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- “Well, I think you need to be more flexible.”
- ―Elastigirl to Mr. Incredible[src]
Helen Parr (née Truax), also known as Elastigirl, is the deuteragonist in Disney•Pixar's 2004 animated film The Incredibles, the protagonist in its 2018 sequel and the protagonist in its 2024 sequel again. She is an elastic and dexterous superheroine who can stretch any part of her body to great lengths, and mold it into several shapes and sizes. Helen is married to Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr) and they have three children, consisting of Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack.
Background[]
Personality[]
Prior to marrying Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl seemed to have a strong opinion, stating that she both planned to break the "glass ceiling" (as Supers were a predominantly male profession) and would not settle down, at that time, in her firebrand ways as a married housewife. Life had other plans for her, however, as Mr. Incredible had managed to be so dazzling that she broke down and agreed to marry him. Shortly after their wedding, a chain reaction of events involving lawsuits results in Supers being outlawed by the U.S. government.
Since it became illegal to work as a Super, her goal of becoming a prominent superheroine was made a moot point. Elastigirl then changed to a more traditional role: becoming a housewife and devoting her effort to being a good wife and mother. This is particularly important for raising three children while living in witness protection and trying to raise super-children in a normal world.
Helen adjusted skillfully to the anti-Super law by completely renouncing her career as Elastigirl, which spared her from being discovered and targeted by Syndrome, unlike her husband and Frozone. In the privacy of the Parr residence, however, she still sometimes used her superpowers to aid her in housework and keep her three children under control. Her biggest concern is that since both she and Mr. Incredible were superheroes, their marriage has begotten "superkids", and she does not want her children to break the anti-Super law (whereas her husband takes the stance that the kids need to revel in their very special abilities).
Physical appearance[]
According to official sources, Helen is in her late thirties (38-years-old) She is 5'8" (172 cm) in height and 125 pounds (56 kg) in weight. She has a stretchable body, fair skin, rosy cheeks, and pink lips. She has brown eyes and auburn hair.
In her glory days as Elastigirl, she had long red hair in a flip and a slim, athletic figure with a narrow waist and wide hips. She wore a light gray leotard with a black and white "EG" insignia on the chest, with a scarlet eye-mask and belt, long scarlet gloves, and thigh-high scarlet boots.
After fifteen years of forced retirement, Elastigirl is still slender but with significantly wider hips and thicker thighs. Her hair is cut in a medium length, has lost its luster, becoming more or less brown in color, and is worn in a short side-bob that is shaped like a curved heart.
Following Mr. Incredible's secret return to hero work, the family's old friend and designer extraordinaire Edna Mode designs a new super-suit for him, along with matching suits for Helen and their three children. Helen's "Mrs. Incredible" super-suit is a red unitard with a black eye mask, and black bottoms, gloves, and thigh-high boots, and an orange, black and yellow "I" insignia on the chest that houses a homing device.
When Helen is tapped to lead a campaign to bring the supers back in Incredibles 2, she gets a new suit designed by Alexander Galbaki. The suit has a silver leotard with a magenta belt and a magenta "EG" insignia on the chest, with a black eye mask and black gloves and thigh-high boots. However, the suit gets ripped on the shoulder near the end of the film on the EverJust, and she reverts back to her red "Mrs. Incredible" suit. When she's in her hotel room, she wears a white bathrobe and is barefoot.
Powers and abilities[]
- Elasticity: Elastigirl's minimum thickness is stated as 1 mm, which would limit her stretch distance to 30 meters; however, the Operation Kronos database states that she can stretch up to 300 feet (90 m) and leap up to 80 feet (24 m). She can use her elasticity to throw objects with far more force than her slight stature would imply, as in one scene in which she supports the weight of a Winnebago suspended during flight. With that fact can be possible she had a kind of súper streangh, but leas than Mr Incredible.p
- Invulnerability: As part of stretching, Elastigirl displays some amount of invulnerability. Forced stretching, even under several tons of load, appears to cause pain and discomfort but no permanent or even temporary harm. A high degree of protection is also afforded by her super suit. Edna Mode states that she can injure herself by stretching too far.
- Bullet Immunity: Combined with flexibility, this should make her immune to bullets, though this is never demonstrated save when she is caught by doors while sneaking into Syndrome's compound and manages to have a ricochet of bullets deflected from hitting her leg by her boots.
- Shape-Shifting: She has also shown the ability to shapeshift with her elasticity. An example of this is when she transformed into a boat in the middle of the ocean to get her children, Violet and Dash, to shore. She can also shapeshift into a parachute to save her children. The disadvantage is that it can only transform into simple things and not complex shapes such as animals or other people, but most likely if it can transform into things like cars or small aerostatic balloons, with certain limitations such as that only the shape and its size can be of a certain size. Elastigirl's constitution deforms almost entirely, except for the head that cannot change shape, and which with vehicles needs help and different mechanisms to function, as with Dash's speed when he transformed into a boat in the first movie.
