Dreamworks Animation Wiki
Advertisement

Tighten: This is the last time you make a fool out of me!
Megamind: I made you a hero! You did the fool thing all by yourself!
―Tighten and Megamind.[src]

Hal Stewart (also known as Tighten) is a former TV news cameraman and the main antagonist in the DreamWorks film, Megamind.

Background[]

Personality[]

As his former self Hal, he tends to be somewhat civil and sophisticated towards Roxanne, having a secret crush on her and would try to woo her, though she feels uncomfortable by his (admittedly creepy) attempts. One example being where he invites her over to his place for a party where it's just going to be the two of them with a wedding photographer and a bouncy castle there. He is quite childish, immature (as when he throws a tantrum after accidentally slamming his hand on his news van), lazy, nadir and incompatible (as he badmouthed Roxanne’s sentimental news script on Metro Man, unknowing that she had in fact written the script herself).

After being equipped with Metro Man's powers, Hal (going by the name Tighten) became more determined to use his powers to win Roxanne's heart much like how Metro Man stuck with being a hero in order to gain adoration, but his recklessness caused Roxanne to reject him, much to Hal's distress and anger and leading him down into a dark path, where he starts abusing his powers for nefarious and diabolical purposes, something that even Megamind is disgusted to learn about. After learning that Megamind was the one who gave him the powers and was dating Roxanne at that time, Tighten became hell-bent on destroying Megamind for "stealing his girlfriend" and later causes havoc on Metro City with his powers, much to his pleasure and everyone's dismay and horror (including Megamind).

As such, Tighten is more evil than Megamind ever was. While Megamind acted as a villain to get attention and balance out of his former rival Metro Man, Tighten acted purely out of spite, causing so much destruction for his amusement, and has shown no signs of sympathy or remorse for it. He also has proven to be in denial; retorting to Roxanne that he didn't have any good in himself, and blaming Megamind for making a fool out of him (though Megamind rightfully points out that Tighten is making a fool out of himself by squandering his powers for his gain). His crush on Roxanne seemed to be obsessive entitlement and lust, since even if Roxanne did like him back, there was no guarantee he would’ve treated her right.

Tighten also proved to be quite cowardly and overwrought, as when Metro Man (who was Megamind in disguise) arrived to confront him for his rampage, Tighten panicked and tried to fly away, though he later learnt the truth and fought Megamind for it.

One of his most notable traits is his complete lack of intelligence, as he fell for all of Megamind's lies, still believed Megamind's lie about "Space Step-Mom" (which in fact was Minion in disguise), even after Megamind admitted his deceit, and later told Roxanne that fictional characters weren't real by using the Queen of England as an "example," apparently unaware of this fact. However, there are moments where Tighten does have intelligence, as he was able to deduce Megamind disguised as Metro Man after he had mispronounced Metro City as "Metrocity".

Physical Appearance[]

At first, Hal is short and obese, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He usually wears a light vest and a black t-shirt with emoticons on it.

After gaining Metro Man's powers, Hal also gains his height and body shape, his hair is long and curly, and his face and eyes are the same. He also wears a suit capable of stretching.

Powers and Abilities[]

Look, if we don't find Tighten's weakness, he'll destroy the whole city !
―Megamind to Roxanne Ritchie.

After accidentally receiving Megamind's serum containing Metro-Man's DNA, Hal acquired all the former's superpowers, albeit on a smaller, weaker scale.

