Terry's friend Jared Tate is enjoying the wealth that his new stepfather Jim has provided for him and his mother. Unfortunately, Jim is suddenly laid off by Wayne-Powers and is unable to immediately find a new job that pays as well as his last one. Not wanting to give up the privileged lifestyle that he and his new family have, Jim is then forced to turn to an old colleague, Istivan Hegedesh, who hires him under the table to help steal technology and designs from other companies to help him build a new prototype weapon.
Tropes:
- Ascended Extra: Jim Tate, Jared, and Jared's mother, who were originally meant to just be one-shot minor characters in the episode "Spellbound."
- Asshole Victim: While Jim's breaking the law, it goes without saying that not one tear is shed for the primary victim of his thefts, Paxton Powers.
- BFG: Armory's arsenal consists largely of various types of these, presumably obtained from his former status as the head of light weapons manufacture at Wayne-Powers. The biggest one of all, however, is the prototype sonic beam emitter that he builds for Hegedesh.
- Bittersweet Ending: At the end, Jared mentions that Jim was arrested and will have to do prison time for his actions as Armory. But due to his act of redemption in saving Batman, he has regained the love and trust of his family and, after making a deal with the police (presumably to testify against Hegedesh), he will receive a lenient sentence.
- The Easy Way or the Hard Way: Batman tells Armory, "You're going to jail. Easy or hard, it's up to you. Here's a tip...hard isn't fun."
- Even Evil Has Standards: While Jim is perfectly willing to moonlight as Armory to break into Wayne-Powers and steal weapons technology, he seems to draw a line at actually hurting someone. His gadgets are either not intended to be used on people or otherwise merely incapacitating rather than lethal, to the point where Bruce Wayne himself would likely approve of their use. At the climax, when Hegedesh uses the new sonic beam emitter on Batman in an attempt to kill him, he has finally had enough and puts a stop to him.
- Genius Bruiser: Jim Tate used to be in Special Forces, which is how he gave Batman a run for his money and mentions that he has multiple Master's degrees.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Max displays shades of this throughout the episode, clearly a bit jealous of the wealth that Jared's family has.
- Heel–Face Turn: Armory, after witnessing Hegedesh use the sonic beam emitter on Batman and some convincing from Jared.
- Loophole Abuse: Wayne-Powers uses a technicality to reduce the value of the severance pay Jim Tate is owed for being fired.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Armory is not really evil per se, but is merely doing what he thinks is best to financially provide and care for his family.
- Riches to Rags: Jim becomes Armory in order to prevent this from happening to him and his family.
- Ship Tease: Jared and Max, at the episode's end.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Paxton Powers' only role in this episode is being the one who fired Jim Tate. If not for this, Tate wouldn't become Armory.
- Tempting Fate: When Jim's wife shows concern over how much he's spending to renovate their home, he tells her there's no need to worry because of his high-paying job. The next scene shows him being fired. Later, when he tells the bad news to his wife and his stepson, he tells them he can easily get a better job and being fired from Wayne-Powers will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. His only option is becoming a criminal as every honest job won't be available for close to a year.
- Walking Armory: How Jim Tate earns his moniker.
