“I’m really proud of the transition we’ve made from laggard to leader on beavers,” said Wade Crowfoot, California’s secretary for natural resources.

It’s hilarious and strange and menacing in just the right way — and a shot in the arm for a somewhat laggard comic-book movie.

"Construction is a bit of a digital laggard compared with many other industries. It's been slow to adopt digital in the widest sense," says Mr O'Gorman.

Give me your losers and laggards, your pokey puppies who limbo right under rock-bottom expectations and then have to go home and lie down.

In a reversal of fortunes, the laggards have become leaders.