Animated - Batman Beyond - Episodes - Season 1 - Episode #7 - Heroes

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Meltdown
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 02/21/1999
EPISODE NUMBER: 08
PRODUCTION CODE: 108
PLOT SUMMARY:
Another high-tech robbery has just taken place with the four thieves fleeing by jet-pack, but this time Batman is here to stop them. He grabs onto one of them with a grappling hook. The thief turns to shoot his unwanted passenger, and his inattention crashes him into a billboard. Batman resumes flight on his own power but is knocked to the ground by a second thief. They all fly away, and as Batman recovers, a wispy figure steps out and soars into the air, trailing a stream of vapour. She touches the thief with a finger and he is becomes a solid block of ice, which does not fly too well.
The two remaining thieves try do not notice the loss of their companion. A large grotesque figure runs along a bridge, rips out a large piece of the side barrier and tosses it at the them. They do not dodge in time and are about to fall to their deaths, when a flat purple figure stretches like rubber and bounces them back into the air. His hands them stretch even further to catch them and place them safely on the bridge. By now, the bridge traffic has stopped, and a crowd has gathered to get a glimpse of the heroes who caught the criminals. Even Batman is wondering, "Who are these guys?"
On the news, Gotham is finding out the "Terrific Trio" is the result of an accident during a nuclear fusion experiment. Now with a government mandate, and the "Trio Tower", they pledge to use their abilities to fight crime. Terry hopes he will have more time to concentrate on school, but the ever-skeptical Bruce is not so sure.
The police are on scene at a hostage situation. A councilman's wife and daughter were taken. Commissioner Gordon arrives to continue the negotiations, but the hostage-takers hang up. The commissioner can not risk a breach and hostage-takers are willing to blow up the hostages to escape. Suddenly, 2-D Man grabs the leader and Freon freezes the other attackers. One of them is tries to get out through the door, but Magma blocks his way and knocks him to the ground. Though the day is saved, the little girl screams at the sight of Magma. This prompts the police to move in, but Magma was only trying to defuse the explosive. He succeeds in containing the explosion. The police rush in the room to take the criminals into custody. The daughter is still terrified of Magma. Magma is so disgusted with his own appearance, he takes his anger out on a police cruiser.
Back at the Trio Tower, the Trio are talking with Dr. Hodges, a fellow scientist who was supposed to be at the experiment that night, but had to attend a budget meeting. Though they want to help, Hodges tells them they should just keep doing what they are doing while he tries to find a cure. He leaves the tower and gets in General Norman's car. It seems the general has plans of his own.
Terrific Trio merchandise has already hit the streets with kids flocking to buy the toys. Terry and his brother, Matt, go into a shop, but Matt prefers Batman to the new hero team. Terry offers to get his brother ice cream.
At a research facility, a lab technician hands Dr. Hodges the latest results of the tests on the Trio's DNA. Under a microscope, he sees them fall apart. Not happy, and wanting to be certain, he asks that the tests be run again. He contacts General Norman, and tells him they have a problem.
The technician starts to retest the sample, but a shadowy assailant enters the lab knocks him unconscious and steals the sample.
Meanwhile, the Batmobile is patrolling the quiet streets. Batman does not see the need to patrol with the Terrific Trio in town. Just then, he picks up some activity at the research center. Magma was the one who stole the sample cube. Batman tries to stop him, but is thrown into a wall. Magma takes off in the Trio transport jet. Batman manages to hitch a ride as it takes them to the Trio Tower.
The other team members were unaware that Magma went to steal the cube. They are horrified by the results. They do not have time to grieve though as the army begins to attack the tower. The army's attack is overwhelming to try and keep the Trio from escaping. Even Batman is guard off-guard by the ferocity of the attack and is pinned under some of the larger falling debris. The Trio fight for the life, but are severely outnumbered. They are forced to flee. They head for the hanger, presumably to escape in the transport jet. The aircraft flying outside are in hot pursuit.
Concentrating hard, Batman manages to push the heavy equipment off and dodges more debris. One of the aircraft targets the transport with missles, and destroys it. Convinced they have done their job, the general wants the tower secured. However, Batman is not fooled. He spots a steaming hatch through which the Trio escaped.
In Hodges's office, Dr. Hodges is mourning the loss of his friends, but the general tells him they did the right thing. The Trio's conditions were deteriorating, and would have become dangerous. His terminal inexplicably shuts down. He takes a weapon out from under his desk, but his hands are frozen by a blast from Freon. The other Trio members take him to the reactor from the initial experiment. Starting the experiment again, they force a confession from Dr. Hodges. He knew the experiment was too dangerous, but he did not know how they would be altered or even survive. He admits he was jealous of Michael for having more brains and Mary's love. Now that he has confessed, he pleads with them to turn off the reactor. He does not want to see the city destroyed. They refuse.
Batman drops in and shoots two Batarangs. Freon freezes them and they drop to the ground. Dr. Hodges (whose feet are frozen to the ground) reaches for one. Freon takes off to fight Batman. Though he dodges Freon's shots, he gets caught in 2-D Man and is frozen to the wall of some equipment. A punch from Magma knocks him through said equipment. Magma moves in to crush Batman under his weight, but Batman uses his momentum to toss him over. He resumes dodging Freon's blasts, but is wrapped up by 2-D Man. Magma goes for a punch to the head, but Batman ducks, and 2-D Man's head is driven into the wall. Freon resumes her shooting, but Batman flies in passed Magma and she freezes him instead. Batman then turns on the emergency evacuation system, and 2-D Man and Freon are sucked out through the ventilation shafts.
Magma is furious. Just as Batman is about to reach the button to abort the experiment, Magma steps in his way. He does not respond to Batman trying to reason with him. He then sees Hodges about to escape. He throws a large piece of equipment to block the doorway. Batman takes the opportunity to grab a fire hose to try and soak Magma into submission. He follows up with a beating that eventually knocks Magma unconscious. Batman manages to hit the Abort button in time. He leaves Hodges to survey the damages that he caused by not warning his "friends" of the dangers of the experiment.
WRITEEN BY: Rich Fogel
DIRECTED BY: Butch Lukic
VOICES:
Lauren Tom (Dana Tan)
Teri Garr (Mary McGinnis)
Will Friedle (Terry McGinnis / Batman)
Herman Howard (Derek Powers / Blight)
Stockard Channing (Commissioner Barbara Gordon)
Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne)
Ryan O'Donohue (Matt McGinnis)
Yvette Lowenthal (Chelsea Cunningham)
Corey Burton (General Norman)
Robert Davi (Magma / Dr. Mike Morgan)
Laura San Giacomo (Freon / Mary Michaels)
Jeff Bennett (2-D Man / Stewart Lowe)
Kevin Dunn (Dr. Hodges)
Jan Rabson (Rocketeer Leader)
David Walsh (Rocketeer)
QUOTES:
Batman: Magma. Working solo tonight?
Magma: Out of my way! (punches Batman)
Batman: How about showing a fellow civil servant some professional courtesy? (Magma slams Batman against a wall) And I thought he was one of the good guys.
INTERESTING NOTES:
- Clearly the Terriffic Trio is an allusion to Marvel Comic's Fantastic Four. Magma is a cross between the Human Torch and the Thing, 2-D Man can stretch like Mr. Fantastic (although Hodges has his super-intelligence), and Freon can turn (semi-)transparent and create clear structures (out of ice rather then force fields).
SCREEN GRABS:
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