Megamind: Women Can Be Super Villains Too
An argumentative essay that will have you shaking in your “custom baby seal leather boots.” (Megamind, 2010, 15:29)
It’s not every day I publish an essay arguing something so real, true, and completely and utterly genius. This week’s thoughts™ are all about Roxanne Ritchi of Megamind (2010) fame, and how we all know the real genius of that film was not the one with the big forehead or the one with a chin you could stop a train with. It’s time Roxanne’s own mega-sized mind be acknowledged. After all, women’s achievements have often been swept under the evil doormat that says “secret entrance”.
We see from the start of the film, where Megamind first captures and kidnaps Roxanne Ritchi, that she has a lot of experience with kidnapping.
She says, “Wait, what secrets? You’re so predictable!” (Megamind, 20120, 13:16), showing that she has extensive knowledge about kidnapping and intimidation tactics. It could be argued that she has this knowledge thanks to her experiences being kidnapped (if not all by Megamind), but I posit it is in fact a result of her experiences as a kidnapper, and that her criminal mastermindery goes far deeper even than Megamind’s.
While being imprisoned in the observatory, Roxanne Ritchi critiques each one of Megamind’s attempted methods and tools of his criminal trade. She does this with boredom and straightforward, judgemental quips. This shows a glaring wealth of knowledge, knowledge of criminal and terrorist methods, of which there is no evidence she has actually suffered under.
Roxanne Ritchi: Clichéd.
Megamind: No, look! Watch.
[brings down the giant blades]
Roxanne Ritchi: Juvenile.
Megamind: Shock and awe!
[Megamind brings up a chainsaw]
Roxanne Ritchi: Tacky.
Megamind: Oh, it’s so scary!
[activates a cycle of spiked boots]
Roxanne Ritchi: Seen it.
Megamind: What’s this one do?
[now frantic he unleashes a flamethrower]
Roxanne Ritchi: Garish!
(Megamind, 2010, 13:38)
As evidenced by her able-bodied, unblemished appearance, she is likely not the victim of said tactics and weapons, but is likely the perpetrator. Perhaps she has only ever been threatened by them? I find this hard to believe, as once it’s clear that someone will not acquiesce to your demands under threat of giant blades, chainsaws, or spiked hooks, why would you then keep showing up with other fear-inducing weapons? You’ve lost your flare. She doesn’t care! Not only that, but in this scene, Roxanne is goading Megamind into showing her all of his tools, plans, and options, showing her to be a cunning thinker. Why should she waste time and energy entering into a conversation with a criminal who has violated her bodily autonomy on more than one occasion, if not to gain something useful from it? If she knows all of Megamind’s tools, she can best him, and do better than him.
We know Megamind set up the fake observatory and created a situation in which Roxanne Ritchi could discern that that is where they were holding her (incorrectly), but what do we know about Roxanne and her intentions here?
“We’re at the coastline observatory!” (Megamind, 2010, 15:50)
Megamind might have orchestrated this scene, but how does she know where what the observatory looks like from the inside? Does she frequent the inside of the observatory? It could be argued that an observatory obviously looks like an observatory from the inside, but I don’t know… it’s full of computers, screens, and blinking lights. It may have a domed roof, but is that really the only building in all of Metro City with a dome roof?
The origin of Roxanne’s knowledge of the observatory is never explained, but it has such a tremendous impact on the plot (it leads to Metro Man’s “death”) that it can hardly be coincidental. Her knowing the inside of the observatory makes little sense, unless we consider the possibility that Roxanne knows the observatory due to frequenting it—and why should this information be kept from the audience? Because she uses it.
Just as Megamind and Minion watch Roxanne Ritchi and learn her habits, it’s not unfathomable (without fathom) that Roxanne herself does the same.
Roxanne knows what Megamind is planning and is never surprised when she’s kidnapped, because she too has information on him. She’s never surprised by his plans to torture and frighten her, because she tricks him into showing her each facet of his plan before he has even told Metro Man that he is holding her hostage. Megamind may think he orchestrated the plan to lure Metro Man to the old observatory… but was it all his idea, or did someone else influence it? Someone like Roxanne, whom he frequently kidnaps and talks to?
