When allowing for patriotism, pride, and ego, it is easy to feel insulted when someone point out flaws in one's identity. And yet, this is all too often the main downfall of most villains, whether they be written into novels or filmed onto movies. How unstoppable would a villain be, one has to ask, if they just listened to the criticism and warnings of their footsoldiers? Why is modesty so hard to come by for fictional comic book conquerors? Surely the self improvement of one is cumulative, much like compound interest. The better you get, the better you get at being better. How could any true strategist fail to come to such conclusions?
Why do villains always prefer to simply appear superior to others while actually forgoing real chances to actually become superior? Surely they did not get to where they currently are by allowing for such hubris.
But then, couldn't we all ask ourselves the same question? America is said to be the best country in the world, and yet we are neither calculated to be No. 1 at public education, healthcare, or quality of life. Meanwhile, our response to such assertions is so very often anger and defensiveness. Where is the room for progression in that? Even if the people calculating such statistics about who has the best what and where were wrong, would it really be such a terrible thing if we accidentally made our country even BETTER as a result of taking their research to heart?
It then becomes important to realize if Bad Guys can fail to realize their flaws and become superior then it is just as possible for us Good Guys as well. And if the Good Guys don't improve, then someday the Bad Guys very well may. "Hench-Man" is the story of such dynamics. It is the story of the Proactive Evil vs. Lazy Good. It is a story that aims to ask: "If Good allows itself to fail because of it's own vanity and righteousness, then was it really good?"
The 22 minute pilot focuses on two primary characters:
Meet "Bob"
Life is rough when you're awkward and young. Harder still when you suffer from crushing anxiety during speech class and father abandonment issues elsewhere. So is too much to ask that when your estranged father does die that he just leaves it at that? Or must he leave in his will to young, awkward Bob his super evil villain organization on the brink of falling completely to pieces too?
I mean, it's not like he could possibly have anything in common with a bunch of dopey, down-on-their luck henchmen...right?
Meet "Henchman 80"
You've seen them get their heads eaten off by sharks in 'James Bond' films, explode in freak hovercraft accidents in episodes of 'Jonny Quest', and get utterly humiliated by men and women in brightly colored leotards in 'Power Rangers'. But no one ever asks...'Henchmen... Who ARE these people? Why are they so poorly trained? And do they at least make decent money at their jobs?'
Life as a henchman is tough. Your chances of making it through the day are questionable at best, you see things on a daily basis that would make a vulture puke its guts out, and you're regularly pitted against top secret agents and super powered individuals with close to no training at all.
And Henchman 80 (serving under the nefarious Dr. Komodo) is close to retirement. In fact, he's the only henchman to ever be close to retiring - and to flipping his boss off in the process. But in order to do that he's gotta stay alive. Even if that means playing dead, paying off superheroes and secret agents to pretend they never saw him, or using his own comrades as human shields. They say 'A new broom can sweep, but an old broom knows what dust is,' well it's time for Henchman 80 is start sweeping things under the rug.
It's time to Retire.
"Hench-Man" is a 22 minute TV show pilot written and directed by Joseph Sweredoski, and made with $6000 across three years and with the help of his best friends.
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