Like Marvel's Captain America: Civil War, The Incredibles revolves around laws that regulate superheroes. In many ways, however, the Parrs have it even worse than the Avengers—they aren't just forced to register with the government, but to never use their powers again.

Litigation: An American Tradition

And there's no one else to blame but Mr. Incredible himself. There are two key incidents at the beginning of the film that change things forever. Check it:

• In the process of defeating Bomb Voyage, the evil, bomb-loving mine, Mr. Incredible stops a train from crashing. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of injuries aboard, and the passengers decide to sue the caped crusader.
• Mr. Incredible saves a guy from committing suicide, and guess what—he sues too. Yeah...

Kinda silly, right? Despite the fact that Mr. Incredible saves lives in both of these situations, he—and every other superhero on the planet—is punished for it. Someone call Alanis Morissette and tell her a great example of irony over here.

In the Shadows

The result? Superheroes must now renounce their costumes and blend in with the rest of the humanity, forever forbidden from using their powers.

Or, in other words:

REPORTER: Under tremendous public pressure, and the crushing financial burden of an ever mounting series of lawsuits, the government quietly initiated the superhero relocation program. The supers will be granted amnesty from responsibility for past actions, in exchange for the promise to never again resume hero work. Where are they now? They are living among us. Average citizens, average heroes. Quietly and anonymously continuing to make the world a better place.

This sets up the conflict that will dominate the rest of the film between the Incredible family's desire to show off their superpowered prowess, and their absolute inability to do so. But who knows? Maybe now that the Incredibles have burst back on the world stage, the government might take another look at the laws on the books.