| | "And while his methods were surely grotesque, his ambitions weren't all that sinister. Wanting to make everyone a superhero with science and technology isn't necessarily an egalitarian goal. So I wasn't sure what to think about the villain."
Andrew, I haven't seen the movie yet, but you might be interested in a similar theme from the comics. In a famous issue of Superman called "Must There Be A Superman?", Superman is confronted with the possibility that his actions may not be helpful, but actually hurting his adopted homeworld, because instead of inspiring others to his level, they instead become dependent on him to solve their problems for them, and at one point, he "shrugs," and tells them they need to start doing for themselves.
There is another Superman story where Superman discovers "The Fourth World," a world of superpowered beings similar to himself. He sees some kids playing, and one falls. Superman rushes to save her, but she can fly and doesn't need saving! She laughs at him affectionately like he is a child trying to save a god...
So there could be a reverse argument, that the superhero is, maybe not a villain, but misguided because they foster a sense of dependency in their protectorate. At best, it's a case of not wanting the baby bird to fly away, leaving an empty nest of purpose for the hero, at worst, it's similar to the villain of Rand's short story where the philanthropist cripples his family with his "charity."
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