Captain Underkid (2016 film)

warning: not a real movie.

Captain Underkid is a 2015 American action adventure comedy superhero film based on the characters with the same name by Comix Inc. It is produced by The Heroes Productions and distributed by The Heroes Productions. The film stars Lennon Richardson, Gabriel Combs, Mark Hamill, Chris Pine, Darcy Combs, and J.K. Simmons.

The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 12, 2016. It was a box office success, grossing $354 million against a $40 million budget, but received negative reviews, with criticism for its plot, characters, and villain, but some praised the casting and performances. The film sparked a new franchise.

Plot
A long time ago, a science professor named Professor Private (Mark Hamill) is bullied because of his name. Enraged, he sets off an unfinished invention that destroys buildings and destroys the Science building. Eventually, he is fired and he decides to start selling Ice Cream, while secretly stealing devices to create something evil.

A kid named Mike Johnson (Lennon Richardson) works at his run-low job at Housecleaners Workshop. His boss, Big Boss Joe (Gabriel Combs) catches him sleeping on the job and threatens to fire him. Mike decides to clean the outside of the Workshop as punishment and is visited by the God of Heroes (Chris Pine), a God that gives people superpowers, and transforms him into a superhero. The God of Heroes nicknames Mike “Captain Underkid” and sends him after a crimey.

A man gets robbed for liking Unicorns and Captain Underkid saves the man’s life. He sends the criminal to jail and realizes that he should be a superhero instead of working in a workshop, getting paid for stopping crimes. The Chief of Police (J.K. Simmons) deems Captain Underkid a threat and decides to put a tracker on him to keep an eye on him.

News Reporter-wannabe Sally Jenkins (Darcy Combs) interviews Captain Underkid, putting him on the news. Professor Private sees the news and deems Underkid a threat, deciding to cancel building the Doomsday device to focus on stopping Captain Underkid. He then discovers that the God of Heroes is creating an unknown sidekick for Captain Underkid.

Big Boss Joe enjoys his time off as the God of Heroes transforms him into Captain Underkid’s sidekick, whom he names No-Shirt Boy and sends him to help Captain Underkid with his next mission.

Captain Underkid meets No-Shirt Boy and they discover Professor Private robbing a bank to steal money and build a giant robot. They then go after him and send him to jail, winning the battle. They then stop more crimes in the process. As they return home, it is revealed that Joe was hypnotized to be a superhero and sends Mike home for wearing his superhero costume in the Workshop. Mike then gets a call from the God of Heroes, revealing that Private is plotting to break out of jail and fight them again.

Professor Private screams in jail and creates a giant robot to destroy the two. He uses the robot and escapes the Prison, preparing for a war against Captain Underkid. He defeats the two heroes with a punch from his robot. Captain Underkid and No-Shirt Boy realize the power inside them and destroy the robot, sending Private to jail again. Captain Underkid dehypnotizes Big Boss Joe and he realizes that he has a true hero inside of him. Joe, however, begins to feel anger, as Private influences him.

In a mid-credit scene, it is revealed that Professor Private put a tracker on No-Shirt Boy. In a post-credit scene, Sally finds a superhero suit, becoming a new hero named “Captain Undergirl”.

Cast

 * Lennon Richardson as Mike Johnson/Captain Underkid, a superhero who is the archenemy of Professor Private and the leader of No-Shirt Boy.
 * Gabriel Combs as Big Boss Joe/No-Shirt Boy, a superhero who is an enemy of Professor Private and the sidekick of Captain Underkid.
 * Mark Hamill as Professor Private, an evil turtle who is the archenemy of Captain Underkid and plots to end humanity, seeing them as an infection.
 * Chris Pine as the God of Heroes, the worlds first superhero who has the power to give people superpowers.
 * Darcy Combs as Sally Jenkins, a wannabe News Reporter and a future sidekick of Captain Underkid.
 * J.K. Simmons as the Chief of Police, the Chief of Police who sees superheroes as a threat to humanity.

Reception
The film received negative reviews, with criticism for its plot, characters, and villain, but some praised the casting and performances. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 34% score, based on 672 reviews, with a low rating of 3.12 out of 10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “While the cast may be phenomenal, Captain Underkid offers very little action and tons of potty humor.”

Release
The film was released theatrically in the United States on May 12, 2016. The film was also released digitally on July 30, 2016, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on August 12, 2016.

Future
Sequels

The first sequel, titled Captain Underkid: More Wars, was released on July 12, 2018. The second sequel, titled Captain Underkid: Fallen Heroes, was released on January 3, 2020. The third and final sequel, titled Captain Underkid: The End is Near, was released on January 1, 2021.

Spin-Offs

The first spin-off, titled Pajama Man, was released on May 7, 2017. The second and final spin-off, titled Pajama Man: The Dark Dimension, was released on May 13, 2019.