Mobile Armored Podcast Show

Scott Trakker's Flipper Hands

• Adam Moore and PJ McNerney • Season 1 • Episode 14

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What could be more disturbing than V.E.N.O.M.'s dastardly plan to ransom the Statue of Liberty? How about Miles Mayhem's petty destruction of an innocent magician's career? WHAT DID WONDRO DO TO YOU, MILES?! That, and Scott Trakker's flipper hands, on this week's episode of the Mobile Armored Podcast Show!!!!

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Look! The Statue of Liberty! I don't feel so good. Where does it hurt? All over. I need lots of fixing. That's going to be expensive. If we ask people to help, they will. Everyone loves me. To help, send your contributions to The Lady. Box 1986, New York. Or call 1 800 The Lady. It would make me feel a lot better. Keep the torch lit! I love her.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I don't feel so good.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah. And it was like, Oh yeah. I honestly, where I saw it the most is when I visited my grandparents as a kid who were living in Queens. And it was like, Oh, like this is

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

the head of Welcome to the Mobile Armored Podcast Show, the podcast that transforms into the Joe Rogan experience. to, trying just to, siphon off some of their listeners increase our listenership.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

SEO plug right there.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I am, as always, Adam Moore alongside my co host and best friend PJ McNerney. How's it going PJ?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I am, I'm doing really well today. I'm excited about today's episode.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I am too, but first I need to update the listeners on uh, the beef we've got with the podcast next door. So PJ last week is when we introduced this and you recommended a stink bomb. I tried it There was no response except for the fact that when I came into the podcast studio this morning, there was the severed head of a microphone on the floor very Godfather style. So I think we are up against some serious players in the podcast world.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I think to continue the theme, both of your stink bomb and the severed head, you should put a wrapped up fish into that room,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I think it's gotta be podcast theme though. I think it's gotta be like, A wrapped up, fishy smelling pair of headphones, something like that. Yeah, so we're really gonna be relying on all of you our Mobile Armored Podcast show fanatics out there to help us figure out what to do. What we're going to do about the podcast next door twice in a row now, I've been interrupted by being told I'm being too loud. But I don't tell you, I get excited when I'm talking about mask. So we'll see, but we need to assemble our team. Dear listeners and let's figure out what we're going to do.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

You've been interrupted twice, there will not be a third time.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

let's talk about what's going on in today's episode It is episode 14 of mask assault on Liberty Venom steals the Statue of Liberty during a magic show and holds it for Ransom, so I think first why don't we go to a history corner here PJ

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah in case people don't know the Statue of Liberty was not doing so well in the 80s, actually had been doing, hadn't been doing so well for a while, so much so that in 1982, Ronald Reagan appointed Lee Iacocca of Chrysler to lead the restoration effort from 1982 to 1986.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I just want to say greatest CEO in history Lee Iacocca is my absolute favorite.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

all right. well,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

He is I don't tell you I love him

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

he's gonna come back up later on in the show. But this actually, this episode would then be taking place, because it was again, 82 to 86, there was peanuts commercials for raising money. episode would be taking place during the last bits of that restoration of the Statue of Liberty. And quite honestly like, with that information in mind, in all likelihood, this magic show that Matt is attending with all these other folks is probably a fundraiser for the restoration. So it's topical. It plays into the moment in time. that was happening in the mid eighties.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

yeah, you're right. because I was curious about why there would be a magic show on Liberty Island But speaking of, so we do open, in fact um, Lady Liberty there, in New York Harbor. There is that magic show happening at the foot of the park with the most stereotypical magician you've ever seen. With a monocle, and a top hat, and all that. Scott, and T Bob, and Matt are there. And for his big finish, the magician is going to make the Statue of Liberty disappear. And Scott wants to know, can he really make the Statue of Liberty disappear? He can. The creepy magician makes it disappear.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Hooray. as a historical note, this takes us to, I think, was it David Copperfield doing this in the mid eighties? Wasn't that

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I don't know if it was the mid 80s, it might have been a little bit later, but I remember specifically that TV special where Copperfield makes it disappear.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

maybe Copperfield was inspired then by this episode, I'll say it was nice to be able to get out of a jungle or a cave or even some random spot in Colorado. So I thought the change of scenery was welcome. Matt's in his suit, Scott's in his daily wear. I love the little flourish from the magician. The lights come on, and the statue will be gone! And everyone loses their shit. Everyone's like, ahhh!

