Somewhere, at a local neighborhood supermarket!
The Aquabats deal with a giant insect attacking Captain Turnip's Grocery Island. Retracing the creature's steps, discovers that they lead back to Jimmy's old home, causing him to panic and run all the way back to there, with the rest of the team following not far behind.
There, on the family farm, the team meets his loving mother and his curmudgeon of a father, much to their surprise and confusion. Over lunch, his father explains that he built Jimmy to help with the harvest, and is bitter over him leaving home to become a superhero. Unable to carry out all the work by himself, he now grows single, giant foods instead of entire fields, as evidenced by the giant apple by his lab/barn.
Jimmy and his father argue over what he's made of his life, causing Jimmy to storm out. His mother takes him into the barn to show him that his father has newspaper clippings of all the bands' headlines, simply being too arrogant to admit he is proud of his son.
Unfortunately, Jimmy realizes that the giant crops his dad has been making have had side effects on the local pests, creating the giant bug they fought at the grocer's. A giant worm bursts out of the giant apple and swallows his mother whole before burrowing into the ground.
Putting their differences aside, Jimmy's dad helps his son work out a plan to save his mother; having the band play their music, luring the worm up with the sonic vibrations. Succeeding, they cut Jimmy's mother out of the monster and finally make amends.
Tropes
- Bond One-Liner: The Commander laughs Clean up on Aisle Nine! after the band manages to stop the giant insect at the start.
- The Cameo: The Sandfleas show up in Jimmy's flashback as the ruffians who tried to rob the Aquabats.
- Eaten Alive: Jimmy's mom. The bats save her, though.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jimmy's dad is proud of his son, but is too arrogant to admit it.
- Origin Story: Unlike the other Origin shorts from the season, this episode confirms at least some of Jimmy's backstory. He was built by his father to work on the farm, but left for the big city to become a crime fighter.
- Perpetual Poverty: The Aquabats' status as this causes them to initially laugh off the robbery in Jimmy's flashback.Jimmy: We laughed because we didn't have any money, but that just made them more upset!
- Shout-Out: Jimmy mistakes a pair of burning skeleton props for his parents, not unlike Luke finding Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in A New Hope. Jimmy's line before he runs to his farm mirrors Luke Skywalker's one in the scene before when scanning the beetle's tracks and finding out that they lead to a farming community outside of town.Jimmy: Just outside the town of Plainville, to a local farming community! But that means they would lead back... home! (Jimmy starts running away from the other Aquabats)Eaglebones: Jimmy, wait!MC Bat Commander: It's too dangerous!Luke Skywalker: If they traced the robots here, they may have learned who they sold them to and that would lead them back... home! (Luke runs away from Obi-Wan and hops into his landspeeder)Obi-Wan Kenobi: Wait, Luke! It's too dangerous!
- The ad in the flashback Jimmy sees that ultimately has him joining the Aquabats says to call the number 867-5309 and ask for Jenny.
- Stylistic Suck: Jimmy's origin flashback makes use of extremely clunky mid-80's-looking CGI not too far off from the "Money for Nothing" music video (which it also references via ad text).
- Ungrateful Bastard: The manager of the supermarket bans the team from ever returning after they defeat the giant insect attacking the store. While the place takes its cleanliness very seriously, all they did was knock over a few dozen boxes.