- Density Alteration: The fact that she can also manipulate her body shape and even decrease in volume means her mass can be moved to go with it. That mean she could have the hability of change of size, and become bigger, or fill a place with her own body.
- High Recovery: Because she have invulnerability, Elastigirl have to a great recovery, what maje she be able to wake up after a explosion.
- Hand-To-Hand Combat: In both the original movie and the sequel, she is depicted as an excellent operative, hand-to-hand combatant, and tactician.
- Enhanced eyesight: Elastigirl has shown to be able to see very small things, even at long distances: she was able to spot a tiny piece of wall on Bob's shoulder even from the other side of a dim-lighted room.
- Expert Pilot: Elastigirl proved herself to be a capable pilot when she temporarily eluded the surface-to-air missiles Syndrome launched at her plane although she was ultimately unable to avoid them despite her evasive action
- Expert Motorcyclist: Elastigirl is an expert at driving motorcycles, having once had her own personalized motorcycle that was called the Elasticycle before her retirement. She demonstrated great skill in driving the one given to her by Evelyn and was able to ride precarious ledges and use her elastic powers to slingshot herself and her cycle across far distances in order to catch up to a runaway train.
Weaknesses[]
- Blunt force: She can be knocked out by blunt force. This was demonstrated when she is stunned by three anti-aircraft missiles destroying a plane that was carrying her, Violet, and Dash on board, though she quickly regains consciousness. Also, in spite of her bodily malleability, Elastigirl can be disoriented by solid enough impact, such as her own blows, as seen when Voyd re-directed one of Helen's elongated punches through a portal and causing Elastigirl to accidentally punch herself, leaving her briefly dazed.
- Elasticity: Her own elasticity can sometimes be problematic, as it caused her leg, torso, and arm to be caught in three doors.
- Extreme temperatures: Like a rubber band, Elastigirl can be weaken in extreme temperatures. For example, if Elastigirl is exposed to extreme cold, she will be unable to use her powers. Much like how rubber breaks when it's frozen, the same principle will happen to her if she tries to stretch in freezing temperatures.[1] Other case is if Elastigirl Is exposed to a high heat, she become weak and start desestabilize her, to then lose coession and enter into a pseudo-melted state, where she become weaker and unable to love, because became a kind of clay. There's something wrong, because, of she stretch her arm in a cold zone, she will lose her hand, or if she is burned with a flamethrower, she starts to melt and become a liquid, but all this Is ipotetical, because she have a great recovery, but doesn't know if she can regenerate a losen limb, or get her original form after melt.
Appearances[]
The Incredibles[]
At the beginning of the film, Elastigirl helps Mr. Incredible take down a robber during which she teases him when he offers her assistance, although Elastigirl insists she can handle things herself. She ends their chat advising Mr. Incredible not to be late for their wedding and heads to the cathedral. To her dismay, Bob arrives late to the altar, but they are married nonetheless; during the ceremony, Helen worries that Bob got into trouble as Mr. Incredible which Bob assures her that, as superheroes, they are prepared for what comes their way. Unfortunately, the supers are subsequently outlawed and required to live solely as their secret identities.
Helen with her husband Bob.
Over the next fifteen years, Helen becomes a housewife and tries to help the family adjust to a normal life. She does use her super-powers in private to control her rowdy family. Bob, however, doesn't adjust happily to civilian life. Helen eventually discovers his clandestine crime-fighting with Frozone (Lucius Best), using the cover story that they're going bowling. This results in a marital conflict between Helen and Bob.
Bob (as Mr. Incredible) is subsequently lured by Syndrome to his private island, Nomanisan Island, under the ruse of an assignment. Helen finds a strand of platinum-blonde hair on Bob's clothes that evening, and she becomes suspicious when she hears Bob talking on the phone to his contact, Mirage. After calling Insuricare Helen learns that Bob was fired from his job months ago and realizes he is in danger (as Syndrome intends to kill him) after Bob is once again lured to Nomansian Island. She borrows a jet from her old friend Snug to journey to the island, but during her flight, she finds that Violet and Dash stowed away. She later discovers that their plane is in danger to be destroyed by missiles attempting to destroy them. She manages to defeat two of the six missiles but the plane is destroyed. Fortunately, Helen and the kids survive the explosion, so she parachutes to safety with them. The three make it to shore and take refuge in a safe-looking cave. Before leaving in order to save Bob, Helen urges both Violet and Dash to sharpen the use of their powers from then on; to bolster Violet's confidence by telling her that she has more power than she realizes; she also warns them that their enemies are merciless killers, and instructs them to protect their identities at all costs. Just as Helen exits the cave, Violets runs up to her, apologizing for her failure to protect the plane with her force field. Helen, in turn, apologizes to Violet for demanding something Violet had no way of being prepared for. She also bolsters her daughter's confidence with the advice that she need only to trust her instincts in order to make good use of her abilities.
