Syndrome (The Incredibles)

Syndrome is a male character who features in The Incredibles.

Biography

Buddy Pine

As a boy, he considered himself to be Mr. Incredible's greatest fan, top of his fan club and for all of a few minutes his self-appointed sidekick, "Incredi-Boy." His idol initially humored Buddy with autographs and similar considerations, but did not approve of a child showing up uninvited and announcing that they were a team. Although Mr. Incredible eventually resorted to bluntly telling him that he would not tolerate such harassment, the boy was not deterred. Buddy even went as far as to interrupt Mr. Incredible's impending showdown with the supervillain Bomb Voyage, placing himself in danger, forcing Mr. Incredible into a dangerous rescue and allowing Bomb Voyage to escape. Mr Incredible says to the police that Buddy (Called him "Skippy") made sure that Bomb Voyage escaped, when the police arrested Buddy and to tell his mother what he did. The rescue ended up causing one of the two lawsuits that Mr. Incredible faced and lost thus opening a floodgate of other lawsuits against other Supers and thus abolishing Supers altogether. Incredi-Boy showed advanced mechanical skill by creating his own rocket-boots, but they weren't nearly enough to convince Mr. Incredible, whose callous dismissals ("I can fly. Can you fly?" "Fly home, Buddy. I work alone.") left Buddy's fantasies crushed. This blow and his skewed interpretation of the event- later flashbacks apparently omitting Bomb Voyage from the scene and simply having Mr. Incredible reject him- drove him to a venomous hatred and then to revenge.

Buddy used his skill with inventions to become a highly successful and wealthy weapons designer, abandoning his conscience in the process. No matter how rich and powerful he became, Buddy never forgot about Mr. Incredible, and formulated his plans for vengeance. Using his best inventions to simulate super powers, he took on the costumed identity of Syndrome and set up Operation Kronos, aimed at eliminating other supers and then portraying himself as their successor. He also explains that he also plans to sell his inventions in the future to not only enrich himself but also to condemn society to an inescapable mediocrity, reasoning that, "When everyone's super, no one will be." Operating through his agent Mirage, he contacted various retired superheroes, tasking them with the destruction of various prototypes of the enormous Omnidroid battle robots, leading to the demise of many of the old supers. Deciding that the robot was now good enough to fight his old idol, he had Mirage recruit Mr. Incredible, who was able to defeat the Omnidroid.

After repairing and improving the machine, Syndrome sent it to fight Mr. Incredible. When the hero was outmatched, Syndrome revealed himself and declared that he would be his nemesis. Using his zero-point technology to throw Mr. Incredible over a waterfall, he tried to finish him off with an explosive device. Although this failed, he was able to capture Mr. Incredible when the hero tried to infiltrate his base. When the rest of the Incredible family followed, Syndrome assumed his prisoner had sent for reinforcements and ordered the plane to be shot down with missiles, taking cruel pleasure in the knowledge that he had killed his enemy's family, taunting, "You'll get over it. I seem to recall you prefer to work alone?" Incredible retaliated by threatening to kill Mirage; Syndrome was unimpressed and called his bluff, knowing that even with nothing to lose, Mr. Incredible would not kill. This callous disregard for life eventually turns Mirage against him. She confronted him later, saying, "Next time you gamble, bet your own life," leading her to free Mr. Incredible from captivity, inform him of his family's survival, and help him to escape and reunite with them.

Syndrome managed to recapture the super family and re-imprison them, taking the opportunity to elaborate on his plan. He intends to set the Omnidroid on Metroville and then stop it himself, taking the credit and setting himself up as the city's new hero. He then plans to sell all of his inventions so that everyone will have powers, so that no one can technically be referred to as "super" anymore ("When everyone's super..., no one will be".). However, this plan failed, as the Omnidroid's ability to learn allowed it to identify Syndrome as a threat, disabling his remote control wristband and sending him flying into a building. He remained unconscious during the Incredibles' and Frozone's battle with his Omnidroid, and was thus robbed of his victory. Now a wanted fugitive from the law with his assets frozen by the secret service, Syndrome made one final attempt at revenge by breaking into the Incredibles' house and abducting their baby, Jack-Jack. This effort too failed, when Jack-Jack's previously unforeseen transforming superpower manifested and allowed him to escape Syndrome's clutches. Finally realizing that he had lost, Syndrome leaned from the side door of his jet plane, vowing to return to get revenge on the Incredibles. However, Mr. Incredible threw his car at the plane, knocking Syndrome off balance. Echoing an earlier scene in the movie regarding the dangers of wearing a cape, Syndrome's cape gets caught in the jet engine, resulting in his death and the explosion of the plane.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Syndrome stood 6 ft 1in (1.85 m) tall, not including the height of his hair. He is barrel-chested and weighs 185 lb (84 kg). His red hair extends straight up in a manner reminiscent of flames. Syndrome is "not a super," but he demonstrates exceptional ingenuity, technical knowledge and planning skill far beyond the science of his time.

Powers and abilities

Among his creations included:

• Utility gauntlets : Using zero-point energy, Syndrome is able to create a field of quantum energy that immobilizes the victim's body movement. The field is moved by his fingers and can be fired in the forms of energy blasts and concentrated beams. Like the trigger for Spider-Man's web-shooters, the trigger for these weapons is located high on the palm of each hand to prevent most unwanted firings. The left-hand gauntlet also holds the remote control for the Omnidroid.
• Aero-boots : In his short days as Incredi-Boy, Buddy used makeshift rockets. As Syndrome, his rocket boots were modified to project blue flames.
• Probe : used to locate temperature, atmosphere and life signals in various locations. Worn in the left-hand gauntlet.
• Miniature "I"-bomb : small but exceedingly powerful bomb. Worn in the right-hand gauntlet.
• Flame-throwing assault rifle : used to create force fields of flame that spread if anyone trapped inside tries to do anything about it. So far, this weapon has only been used once—by the now-congealed Syndrome robot.
• Omnidroid : Syndrome built many different versions, each designed to fight and kill Supers, the last version being the tenth model.

Notes

• Syndrome was created by Brad Bird and voiced by actor Jason Lee where he featured as the main antagonist in The Incredibles.

Appearances

• The Incredibles: (2004)

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