The Incredibles 2 is a sequel film that was 14 years in the making. That means the last time we saw the Parr family, George Bush was president, the second X-Men film had only left theaters a year before, and Batman Begins had yet to capture audiences. A lot has happened in the superhero genre since then, most notably, the Avengers. Samuel L. Jackson, who is involved in both The Incredibles and The Avengers, sat down with EW to compare the franchises and opine about what Marvel can learn from the animated family flick.
“Fourteen years later, to evolve a story that gives everyone in whatever age group a chance to participate in a very real and honest kind of way…” stated Jackson. “Teenagers can sit there and watch Violet’s story and say, ‘I know that girl. I know that story.’ Little boys and little girls can watch Dash and go, ‘Yes! That’s who I want to be!’ Or they got a math test they don’t understand. Or fathers doing things they don’t know they’re capable of doing, and wives who are working and still experiencing anxiety about what’s going on at home.” He also believes that the focus on family life makes The Incredibles more realistic than Marvel films.
“That ordinariness of who you really are is as interesting as this super thing you can do. How do you live every day? What do you do? Who are you without your uniform, or your costume," he opined. He goes on to list superheroes who have little connection to things real people deal with, like work. "Superman ('The only superhero we know that’s got a job'), Bruce Banner ('He’s a scientist, I’m sure he gets paid by some government entity'), Iron Man ('But it’s his business'), Thor ('Thor doesn’t have a job, we definitely know that')." Jackson continued on to state, “[The Incredibles] are a real family with real family problems. It’s a very universal story, and you come to realize that being a superhero is an avocation. It doesn’t put food on the table. It doesn’t keep the lights on. So you’ve got to do something else to be a part of real life.”