But why her? Why does Megamind target Roxanne Ritchi so consistently? Roxanne Ritchi admits to Megamind, in no uncertain terms, that she and Metro Man were “...never a couple” (Megamind, 2010, 44:40), and while Megamind (at this point in his disguise as Bernard) looks shocked, it makes one wonder if that was really the only reason Megamind sought to victimize her. By looking at Megamind’s pattern of behaviour, and the elements that inform his choice to go after Metro Maan, we can infer another reason he so vehemently targets Roxanne Ritchi. Megamind goes after Metro Man because Metro Man bested him when he was a kid. Because Megamind felt inadequate and insecure in Metro Man’s shadow. Because Metro Man was always in the spotlight that Megamind so dearly wanted. Metro Man is, and has always been, well-liked and favoured over Megamind.
Based on this information, it’s easy to see why Megamind would also think to target Roxanne Ritchi: because she displays the same traits that Metro Man.
Roxanne shows that she is very knowledgeable about the tools of his criminal trade, reacting emotionlessly to the torture and intimidation tactics she goads him into displaying. She makes him feel insecure and inadequate. Besting him. Not only that, but she is a woman in the spotlight, similar to Metro Man’s stardom, in her role as a news anchor for Metro City.
She ticks all of the boxes. The only remaining question is: to what ends is she working toward, and why? Does she, like Metro Man, have superpowers, or is she super cunning?
Roxanne Ritchi: He was always there for us. Dependable. Perhaps we took him for granted, or maybe... we never really know how good we have it until it's gone. We miss you, Metro Man... I... miss you... and I just have one question for Megamind... are you happy now? This is Roxanne Ritchi, reporting from a city without a hero. Coming up next, are you ready to be a slave army? What you need to know.”
(Megamind, 2010, 26:48)
Context suggests that here, Roxanne Ritchi is implying Megamind is the one who will create the slave army, but it raises the question: how would she know if a populace is ready to become one unless she’s done the research? And why would this be the topic of her research vs how to liberate oneself from the clutches of an evil super villain? It doesn’t seem implausible to me that in order to more easily create a slave army, you might get them to do things to “protect” themselves that in actuality help you in turning them into slaves. It’s the whole “find your destiny on the path to avoiding it” thing. Smart. After all, where has Megamind even once hinted at a desire to turn anyone into a slave? Roxanne Ritchi is a cat playing with mice, and the game she’s playing is 5D chess. 5D chess for mice.
See how she speaks to Bernard (Megamind in disguise) at the statue of Metro Man at 31:31
Roxanne Ritchi: I believe someone’s gonna stand up to Megamind.
Megamind: You really think so?
Roxanne Ritchi: Yeah, it’s like they say. Heroes aren’t born, they’re made!
Megamind: Heroes can be made. That’s it! All you need are the right ingredients.
Roxanne puts the idea of creating a hero in Megamind’s head, planting the seeds that go on to create the ensuing conflict of the rest of the movie. Again.
We know Roxanne is clever, observant, and astute. Furthermore, hitherto she has not been overly kind to anyone in the movie… until Bernard, which shows a drastic change in character that raises questions.
Megamind: Heroes can be made. That’s it! All you need are the right ingredients.
Roxanne Ritchi: Yeah. Bravery.
Megamind: Yes.
Roxanne Ritchi: Strength.
Megamind: Of course!
Roxanne Ritchi: Determination.
Megamind: Imperative! And a smidgen of DNA. Oh, with that anyone can be a hero!
Roxanne Ritchi: Yeah!
(Megamind, 2010, 31:50)
Not only does Roxanne plant the idea of making a superhero in Bernard 2.0’s (Megamind’s) head, but she goes on to encourage him by listing very specific ingredients, almost as if she’s thought about this, and knows what she’s talking about. Oh, but maybe she’s just pulling inspiration from books and movies (we do have a very culturally prominent idea of what heroism is), but looking at the evidence—Roxanne’s out-of-character kindness toward Bernard 2.0, and her interest in creating a superhero, her strange knowledge of slave armies and torture devices—we can infer that Roxanne is up to something even Megamind is oblivious to.
Despite Bernard 2.0 bringing literally nothing to the table to help defeat Megamind (he is kidnapped and threatened when Megamind pretends to be both of them), Roxanne is very quick to declare Bernard her “partner” (38:27), and even declares this to Hal, her long-time coworker. She then initiates a relationship between herself and Bernard by contacting him and asking to meet up several times. She flatters him: “Bernard, I never knew you were so funny.” (43:39) Why?
Because she knew Bernard was Megamind all along, and needed him to believe she’d fallen for his trick.
