Recap / SWAT Kats S1E13: "Katastrophe"

"DESTROY THE SWAT KATS!" Cue Evil Laugh.

Act I

---

At Megakat Biochemical Labs, security guard Alvie (Frank Welker) and his partner (Charlie Adler) are enjoying some donuts when Alvie thinks he hears a noise. When his partner goes to investigate, a big glob of green ooze appears, coalescing into a half-kat, half-mushroom creature (Frank Welker doing monster noises), which eats both of them. The monster turns out to be a creation of Dr. Viper's, and he and his mutant sidekick break into the main lab to steal Katalyst 100, only to discover that Dark Kat's Creeplings have beaten them to it. A fight breaks out for possession of the only flask of Katalyst 100.

Nearby, the SWAT Kats are on patrol. Razor is testing out his newest innovation to the Turbokat, a pair of goggles that are linked to the cement machine gun and cause it to turn and aim in whatever direction he looks. They detect the silent alarm at Megakat Biochemical Labs and fly over. Seeing Viper through the window, Razor attempts to shoot him with the cement machine gun but misses because the calibration is off. Instead, he hits two Creeplings who smash into some shelves of chemicals, starting a chain reaction that blows the entire building up. The mushroom monster ends up splattered all over the jet.

The Enforcers arrive, and Commander Feral immediately concludes that the SWAT Kats destroyed the lab on purpose, uninterested in their excuses about Dr. Viper, forcing the two to flee the scene. Meanwhile, Viper survived the explosion and encounters Dark Kat in the sewer. Despite a brief disagreement, Dark Kat decides that they should team up against the SWAT Kats. Viper considers and ultimately accepts his offer.

At Enforcer Headquarters, Feral tells a sergeant (the same guy from "Enter the Madkat") to put out an APB on the SWAT Kats, over Callie Briggs' objections. After they leave, Creeplings break into the evidence room and steal the severed heads of the Metallikats (where they've been since "Metal Urgency") and abscond with them under the nose of evidence clerk Smitty (Frank Welker). Callie calls the SWAT Kats. Razor is trying to fix the calibration error with the goggles, but when he turns his head to answer Callie's call, it makes the cement machine gun swivel and hit T-Bone in the head. Callie informs the duo that Feral is "after your heads." "So's Razor," grumbles T-Bone.

In Dark Kat's sewer lair, he and Dr. Viper have provided Mac and Molly with new bodies and multi-weapons, and also put green collars around their necks. The robots prove thoroughly ungrateful, refusing to join Dark Kat and attempting to blast their way out of the hideout. Dark Kat reveals the collars are "neuro-scramblers" which cause the Metallikats great pain if they are disobedient, forcing them to kneel to Dark Kat and swear to help him and Viper kill the SWAT Kats.

Act II

---

Dressed in their old gangster suits, Mac and Molly rob the Megakat Savings Bank as part of a plan to lure the SWAT Kats out. Feral arrives in a chopper and orders the sergeant from earlier to attack the robots with a Peacekeeper. However, Dark Kat didn't just give the Metallikats new bodies and weapons; he also provided them with a new Metallikat Express, which they use to ram the sergeant's tank. He barely escapes. After this, they shoot down Feral's chopper, but he survives.

Callie arrives on the scene and calls the SWAT Kats, only to get noticed by Molly. Because she denied their parole, Mac decides to kill her by running her car off the road, despite Dark Kat's insistence that they stick to the plan. Despite the robots' disobedience, the plan to draw the SWAT Kats out still works, as the Turbokat soon arrives, using the Sky Claw to pull Callie's car out of harm's way and deposit it on a rooftop before going after the villains. A blast to the Metallikat Express' rear damages it, but Mac drives into the Megakat Tunnel, where the Turbokat can't follow, so Razor pursues them on the Cyclotron. Before he can fire on them, though, the trap is sprung. Viper's mushroom monster, in his liquid form, is clinging to the ceiling and grabs Razor off of the bike as he passes under him. Razor is now held captive.

Mac and Molly park and get out, and Molly suggests they kill Razor. They fire, but a suddenly appearing Dr. Viper knocks their gun arms aside with his tail, saving Razor, insisting that they need to take him alive. However, when he threw off their arm, he made them accidentally blast the tentacles holding Razor prisoner, allowing the nimble SWAT Kat to escape, stealing the unattended Metallikat Express and driving off. "Are ya happy now?!" cries Mac. "He's still alive!"

When Razor drives out the other end of the tunnel and Razor sees the enemy vehicle, he thinks it's still Mac and Molly inside. "Aw, crud, Razor, do I have to everything myself?" he grumbles, firing several missiles. Razor barely leaps out in time, and the Metallikat Express is blown up along with all the stolen bank money. "Hey, whoa, I'm the good guy, remember?! Those are the bad guys!" cries Razor as the Metallikats emerge from the tunnel and begin blasting away at him. He's saved by T-Bone, who unleashes a barrage of missiles at the two robots. The concussive blast knocks them backwards. Feral appears in a new chopper and demands Razor's surrender, but he escapes with T-Bone in the Turbokat.

