"Now I know how George Washington felt when Napoleon beat him at Pearl Harbor."
—Beast Boy
Mad Mod attacks on the Fourth of July, using his hypno-screens to revert the entire city to colonial times. The Titans track him down, but Mad Mod manages to separate Robin from the others and drain Robin's youth into himself. Without Robin, the Titans squabble over how to proceed. After a series of unsuccessful plans, however, Starfire reminds everyone that the spirit of democracy is compromise.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Two lessons are brought up by Starfire during the Titans' darkest hour:
- "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Starfire recognizes that they're never going to defeat Mad Mod without Robin, not without realizing what American history has to teach them. This leads into the second moral of the episode.
- Good leadership isn't about vying for just your own ideas alone, but the culmination of many good ideas, just as the Declaration of Independence was the culmination of many a great men's desire for America to be free.
- Artistic License – Geography: The Declaration of Independence is in Washington D.C., not Jump City. (Washington D.C. exists in the DC comics.) To be fair, that could have been a copy of the Declaration of Independence.
- Big "NO!": Mad Mod after Robin snaps his cane.
- British Royal Guards: Mad Mod's Mecha-Mooks are modeled after this.
- Comedic Underwear Exposure: When the once more elderly Mod tries to escape at the end he accidentally drops his trousers to reveal his Union Jack briefs.Raven: I did not need to see that.
- Conflict Ball: The Titans argue over who should be the leader in the wake of Robin being taken out of commission. Up until this point, whenever Robin was unavailable to lead, Cyborg had always stepped up to the plate unquestioned.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: When the Titans are attacked by a mere two Modbots, they struggle to even do damage to them and are forced to retreat when reinforcements arrive. By the climax everyone is tearing through dozens of them like tissue paper and are only overwhelmed through sheer numbers.
- Distressed Dude: Robin’s youth has been sucked out by Mad Mod and he spends the entire episode in the rejuvenated villain’s clutches.
- Fake Brit: Beast Boy in-universe, after looking at one of the hypno-screens. At least until Raven rips off the wig he's wearing
... - Founding Day: As mentioned in the description, Mad Mod attacks on the Fourth of July.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: In addition to the Glasses Guy to the front left of him, the guy that Raven goes off with in the nightclub in "Sisters" reappears in a momentary shot of the crowd.
- Future Imperfect: Beast Boy's description of the Boston Tea Party is actually somewhat accurate, but he misinterprets its meaning.Raven: Where'd you learn history, a cereal box?
Beast Boy: What's your point? - Irony: Beast Boy, the most useless Titan in the last match-up against Mad Mod, becomes the most crucial Titan in the second matchup.
- Meaningful Echo: Mad Mod's line to Robin after Robin regains his youth.
- Musical Spoiler: When the music shifts from a parade track to the upbeat music, you know that the Titans are going to appear and win.
- Oh, Crap!: Beast Boy right before the train car the Titans are on crashes into a wall.
- Older Than They Look: Played straight with Mad Mod draining Robin's youth into himself.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Cyborg against the Modbots.
- Reference Overdosed: to Monty Python.
- Rousing Speech: Starfire gives a bit of this of this episode's Aesop; inspiring herself and the other Titans to come up with one plan to stop Mad Mod and save Robin.Starfire: Mad Mod was right. He said, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." We have failed to learn from the history Mad Mod is attempting to rewrite. Your democracy is not merely about voting. It is about compromise. Out of many different people, you make one country. Out of many flawed ideas, you create one that works.
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: Just like in "Mad Mod", there's another chase featuring this trope between the Titans (sans Robin) and Mad Mod's robots, this time in the streets involving the Titans getting in and out of parked cars.
- Shout-Out: Many to British pop culture
- The pepperpots, the appearance of Mad Mod as God and, of course the squashing foot all reference Monty Python's Flying Circus
- The Beatles also are referenced numerous times — directly as Mad Mod's replacements for Mount Rushmore, as well as in references to A Hard Day's Night (with the Titans hiding in phone booths and behind a newspaper to evade Mod's robots) and Yellow Submarine (during the end fight Mod takes on the appearance of a Blue Meanie).
- Beast Boy clad in military gear, and standing in front of an American flag, a rather blatant reference to the classic war film Patton.
- There's even a Shout-Out to King Kong (1933) with Starfire fending off numerous fighters on top of the Elizabeth Tower (better known as Big Ben)
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Subverted. You don't hear Raven's plan. It doesn't work anyway.
- Younger Than They Look: Robin after getting his youth drained.
