Choosing Super-Powers

When the writers at Pixar decided which power(s) each of The Incredibles should have, they considered those characters' personality traits, age, and role in the family. Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible, is the typical, all-American dad, and dads have traditionally been known (at least by their kids) for their strength, so Mr. Incredible's strength makes sense for his character. Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl, is her husband's counterpart, the all-American mom, who bends over backwards and stretches herself for the good of her family, which explains her elastic powers. Violet is a teenager who mostly wants to be left alone, as shown by her powers of generating force fields and turning invisible, and Dash is a hyperactive boy whose boundless energy is shown in his super-speed. But the character I really want to blog about is JackJack.

JackJack is the infant of the family. At the beginning of the movie, his powers have not yet manifested, leaving him as a blank slate and perhaps suggesting that many of his traits have yet to develop; however, by the end of the movie, he demonstrates several powers, including turning himself into a fireball, a hunk of metal, and a raging monster. These shape-shifting powers hint at JackJack's potential to become practically anything he wants to become. What's interesting is that we all have that potential.

We all start life with perhaps a few innate traits, but with many of our traits yet to develop. As we grow up, we gradually decide what kinds of people we will be, choosing from a nearly-infinite myriad of options. Our experiences and our choices shape our personalities. Our studies and practice determines our skills. As time passes, it becomes clearer and clearer who we are and who we are not.

I hope the writers at Pixar show some of this "deciding who you are" as part of JackJack's growth and development. The trailers of Incredibes 2 show that JackJack still has a wide variety of powers, which makes sense, as Incredibles 2 immediately follows the first Incredibles movie, and Incredibles 2 might not focus on JackJack's character or span enough time for him to experience real character growth. But if we ever see the person JackJack grows up to be, I hope either that he settles in to one or two specific powers or that his variety of powers is reflected in his personality, perhaps with him becoming a "Jack of All Trades" (pun very much intended), both with his powers and in his other pursuits.

As people develop, they have to make decisions, and these decisions shape who they are and what they're good at. We are all born with the potential to become good at practically anything, but in order to fully realize that potential, we have to practice literally everything, which just isn't practical. We all have to choose our super-powers by choosing which skills we practice, and we all have to choose whether we become heroes or villains by choosing how we use our skills. JackJack may have many powers now, but if I were making decisions for his character, I would say that he could only keep and develop the abilities he actually practices, just like any of us.