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The question concerns this specific scene:

During the scene where Mr. Incredible and Frozone try to save people from the burning building, they end up in a jewelry shop where a policeman tried to arrest them (Both heroes were using common cinematographic robbery masks inside a shop, come on!). They could not be recognized but wouldn't be able to get away, so Frozone uses his abilities to freeze the cop.

As far as we can see during the movie (and in some DVD extras), the government has a pretty large hero database and, in fact, has helped them settle down after they've been forbidden to act, so matching up the "robber" identity by the power he used shouldn't be that hard, should it?

Is there any indication in the movie or any additional content, as well as comments from anyone involved in the development of the movie, that Lucius Best (Frozone) got in trouble for freezing an officer?

I understand that after some analysis it could be proven that nothing was actually stolen, but come on: he froze a person from foot to head!

jwodder
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Lucas Duffeck
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  • Sorry, that was my first attempt do do a spoiler tag and I totally failed. What have I done wrong? – Lucas Duffeck Nov 29 '17 at 17:59
  • You did two things wrong. The first is that spoiler tags won't work on a paragraph with line breaks. You need to use the
    tag to create a break     – Valorum Nov 29 '17 at 18:05
  • Just hit edit, and look at the current text, it will show you the correct spoiler tag formatting. – JohnP Nov 29 '17 at 18:05
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    The second thing you did wrong was to try to apply sensible logic to a film for kids. – Valorum Nov 29 '17 at 18:05
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    @Valorum First: Thanks for the tip on the spoiler tag. Second: As a young adult who watches kids movies I try to let things like these go, but sometimes I just have to go after an answer. Google couldn't help me in this though hahahaha. – Lucas Duffeck Nov 29 '17 at 18:10
  • the 'agency' is shown to have fairly comprehensive power to resolve issues surrounding the supers - remember how Bob pretty viciously attacked his boss and the agency made it go away (well, he did get fired...). It stands to reason that the agency would also work with the police department to resolve this issue, especially since Frozone was not engaged in the crime that drew police to the scene. – NKCampbell Nov 29 '17 at 18:21
  • Nice catch @NKCampbell, but think about the 'agency' perspective: Two men (at least one with super-powers) were catch inside a jewelry shop and 'attack' a cop. This wouldn't mark them as villains? What I'm trying to find out is if the cops, the 'agency' and Frozone got clear about what happened that night. – Lucas Duffeck Nov 29 '17 at 18:27
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    @Valorum: Harry Potter is (was originally) a series of children's books. Shall we stop trying to apply sensible logic to PS? – Kevin Nov 29 '17 at 20:00
  • I always thought this was a nod/handwave to the Clark Kent effect. (A mere pair of glasses disguising the body and appearance of Superman.) Between indexing their powers, biometric data gathering, not to mention any DNA left behind, very few superhero costumes would actually conceal identities; most are more revealing than their normal street wear, lending themselves very well to being measured -- but it's been something that everyone suspends disbelief about to enjoy the story. – K-H-W Nov 29 '17 at 20:13
  • @K-H-W Sure the 'Clark Kent' effect applies in many cases, but in The Incredible's universe it is shown that the government has not just lots of information on the Supers, but they play a huge part in their 'normal life', so remains the question on what happened when he got identified – Lucas Duffeck Nov 29 '17 at 20:21

2 Answers2

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My best guess is that the government knows, but they might not care, especially in this specific situation.

From what we've seen, the government in the Incredibles universe actually cares about the Supers. They work hard to relocate them and keep their identities secret, and from some of the interactions we've seen (especially the scene with Rick Dicker in the limo towards the end), it seems like the supers are actually old friends with the National Supers Agency/Super Relocation Program members. With this in mind, it would seem that the government wouldn't want to needlessly get in the way of Supers. So if a Super is actively committing crimes or endangering lives, then of course the government could probably figure out who and can step in.

In this specific situation, the government probably knows more than the Police that first arrived at the scene. The police just saw two masked men in a jewelry store, apparently using the fire next door as a distraction. After Frozone freezes the police officer, I would imagine that the Super Relocation Program would somehow hear about the unauthorized use of superpowers. Upon investigation, they would identify Frozone based on his powers, and it wouldn't be too hard to guess that the very large masked man with him was Mr. Incredible.

However, with the number of civilians that they saved from the building, and the fact that neither of them (probably) has any history of criminal behavior, the government would be able to come to the conclusion that the police couldn't make in the heat of the moment: The two masked men were there to save lives, and simply ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thus, they wouldn't pursue any action beyond a reprimand against him.

We also know that, while the officer is frozen, he is for the most part unharmed, as we can see his eyes moving back and forth even after being encased in ice. He can simply be thawed out and be as good as new; the Super Relocation Program even has the resources to wipe his memory of the whole affair (as seen in Jack Jack Attack), to avoid any future potential actions from the officer against Frozone.

TL;DR: While they probably knew that one of the masked men was Frozone, they also knew enough to realize that he wasn't trying to be a criminal.

DqwertyC
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    You don't need to go to Jack Jack Attack (which might or might not be canon) for erasing memories - Rick Dicker drops a line about "erasing memories" after Bob attacks his boss. – Kevin Nov 29 '17 at 19:56
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    Great answer, but it sounds very likely what I thought myself. What I was looking for was any info on what 'really' happened or how it would be handled. Your answer makes sense and is consistent. I'll wait a little bit more and if nothing else comes up I'll be happy to accept you answer. Thanks – Lucas Duffeck Nov 29 '17 at 20:26
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    I don't think there's any canon info on what really happened, but we may be able to make a better guess once the sequel comes out. – DqwertyC Nov 29 '17 at 20:31
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To be factual, Frozone wore a uniform and mask when he was acting as Frozone. So, it can be argued that the police might not have recognized him... although a frozen police officer shouldn't have left much doubt as to who the perpetrator was, after the fact.

The next scene, with Elastigirl finding rubble on Mr Incredible's collar instead of lipstick... was priceless.

tj1000
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  • The uniform is one thing, but it is shown that Mr. Incredible's secret identity is know by some government agency. That's where my question came from. – Lucas Duffeck Nov 29 '17 at 18:12
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    You pretty much rephrased what the OP said in their question. Do you have any additional information on whether or not that lack of doubt was ever brought up to anyone's attention? – DCOPTimDowd Nov 29 '17 at 18:14