Character Analysis
Violet Parr can turn invisible with the flick of the wrist. She should be the next Criss Angel. More than being merely a cool parlor trick, however, this superpower is a nifty reflection of her quintessentially teenaged brand of insecurity.
Teenage Bummer
After all, what teenager doesn't want to be invisible most of the time? At the beginning of the film, we see Violet turn invisible as soon as her crush emerges from school at the end of the day. Like many teens, Violet lacks the self-confidence to be herself. Unlike most teens, however, Violet can literally disappear.
Game changer.
Her other superpower is pretty sweet, too: she can create impenetrable force fields. She seems less comfortable with this than turning invisible, though. In a crucial turning point, Violet fails to create a force field to protect the family as they arrive at Syndrome's island, which forces them to jump ship before its destruction. Once again, Violet's lack of confidence hinders her, as she sincerely doubts she's capable of such a feat.
Forcing The Field
Violet is devastated. Check out this convo with her mom after they've made it back to land:
VIOLET: Mom, what happened on the plane. I'm sorry. I wanted to help. I mean, when you asked me to. I'm sorry.
HELEN: Shh. It isn't your fault. It wasn't fair for me to suddenly ask so much of you. But things are different now, and doubt is a luxury we can't afford anymore, sweetie. You have more power than you realize. Don't think. And don't worry. If the time comes, you'll know what to do. It's in your blood.
From this moment onward, Violet changes her tune. She protects her family with force fields galore. She frees them from Syndrome's holding cells all by herself. She becomes a superhero. Finally, Violet realizes what her mom was trying to tell her: she can do anything as long as she believes in herself.
Queen Vi
The end of the film sees Violet conquering her lack of confidence in that other aspect of her life: the fellas. While at Dash's first track meet, her crush Tony asks her on a date and she accepts—though, to be honest, Violet is so confident at this point that she does most of the talking. Atta girl.
That's a far cry from the girl who'd turn invisible the moment anyone looked at her. Now? She's ready to kick supervillain butt and score high school hotties. Win-win.