And now it’s time for everyone’s favorite part… Just in case there still remains that one person who, inexplicably, is reading these blog articles without watching Megamind: SPOILER WARNING!
It’s safe to say that we’re all well aware Megamind is an extraterrestrial. (And if you’re not, wow, have you ever come to the wrong post! Hahaha!) That means a lot of things for the beloved blue villain-turned-hero, but one consideration that is never openly addressed in the film is exactly what that means for him living on Earth. Obviously, we know the poor fellow was ostracized due to his appearance, but what about beyond that? How similar was Megamind’s home world to our own? And what difficulties might he face dwelling here instead? The fan theories abound and they do not disappoint! Let’s take a look.
Similarities
Before we get started, it’s important to note that, while there may be some things that Megamind would find very different from the place he spent the first eight days of his life, many things would likely be the same. One reason we can presume this is because Megamind and Metroman’s families both sent them to Earth. It’s logical that space-faring races would have some knowledge of other inhabitable worlds, and would choose one as close to their native environment as possible. That certainly seems to be the case here: Megamind has not trouble breathing Earth’s air, and Minion has no difficulties in its water.
Another reason is a little more complex, however: there are likely universal building blocks necessary for life and common traits required for building technology that would ensure Megamind’s species was similar to our own in a variety of ways. According to Insider, scientists have hypothesized that technologically-advanced extraterrestrials would need to have dexterous fingers and apposable thumbs, forward facing eyes capable of judging distances and located close to the brain for quick information relay, the ability to walk on land (and thus develop rocket propulsion systems,) etc. Evolutionary expert Richard Dawkins added weight to this idea by explaining that there are certain things needed for developing life anywhere, such as DNA and protein, so we can assume that Megamind’s genetic and chemical makeup would be extremely similar to our own. All of this indicates that much about Earth would be familiar and comfortable for the blue man, but this does not mean there might not also be challenges.
Environment
So what might those challenges be? Firstly, as I’ve mentioned before in Megamind’s Anatomy, there is some evidence that the Blue Defender’s people may have been semi-aquatic. (Some even suggest that our favorite alien might have a dipnoan-like respiratory system involving both gills and lungs.) In the movie, Megamind’s planet is blue, which may indicate a large percentage of the surface being covered by water. (Another fan theory supposes that the reason the landscape in the brief scene on his home planet appears to be all metal is because it is, in fact, an underwater facility.) Megamind’s parents, when choosing a care taker for their infant, selected a fish, which could hint that they anticipated their son spending a lot of time beneath the waves. Similarly, his kind have blue skin, comparable in color to some species of fish on this planet, as well as green or brown eyes. Interestingly, these same colors can be seen in Minion as well, possibly meaning that both were adapted for camouflage in the same environment.
Thus, one of the first difficulties Megamind could face living on Earth is the tendency of other people around him to live almost exclusively on land. (If he is, indeed, made to be as much in the water as on the ground, his childhood in prison would have undoubtedly been even more difficult.) It’s possible that a need to regularly indulge in a swim could be one reason why his Lair appears to be right on the bank of Lake Michigan. Indeed, this semi-aquatic nature could also be why Megamind seems to prefer his Lair to be kept cold and damp, as Minion states in the film. It’s possible that the blue man’s skin dries out much faster than our own.
Microbes
Secondly, there are unseen factors to consider, and I mean that literally. What microbes would have been on Megamind’s planet, and how different would they be from our own? It’s not something we, as ordinary people, often think about, but in reality the risk is great enough that there are entire teams of scientists whose jobs involve thinking about little else. NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) has a Planetary Protection strategy for exactly this reason. The regulations include stringent sanitation procedures to prevent “backwards contamination of Earth” by bioactive molecules or perhaps even microbes returning to our planet along with samples or equipment, as well as categorizations of planets based on the contamination risks that our own visitations might someday pose. The highest risk category of planets, Category 4, are those which might support life, and thus might be irrevocably harmed if we accidentally introduced microbes from Earth.
You may ask why any of that matters when we’re discussing a fictional movie. Well, the fact is that Megamind takes place in a reality much like our own, in a city located in the U.S., so it is reasonable to presume that similar concerns might be at play. Indeed, it’s quite possible that both Megamind and Metroman would have been more susceptible to illnesses common here on Earth, having likely never developed immunity to them, and the mere fact that both not only survived but thrived speaks to their adaptability and resilience. Even so, it may be that, perhaps, this is something Megamind has to be careful about, and he might even take regular precautions to prevent infection.
