The Specials(2000)

Submitted by Tornado Dragon

SHORT VERSION:
At a banquet Kosgro Toys hosts for the Specials to celebrate the release of the team’s new line of action figures, the Strobe finds out that Ms. Indestructible is cheating on him with the Weevil. In light of this, as well as seeing that the action figures are second-rate, the Strobe announces to the assembled press that the Specials are disbanding. He then openly confronts Ms. Indestructible and the Weevil about their affair before leaving.

Later on, the Weevil accepts an offer earlier made to him by the Crusaders, one of the top-tier superhero groups, to join their ranks. After hearing about this, Nightbird visits the Weevil at his home and thanks him for inspiring her to want to be a part of the Specials. When he asks what her “bird powers” are, she admits – with some embarrassment – that they are super-sensitive hearing, an affinity for birds, and the ability to lay eggs (though she fails to mention that each egg contains a different weapon). Meanwhile, the Strobe is paid a visit by five of the bodies of Eight, the passive member of the Specials, while he is sitting in a diner that the team frequented. Eight tells him that he heard the news about the breakup and is against it, because whether or not the world needs the Specials, the Specials need each other.

The next morning, the Strobe and Ms. Indestructible meet up at Specials HQ, and they reconcile their differences. The rest of the team then make their arrival, presumably out of habit. The Strobe tells them that the team is finished and other superhero groups can do a better job than they can, but Amok explains to him that they have a role to fill as the champions of society’s misfits. Soon after, Minute Man informs everyone that the Weevil is doing an interview on TV, and they watch as he disrespects them all and makes fun of Nightbird’s powers. After cheering up Nightbird, the group gets a call from the Pentagon saying that giant ants have taken over the place, and none of the more famous squads can help because they are tending to other matters right now. The Specials decide to leap into action together again.

The Weevil gets his comeuppance when he finds that he has gone from being the big dog in the Specials to the runt in the Crusaders, and citizens are now calling him a sellout.

LONG VERSION:
While the Specials are attending a banquet at a hotel hosted by Kosgro Toys to celebrate the release of the team’s new line of action figures, Ms. Indestructible (Paget Brewster) – who has been cheating on the Strobe (Thomas Haden Church) with the Weevil (Rob Lowe) – disappears with the Weevil to the parking lot to have sex in her car. When Minute Man (James Gunn) gets word that the presentation will be starting soon and he notices that the Weevil has gone missing, he informs the Strobe and Deadly Girl (Judy Greer) about this, so the Strobe tells them to split up and find the Weevil. The Strobe searches the parking lot for him and catches him and Ms. Indestructible in the middle of their sexual tryst without them knowing.

Things then get even worse when the Specials watch the commercial for their action figures and see that Kosgro Toys did little research on them and made the figures using cheap accessories and recycled parts. When the group takes the stage to make their speech, the Strobe lambastes the action figures and then announces the dissolution of the Specials before walking out of the banquet. Ms. Indestructible, the Weevil, Deadly Girl, Minute Man, and some members of the press in attendance go after him, and when they all get outside the hotel’s front doors, the Strobe confronts the Weevil and Ms. Indestructible about their affair right in front of the reporters, and then Deadly Girl comes to the Strobe’s defense by punching Ms. Indestructible in her left eye. The Strobe then walks off into the night.

Mr. Smart (Jim Zulevic), Amok (Jamie Kennedy), Power Chick (Kelly Coffield), and Alien Orphan (Sean Gunn) later leave together and spend the whole night drinking and dancing to take their minds off of the team’s breakup. U.S. Bill (Mike Schwartz) returns to the home he shares with his mother to get comfort and solace from her. The Strobe pays a visit to retired superhero Zip Boy (Barry Del Sherman) and asks for – and receives – a job at his plastics company in Detroit. The Weevil accepts an offer earlier made to him by the Crusaders (one of the top-tier superhero groups) to join their ranks. After accepting that his crush on the newest member of the Specials, Nightbird (Jordan Ladd), is unrequited, Minute Man visits Deadly Girl at her home to try to come up with a way to get the Strobe to revive the team, and they end up falling for each other and get intimate. Nightbird goes to the Specials’ headquarters and gives her uniform to Ms. Indestructible, telling her that she is giving up on being a superheroine. Ms. Indestructible tells her that they can convince the Strobe to change his mind, but Nightbird refuses this, saying that she joined this group to combat evildoers and all that they ever think about is having sex, their egomanias, and selling merchandise. Ms. Indestructible is later shown drinking wine and watching the wedding video of her and the Strobe, and she soon starts crying.

While the Strobe is sitting in a diner that the Specials frequented, he is visited by five of the bodies of Eight, the passive member of the team (the other three are vacationing in the Bahamas). Eight tells him that he received word that he dissolved the team, and the Strobe confirms that he has, saying that the world doesn’t need the Specials because the other groups have made them obsolete. Eight tells him that this decision goes against the grain, and whether or not the world needs the Specials, the Specials need each other. Sometime later, Nightbird pays the Weevil a visit at his home, wanting to have a chat with him. She tells him that she learned of how he is joining the Crusaders, so she just wanted to thank him for inspiring her to want to be a part of the Specials, having been an outcast herself. When Weevil asks what her “bird powers” are, she explains – with some embarrassment – that they are super-sensitive hearing, an affinity for birds, and the ability to lay eggs (though she fails to mention that each egg contains a different weapon). She then decides to take her leave, but Weevil stops her and tells her that, in all of his time with the Specials, he’s never seen anyone come into the fold who wasn’t there for a reason, and apart from Mr. Smart, no one who is in the Specials is useless.

At Specials HQ the next morning, Ms. Indestructible goes into the meeting room and finds the Strobe sitting in his usual seat at the table and sorting through some files pertaining to the team. She apologizes for being unfaithful to him, and he apologizes for being so vain, self-absorbed, and emotionally distant, and they pretty much consider their marriage intact. The rest of the group, including Nightbird, then make their arrival presumably out of habit (though Ms. Indestructible has to order Mr. Smart to show up when he calls and asks if they are meeting). The Strobe tells the others about his new occupation and says that the other superhero squads can do a better job than they can, but Amok yells for him to just forget about “better”. He states that, while they may not be the prettiest or the smartest or the most powerful of superheroes, they have a role to fill as the champions of society’s misfits.

Soon after, Minute Man leaves the meeting room and heads upstairs after getting frustrated with the Strobe, but he comes back down moments later and tells everyone that the Weevil is doing an interview on TV right now. They all sit and watch it, and they react with hurt and disappointment as he disrespects them all and makes fun of Nightbird’s powers. After the group consoles and cheers up Nightbird, the emergency alarm goes off, and they get a call from the Pentagon saying that the place has been overtaken by giant ants and the Specials are the only ones who can help since the more famous superhero teams are tending to other matters right now. The Specials decide to leap into action together again.

The movie last shows the Weevil not having as good of a time being a superhero as he used to. He has gone from being the big dog in the Specials to the runt in the Crusaders, and he is haunted by the controversial nature of his departure from the Specials, with people now calling him a sellout. The movie ends with him attacking a reporter and his cameraman after taking offense to some questions the reporter asks.