History Film / WeCanBeHeroes2020

* MakeMeWannaShout: A Capella. She can alter the range of her voice to be high or low, the latter having a secondary effect [[ArtisticLicensePhysics that causes objects (including people) to float]]. One note she sings is explicitly stated to be beyond the range of human hearing, and causes all the dogs around the Heroic HQ building to act up.

** A Cappella plays it fully straight, having the same [[MakeMeWannaShout sound-based powers]] as her mother Ms. Vox.

* LeaderWannabe: Wild Card likes to consider himself the leader of the team, but he is much less suited for this role than Missy.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MXVSdXZzpc Acoustic levitation]] is a real-life phenomenon that uses soundwaves to counteract gravitational force. [[SubvertedTrope However]], the effect utilizes ''super''sonic frequencies ("high-pitched") rather than low-pitched waves. [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality This is possibly to avoid agitated dogs from attacking the children whenever she uses it.]]

When Earth falls victim to an AlienInvasion, the telekinetic, sword-slinging superhero Marcus Moreno (Pascal) comes out of retirement to lead his former teammates, the Heroics, in battle. Unexpectedly, the Heroics wind up captured by the aliens. In retaliation, Marcus' daughter, Missy (Gosselin), rallies all of the Heroics' children in an effort to free their parents.

* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: While it's never directly stated, Lavagirl seems to be one. Considering Taylor Dooley was only 28 during filming and Guppy seems to be 4-7 years, Lavagirl and Sharkboy must have gotten married and had their daughter very young.
* AdultsAreUseless: All the adult heroes are captured early on, and the adult personnel at the Heroics' HQ are more concerned with keeping the kids in line [[spoiler:and many of them turn out to be ''working'' for the invaders. It's ultimately subverted with TheReveal that the entire thing was staged to see if the kids were ready to take over from their parents.]]

* AlienAbduction: Aliens capture all of the Heroics, as well as Missy's grandmother, Anita Moreno.
* AlliterativeName: '''M'''issy and '''M'''arcus '''M'''oreno, in keeping with the superhero tradition of alliterative names.

* BadassNormal: Missy has no powers, taking after her mother rather than Marcus, but she can still handle herself just fine in a fight and a capable leader when push comes to shove.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: Miracle Guy can breathe in space just fine, even shouting a conversation to Tech-No who's still in Earth's atmosphere.
* BenevolentAlienInvasion: The entire purpose of the invasion [[spoiler:was simply to test the new generation of superheroes were up to scratch.]]
* BigBadFriend: The true leader of the aliens is none other than [[spoiler: Ojo, though in a subversion, it turns out that both she and the aliens were GoodAllAlong.]]
* BumblingDad: Rodriguez introduces Marcus as one: While cracking eggs for an omelette, he gets distracted by the TV reporting on an alien attack on Miracle Guy, and ends up dumping the eggs in the sink.

* CommLinks: Missy and Marcus call each other through wrist communicators.

* DestructiveSavior: Property damage is apparently quite common when the Heroics go into action. Crushing Low is shown accidentally destroying the City Hall which was just rebuilt after it was destroyed by a previous Heroics battle. At one point, the kids discuss ways that they can avert this in their own careers.

* ElementalBaggage: Guppy needs to have water [[spoiler:and later liquid metal]] in order to use her power.
* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The movie takes place in no more than 12 hours.

** Wheels notes that everything on the ship seems to be designed for children. [[spoiler: He's half-right; the ship was designed ''by'' children because the aliens are from a planet where children are in charge.]]
** The name of the alien's planet, Ogima, [[spoiler: is backwards for "Amigo", Spanish for friend, hinting early on that the aliens aren't evil after all and are just trying to help]].
** When Wild Card goes off on his own, we see him try to activate his powers to break through doors to absolutely no effect at all. [[spoiler: Since Wild Card's problem is that he keeps activating the ''wrong'' power, not that he can't activate any at all, this is an early hint that we're really seeing Facemaker posing as Wild Card.]]

