When it came to super suit design, Edna Mode from the Disney classic The Incredibles had one hard and fast rule: no capes.
Mr. Incredible had the gall to ask for a classic cape and she refused outright, reminding him of all the superheroes before him who had died tragically because of their capes!? You can watch it below if you need a refresher.
Well, Tumblr Incredibles stans realized that Edna's hatred of capes could be grounded in something much deeper than their impracticality — her immense guilt over one superhero's death in particular.
Remember Stratogale from Edna's rundown of superhero cape deaths?
Based on some superhero stats that were released as special features on The Incredibles DVD, Stratogale's secret identity was that of a high school student who volunteered at a zoo. In other words, she was somewhere between 14-18 years old.
Tumblr users theorize that Edna, who designed Stratogale's suit, was wracked with guilt over Gale's tragic death, and it makes sense. Dying by being sucked into a jet turbine is a horrific way to die, especially when you're just a teenager. Being the person who designed the cape that killed her must have affected Edna deeply.
It's probably the reason Edna never looks back.
So sad....
But that's not where this theory ends. Tumblr user Gehayi noticed that Edna did an unbelievably good job at predicting the threats that the Parr family would face while battling Syndrome and built defense mechanisms into their suits to fight them. How could she do that?
Well, she would have known exactly what defenses the Parrs would need if she had designed Syndrome's suit. "Syndrome was a stalkery fanboy before he turned supervillain," Gehayi writes. "And Edna is THE suit maker for supers, as well as Mr. Incredible. Of course, Syndrome would go to her. Edna is the best, and Syndrome would want the best designer for his costume."
But why would Edna design a supervillain's suit when she knows he's a danger to superheroes she cares about? Get ready to have your mind blown.
"Realize that, despite her horror and guilt and rage at the gruesome deaths of Stratogale and other supers, despite her vehement conviction that such deaths should never happen again... she gave Syndrome a cape," Gehati writes.
Woah. If you believe Edna designed Syndrome's suit, his death takes on a whole new, deeper meaning. Because he died from being sucked into a jet turbine by his cape, the cape Edna designed for him, just like Stratogale.
So, Edna channeled her pain and grief into her craft and ended up designing the very suit that killed the supervillain. Edna wasn't just a super suit designer: She was the hero who saved the day.
Silver lingings, man. *wipes tears*
When I'm not holed up in my room going on a completely unproductive Netflix binge or Tumblr stalking Timothée Chalomet, I'm searching for awesome celeb news stories that Seventeen readers will love!
