Episode - Season 2, Episode 2 (Production Code: 2-19)
First Aired: July 2, 2006
Gary, the unmasked Henchman 21, is sitting at his computer when the phone rings. He answers with "Atomic Comic Collection Connection," the name of his home business. Henchman 24 is on the other end, but The Monarch calls immediately after. #21 puts them together in a three-way call, where it is revealed that The Monarch is sitting in his burnt-out, sideways Cocoon. #21 informs him that the other henchmen all left, after which The Monarch demands that they return to action and get the Cocoon functional and fully staffed while he takes a shower (since he is still covered in sewage from escaping prison in the previous episode). 21 and 24 joyfully obey, as 21 changes into his costume (humming Mars, Bringer of War as he does).
Brock and Dr. Venture wait as the new clones of Hank and Dean are awoken for the first time. Upon waking, they are told that it is their 16th birthday and given their charred ID cards. (Brock calls it a "laminating accident.") Hank attempts to question the incorrect birth date on the card but is told not to ask questions.
Attempting to recruit new henchmen, 21 and 24 have set up a booth in a run down neighborhood, attracting the attention of several urban "gangsta" street thugs. Attracted by 21's promises of weapons and rides (the Cocoon,) they sign up. 21, 24, and the new recruits go to the Cocoon and manage to get it operational again. The Monarch is surprised by their competence and the fact that they actually followed his orders. He reveals his new plan to get back Dr. Girlfriend.
The Venture family is at the mall, where Doc takes Dean to get his first jumpsuit, which Doc insists on calling a "speedsuit." Hank stays with Brock who is looking for a new caulk gun, as his last one was broken by Hank playing with it. Dr. Girlfriend and Phantom Limb are also at the mall, buying things to prepare for a dinner party. (Having been followed there by The Monarch.) Dr. Girlfriend doesn't care about Phantom Limb's obsessing, so she leaves to get food.
At the food court, Dr. Girlfriend is confronted by The Monarch. The Monarch tries to convince her to return to him, and she is receptive at first until #24 radios The Monarch to inform him that the Venture family has been spotted at the mall. Upset that The Monarch spends more time with his henchmen tormenting Dr. Venture than with her, Dr. Girlfriend starts to leave. As she does, Phantom Limb arrives and spots the two. In a panic, The Monarch tranquilizes Dr. Girlfriend and flies away with her.
Elsewhere, the new recruit Monarch henchmen ambush the Venture family. A fight breaks out, with Venture having his right eye knocked out of its socket. The new henchmen, armed with actual firearms, shoot Brock. In the commotion, The Monarch drops Dr. Girlfriend, who lands on Hank and Dean far away from the action. Mall cops arrive and force The Monarch to retreat with his henchmen. Phantom Limb arrives to see Monarch retreating and Brock on the ground bleeding profusely.
Brock awakens at Phantom Limb's residence, where Limb reveals (his interpretation of) the situation, believing that The Monarch kidnapped both Dr. Girlfriend and the Venture family. With a common enemy, the two agree to team up. Limb treats Brock's injuries, using a muscle growth enhancer to heal his gunshot wound. Brock also takes the time to question Limb about Dr. Girlfriend, specifically about whether or not she is transsexual. Armed with Guild weaponry, they head out to assault The Monarch's base.
The Monarch, back at the Cocoon, berates his henchmen for the chaos they caused, and chastises them for using real guns. When he tries to force the henchmen to hand over the guns, they mutiny, imprisoning The Monarch, 21, 24 and Dr. Venture. Their cell happens to be right under 21's room, where he claims to have his own stash of weapons. They use some WD-40 to squeeze through an air vent but find that all of 21's "weapons" are actually just toys and replicas.
Dr. Girlfriend has Hank and Dean lead her to Brock's car. She makes Hank drive, while the boys question how she knows so much about them. She gives Hank directions based on a tracking device she implanted on The Monarch while they were dating.
Brock and Phantom Limb arrive at the Cocoon, dispatching the henchmen guards easily. They meet with Dr. Girlfriend and the boys just as The Monarch and crew burst out of the room armed with 21's "weapons."
