Cranky trials out his new x-ray machine on everyone in Kongo Bongo, and a misunderstanding causes Bluster Kong to think that he has only a week to live. Determined to salvage his reputation and leave his mark on history, Bluster reinvents himself as "Bluster the Benevolent" and proceeds to endanger Kongo Bongo with his poorly thought-out good deeds.
Tropes
- A God Am I: In Bluster's song, he imagines that he'll be hailed as a god after his passing.
- Asshole Victim: Bluster realizes that from the perspective of everyone else, he will be this upon his death, sparking the plot in which he tries to redeem himself to be remembered as a hero.
- Big Damn Heroes: Bluster decided to face the Kremlings and get the Crystal Coconut on his own, believing his heroic deed will be remembered after he dies. But when he was tricked into believing he drank a cure for his non-existent illness, he immediately changes his mind. See Magic Feather below.
- Cassandra Truth: When DK tries telling Bluster that they were talking about Cranky's X-ray machine and not him, Bluster thinks they are trying to cheer him up and, while he appreciates the effort, doesn't believe him.
- Crossing the Burnt Bridge: When Bluster is convinced that he has only a few days left to live, he realizes that he was Hated by All, he decides to turn a new leaf and become "Bluster the Benevolent." Unfortunately, he is very bad at it.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Bluster wipes the floor with K. Rool and his troops after DK accidentally gives him the "supersonic mega-punch pack" to drink instead of the cherry soda.
- Dark Reprise: "K. Rool's Finest Hour" is one to "Bluster the Benevolent".
- Disney Acid Sequence: "Bluster the Benevolent" eventually turns into one as Bluster's imagination runs wild, fantasizing about being worshipped as a god after his death, and dancing and floating among the cosmos themselves. At the end of the song, he has to float back down to the ground, leaving it open to interpretation as to whether it was all in his head or he really did float up somehow.
- Egopolis: Bluster waxes about people building or naming things after him, and they start with statues before going all the way up to entire cities named after him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Played for Laughs. When K. Rool sings about all the evil deeds he'd like to do, like cancelling someone's travel plans, one of his Kritters looks mortified in a "you wouldn't!" way.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: In the beginning, Krusha steals the Crystal Coconut out from under Cranky's nose. However, he doesn't have it when he gets to K. Rool's lair. His Kritters remind Krusha that after Cranky's, they went to a swamp and met "That very cute lizard"...Krusha: Yeah, right, and-and then I handed her the Coconut...
K. Rool: You handed her the Coconut?
Krusha: Eh... Uh-oh. I didn't get it back. Back in a jiffy. (Leaves)
K. Rool: The brains...of a NEWT!!! - Funny X-Ray: Funky's brain is minuscule and is swimming in a skull full of water, while Krusha's brain is in his butt and not his head.
- Go-Karting with Bowser: To celebrate getting his X-ray fixed, Cranky even offers the Kremlings a chance to get a free X-ray. K. Rool takes advantage of it by tasking Krusha with stealing the Coconut during his exam.
- Gold Digger: Candy only becomes interested in Bluster's incessant proposals when he points out she'll inherit his wealth as his widow when he dies.
- Helping Granny Cross the Street: Bluster tries to help Cranky cross a mine cart track. Bluster leaves to do more good deeds while Cranky is still standing on the track, yelling he doesn't need help. All it does is get Cranky to stay on the track too long, getting him run over by a cart full of Kritters.
- Here We Go Again!: When K. Rool begins proclaiming today's the day he's going to win, one of the Kritters snarks that they've been through this before countless times. He ends up having to eat his words when Krusha really does deliver the Coconut.
- Hero with an F in Good: Bluster is in full form this episode.
- Ignored Epiphany: Bluster has otherwise been nothing but a vain egocentric buffoon, but he stops and realizes that he's Hated by All despite otherwise acting like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He resolves to fix things by becoming a benevolent savior to the island... but his song immediately spirals out of control as his ego returns and he wishes to be hailed as a god for his good deeds, showing he truly doesn't understand the point of doing good and is only doing this for himself.
- Imagine Spot: Bluster has one about how the other Kongs will be sad at his funeral.
- Ironic Echo: K. Rool and Bluster each said "One minute you're up, and the next, you're down".
- Magic Feather: Rather than explain to Bluster that he's not sick (they tried), Cranky decides to have DK give him a bottle of cherry soda as a fake cure. However, DK grabs the bottle of "supersonic mega-punch pack" by mistake.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Dixie runs in claiming that "the whole island" is up in arms and a panic hearing that K. Rool has stolen the coconut.
- Mistaken for Dying: Bluster mishears Cranky, DK and Diddy about how his new X-ray machine is defunct and thinks that he is suffering from some fatal malady.
- Mythology Gag: "King K. Rool's Finest Hour" shares the same beat as "Krook's March
" from DKC2. - A Nazi by Any Other Name: Some of the last shots of "King K. Rool's Finest Hour" have the Kritter troops marching to the left side of the screen while K. Rool sings and observes from his perch above, in an homage to Film/Triumph of the Will (and given the timing of the show's release, perhaps also a reference to "Be Prepared" pulling the same allusion in The Lion King).
- Near-Villain Victory: K. Rool actually gets the coconut thanks to a successful heist from Krusha. He declares victory, but his party gets ruined by Bluster.
- Pet the Dog: Even though he's going through his insane crusade for fame and recognition, Bluster is still much nicer to DK and the others than he usually is. When DK and Diddy are confused about his supposed terminal diagnosis, Bluster assumes they're just trying to be gentle with him and insists he's comfortable talking about it.
- Poke the Poodle: King K. Rool lists his evil deeds he's going to do now that he supposedly rules the world as taking away people's jellies and jams, and hijacking people's travel and vacation plans.
- Rhyming Title: "From Zero to Hero" rhymes, just like that.
- Shout-Out: The episode starts out with Diddy raging at how a giant lizard defeated an ape, with DK telling him to relax, it was just a movie.
- Smart Ball: Krusha, whose Funny X-Ray proceeds to show his brain to be in his butt instead of his head, is able to make a pot-shot at Funky's own X-Ray while waiting in line.Krusha: Serious case of water on the brain.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Seriously, who plays "Pomp and Circumstance" for a funeral scene?
- Squashed Flat: Cranky is run over by a mine kart and flattened across the track, he was only standing on the track in the first place because he was yelling at Bluster that he didn't need help crossing it.
- Villain Ball: K. Rool gloating over having the Coconut instead of using it to fulfill his wishes gives plenty of time for Bluster to interfere and defeat him.
- Villain Song: "K. Rool's Finest Hour". Notably the first time K. Rool broke into song.
