Recap / Teen Titans S 2 E 4 Only Human

"Fool! Did you actually think you could defeat Atlas? I am all robot… and you are only human."

—Atlas

Cyborg struggles with the limitations of his robotic parts.

Tropes:

• Arc Words: Robin tells Cyborg to "take it up a notch" and train harder, even though he insists that his implants give him a strict limit without breaking down. When his friends are in trouble, Cyborg does what Robin suggests and go beyond his usual limit.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Robin offers one to Spike the Mechanic: "If Atlas is so great, why does he treat you like a loser?"
• Beyond the Impossible: When Cyborg exceeds his in-built limits through his Heroic Resolve.
• Brawler Lock: Twice between Atlas and Cyborg.
• Break Them by Talking: Robin does this to Spike during his imprisonment, making him realize that Atlas is nothing more than an oppressive bully, which proves to be the catalyst for Spike's Heel–Face Turn.
• Bring It: Cyborg inadvertently brings Atlas into their world by saying "Any time, anywhere" as a taunt when the video game character demands a rematch. Atlas takes this literally by saying "How about here and now?"
• Creator Cameo: When Atlas is playing a video game, he brags that he defeated "Derrick Wyatt of East Gotham City." Derrick Wyatt was the art director for the series.
• The Dog Bites Back: Spike finally gets fed up with Atlas's petty abuse towards the end of the episode. While he doesn't have the power to actually challenge the mighty robot, Atlas learns the hard way that he cannot equip or repair himself without his loyal mechanic.
  Spike: Let's see how far you get without my help!
• Dreadful Musician: When Starfire sings her "Tamaranean folk song", it consists mostly of screaming and it annoys Cyborg, and in the end, the others appear to be terrified of it.
• Everyone Has Standards: When Atlas announces his plan to keep the Titans imprisoned as trophies, Spike is clearly disturbed and tries to reason with Atlas that he promised to free them whether or not Cyborg wins or loses. This along with the constant verbal and physical abuse encourages him to stop helping Atlas.
• Graceful Loser: Atlas is surprisingly this after Cyborg finally defeats him in real life, humbly admitting defeat and acknowledging him as the better robot.
• Heroic Willpower: Cyborg pushes past his robotic limitations and defeats Atlas in combat.
• I Fight for the Strongest Side!: Not exactly fight, but Spike supports Atlas because he's strong, against the Titans. He changes his mind later after Robin makes him think about how Atlas treats him.
• Jerk Jock: Atlas comes off as one, ordering Spike around for upgrades and weapon fits while treating him like dirt. The latter realizes this near the end and abandons him after his loss.
• Just a Machine: Played straight with Cyborg, but Inverted with Atlas, who prefers being this trope.
• Laser-Guided Karma: For all his poor treatment towards Spike, once he forgoes his loyalty towards Atlas, the latter loses against Cyborg without his mechanic's help as he does not know which of his own weapons are which. When he's buried under rubble after Cyborg defeats him, Atlas tells Spike to help him, but the latter refuses and leaving Atlas all by himself.
• Limit Break: The main plot has Cyborg encouraged to invoke this and push his in-built limitations. At first he is unable to and loses to Atlas. In the end however, he "takes it up a notch" to defeat him and save the rest of the Titans. A screen on his arm cracks after the battle to symbolize this.
• The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: After losing to Atlas in their rematch, Cyborg's reflection gives him a little pep talk that becomes key in the re-rematch. Extra symbolism points for having the camera focus on the robotic half Cyborg’s face when he’s talking and the human half when his reflection is talking.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: From how the game speaks directly to Cyborg and then the screen is vaporized, it appears that Atlas comes out of the video game. But he's later seen playing the same game in his hideout, and Cyborg had said "I don't know who you are or where you're from" after winning, implying an online PvP mode that he was playing. The speaking could've easily been a chat function with Atlas using a headset or other microphone to talk.
• Might Makes Right: Atlas certainly thinks so. It's part of the reason he looks down on humans.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Spike eventually turns on Atlas when he mistreats him one time too many. Even after his defeat, he orders him to repair him, only for him to tell him to do it himself, and throw his kit to him as he leaves.
• No Name Given: Spike's name is never mentioned. Atlas only refers to him as "mechanic."
• Only Sane Man: Robin is the only one of the Titans to not annoy Cyborg in an attempt to cheer him up by telling the team to give Cyborg some time to himself.
• Pardon My Klingon: Starfire minces no words on her feelings toward Atlas.
  Starfire: Your Atlas is nothing but a ZOL-WORK TUBACK-BLIXING ZORBORKER!
  Beast Boy: Yeah, what she said!
• Sore Loser: Atlas gets into a fight with Cyborg (and the rest of the Teen Titans) because he lost on an online video game. Spike accuses the Titans of this when they demand to be freed.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Robin gives one about Atlas to Spike.
  Robin: He doesn't respect you. He doesn't even like you. Why do you serve him? [...] You're the one who fixes him. You're his strength. Without you, he's nothing. And he knows it... That's why he pushes you around. Atlas is afraid of you.
• Title Drop: At the end of the episode.
  Cyborg: "My body may have its limitations, but if I put my mind to it, there's no limit to what I can do. After all, I'm only human."
• Unskilled, but Strong: Atlas is - at the end of the day - a stronger, faster model of robot than Cyborg's technology can keep up with alone. But when he tries to add his own modular weapons when Spike refuses, he clearly can't tell which is which or how to attach them. Not to mention that when Cyborg overcomes his mechanical limits with Heroic Willpower, Atlas is helpless to defend himself against an equally strong but more skilled opponent. At the end of the fight, he's buried in rubble and pleading his surrender.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Robin keeps pressing Spike on why he does whatever Atlas says, Spike's sadly voices how he's considerably weaker than this mighty robot. To this, Robin deduces that Atlas doesn't mistreat Spike because he's beneath him: he does it because he's dependent on Spike. He needs his mechanic to maintain him, and he fears what will happen if he figures this out and rises up against him.

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