The Stinger shows a bloodied Monarch, the first one out of the room, having been attacked by Brock. Dr. Girlfriend convinces Phantom Limb not to kill The Monarch or report him to the Guild, to which he complies. Brock continues to question Dr. Girlfriend's sexuality, so Limb shoots him with a Tranquillizer Dart, replying to the glares this earns him from the others with, "What? I'm a supervillian."
Tropes:
- Blind Without 'Em: Rusty does a Velma-style crawl after losing his glasses, going, "My glasses, where are my glasses, has anybody seen —" When he finds them, he realizes one of his eyes is dangling out of its socket, which is much worse.
- "Bringer of War" Music: 21 and 24's henchman suit-up scene, with the Holst piece playing in the background as the characters hum/sing the melody over it.
- Enemy Mine: Brock and Phantom Limb's team up. Limb specifically wants to keep Dr. Girlfriend's kidnapping off of the Guild's radar as it would negatively impact his career, so teaming up with Brock (who needs to rescue the Ventures) gives him the best chance of success.
- Eye Cam: When one of Rusty's eyes gets knocked out during the mall melee, we get a shot from his perspective - half on the action, half staring at the floor as his eye hangs down.
- Eye Scream: One of Dr. Venture's eyes is punched out of its socket, just hanging there by the optic nerve...
- Insistent Terminology: "Speed Suit! I don't want to hear you say 'Jump Suit', Dean! Not ever!"
- Helicopter Pack: Limb has a pair of them and lets Brock use one in order to rescue Dr. Girlfriend and the Ventures from the Monarch.
- Lock-and-Load Montage: 21 gets one as he changes into his Monarch henchman costume, heavily parodying the one from Batman Forever.
- Made of Iron: Brock has been this way throughout the series and is lampshaded by Phantom Limb here:Phantom Limb: "I have removed the bullet. And three others, a blowgun dart, two shark's teeth, a tip of a bayonet, a twisted paperclip, and a meager handful of buckshot. You may want to learn how to duck."
- Mundane Made Awesome: #21 dons his henchmen uniform while humming Mars, the Bringer of War and providing his own sound effects. Then, #24 shows up and sings along with him.
- Nerd Hoard: 21 claims to have a "weapons stash" in his room, which turns out to be his "Nerd Hoard". It includes a pair of Hulk hands, a Captain America shield, a Magneto helmet, a "mint in box" Lord of the Rings replica sword (which 21 refuses to remove from the box despite being the only actual weapon), and a deck of Magic: The Gathering cards. The Monarch and Dr. Venture are not amused.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Lampshaded when Phantom Limb begins giving such a speech to Brock, who cuts him off and says he knows that speech well enough from hearing it plenty of other times.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode title is a play on the movie Hope Floats.
- 21 and 24 hum Mars, Bringer of War by Gustav Holst during their costume change sequence.
- When Hank prepares to throw the football at the henchman, he quotes The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon
. - Brock mocks Phantom Limb's offer of a team up by comparing them to Mulder and Scully of The X-Files.
- Phantom Limb's home is based on the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Storer House.
- When The Monarch berates his new henchmen, he calls them "a bunch of hotshot, young Turk 182s," a 1985 movie where voice actor James Urbaniak was an extra.
- 21's weapon stash includes a pair of Hulk hands, a Magneto helmet, a "mint in box" Lord of the Rings replica sword, and a deck of Magic: The Gathering cards.
- As The Monarch flies away with Dr. Girlfriend at the mall, The Monarch, thinking to himself, recites the lyrics to "Can You Read My Mind?" from Superman: The Movie.
- When he first sees Dean in his "speed suit," Hank tells him that he looks like "the mayor of Candy Land."
- Wilhelm Scream: Can be heard when The Monarch and crew burst through the door at the end of the episode.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Phantom Limb distracts the henchmen by flopping next to him and claiming that their violence has caused his arms and legs to be shot off. He and Brock take advantage of their confusion to take them all out.