An enraged Dark Kat uses the neuro-scramblers to torture Mac and Molly for their failure and also because of their disobedience, explaining he wanted Razor as a living hostage to make T-Bone surrender. He comes up with another, similar plan, though, and warns the Metallikats not to go against his orders again. That night, after a call to the SWAT Kats in which she explains that Commander Feral blames them for the destruction of all the bank money, Callie leaves with Mayor Manx. As they're getting into his limousine, they notice they have a different chauffeur. He explains that the regular guy is "out sick," then tears off his own face to reveal he's Mac, and he gases the two, knocking them out.

The next day, Commander Feral appears on the news with a public demanding that the SWAT Kats turn themselves in. He still doesn't believe them about Dr. Viper and considers them responsible for the loss of the stolen money. The signal is interrupted by a video sent by Dark Kat. "I've got much more important news for Megakat City," he explains, showing Callie and Manx shackled and imprisoned inside a glass tube at a location he discloses as the abandoned tuna factory on Megakat Island. Unless the SWAT Kats come alone at sunrise, he'll kill them. The feed ends. Ann Gora asks Feral what he intends to do, and he simply grumbles, "No comment..."

The next morning, the villains (including Viper's mushroom monster) are all gathered inside the tuna factory which has been converted into a high-tech lair. As the Turbokat approaches, Dark Kat unleashes a barrage of anti-aircraft missiles which hit and blow up the jet, to the shock of a fisherman wearing a yellow raincoat sitting in a rowboat near the island. As the villains all laugh, Callie, watching from inside the glass tube with Manx, bursts into tears.

Act III

---

As they watch the flaming wreckage of the Turbokat on a viewscreen, Dr. Viper is suspicious. He thinks it was too easy, but Dark Kat (seemingly) dismisses his concerns. Mac and Molly want to kill Callie and the Mayor now that they don't need them anymore, raising the tube up so they can shoot them, but Dark Kat says he still needs them alive so they can turn Megakat City over to him. Viper protests that they should divide the city equally, and Dark Kat says it was "just a slip of the tongue." The Metallikats mutter that they don't trust either of their "allies."

Meanwhile, it turns out the SWAT Kats weren't in the Turbokat at all, but in an armored amphibious vehicle piloting the jet by remote control. T-Bone laments the jet's loss. "Hey, it was either the jet or us, T-Bone," Razor the eternal pragmatist says, and then he and T-Bone drive through the factory wall, surprising the villains. They rush to the aid of Callie and Manx, who are surprised and overjoyed to see them, Callie especially. They fend off some Creeplings, while Viper chides Dark Kat for failing to foresee this. But Dark Kat reveals he did foresee it, trapping the SWAT Kats, Callie and Manx inside a domed "mega-forcefield bubble." T-Bone's effort to punch through it proves futile, but Dark Kat is able to reach through and slap him, gloating, "My mega-forcefield bubble only lets things in, not out."

He orders the Metallikats to kill them, and then announces that soon Megakat City will be "Dark Kat City." A shocked Viper protests, and Dark Kat reveals he always intended to double-cross him. Before the Metallikats can shoot the captured heroes, he calls them away to instead execute Viper and his monster, but they refuse, revealing they made a deal with Viper to have the neuro-scramblers removed, and now intend to kill their erstwhile "boss." Dark Kat runs from them as they shoot at him. He grabs a laser rifle and fires back as Viper fights with some Creeplings, knocking one into the mouth of his mushroom monster, who eats it. Razor remarks that they're doomed no matter who wins the fight.

Suddenly, the fisherman from before walks in and turns off the forcefield, freeing them. Noticing him, the mushroom monster grabs him, yanking off his raincoat and hat, revealing that it's Commander Feral. Although the SWAT Kats are grateful, he angrily insists he's there to save "the Mayor and Ms. Briggs," not them. They repay the favor by shooting at the mushroom monster as it's about to eat him. The creature next goes after the still shackled Callie and Max, but T-Bone, Razor and Feral fire up at the glass tube, causing it drop down on top of the mutant, trapping him. Manx says he never thought he would've ever seen the SWAT Kats and Feral working together, as Dark Kat demands that Mac and Molly stop fighting with him: "Who do you hate more? Me or the SWAT Kats?" Agreeing with him, the two join him in firing at the heroes, pinning them down.

Razor fires a grappling line from his Glovatrix and seemingly misses the three villains. A panicky T-Bone tells him he fired the wrong way, but Razor reveals he wasn't aiming for them, but the controls for the mega-forcefield bubble, which activates, the dome descending over the evil trio. Dr. Viper, who'd been hiding, attempts to sneak out, but is grabbed by Feral and thrown into the forcefield bubble by Callie. Feral declares the four villains to be under arrest, but Dark Kat reveals he's wired the entire building to explode. "If I lose, everyone loses!" The SWAT Kats, Callie, Manx and Feral barely escape in the amphibious vehicle before the factory goes up in an explosion so powerful it destroys most of Megakat Island.

