, or for fashion. For the plan to come to ultimate fruition, her old friends needed to succeed, and Syndrome needed to fail. First, I find it unlikely that Syndrome would have designed his costume with that color scheme. He wanted to be loved and admired, seen in the light as a false hope for the world. And yet...his costume is almost entirely black, save for the white "S." The Incredibles' costumes, however, are bright and lively, a stark contrast to the "hero" in their way. It is more plausible that Edna designed it this way so there would be no question who the real heroes were. But the real kicker, is what Edna put as the icing on the cake. Or should I say, icing on the cape? You see, Edna was significantly specific about not giving any other hero a cape, because of how dangerous it is to the wearer. Even in one of the fashion-failure-flashbacks, a heroine's cape became caught in a jet turbine...just like Syndrome. Edna knew that no matter what, the cape would be Syndrome's downfall. She could've even made it just long enough that it was more of a hindrance than any other cape before it, so there was a greater chance of it getting snagged during a confrontation.
And that, my friends, is why Edna is not only responsible for a majority of the events in The Incredibles...she's also a hero of the story. If the theory is true, Edna Mode carefully orchestrated a grand plan, putting faith in the heroes she had trusted and worked with for years before...but also making sure they would succeed. Quite literally, in fact, by her own design. Liked the theory? Share this post with a friend! And while you're here, you can check out some of my other blogs, or take a look at my books!
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Victor Sassano IIIAuthor of the Why You Suck Series. Adventurer. Warrior-Poet. Superhero enthusiast. Servant-Leader. Archives
March 2018
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