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

The statue does disappear, everyone is thrilled. Especially Scott who stares in awe for a moment. And then claps. I absolutely will be posting the video of Scott's clap on Instagram. It is bizarre, PJ.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I was like, when you pointed it out, I was like, is Scott a seal?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, his hands look more like, fins. Kinda like pointy little fingers and he's just like slapping them together.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

And whatever they were doing, it was so fast. It was also fucking with the interlacing.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

But anyways, now comes the big reveal. The magician has to Make the Statue of Liberty reappear. And he tries, but it doesn't return and the crowd is incensed. They are very upset and like the background dialogue is hilarious. Hey, what's going on? What's this supposed to be? It's a very New York. Hey, Bob, what's going on here?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

it would almost qualify for the writers to get a Buddy Hawks award, except that's actually how New Yorkers talk, so I mean, it's just spot on.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Hey, you want a buddy Hawks of wood? I'll give you a buddy Hawks of wood. You son of a.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, I'll say like, they get so upset. I feel like they're about to rush the stage and kill him. There's some serious mob vibes as they're looking at him. Like this is like New York. The Warriors like vibes going on right there.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

There's definitely this one dude who looks very warriors.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

He does, they zoom in on him for a while as this thing's happening,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

But hey, look, the crowd is upset. Despite the fact that the Statue of Liberty is in serious disrepair, and New York City hasn't cared about it in forever, the crowd is booing. And the cops show up to arrest the magician. The cops were like, Okay. Houdini. And the magician says, My name is Wondro. Get it right as you arrest me and take me to jail, sir.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

The guy's like pulling a full Nelson on him. I'm not sure if you see that, but They are fucking serious about arresting this guy. And I really I love this idea that the cops think he has stolen the Statue of Liberty. And I really wanted to give credit where credit is due. Cause look from the tagline, we know ultimately Venom's behind it. We won't know for a bit, but they also timed the removal perfectly, which was cool. But I also loved how petty they were to ruin someone's career. Like this guy's going to be going back to doing birthday parties after this

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

his marriage is gonna fall apart, he's gonna lose custody of his kids, gonna be evicted from his apartment. He's not gonna be doing birthday parties, he's gonna be doing magic on the subway. For like, Nichols.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

it's rough and it's he didn't deserve it. He was probably like on his way up. Vegas was the next stop for this guy

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Rikers is his next stop.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

That's right, he'll be doing magic in the shower with a guy named Bubba. Anyways, well, Matt tells Scott, Looks like there's some foul play involved. You think? We cut to the headquarters of the Peaceful Nations Alliance which is quite the epic uh, building there in Midtown Manhattan. Matt is meeting with our good friend, Dwayne. In his like top floor office overlooking the whole city. It's a

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It's like, It's a fucking amazing office. it's not even a corner office. He like has the side of one, one of the sides of the building is just basically his office and a window that's just looking out onto the cityscape.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah. Who funds the peaceful nations Alliance? That is some kind of a building.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah. So if you look at the emblem on it again, like we've talked about this before with it, Being located in New York as a headquarters, it helps bolster the theory of a UN stand in.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah and also Dwayne has this heck of an office. I mean What role does he play in the PNA? Because we know there's a PNA president Colonel Mustard there that we saw back in the the, comet episode. You'd think he'd have the killer office, but instead it's it's Dwayne up there in the penthouse. But Matt Tell Scott go look around while we talk and don't touch anything understand So we're just gonna send Scott and T Bob to go look around the PNA building. Maybe not the best idea I'd imagine there's some high security areas that they are in already since they're in the penthouse I'm gonna go ahead and nominate that for a father of the year moment for Matt Duane explains to Matt that, quote, This puts the free world in an awkward position. Can you imagine how terrible it would be if anything happens to such an important symbol of liberty? Dwayne is, he's got his head in his hands, his eyes are clenched, tightly closed. He is really heartbroken by this event. Matt promises that he will solve the case. But then, he goes ahead and shows Dwayne how the magic trick was supposed to work. And first though, he has these security blinds come down from around Dwayne's office. And then he demonstrates to an astonished Dwayne how a one way mirror works, which I guess secrecy is of the utmost importance to Matt, and yet breaking the magician's code is not very important to Matt.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