Infiltrating Syndrome's base.
Helen then leaves the kids to find Bob. As she begins to look at the mirror reflection of herself. She runs into trouble when parts of her body got stuck in the doors while hiding from some of Syndrome's security guards. She manages to defeat the guards by knocking out one of the guards with her foot, then using her posterior to knock out two more. She then manages to grab the card key to unlock both doors to free herself and takes the unconscious guards to a locker.
Meanwhile, Syndrome's assistant, Mirage (who lured Mr. Incredible to the island as his contact), becomes disillusioned by Syndrome's narcissism and callousness. Her change of heart leads her to free Mr. Incredible. Mirage informs Mr. Incredible that his wife and kids are alive (it was previously assumed they were dead). Helen walks in as Bob gives Mirage a grateful embrace. Helen punches Mirage (knocking her out), as she believes Bob was cheating on her with Mirage. However, she does accept Bob's truthful statement that Mirage hired him and nothing more. After some initial awkwardness and tension, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl escape. Meanwhile, Violet and Dash manage to acquit themselves well after they're attacked by Syndrome's security force.
Syndrome recaptures the entire family and reveals that he intends to use his latest Omnidroid model to attack the city of Metroville, and then orchestrate a rescue, in which he appears to defeat the immense weapon, which is in reality under his control. The Parrs escape again and manage to journey back to Metroville, where they, along with Frozone, destroy the Omnidroid v.10.
Back at their house, they are confronted by Syndrome, who tries to kidnap Jack-Jack. Bob and Helen manage to retrieve Jack-Jack by letting Bob throw Helen to Jack-Jack, catching him. After Bob throws his car at Syndrome's plane, Syndrome is killed when his cape is sucked into the turbine of his private jet, also resulting in the explosion of his plane.
Three months later, Helen is seen with the rest of the family cheering on Dash at his school's sports day where he finished second. With the threat of The Underminer looming in the city afterward, Helen is seen wearing her mask as she joins the family in the fight against the villain.
Incredibles 2[]
Elastigirl in Incredibles 2.
In the sequel, the fight with The Underminer picks up where it left off. The Incredibles defeat The Underminer, who escapes. However, they also get arrested for the damages the Underminer caused. Rick Dicker bails them out and escorts them to a motel that they will live in until they find a new home. Rick also tells Helen and Bob that the Super Relocation Program has been shut down and they can only stay at the motel for two weeks. That night, Frozone shows up and escorts them to DevTech. There, they meet Winston Deavor and his sister Evelyn. The Deavors tell them that they are going to come up with a campaign to make Supers legal again and they want Elastigirl to be the public face of it since she causes the least collateral damage. Helen is reluctant to accept but Bob urges her to say yes as their choice is to accept the offer and try to make themselves legal again or remain illegal and become homeless.
After moving into their new home and leaving the kids in Bob's care, Elastigirl takes off for the city where she saves a runaway train and makes a new enemy in the Screenslaver. Helen later discovers that Screenslaver is so named because he uses screens to hypnotize people. With Evelyn's help, she manages to catch the Screenslaver. However, she later discovers that the man she caught is just a puppet right before Evelyn puts Hypno-goggles over her eyes. Her kids rescue her (with Helen discovering Jack-Jack's powers for the first time) and the Incredibles stop Evelyn and make Supers legal again.
Incredibles 3[]
Printed material[]
Helen takes the story focus in a few of the arcs of the series. In the original Family Matters miniseries, the matriarch of the new neighbors is revealed to be one of her old foes, a chemist called Organa. She sought to de-power Helen with a power-nullifying allergen placed in the various baked treats she offered her, though only Bob was affected as he continuously hogged all the treats for himself. She is eventually devolved into an ape by a De-evolution bomb created by Futur1on Dash uses against her. Organa's son Xander would later take after his mother's talents in chemistry, but with the intent to prove himself to Violet as both a Super and a love-interest.
In the storyline Secrets and Lies, she and Mirage are paired together on a mission to take out a resurgent Bomb Voyage in Paris. However, Bomb Voyage is under the employ of the criminal mastermind Xerek, whom Helen had once dated before she broke up with him on unspecified terms. Xerek deliberately planned for Helen to come to him, thinking it would prove a point of her breaking Bob's trust and seeking to relive the glory days, though she and Mirage simply laugh it off that Helen believes her life with Bob is not a waste and Xerek's the one more obsessed with the past. In the end, this is merely a ruse for Xerek to be taken into custody so he can subsequently take control of the prison and bring all the villains together for his ultimate scheme.
