Most superhero films are about good versus evil, and good wins as long as the movie doesn’t have part two. But that’s all there is usually. As one of the most saturated film genres, it doesn’t dive in and show what defines a hero and a villain. But one movie stands and shows what it truly means to be a hero and a villain. What other film can explain that better than… Megamind?

This post might contain spoilers, but that’s on you for not watching this masterpiece earlier. There are four main characters: Megamind as the titular villain, Metro Man as the city’s protector, Roxanne the love interest, and her cameraman as Hal/Tighten.

Megamind arrived in prison on Earth when his planet was destroyed as an infant, whereas Metro Man, whose planet was also destroyed, is raised in a well-off home. Metro Man has superpowers like Superman’s while Megamind just has knacks for inventions. They both grew up in a situation where they were destined to be heroes and villains, regardless of what they truly wanted. And they did, becoming nemesis, although Megamind never won against Metro. Until Metro faked his death to become a musician because he wasn’t happy being a superhero.

Megamind runs the city, but all he does is steal and paint everything blue, not harming anyone. He gets bored and realizes his life is meaningless, so he decides to create a new superhero to fight with, after getting that idea from talking with Roxanne, disguised as a human.

Then comes Hal. He creepily likes Roxanne, but she doesn’t feel the same. He’s selfish and only wants the rewards without any true effort. He likes Roxanne for his sake rather than for mutual feelings. Later on, he gets Metro’s powers and becomes Tighten (he couldn’t spell Titan). But he doesn’t know how to become a hero, so Megamind disguises himself as a parody of Jor-El and teaches Hal to be a hero. This is ironic because a supposed villain is teaching a villain-like character to become a hero.

Then Megamind (in human disguise) starts to fall in love with Roxanne after Megamind cleans up all the trash in a park and returns all the stolen art, just as she hoped. As a “villain,” he realizes that being good feels good and that he’s more selfless than he seems to be.

This is longer than I thought so I have to save it for part two. Comment below if you do want the second part!