In the sub, as Razor begins using his Glovatrix's blowtorch attachment to cut her wrists free, Callie wonders if they've seen the last of Dark Kat and the others. Feral says he hopes so, insisting that if they ever return, the Enforcers will take care of them, but T-Bone interjects to say that the SWAT Kats will. On the matter of the destroyed Turbokat, Razor asks Feral if he can let them borrow an Enforcer jet until theirs is replaced, and suggests that the city pay for it. Manx initially balks at the idea and tries to buy them off with a parade, but Callie scolds him for being ungrateful. The Mayor finally sighs and agrees - provided someone will get his shackles off finally.

Tropes

• Armor-Piercing Question: How Dark Kat restores the Enemy Mine, during the climax.
  Dark Kat: Choose now, my villainous friends. Who do you hate more: me or the SWAT Kats?
• Back from the Dead: Mac and Molly are restored and rebuilt, but Dark Kat installs collars to keep them in line.
• Big Damn Heroes: As the villains turn on each other, Feral disguised as a fisherman deactivates the force field.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: When the SWAT Kats survive being shot down, Dark Kat initiates a back up plan in the form of a forcefield, preventing them , along with Callie and Manx, from escaping, but able to fire anything in it. During the infighting between him, Viper, and the Metallikats, Feral frees the heroes. They then use the forcefield on the villains, preventing their own escape.
• Didn't See That Coming: Mayor Manx's reaction to the SWAT Kats and Feral fighting side by side.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: After having the Metallikats abduct Mayor Manx and Callie, Dark Kat hijacks the city's news broadcast to invite the SWAT Kats for an attempt to face them alone without the Enforcers' help. Ironically, this clears them of any blame from in the city's damage that Feral pinned them for.
• Enemy Mine:
  • Dark Kat, Dr. Viper and the Metallikats can't stand each other, but team up in an attempt to kill the SWAT Kats and reap the benefits of a city-wide takeover.
    • It goes south when Viper and the Metallikats turn on Dark Kat. He then turns them back on the SWAT Kats after reminding them all they hate the duo more.
  • Likewise, Feral doesn't care for the SWAT Kats, but conveniently teams up with them to save Callie and Manx and defeat Dark Kat.
• Enemy Rising Behind: Done at the beginning when Viper's mushroom monster oozes out from under a door and slowly rises up behind an unsuspecting guard.
• "Eureka!" Moment: After his little altercation with Dr. Viper, Dark Kat suggests that they fight against their common foes instead of each other.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Razor escapes, due to the Metallikats deviating from the plan to capture him alive and Dr. Viper disrupting their aim. As the plan was to capture one SWAT Kat to use as leverage against the other, Dark Kat holds the Metallikats responsible for this mess.
• No-One Could Have Survived That: Feral assumes the criminals may have all died from Dark Kat's Taking You with Me tactic. However, he agrees with Callie and the SWAT Kats that they may come back because they Never Found the Body.
• Oh, Crap!: Razor gets the reaction to Dark Kat wiring the hideout to explode.
  • The Enforcer sergeant also reacts this way when the Metallikat Express is about to ram into his Peacekeeper.
• Out-Gambitted: Dark Kat planned all along to betray Dr. Viper once he no longer needed him. However, Viper fully anticipated that and secretly removed the Metallikats' neuro-scramblers so that they'd ally with him.
• Refuse to Rescue the Disliked: When Feral arrives to help the SWAT Kats, he outright states that he's actually there to rescue Manx and Callie. Since the SWAT Kats just happen to in the same predicament, he rescues them as well despite their rivalry.
• Rogues Gallery Showcase: Dark Kat, Dr. Viper and the Metallikats form a temporary Legion of Doom to go after the SWAT Kats together.
• The Scapegoat: With the villains escaping throughout the episode, the SWAT Kats end up taking the blame for the damages throughout the city. Feral broadcasts a call for them to surrender until Dark Kat announces his team's involvement and having custody of Callie and Manx.
• Taking You with Me: Being a Sore Loser, Dark Kat activates a Self-Destruct Mechanism to destroy the pier, along with his team, and the heroes. The heores all escape the blast.
  Dark Kat: IF I LOSE, EVERYONE LOSES!
• Time for Plan B: Dark Kat's first plan was to capture one SWAT Kat to lure the other, which falls through when the Metallikats try to finish Razor off on their own. After Razor escapes, Dark Kat sends them to abduct Callie and Manx to bait the SWAT Kats to their doom.
• Villain Team-Up: After rallying Dr. Viper, and strong-arming the restored Metallikats, Dark Kat instigates this to take down the SWAT Kats once and for all.
• Worth It: Razor remarks it was almost worth losing the Turbokat to see the assembled villains imprisoned in the force field bubble.
• You Have Failed Me: Dark Kat uses the neuro-scramblers to torture Mac and Molly after their disobedience and recklessness let the SWAT Kats get away.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: With his foes all trapped in the force field, Dark Kat talks about ruling the city alone and how Viper can't do a thing about it. He orders the Metallikats to eliminate the good doctor, but Viper anticipated this by cutting a deal to remove their neuro-scramblers.