After saving a baby eagle, Kim is happy to learn she missed out on game night with her cousin Larry, a geek she does not get along with. Later, she is recruited to help archaeologist Monty Fiske retrieve an ancient monkey idol from an ancient site protected with an Indiana-Jonesesque series of death traps. While Ron suspects Fiske is "500 miles of bad road", Kim chalks up his suspicion to his dislike of monkeys, and completes the task. Unfortunately, the idol is then stolen by a mysterious ninja.
Unknown to Kim, the ninja was Fiske himself, a master of "Tai Shing Pek War" (Monkey Kung-Fu) who wanted the statue, as it was one of four that would grant him "mystic monkey power". Meanwhile, after game night is rescheduled, Kim laments over having to spend time with Larry, until Wade unveils his new invention: the "holo-Kim", which would allow her to skip the game night. After learning more about the statue, Kim decides to pay a visit to Fiske in hopes that he'll help them, while the holo-Kim is dispatched to entertain Larry.
When Kim and Ron arrive, however, Fiske suspects them of knowing of his involvement in the theft and, now calling himself Monkey Fist, decides to destroy them. Ron then learns the Kim with him is the hologram while the real one is with Larry and makes a break for it. Back at Larry's, Kim learns of Fiske's obsession with Monkey Kung-Fu from Larry and realizes Ron is in danger; using the Kimmunicator, Larry reminds Ron of a clue from the game Fortress ("to defeat the Cloud Guardian, you must drink from his enchanted well"). Realizing what that means, Ron exposes himself to mystic monkey power and defeats the sinister simian. Later, Kim tells both guys how proud she is of them, before leaving them alone to their geeky activities.
This episode provides examples of:
- All Up to You: Ron deals with Monkey Fist without Kim's help, aided only by Rufus and a bit of useful advice from Larry.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- The episode leads the viewer into thinking Kim decided to use the holo-Kim to entertain Larry while she went with Ron to visit Fiske, only to reveal it was, in fact, the opposite.
- At the end of the episode, cousin Larry is discussing some of his geeky subjects with Kim, who looks visibly bored. Larry then asks, “I’m not boring you, am I?” implying the question is directed towards Kim. Then it is revealed he was actually asking Ron, who is also there and very enthusiastically listening to Larry.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: Invoked against Monkey Fist by Larry when he reminds Ron that in order to defeat the Cloud Guardian on level 9 of Fortress, the player must drink from its enchanted well.
- Call-Back: Ron's fear of monkeys is yet another legacy of his nightmarish summer at Camp Wannaweep, having shared his cabin with the camp's mascot, Bobo the Chimp. Judging from the flashback, however, it's honestly justified.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Bates, Fiske's loyal servant, is never seen with him again after this episode.
- Crazy Enough to Work: Kim first objects to Larry using the communicator to talk to Ron, then relents as she starts to explain the situation to him and realizes how crazy it already is.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: It is mentioned that cousin Larry never has friends over, perhaps because he is such a geek. Later episodes show he is actually quite popular and has a lot of friends. It is possible that Exact Words was at play, though, as his friends do not visit him, they all meet at various locations outside of his house.
- Eat the Camera: Happens towards the end of the episode's intro act, when Kim fell from the cliff.
- For unusual reasons, this scene can be seen in the extended intro
of the DTV release of Kim Possible: The Secret Files, as well as the Behind-the-Scenes of "Call Me, Beep Me" promo from 2002 and the Every Weekday promo from 2003.
- For unusual reasons, this scene can be seen in the extended intro
- Face Your Fears: As Ron said:"I must become that which I fear most!"
- Foreshadowing: The reveal that the Kim with Ron is the holo-Kim is hinted at when she had Ron be the one to ring Fiske's doorbell.
- Gilligan Cut: After Kim tells Wade that she can't pull a virtual flake, even though it was really tempting, it cuts to Ron and "Kim" outside Fiske's mansion.Ron: What made you decide to do the virtual flake?
