u/Smorthon_Software

This theory suggests that the rivalry between Metro Man and Megamind is a product of propaganda used by Metro City’s government. My post will cover potential evidence to support this theory.

When Metro Man is revealed to be alive, his dialogue felt sympathetic—as if he understood Megamind’s feeling of inadequacy in not fulfilling the “evil persona” that Metro City expects from him. Metro Man says, “Then I realized, we had done this same silly charade our whole lives.” I interpreted him calling it a “silly charade” to mean that their rivalry was never a legitimate one, and that the two men might not have any true vitriol against one another. Metro Man himself felt pressured into maintaining his image as the paragon of heroism, and that prevented him from being his true self. Disobeying meant losing credibility to the people of Metro City.

I think the main philosophical theme that Megamind preaches is that when power is given to individuals, they have both the potential to use it for good and evil. And the recipient of said power is not confined to either. This is explicitly conveyed when Megamind confronts Tighten, and he says “I made you a hero, you did the fool thing all by yourself”. The power was given to Tighten with the intention of making him a hero. But he uses his potential to become a villain. Conversely, in the end, Megamind uses his abilities for good in contradiction to his past evil patterns. Metro Man also points this out when he says, “You know little buddy, there’s a Yin for every Yang. If there’s bad, good will rise up against it. It’s taken me a long time to find my calling. Now it’s about time you find yours.”

Metro Man could be telling Megamind that he too can defy the status quo imposed upon him, which he fulfills by taking down a real threat, a true evil, Tighten. I am of course not implying that Megamind wasn’t an evil prick in the beginning.

The movie came out when I was 4 years old (~5), and to this day, I still consider it one of the most philosophical CGI animated movies I’ve ever seen.