  • Superhuman Strength: One of Tighten's primary abilities is his tremendous superhuman strength, which enables him to exert a force considerably greater than that of other humans. This enables him to easily knock down several brick and copper walls, punch Megamind sending him flying meters away and catapult him high into the sky. Later, he was able to send Megamind's copper cage, which was supposed to hold him, flying straight at the latter, and just then catapult the Mayor further away with just a snap of his finger. He was also able to hurl a bus directly at Roxanne Ritchie before it was intercepted by Metro-Man, but his most impressive feat was his ability to effortlessly lift a huge skyscraper above his head and hurl it easily at Megamind.
  • Superhuman Durability: Hal's body has been greatly enhanced to enable him to perform superhuman feats of physical durability. This allows him to endure far more damage than normal humans. When he fought Megamind after Megamind revealed that he had lied to him, Hal took punches, flew several meters, broke through concrete walls, got into an explosion and emerged unscathed. Later, he withstood the weight of a skyscraper overhead.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Hal's muscles produce little to no fatigue toxins, and his large musculature suppresses lactic acid build-up, enabling him to perform longer and more demanding efforts simultaneously, with greater effectiveness continuously without tiring or fainting. As when he battled against Megamind or unleashed his wrath on the city, causing unparalleled mayhem in his wake, almost destroying it completely. All of this without displaying any signs of exhaustion or anything.
  • Superhuman Hearing: Hal's sense of hearing is greatly enhanced compared to normal humans, allowing him to clearly hear Roxanne on the ground while hovering in the air.
  • Flight: Like his blood partner, Hal is able to levitate above the ground and propel himself through the air, even breaking the sound barrier. At first, he had difficulty controlling this power, but after his superhero training, mastered this ability perfectly, able to reduce his speed in flight and change trajectory in flight as well as decelerate or accelerate in succession in order to catch Megamind.
  • Heat Vision: Like Metro-Man, Titan possesses cherry-red heat beams capable of burning and melting walls made of extremely durable materials such as concrete and copper. Early in his training, he completely melted the head of a mannequin of Megamind, and when the latter came to see him in his flat to tell him some bad news, he completely burned a magazine in a matter of seconds. Later, during their battle, after he has defeated Megamind, Tighten tries to kill him with his laser beams, but just fails, implying that he could have boiled his skull.
  • X-Ray Vision: Like Metro-Man, Titan is able to see through any solid wall or surface using his X-Ray Vision, which he uses to spy on Roxanne Ritchie. It's safe to assume that he has no limitations on this power, meaning that no surface of any material can hinder his view.

Role in the film[]

Well, sir, his name is Hal Stewart. He's 28 years old, no criminal records... actually no records at all! Apparently this man hasn't accomplished anything.
―Minion reading Hal's biography.

Hal Stewart was Roxanne Ritchie's cameraman with an obsessive crush on her. Hal appears to live a dull and unhappy life in a tiny one-bedroom apartment with the mindset of an immature college student. His constant misfortune and inability to earn people's respect and affection cause him to despise life, even his records say he's never accomplished anything.

After "defeating Metro Man", Megamind grows tired of having no heroes to fight and decides to inject someone with Metro Man's DNA. After Hal is accidentally hit by the ray gun with the DNA, Megamind and Minion use their technology to trick Hal into thinking he is an alien and that they are his "space-dad and space-stepmom" respectively. They train Hal into becoming a hero, having to use video game style training when traditional methods prove hopeless, but Hal's only real reason to become is to impress Roxanne. After the training, Megamind gives Hal a suit and the only name he could trademark, "Titan", which Hal misspells as "Tighten".

Tighten goes to Roxanne and attempts to woo her, but his recklessness and inability to use his power properly causes her to nearly be killed a number of times. After revealing who he is to her, Hal is spurned by Roxanne. Upon later seeing her dating Bernard, who is actually Megamind, Hal gives up on being a hero and decides to use his powers for his own personal gain. Megamind goes along with his plan to face Tighten but when he never shows up, he arrives at his apartment to find him playing video games, Megamind also sees he has stolen several objects and wishes to become a villain. Disgusted, Megamind reveals to Tighten that he's been tricking him as well as being the man Roxanne dated, causing their battle to go along and Tighten saving the day, as Megamind hoped. However, this doesn't alter Tighten's decision to become a villain, as the battle only increased his rage, and unlike Metro Man, Tighten has no problem outright trying to kill Megamind, forcing him to flee. Megamind uses a copper sphere, having learned it is Metro Man's weakness on Tighten, but it has no effect, being the first clue Metro Man is alive and that he only faked his death to retire being a superhero and pursue a musical career. Once Megamind flees, the citizens of Metro City congratulate Tighten for freeing them from Megamind, but he reveals his own evil intentions of domination as Metro City's new villain ("I wouldn't say 'free', more like 'under new management"), starting off by violently flicking the Mayor off with his finger, much to everyone's shock.