Roxanne plays the role of damsel in distress because reverse psychology is a well-known tactic in convincing someone to do things while thinking it was their choice. She calls Megamind “predictable” multiple times, and while she is a victim of kidnapping, with her expert knowledge of all things villainous, it’s not too hard to imagine she could have gotten out of the situation if she so wished. But she never did, did she? Because while Metrom Man thought her a helpless woman, and Megamind thought her caught in his snare, she was exactly where she wanted to be. Observing the two men in close proximity, learning all she could.
This then changes the context surrounding Megamind’s reveal that he is and has been Bernard 2.0 this entire time. She quickly accuses him of the very things she is doing because she knows how to do it best:
Roxanne Ritchi: … you actually got me to care about you! Why are you so evil? Tricking me!
(Megamind, 2010, 55:39)
And it serves her best interests to go on playing the damsel in distress that everybody thinks her to be. She got him to care about her, because she’s evil, and she tricked him. She then acts hurt in front of him, setting in motion a very specific series of events.
One single moment in this movie confirms her mastermindery in no uncertain terms.
Roxanne Ritchi stands in her apartment, gazing up at paper clippings hung about the room—clippings that she herself hung, in places she chose to hang them. She steps back, and the clippings all merge to reveal one word: TITAN. The only logical explanation for this miraculous line-up of clippings to reveal a key piece of information, after she herself arranged said clippings, is that she had planned, all along, for TITAN’s creation.
Later, Megamind explains to Hal that “Titan” was “...the only name I could trademark” (45:30) – given Megamind’s aversion and blatant disregard for following the law, why should we believe he went through the proper processes to trademark TITAN, rather than simply use any name he wished?
Unless, Roxanne, being the helpful, kind, and generous woman she is to Bernard 2.0, offered to help him trademark the name, or encouraged him to do so? The movie shows her taking him around the city and showing him places she has attachments to, and telling him it now looks like a dump (see: the trash in the park at 43:56), which spurs Megamind to clean them up.
Subtlety is Roxanne’s game, and she’s playing Megamind like a god-damned fiddle.
We see her vast understanding of Megamind’s (presumably blue) mind when she speaks to Bernard 2.0 after being kidnapped by Titan. She outlines Megamind’s plan step-by-step, as though she were the one doing it:
Roxanne Ritchi: Megamind’s created a new hero and I know why.
Roxanne Ritchi: It all makes sense now. He missed getting his butt kicked…
Megamind: Mmm-hmm.
Roxanne Ritchi: …so he created a new hero…
Megamind: Yeah.
Roxanne Ritchi: …to kick it for him!
She’s able to outlay this play for Bernard because she laid all of the groundwork for it to happen in the first place. She knew breaking his heart would spur him into action.
Finally, she also knew about Metro Man’s secret hideout.
Roxanne Ritchi: Okay, how can I help?
Megamind: We need to find answers. You knew Metro Man best, did he have a hideout? A cave? A solitary fortress of some kind? Anything that would give us clues?
Roxanne Ritchi: Well there is one place I know.
(Megamind, 2010, 105:19)
Knowing that she and Metro Man were “never a couple” (44:40), how did she know where one of his hideouts was? And more than that, why would Metro Man fake his death and go into hiding in a place he knew was compromised? He’s rich! He could go anywhere! Why should he let anyone know where his “hideout” is, when the very name is supposed to imply secrecy, and Roxanne is not someone he was intimate with (and thus not deserving of knowing)? The answer is, he didn’t know. He’s surprised to see them when they enter this hiding place at 106:00, because he wasn’t expecting them at all. “Of course he wasn’t expecting them, he believed everyone thought he was dead!” I hear you say. But I don’t think so. I think he wasn’t expecting anybody because this house, in fact, a secret that even Roxanne shouldn’t have known about.
Roxanne Ritchi is not the innocent news anchor she appears to be, and we love that for her.
The truth of her character can be seen in her cleverness, in the way she treats the other characters: goading them into revealing secrets and details, watching them from afar, planting ideas in their heads with such subtlety they believe them to be original thoughts, and acting the victim when she’s most likely to get something out of it. She has Megamind wrapped around her finger, and by the end of the film, in seeming to accept him for his villainy, blue skin, big-ass head and all, her plans have only just begun.
She is and has always been the “microwave of evil” (15:36), and everyone else is just the about-to-expire concepts of villainy being spun around inside it.
If you read this far, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this little dip inside my own mega-mind (sadly not blue, though to be fair, nobody has ever checked). I’ll be back to more serious posting next week, though this essay is a win for equality, at least in my heart.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments: what is the biggest crime you think Ms Ritchi has committed, and why was it so slay of her? 💅