He's like, fuck those folks. They don't matter.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Does not like magicians.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

apparently not.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Also, in that other, in the episode Highway of Terror where Miles claims to be a magician at the beginning there Matt says, something along the lines of, The only tricks Venom is good at are Dirty ones. So Matt has already shown that he is not a fan of magic. So this just reinforces that dislike.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Speaking of that, it is interesting because again, at this point in the episode, tagline aside, we actually don't know that it's Venom. actually the last time that happened where Matt is taking on something, it's also a request from Dwayne, which was the Rotex. And so there was this little bit of world building in here that Mask will take on task for the PNA, absent Venom, and which kind of made me wonder, again, the axis of the show is the battle between Mask and Venom. I get it. But what other tasks have, has mask taken on for the Do they do wet work? Is there some, some governments that have been toppled? I don't know.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Let's just say the Peaceful Nations Alliance is able to keep up its facade of peacefulness thanks to Matt and the things that they do behind closed doors. Suddenly, the Statue of Liberty appears on a live TV broadcast in a field in Iowa. And Matt says, looks like it's harvest time for mask. No, Matt. not harvest time. You need to go save the Statue of Liberty. What are you talking about?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

So Scott's the one that begs Matt to look at the TV, and he's like, Dad, Dad, you gotta look! And Matt's response is, Not just now, son. Despite Scott trying to help his father Matt's almost categorically against listening to him, even when Scott's right.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Well, It's the agent selection scene. By the way, while Dwayne and Scott are looking over his shoulder,

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Duane's going to get to know the identities of these agents.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, exactly.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

One thing I'll point out this is the fourth episode in a row where Matt is actually away from his headquarters or from his home where he normally does this.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, he's got the suitcase computer.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah. We've been in Japan at, with Magnum all. The Aegean Sea for Solaria Park, the Amazon for the Creeping Terror, and now we're in New York City for Assault on Liberty,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, and for 1985, it must be a heck of a computer and a killer satellite connection.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, there's so much radiation coming off of that computer. It rivals what happens inside the mask. Energization room

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Dwayne's like, you sure you want to do this here? We have a safe room across the hall that it might be, or down in the bunker in the basement.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Don't worry Duane. I make myself and Scott wear lead covered u underwear to make sure that we're safe. You are wearing lead covered underwear, aren't you?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Always, Matt. Always. Here's the team. First up, Bruce Sato. He is playing with yet another remote controlled plane. He gets the call, he runs away, and Plane crashes into a door and Bruce comes out. He's like, Oh no, Brusa is not very responsible with the toys he's designing. And it's starting to become a pattern. I'll point back to the gasoline powered toy cars as another example of that.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I feel like Bruce is becoming the Alex sector of toys. Just destruction and neglect.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Second on the team is Dusty Hayes. Now, Dusty is drying dishes and putting them into a stack that's about three to four feet tall, which right off the bat is not safe. He gets the call and he runs out and that giant stack of plates is about to collapse when a coworker, who by the way, is also carrying like a three foot tall stack of dishes, catches them all. But then Dusty runs back to grab his watch, which he had left on the table, which causes all the dishes and the co worker to fall to the floor. And my assumption is that co worker definitely got injured very badly there.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I'm betting the co worker's dead and like, it's going to be hidden either in a ravine or in Alex's shop.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Third on the team, Buddy Hawks. Buddy curiously is napping underneath a car. The call wakes him up and he hits his head on the top of the car. This guy, Either he's taking Quaaludes, or he's drinking on the job, or he just truly despises what he does. But he's napping underneath a car. What is going on?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I wasn't sure if he intentionally fell asleep under there, or if the radiation coming out of Firecracker made him pass out. He's actually like, he was saved from certain death.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

yeah, the radiation is finally getting to him. The final member of our team is Gloria Baker, champion race driver, black belt in Kung Fu, Team Hottie. She's in a race. She's actually, we actually see her racing. She's about to win. She is crushing it. And then she gets the call, and she swerves and drives off the track, leaving the other drivers all very confused. This is actually a great move by Gloria. She's in a very fast car, and she drives very fast off to Boulder Hill. So this is finally a change, in her pattern of escape

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It's true. Although she did steal that cab that one time. Now, this is a dick move though, by Gloria she very easily could have won. and the way she actually swerved, she actually just fucked up every other race car. So she could have won, then gotten to Boulder Hill without any fancy maneuvers. But basically this is her saying, fuck you, I can win this, but I won't. And now I'm out of here.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

will I not win, none of you will win either. No one will win this race. There you go. That is our team, Gloria, Bruce, buddy, and dusty.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

interesting bit This is actually a direct compliment to last episode's team. so last episode we had Hondo, Alex, and Brad, now we've got Gloria, Bruce, Buddy, and Dusty. I will say, it probably would have been nice to call in the entire team, given the importance of the Statue of Liberty. But whatever.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I wonder if Matt gives them like a week off. Hey, y'all worked pretty hard last week, so you take the week off. I'll call the, I'll call the A team in, or the B team in. We get to Boulder Hill, and there's no talking. They just go right into the radiation chamber of death to get their masks. And then uh, the team rolls out. They arrive in the cornfield in Iowa, where the Statue of Liberty is. And uh, they're immediately attacked by two laser blasts, and surprise, surprise, it's Venom. Piranha and Jackhammer appear. Piranha fires a missile that Gator kinda jumps over. Like it's got hydraulics. Rhino gets thrashed by Jackhammer. And Buddy says, I just knew Venom had to have something to do with this. Yeah, so did we, buddy. We've been watching the show for a while now. But I want to talk about the travel times, if we can, for a second. Can I just map it out for you? Matt Scott and T Bob are in New York when the statue goes missing. They fly from New York back to Denver to be at

