The opening to America the Incredible:
He’s a fairly ordinary, middle-class fellow who doesn’t act as though he wields near-godlike power. But he’s nearly unstoppable, capable of besting any imaginable enemy, and yet he seems perfectly content with his lovely wife, three kids, and a nice house in the suburbs. Or, almost content, anyway. Despite the edicts of self-righteous lawyers, carping media twits, and nitpicking politicians, he patrols the bad alleys of his city, looking for the kind of trouble that only he can stop. Oh, he’s been accused of being the source of the trouble; he’s been told that he’s as much of a menace as his enemies, and he’s been socked with colossal bills for all the damage he’s inflicted in his super-battles. But he doesn’t care. He knows, deep down, that the world contains supervillains that don’t go away just because he wants a vacation. He knows the kind of suffering that could ensue without his intervention, and he knows that the local cops are worse than useless against super-powered foes. When his city is in danger, he can’t turn away. So when the forces of evil threaten the innocent, he throws caution to the wind and teams up with like-minded friends and family to fight for freedom!He’s Mr. Incredible, the animated star of Pixar’s latest box office super-hit, The Incredibles.
He’s America.
Intriguing:
The superhero’s solution to the problem of power is America’s solution, also: we have created a second self. Domestically, we prefer a laissez-faire government that leaves us alone to pursue our own projects. But internationally, we recognize an obligation to confront threats to world peace — and we detect that we are the only agent with the power and the will to do so. Thus, when evil looms large, America the tolerant and unimposing becomes America, the mighty and relentless. America, the purveyor of soft post-modern values, becomes America, the exporter of surly pre-modern men with rifles. The government that leaves you alone becomes the government that pulverizes you with its super Marine strength and Tomahawk Missile vision. The administration that couldn’t find your country on a map yesterday becomes the administration that renames the cities on your map tomorrow. Off go the glasses, on goes the costume, and America becomes a superhero, fighting with astonishing powers in the name of the very ideals that give it the illusion of weakness and indecision.