"Kim:" Wade really wanted to test out the holo-Kim. - He Knows Too Much: Monkey Fist says a variation of this:Monkey Fist: So, now you know my secret, which you will take to your grave.Ron: How can you be so sure? I mean, a lot can happen in 60 or 70 years. (Fist growls at him) Oh, gotcha.
- Hologram: Wade's latest gadget creates a convincing image. Unfortunately, it's just an audiovisual image, unable to actually do anything.
- How Did You Know? I Didn't: Ron was unaware of Monkey Fist's secret until he jumped to conclusions and spilled everything. Unfortunately, this meant that Ron was targeted for something he didn't previously know.
- Impoverished Patrician: Monkey Fist spent his family's fortune to have his hands and feet mutated.
- Noodle Incident: Kim apparently once helped the military with something by tipping them off to an attack.
- No Ontological Inertia: The episode hinted that destroying the monkey idols would De-power those with Mystical Monkey Power. As later episodes show, this wasn't actually the case.
- Properly Paranoid:
- Ron was right when he said he felt that Fiske was "500 miles of bad road."
- Bates felt that it was a bad idea for Fiske to involve Kim in gaining the last of the monkey idols, but Fiske felt he threw suspicion off himself by masquerading as a ninja. Turns out that Bates was right as Kim wasn't going to call it quits after a mysterious ninja stole the statue.
- Shout-Out: Kim sports a ponytail for one of the few times in the series as she's...well, raiding the tomb. The sequence is a nod to the adventures of Lara Croft.
- Significant Anagram: Montgomery "Monty" Fiske's name is easily altered to make "Monkey Fist", handily fitting his supervillain persona.
- Skewed Priorities: Upon seeing a hooded ninja in camp, Ron was relived that it wasn't a monkey. However, as Kim pointed out, he was stealing the jade monkey statue.
- So Proud of You: Kim tells Larry and Ron this at the end.
- Spit Take: Kim does one after her dad announces that they've rescheduled game night with Larry.
- Spoiler Opening: Monkey Fist appears in the opening credits sequence from the very first episode, tipping off the viewer that Monty Fiske is actually one of the major villains.
- Tempting Fate: Kim does so twice while in the monkey temple.
- When she falls down the first pit:
Kim: Okay... Well, at least the walls aren't-
(The walls start to close in on her)- When she almost falls into a spiked chamber:
Kim: (sarcastically) Gee, where are the snakes?
(snakes immediately emerge from wall)
Kim: I was just being sarcastic! - That Man Is Dead: After showing his true colors, Monty Fiske abandons his name and his life as a cultured English gentleman and dubs himself "Monkey Fist", fully embracing his new life as a supervillain.
- This Is Reality: Subverted. When Kim realizes that Ron is in a dangerous situation without her to back him up, she loses her cool and blows up at Larry when he says he has an idea:Kim: I don't know what to do. If I was there I could help him....
Larry: Give it [the Kimmunicator] to me; I have an idea.
Kim: This isn't one of your stupid science fiction games, Larry! Ron's facing a kung-fu mutant with bioengineered hands and mystical monkey power and... (she pauses a moment thinking about what she just said, then hands Larry the Kimmunicator) Here. - Two-Timer Date: Wade's hologram projector solves Kim's scheduling conflict. At first, it seems that she sent the hologram to keep Larry company, but it turns out that Wade actually sent the hologram along with Ron while Kim kept her commitment to Larry. Worse, he did this on his own initiative without telling Kim or Ron. It seemed like a good idea when they thought the mission was just talking to a friendly archaeologist...
- Unskilled, but Strong: The mystical monkey power gives Ron an important power boost needed to even be able to stand up to Monkey Fist, but it's not enough to overcome Fiske's extensive training in Monkey Kung Fu.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: This is what Ron thought of seeing a ninja in the camp, as opposed to a monkey. Kim, on seeing the ninja with the monkey statue, begged to differ.
- [Verb] This!: "Monkey this, you hairy freak!"
- Villain with Good Publicity: Lord Montgomery Fiske is regarded as a respected archaeologist until he reveals his true colors.