I’ve heard it suggested that this could even be one reason both extraterrestrials wear gloves almost all the time, although I feel it should be noted that that is also a common feature of superhero/villain attire in general. (But then, think about how many comic book characters hail from different planets… It’s not inconceivable that the two are connected.) There is, however, another more credible fan theory that also points toward possible health safety measures.
When Megamind dons the Black Mamba, we see that it is retrieved from what appears to be a technologically-advanced, air-tight, brightly lit containment unit. Some fans believe that this is actually a sanitation facility using UV light and ultraviolet radiation to decontaminate his clothing, which would mean that laundering his garments, as we see Minion doing in the bonus scene during the credits, is deemed insufficient. If this theory is correct, it could mean that Megamind needs to be cautious of some of Earth’s microbes.
However, once more there is a possible alternative explanation: Megamind does, after all, work with some potentially dangerous materials and chemicals, and a sterilization/decontamination system is something anyone would expect to see in places like laboratories or nuclear facilities. (This is pure speculation, but for all we know, maybe he has another different unit to sanitize his person and clothing immediately after working with certain substances.) So, if the Black Mamba’s containment unit is, indeed, for sterilization purposes, it could be for everyone else’s benefit rather than his alone, or it could even be a combination of the two. Fanfiction and fanart creators can take that idea in whatever direction they choose.
Allergies
During a discussion on the Megamind Discord with CrazyDreamer6, the concept arose that Megamind, being from another planet, could be more susceptible to Earth’s allergens than many humans. In fact, this could be one reason why he chooses to have his dog-like brainbots rather than simply bio-engineering dogs for higher intelligence. (Indeed, ThatFilthyAnimal, Setepenre-Set, and others in the fandom have suggested that the organic components of Megamind’s cyborgs come from dogs who were either euthanized by animal shelters or too badly injured by cars, etc., to be saved. By making them brainbots, the blue man gave them a second chance at some sort of life as well as affection. For more on that, feel free to read the post Megamind’s Inventions.) The point is that there’s a possibility Megamind chose to create cyborgs rather than, say, stealing rescuing dogs from kill shelters and giving them bio-engineered enhancements because he is allergic to them. It makes sense, as the latter option would have kept the poor animals truly alive and would have arguably been easier, so there must have been a good reason to choose the second instead.
If he really is allergic, this could account for why, in the comic book series Bad Blue Brilliant, Megamind is so firmly set against Minion getting a dog. However, in the same comics, when the blue man finds a dog mutated by contact with some sort of cosmic microbes or radiation so that, apparently, it no longer bothers him, he dotes on it. All I can say is that, if this fan theory is correct, I agree with CrazyDreamer6: as Megamind is now a hero, his allergies might make rescuing cats from trees extremely interesting. I hope Minion has lots of Benadryl ready!
Gravity
Even if Megamind’s home planet was similar in many ways to our own, a difference in size or makeup could mean a significant difference in gravity. Several fans have suggested that the gravitational pull of the earth might give the blue man trouble. It’s even suggested that Megamind’s full-body, clearly technologically-advanced suits may help him deal with the different gravity on this planet. That makes perfect sense, as we can hardly expect the gravity on an alien world to be exactly the same as our own. The question is: would the gravity of Megamind’s original planet be more or less than that of Earth?
Many have speculated that the answer is “less,” and that’s certainly a valid fan theory. Is there a way to determine whether it’s the most likely, however? Let’s consider the possibilities. There may be some tendency, at least initially, to draw a correlation between the idea of Megamind’s home world having weaker gravity and the aforementioned supposition about his planet being largely covered in water. After all, stone is denser than water so a watery planet should have less gravity, right?
Nope.
Unfortunately for Physics 101 students everywhere, it’s not a simple as that. While it’s true that density could be argued to be indirectly related to gravity insofar as it is the ratio of mass of any given unit of matter, and mass itself governs the response of an object under the influence of gravity, gravity is certainly not ruled by density. According to NASA, gravity can be defined as “the gravitational acceleration on the surface at the equator in meters per second squared or feet per second squared, including the effects of rotation.” In the interest of making calculations easier, many choose to measure gravity as a consistent 9.81 meters per second squared, but I’m afraid that’s not entirely accurate either. Different materials, topography, mass, etc. all influence the gravitational pull of a planet. So, whether or not Megamind’s home world had more or less gravity than earth would depend on several factors we simply don’t know.