** While scrolling through Ojo's drawing, one depicts Ojo as having tentacles growing from her back.
** Lavagirl's wedding ring can be noticed in the scene where she stops Sharkboy and Miracle Guy from fighting.

** Underneath Missy's alarm clock are the two Sharkboy & Lavagirl novels. One wonders is this world's version of Max is an author...

* GeniusBruiser: Wheels is TheSmartGuy of the team and he inherited his dad's super strength, though the lack of RequiredSecondaryPowers confines him to a wheelchair.

* HeroicLineage: The Heroics' kids prove by the end of the movie that they can carry on their parents' legacy, while learning from their mistakes.

** Marcus jumped into fighting the aliens, telling Missy he must lead by example before then. Even though he was 100% ''doomed'' to be captured without a attack due to being surrounded by hundreds of aliens and the last hero to be captured.

* AnIcePerson: Guppy can turn water into ice and make objects such as keys or shurikens.
** [[spoiler: Also, once Wild Card has managed to control his powers, he is able to make a FreezeRay to enclose his enemies in blocks of ice.]]

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook portray members of the same superhero team, four years after they co-starred on Netflix series ''Series/{{Narcos}}'' as DEA partners.

** Missy meets the other Heroics' children in succession, when they each show off their powers to her at "daycare".

* {{Invisibility}}: As indicated by her name, this is Invisi Girl's main superpower.
* JawsAttackParody: While demonstrating her powers to Missy, Guppy recreates the shark-rising-out-of-the-water image from ''Film/{{Jaws}}''.
* KidHero: This is a major plot of the movie. It is about the superpowered kids who intend to rescue their parents and save the planet from the alien invasion.
* LamarckWasRight: Guppy's parents are Sharkboy and Lavagirl; the combination of the former's aquatic motif and the latter's lava-controlling abilities somehow resulted in her having [[MakingASplash hydrokinetic]] abilities.

* MakeMeWannaShout: A Capella. She can alter the range of her voice to be high or low, the latter having a secondary effect [[ArtisticLicensePhysics that causes objects (including people) to float]]. One of her notes was explicitly stated to be beyond the range of human hearing and caused all the dogs around the building to act up.
* MakingASplash: Guppy has the power to control water [[spoiler: and also liquid metal, apparently]].
* MatchCut: The movie twice cuts from Missy cupping her head, to an imprisoned Marcus cupping his own. The second doubles as an IronicEchoCut, as both Morenos admit to their respective teammates that they don't know how to break free from the aliens.

* MissingMom: Missy's mother passed away, necessitating Marcus' retirement from superheroics.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Ojo is the Supreme Commander and was quietly observing the kids' actions. However, neither she nor the aliens are actually evil.]]

* MyBelovedSmother: Anita Moreno to Marcus; when she ends up in the same prison cell as the Heroics, she scolds Marcus and his teammates for forgetting their training.

* ParentsInDistress: The purpose of the movie; the kids must save their parents from aliens. [[spoiler:Subverted, as they were never in any danger and would not have stayed captured or been hurt had the kids failed.]]
* PintsizedPowerhouse: They're kids, so they all are. Special mention goes to Guppy, the youngest and smallest one, who nevertheless can benchpress grown men twice her size with her [[SuperStrength shark strength]].
* PowerIncontinence: Wild Card is said to have every power in existence, but he can't use the ones he wants on command (accidentally turning into a toaster while trying to use heat vision, for example). [[spoiler:He manages to overcome this block during the film's climax.]]
* PresidentEvil: Turns out President Anami is actually an alien who wants to invade Earth. [[spoiler: Subverted, as he's later revealed to have been GoodAllAlong.]]
* RecycledPremise: [[Film/SpyKids Crimefighters get captured, so their kids have to save them and foil the bad guys' scheme.]] One key difference, other than those caused by the GenreShift: The kids in ''Spy Kids'' didn't know their parents were spies until the first movie, while the kids in ''We Can Be Heroes'' already know that their parents are superheroes.
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:At first, it seems that Ms. Granada is the Supreme Commander, with FiveSecondForeshadowing of the aliens referring to their leader as a "she" and Ms. Granada somehow showing up on the ship right after the kids overhear to supposedly congratulate them, then Ojo revealing that Granada is an alien spy. Then the climax reveals she was only TheHeavy — ''Ojo'' is the alien leader.]]

