The Incredibles isn’t just a great animated film, it’s a great superhero film. Riding a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, it ranks among the best of the genre, with The Incredibles 2 close behind at 93%. With the pair, Pixar delivered exciting action sequences, comedy, tension (the “Plane Crash” scene from The Incredibles is arguably one of the most suspenseful, adrenalin-rushing moments in Pixar history), vibrant color, and a spot-on voiceover cast that flesh out the characters on screen: Craig T. Nelson’s Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible; Holly Hunter’s Elastigirl; Brad Bird’s immortal Edna Mode; and Samuel L. Jackson’s Lucius Best/Frozone, just to name a few. There’s a deep mythology of characters within The Incredibles universe as well that aren’t developed on screen, and some we don’t even see. There’s the Thrilling Three trio of Apogee, Phylange, and Gazerbeam (well, we do kind of see Gazerbeam, bones and all). There’s also Dynaguy and Thunderhead, whose deaths prompted Edna’s hard “NO CAPES” rule. Yet there’s one iconic character in the franchise that we haven’t seen on screen, but whose voice alone gives her the all the development she needs, and then some. That character is Honey Best, voiced by Kimberly Adair Clark. Believe it or not, Honey was achingly close to being seen in The Incredibles 2. So, why wasn’t she?

Honey’s first appearance comes during the events of The Incredibles, as the Omnidroid tears apart Metroville. Lucius sees the Omnidroid pass by and jumps into action, ready to suit up and help in the fight. Only, in order to suit up, one should have the supersuit with which to do it. It’s missing, which leads to one of the funniest, most relatable scenes of the movie. Lucius, by trying to do “the greater good,” is sabotaging Honey’s plans for the evening. Honey, in turn, is sabotaging Lucius’ attempt to join the fray outside. The pair argue back and forth, culminating in this classic exchange:

Lucius: YOU TELL ME WHERE MY SUIT IS, WOMAN! WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE GREATER GOOD!

Honey Best: Greater good? I am your wife! I’m the greatest good you are ever gonna get!

Clark and Jackson play off each other perfectly, and Clark delivers the right amount of snark and sass without coming across as mean. In fact, Clark’s tone and increasing frustration at the moment plays sympathetically to any partner whose significant other alters plans at the last minute, justified or not. It’s a wonderfully perfect moment that speaks to the realistic family dynamics of the film, without detracting from the fireworks.

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Honey Best Almost Appeared in ‘The Incredibles 2’
Image via Walt Disney Pictures

So when time came for The Incredibles 2, the inclusion of the fan-favorite character was, for all intents and purposes, a given. Brad Bird and other creatives at Pixar sketched out a number of possible looks for the character, with the intention of having Honey appear on screen. An entire scene featuring Lucius and Honey was storyboarded, and would have appeared near the beginning of the film as The Underminer (Pixar’s lucky rabbit’s foot John Ratzenberger) tears through the city. The scene is not all that far removed from the one in the first film, with Lucius asking Honey about the whereabouts of his suit. Only this time, we actually see Honey try and hide the suit from Lucius, eventually ending up throwing the suit into a kitchen cupboard. She insists that the suit is getting cleaned as it was filthy, but it doesn’t take long before Lucius finds where she stashed it, freezing Honey’s shoes to the floor to prevent her from stopping him. As he walks away, Honey breaks free and tackles him from behind.

In the end, Honey does not appear in the film (although the design of the character does appear in the background as a super) onscreen, but still appears through another hilarious exchange with Lucius. In that scene, Honey yells, “Where are you going ASAP?! You better be back ASAP! And leaving that suit!” after Lucius tells Bob over the phone that he’ll meet him, obviously, ASAP. The storyboard scene was deleted, along with a number of other scenes and characters, as part of a creative decision, based on a number of factors. For one, the exchange in the scene was similar to the one from the first film. Secondly, Bird and his team found that the moment was too long, killing the momentum of the big action scene meant to kick off the film. More importantly, Bird found that the character remaining as an offscreen voice was much funnier, and allowed the viewer to make up their own visual of what Honey looks like.

Honey Best Remaining Offscreen Caused Controversy
Image via Walt Disney

The scene from The Incredibles 2 that made it into the final cut was arguably much funnier than the proposed scene, giving Bird’s claims some merit. It did not mean, however, that the decision didn’t cause controversy. Some people derided the decision, citing that her inclusion would have not only made for more diversity onscreen, but would have been a fair comparable for the Best’s to have a visual dynamic equal to the Parr’s. The sentiment echoed throughout social media, with many seeing the character relegated to an offscreen role as an affront to the Black community. It isn’t an unfair position: just because the storyboarded scene didn’t work artistically where it was initially placed doesn’t mean that Honey couldn’t have appeared during another point in the film. It’s a contentious issue to be sure, but regardless of where one sides, you’d have to agree that Honey’s moments, as brief and unseen as they are, are highlights of the movies.

Remaining offscreen places Honey Best among a pantheon of great characters who have never been seen, characters who have a significant impact on a film or television show through their voice and/or how they are described onscreen. Think Mrs. Wolowitz (Carol Ann Susi) from The Big Bang Theory, or Charlie of Charlie’s Angels, voiced on both the TV series and the 2000 movie by legendary actor John Forsythe. So unless The Incredibles 3 becomes a reality, Honey remains entrenched in our imagination, a strong woman who can go toe-to-toe with Jackson — and win.