Although it’s certainly not the only consideration to examine where gravity is concerned—and, in fact, can be misleading depending on mass and makeup—we can at least make a vague guess at the size of Megamind’s home planet. In the film, we see it nearing a black hole, and, although it could have been thousands of kilometers away when the first affects of spaghettification began, depending upon the black hole itself, we can roughly get an idea of the planet in relation to both its doom and Metroman’s home world.
It’s a little hard to judge the distance, but Megamind’s planet appears to be slightly smaller than Metroman’s, but still relatively good sized in comparison with, well, the end of that world. The question, of course, is: exactly how big is a black hole? The answer, unfortunately, is that it could be any size. Seriously. Theoretically, anything compressed into a dense enough mass could be a black hole, even if that meant it became a fraction of the size of a grain of salt. However, a black hole so tiny would probably disappear in seconds due to Hawking radiation, which explains why most of the black holes that manage to stick around are pretty freaking huge.
So, just for the sake of argument, let’s say that the black hole that destroyed Megamind’s home world was about the size of Sagittarius A, the one at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Astrophysicists estimate that Sagittarius A is about 12,700,000 km in diameter, roughly about 2,000 times the diameter of Earth’s equator. This would mean that, looking at it compared with the black hole in the movie, Megamind’s planet appears to be significantly larger than our own. That’s not a guarantee of anything—again, there are a lot of other factors to consider where gravity is concerned—but it does increase the possibility that gravity on Megamind’s planet may have actually been significantly stronger than our own.
Still, if the makeup of that planet was far different, that hypothesis would completely fall apart, and gravity here could easily be the more powerful of the two. (For example, the radius of Jupiter is 10.8 times that of Earth, while its density is only about 1.4 times greater. Its mass, however,is a stunning 318 times that of our own planet. So clearly size can’t necessarily be trusted as an accurate measurement for, well, anything else where alien worlds are concerned.) However, assuming that Megamind’s world was of similar construction and makeup as our own—which seems likely as it was habitated by people who would be able to breathe our atmosphere, drink our water, and consume foods native to this planet—we can reasonably guess that the gravity there may have been more intense than what we ourselves experience.
That doesn’t mean that the former supervillain wouldn’t have trouble, however, nor does it mean that he might not have some sort of technology in his suits to help him along. We know that humans exposed to low gravity for long periods of time experience muscular atrophy, loss of bone density, and other problems. It’s possible that, despite being raised here and therefore somewhat accustomed to Earth’s gravity, Megamind may have to work that much harder to keep his strength up and his bones strong. On the plus side, however, lower gravity than what he’s built for may be why he easily can jump and bounce around so much.
Nutrition
This will be a short one, I promise, if for no other reason than that it’s already been partially covered in the post Megamind’s Anatomy. Multiple fan theories have arisen suggesting that the blue alien has dietary needs different from our own. The first is fairly obvious: Megamind consumes—and probably requires—a lot of sugar. Indeed, the only food we see him with in the movie are donuts and churros, so there is certainly some support for this idea.
The suppositions don’t stop there, however! Fans have suggested that Megamind may need and crave anything from foods that seem vaguely strange to us, such as raw eggs and peppers high in capsaicin, to substances dangerous to us such as arsenic. Given that, even here on Earth, there are different species that can eat things we can’t, this theory is completely viable. However, beyond the consumption of sugar, we have no evidence from the movie of that. (We can, however, see in the official comics that Minion enjoys both mill worms and Asian noodles, so anything is possible.)
And there you have it: several fan theories pertaining to the difficulties Megamind might face living on our planet! While there is little support from the film for most of these, they certainly are interesting and serve to further round out the character. At any rate, the fact that so many people have put so much thought into these idea is proof of just how much fans love both the movie and its protagonist. Perhaps, if we ever get to see a second Megamind movie, we may just learn whether some of these theories are correct! Until then, however, we can count on fans’ intelligence and creativity to keep us well supplied with new ideas concerning our favorite blue alien.
Source:
https://old.reddit.com/qfhazp