Simon James Paladino, also known as Gazerbeam, is a minor character in The Incredibles. He only briefly appears in the film alive, with his disappearance and death setting events into motion.

Biography

Early Life

Simon Paladino was born around the year 1921, while not much is known about his early life, Simon was convinced to become a hero by Mr. Incredible, Frozone and Gamma Jack, who also brought him to Edna Mode to get his suit and even had him join their team. According to a deleted scene, his superhero name was actually Mr. Incredible's idea, as Simon wished to be called “Viewpoint”. But the others disagreed, telling him that it was 'a terrible choice for a name.'

He was featured alongside Elastigirl and Frozone in Mr. Incredible’s trading-card series, and also appeared in advertisements for the Mr. Incredible and Pals TV show.

Gazerbeam was also a member of a superhero team called the Phantasmics, but conflicts with Everseer led to him leaving the team, and he soon joined the Thrilling Three as their new leader upon the death of Dynaguy. However, the team would later end up disbanding due to internal conflict among the members of the team. He appeared at the wedding of Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible, sitting in the front row - a position usually reserved for family members.

Personality

"I have no problem working in groups."

—Gazerbeam, NSA Files

Gazerbeam was generally known for a rather dull personality, generally speaking in a monotonous tone. He struggled with personal relationships as he notably didn't have much of a sense of humor, contrary to what he claims in his NSA audio file. He also had the constant fear of accidentally shooting someone with his lasers if he focused on them too much.

He was good friends with Frozone, Mr. Incredible and Gamma Jack (presumably before he got his A level monitoring by the NSA).

He was smart and elusive as he had survived the Omnidroid long enough to discover Syndrome's plan, being to eliminate a large number of supers in order to finally defeat Mr. Incredible.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Optical Lasers: Gazerbeam's superpowers consisted of eye beams that shot if he focused intensely enough on a target. He controlled and intensified the blasts through vision intensity focus lenses in a containment helmet. In a deleted scene, Mr. Incredible says that if focused enough, they could burn through solid metal and in the same deleted scene, he was able to cut a van in half with one blast.

• Superhuman Endurance: As shown on his NSA file, Gazerbeam possessed high levels of endurance, with his corresponding bar almost being full. This would allow him to perform heroics for extended periods of time without tiring.

Abilities

• Intelligence: Gazerbeam’s NSA file showed that he possessed a higher intellect than the average person. Being the second smartest member of the Thrilling Three ahead of Phylange but behind Apogee.

• Hacking Skills: Gazerbeam was skilled at hacking advanced computers and security systems.

Weaknesses

• Reflective Surfaces: His laser beams could bounce off reflective surfaces like mirrors, which could put himself and others in danger.

• Eye Focus: He could not focus too intensely on an object or person, as he risked shooting them with his Optical Lasers. This made him frequently avoid eye contact when socialising, which was often regarded as him being rude or disinterested.

• Weak Night Vision: He could not see well at night, which resulted him needing glasses for night driving.

Physical Appearance

Simon was a tall, athletic man with dark brown hair. As Gazerbeam, he wore a navy blue supersuit with a sky blue 'V' around the neck. He also wore a helmet with a visor similar to Frozone's that read "GB" on it. As Simon James Paladino, he wore glasses, and would often wear a business suit, presumably for work.