A shopkeeper is killed by a man virtually made of steel who holds a grudge against him and all the other junior officers in their old regiment - one of whom was Ulysses S. Grant. West and Gordon must try to figure out who and where the killer is and how to stop him; the dead shopkeeper's niece, Nina, also becomes embroiled in the investigation due to a letter sent her by her uncle. Their researches lead to a man named Torres (John Dehner) who was mutilated during the war when the arsenal that he was guarding exploded.
Tropes present in this episode:
- Brainwashed: Torres is capable of hypnotizing people via a lamp with a spinning shade. He places Nina under his control, erasing her memories and turning her into a showgirl, and attempts to brainwash Artie as well.
- Cyborg: After the explosion, Torres' body was reconstructed using metal parts which he designed himself. Even his voice is metallic.
- Determinator: Torres' life was hell after his catastrophic injuries. He went through a series of procedures without anesthetics and endured excruciating pain just by living every day. The doctor even says that he should have died at various points along the way. His thirst for revenge has been the ultimate motivator.
- Feel No Pain: According to Torres, those under his hypnosis are insensible to pain. He demonstrates by sticking a needle into Artie's shoulder. Down to the bone. Unfortunately for Artie, he isn't actually hypnotized; somehow he manages to remain still and expressionless nevertheless.
- Genius Bruiser: Torres designed all of the metal pieces used in his body and even guided the doctor through the procedure. His villa also shows several advanced inventions such as a wireless controller for his missile setup, and he shows deep knowledge on subjects from psychology to medieval knights.
- Holding the Floor: While Jim gets Nina away from her captor — and her enthusiastic audience — Artie distracts everyone by spinning an elaborate story about a touching father/daughter reunion and then offering to buy drinks for all in celebration.
- Something We Forgot: Torres jams a pin "bone deep" into Artie's shoulder. Not only is it never explained how Artie showed no pain, but in the rest of the episode he shows no signs of the injury, even though it would be crippling.
- The Stoic: Torres. The doctor who assisted with his reconstruction describes how Torres talked him through the excruciating procedure while fully conscious.
- Super Drowning Skills: Torres meets his end after his steel body ends up in a deep pool of water. True to his stoic nature, he faces death with dignity.
- Tantrum Throwing: When Nina is finally brought out of her trance, she finds herself in her showgirl outfit on the train with Jim and Artie. She doesn't remember anything and assumes the worst; this leads to her starting to yell and fling things at the agents, who mostly find it all very amusing.
- Trap Is the Only Option: Torres wants to lure Jim and Artie into his underground lair in order to imprison them. Lacking any other leads, they decide they might as well let him do it.