* RetiredBadass: Missy's father is a former superhero. He suits up again for the invasion.

** [[spoiler: Ojo is the Supreme Commander and has been quietly observing the kids since the invasion.]]

* RubberMan: Noodles can stretch his limbs.

** The alien's planet, Ogima, is "[[spoiler:Amigo]]", hinting very early on that [[spoiler: the aliens aren't actually evil]].
* SecretPublicIdentity: Marcus Moreno doesn't have a superhero name.
* {{Seers}}: Ojo can see the future and draw what she sees.
* SharedUniverse: Seems to be part of the ''Film/SpyKids'' universe, seeing as how Creator/ChristopherMcDonald plays President Amani in both this and the [[Film/SpyKids2IslandOfLostDreams second film.]]
* ShockAndAwe: [[spoiler: One of the powers mastered by Wild Card at the end of the film is "Electricity Fingers", which he uses to shock all the bad guys.]]
* SiblingYinYang: Rewind and Fast Forward can control time to some degree. Rewind can reverse time for a few seconds while Fast Forward can move it forward by a few seconds. They also don't get along well.

* SuddenlySpeaking: [[spoiler:Ojo is revealed to have been faking her muteness all along in order to observe the others.]]

** Guppy is the daughter of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, with resulting abilities that are something of an add-together-and-divide-by-two of their respective power sets: She has Sharkboy's SuperStrength and [[NowThatsUsingYourTeeth strong teeth]], but not his other animalistic powers, and instead of Lavagirl's fire-based abilities, has control over [[MakingASplash water]] instead.
** Wheels has SuperStrength like his dad Captain Miracle; ''unlike'' the Captain, his body isn't adapted to handle the increased power, leaving him functionally paralyzed from the waist down. He also has SuperIntelligence, which doesn't seem to be a part of Captain Miracle's FlyingBrick package.

** Powers sometimes seem to skip a generation too. [[BadassNormal Missy]] has no powers [[MuggleBornOfMages despite]] her dad's [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], while SuperpowerLottery winner Wild Card is the son of Techno, the Heroics' GadgeteerGenius who otherwise doesn't seem to have any powers at all. Miss Granada doesn't have any powers and yet Ojo can predict the future. [[spoiler: Subverted, as it turns out both of them are aliens and has the same abilities, though Ojo still managed to make accurate predictions of the future nonetheless.]]

* SwissArmyTears: After the aliens have captured the team and took her water bottle, Guppy manages to use her friends' tears to make a key and escape.
* TheTeamNormal: Missy is the only person on the team who doesn't have any super powers.
* {{Teleportation}}: This is the power Wild Card tries to master throughout the film. [[spoiler: He finally manages to do it towards the end.]]
* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: When Mrs. Granada sees a small number of aliens on the radar, she thinks the problem is manageable. However, Marcus Moreno then points out that those are only scouts and expands the scope of the radar, showing that there are many, many more aliens coming.
-->'''Marcus Moreno:''' I'm afraid those are just the scouts, the tip of the spear. This is what we're really up against.

* VichyEarth: [[spoiler:Turns out the president of America is actually an alien.]]
* WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk: Said by Mrs. Granada after capturing Wild Card to interrogate him.

* TheWorfEffect: Miracle Guy gets taken out early in the movie, as a sign that the alien armada is not to be taken lightly.

* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The movie takes places in no more than 12 hours.

* Freeze-FrameBonus: There are some fun little details hidden throughout the film.

* CombatStilettos: The adult superheroines all wear them. Given that they all seem to be able to fly, this might not be much of a problem.

* HumanLadder: Early in the film, Missy forms one with another girl to try and retrieve a ball stuck in a tree. She isn't able to reach it, but the ball falls down a few seconds later.

* DualWielding: Marcus Moreno wields two {{katanas| are just better}}.*

* [[spoiler:EverybodyLives]]