Without hesitation, Tighten starts to terrorize Metro City as its new villain by flying around and using his laser beams to create havoc in the streets and buildings, causing so much more damage to the city than Megamind has ever done. Feeling extremely remorseful for letting this happen as well being the failing villain, Megamind turns himself back to prison to pay the price, and Roxanne, having no more leads, attempts to talk to Tighten and get to his conscience. Unfortunately for Roxanne, Tighten denies that he's got any good in him out of spite of being spurned by her, kidnaps her, and ties her up in the top of Metro Tower, forcing Megamind out of hiding by threatening to kill her. Determined to take responsibility for his actions, Megamind escapes from prison (with the help from Minion) and formulates a plan into saving Roxanne and Metro City.

As part of the plan, Minion disguises himself as Megamind to save Roxanne from the falling tower, while the real Megamind disguises himself as Metro Man to verbally berate Tighten for his actions and scare him out of the city and reveal himself to the city. The plan seemed to work, though Minion ends up being stabbed by Tighten with the tower's rod, while Tighten finds out he was tricked when "Metro Man" mispronounces the city as "Metrocity" something only Megamind does. Tighten then engages into a final fight with Megamind, but only this time, Megamind refuses to flee. It was then Megamind finally located the Invisible Car that holds the Defuser Gun that gave Tighten his powers. Though Megamind finally manages to get hold of the weapon, Tighten violently throws him up into the sky, hoping him to fall to his demise. Fortunately, Megamind took the opportunity to dehydrate himself to land in the water fountain, where Tighten intends to finish Roxanne. Upon Megamind falling into the water and rehydrating himself, he activates the Defuser Gun to remove Tighten's powers, reverting him back to Hal for good.

As Megamind becomes the city's new hero and also Roxanne's boyfriend, Hal is thrown into Megamind's former cell as punishment for his actions. He is seen dancing in his cell at the end of the film back to his old self. It can be assumed he got a life sentence for his crimes.

Quotes[]

Wiki
DreamWorks Wiki has a collection of quotes said by Tighten.

Gallery[]

Wiki
DreamWorks Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Tighten.

Trivia[]

  • Hal's name is a combination of the names Hal Jordan and John Stewart, two of the Green Lanterns. His name may also be a reference to a character from the short lived series, Masked Rider, a spin-off of Power Rangers.
  • He was played by Jonah Hill who also voiced Snotlout from How to Train Your Dragon and would later portray a villain version of himself in This is the End.
  • Following Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8th, 2022, many people on the internet post Tighten's famous quote: "There is no Queen of England".
  • Tighten is considered one of the most popular DreamWorks villains, alongside many other DreamWorks villains before and after him.
  • Hal Stewart (Tighten) in Megamind is similar Syndrome in The Incredibles. Both were regular individuals who idolized a certain person in their life (Mr. Incredible for Syndrome and Roxanne Ritchie for Tighten) and ended up becoming the villain because they were rudely rejected by them. In certain aspect both spite the protagonists when they're at their lowest, have red/orange hair and both are easily short-sighted. The main difference is that Syndrome's abilities came directly from him while Tighten's powers were given to him by accident.

Navigation[]

v - e - d
Megamind Logo
Media
Films: MegamindMegamind vs. The Doom Syndicate

Shows: Megamind Rules!
Shorts: Megamind: The Button of Doom
Video Games: Megamind: Mega Team Unite

Characters
Main Characters: MegamindMinionRoxanne RitchiMetro ManTighten

Support Characters: WardenBernardBrainbotsMEGA-MEGAmindMetro Man's ParentsKeiko Morita

See also
Cast: Keith Ferguson (Megamind 2voice) • David Cross (Minion) • Brad Pitt (Metro Man) • Ben Stiller (Bernard) • Christopher Knights (additional voices) • Danny Jacobs (additional voices)
Advertisement