Video games[]
The Incredibles video game[]
Helen is a playable character in the video game of the same name, but only in three levels (she appears in two more, as either a guest or a helper). In the second level "Skyline Stretch" she appears in her original Elastigirl outfit, and in levels "Finding Mr. Incredible" and "Secret Lava Labs" she appears in her Mrs. Incredible outfit. In the game, Helen has an equal health level to that of her husband and displays abilities that are not seen in the film. When heavily surrounded by bad guys, she can spin and punch her enemies like a twister, and turn into a wheel.
Disney Infinity[]
Helen Parr is a playable character in Disney Infinity. In the game, Helen has a combo melee attack, as well as a Block Breaker and Power Attack. She has the ability to stretch out her arm as her ranged attack, where she grabs enemies and pulls towards them. This also makes her able to grab onto buildings and other toys to climb higher, like the Climbing Hook.
Other games[]
Helen appears in Disney Magic Kingdoms, as part of the Incredibles set along with her husband Bob, Dash, Violet, Jack-Jack and Frozone.
In Kingdom Hearts Union χ, Helen Parr appears as a speed combat medal for the game's avatars as part of the Incredibles 2 event
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Incredibles 2, Helen tells Bob that she used to have not only a bike (The "Elasticycle") during the Glory Days, she also had a mohawk. Bob was unaware of it, which leads to Helen reassuring him, "You didn't miss anything".
- According to official sources, Helen is in her late thirties (38 years-old) and she is 5'8" (172 cm) in height and is 125 pounds (56 kg) in weight.
- Helen's (Holly Hunter) flight approach into Nomanisan Island is similar to Dorinda's (Holly Hunter) end-of-movie flight in Always where the plane is in an uncontrollable dive and then she pulls hard on the controls to regain control of the plane. In both, she is initially distracted before returning to the controls to avert complete disaster when the plane crashes.
- When borrowing a plane, Helen's pilot call sign is "India Golf Niner-Niner", which translates to IG99, a reference to the 1999 film The Iron Giant, also directed by Brad Bird.
- In the alternate opening to the first movie, Helen Parr (then known by Helen Smith) was to be present at a welcoming ceremony by their neighbors along with her husband and daughter Violet (who was an infant at the time). One of her neighbors talks badly about children, causing Helen to snap at her and almost reveal her true identity, but managed to stop herself when her neighbor asked what her former job was. She also ended up allegedly taking Bob Smith to the hospital after the latter allegedly severely injured his fingers with a butcher knife while working the barbecue (in actuality, he was not injured at all and dented the cleaver with his fingers as a result of his superhuman durability, so they were forced to fake his injury in order to maintain his secret identity). They were later endangered by an old enemy of Mr. Incredible, Syndrome (then a minor villain), but they managed to escape the house when their encounter with Syndrome caused a gas leak that detonated, although Syndrome was not nearly as lucky.
- Coincidentally enough, Elastigirl, Helen's superhero name, is also the name of a superheroine with similar elasticity-based superpowers that originated from the DC Comics superhero team, the Doom Patrol. The character's civilian name also resembles Helen's, her surname being Farr.
- This was the main reason why Disney/Pixar was forced to use the name Mrs. Incredible for marketing to avoid copyrights. The DC character's name has since been changed to "Elasti-Woman", presumably as a compromise to allow Disney/Pixar to use "Elastigirl" again.
- The name "Mrs. Incredible" is used in the first movie only once, by Mirage, because in that moment nobody knew Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl were married.
- Elastigirl shares a powerset with Mr. Fantastic of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four. Other members of the family have counterparts in the team (Bob/the Thing, Violet/Invisible Woman, Jack-Jack in fire form/Human Torch).
- In earlier scripts of The Incredibles, after Helen calls her friend Snug Porter inquiring about a jet, he pilots her and the hidden children to Syndrome's island, and is killed when the plane was destroyed by the missiles. Helen realizes he is dead when she spots his cap sinking into the ocean depths with the wreckage. This is foreshadowed by photographs of Snug and Elastigirl together in her youth as boone companions still seen in the final cut of the movie, suggesting he was her flight instructor instead.
- Brad Bird fought to keep the scene as it was originally written which reached storyboard stage, but ultimately accepted that having Helen at the controls, and thus having the situation entirely in her hands, created more tension and impact.
- During the interview that opens the first movie, Helen's attitude towards a possible retirement is denying the idea completely, while Bob admits he would do it; while actually retired, their attitudes are reversed.
References[]
- ↑ "Incredibles 2 Themed Books - Take a Peek at 14 Different books (Jr.Novel, Activity & More)". YouTube. Retrieved on May 8 2018.
External links[]
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es:Elastigirl
fr:Hélène Parr
it:Elastigirl
ja:イラスティガール
nl:Elastigirl
pl:Elastyna
pt-br:Mulher Elástica
ru:Эластика
zh:彈力女超人