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

This, This, is the thing. I didn't think I saw Matt in the masking ceremony. It's a long shot, so I don't actually see,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I'm gonna say Matt was there.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Okay. So he spent the four hours flying to Denver and then another hour and a half hour and 40 minutes to Iowa with the rest of the team. Awesome. Okay.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

And uh, anyways there it is, the Statue of Liberty is seemingly right in a cornfield.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, I would have thought this would be a great opportunity to, for spectrum just to do a quick look see. So it felt like a slightly wasted opportunity. I will say this is actually a really nice ambush plan on the part of Venom. Like they've gotten mask away from New York city. cornfields are good at hiding the sensors. And there's a lot of good animation in this battle. Cool targeting animation from Thunderhawk and Piranha with the faux 3D Tron grid stuff. And, let's point out, Venom is going on the offensive here, despite being outnumbered 2 to 1. So they're like, they're gonna take full advantage of it, and they're Fucking up Rhino with laser blasts. Bruce nearly has to like duck. He's nearly taken out. And actually this is the first time that we know that Venom's involved.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

no sight of the farmer who owns this field, by the way.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

yeah, I kind of wondered like, did they get permission to get onto the cornfield or did they just drive on YOLO style?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I think it's Ray Kinsella, from Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will come. I got a giant statue in my cornfield right now, so I can't Is that what you meant? Because I built the Statue of Liberty. Matt takes to the sky in Thunderhawk he fires a rocket at Piranha meanwhile, Gloria is firing the electric ouch on Gator, and she is an absolute terrible shot, she cannot hit Piranha to save her life. But, it's weird, the rocket catches up to Piranha, and then she's able to make a pinpoint accurate shot at Gator. On the rocket, causing the rocket to explode, which throws Piranha and Slyrax, who is the human ragdoll of the show, flying through the air. Which is cool. I am just curious, why not just let the rocket destroy Piranha?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I think it's worth calling out that rocket was fired from Matt. He is going in for the kill. this is, like no holds barred on both sides. So I think it's clear from multiple occasions, Gloria is in fact a crack shot. And she actually just proved it. I think the missile is a much smaller target. Yeah. Then Piranha but we also know she really enjoys the adrenaline rush of being a part of Mask, so I think like Matt, she doesn't want the game to end, so she intentionally misses, and furthermore, she actually intentionally hits the rocket, so that Sly isn't killed, but, comically tossing him to put him probably back in traction again Gloria! By her own admission, is in it for the fun and the danger.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Jackhammer and Piranha do in fact escape. surprise, Surprise. So Venom's gone Bruce spots some kind of an electric device on a scarecrow that starts beeping. But rather than warn them or point it out, he says, An object need not look like a fish to smell like one. This would have been a great time for being 100 percent clear on what you're seeing, Bruce. Buddy says, Say what? And I completely agree with him.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

This is not the time, man. It's a bomb. I would normally be nominating buddy for his own award, but I actually think he's actually in the right. Like this is confusing and the wrong time, especially.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Matt uses Spectrum to find a bomb planted at the base of the statue. And he says, Oh no!

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah. This was the good use of spectrum that I kind of hoped would have happened earlier to tip them off,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

couldn't he have used Spectrum just to look at the statue? To discover that it's not actually there. It seems like an obvious first way to go, but alas he does not go that route and mask is about to be blown to smithereens. What's going to happen to PJ.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I don't know. I don't know.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

We will find out after these messages

Mask doesn't know what it's getting into. We'll be right back. Now back to mask and venom.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

and we're back it turns out the Statue of Liberty was just a hologram, and the bomb is in fact meant to destroy Mask. Gloria uses Aura Shield to protect them, so it blows up, but Aura saves their lives. Phew.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

couple bits of world building in here. This hologram technology is another billion dollar tech. It's not the focus of the episode, but it occurred to me that Miles, which in the comics has been named as one of the authors of the masks, actually replicated the tech Brad's hocus pocus. We've also kind of expanded the fact that Aura has got multiple modes as well. it's not just a pulser. It's has a deflection shield mode. And then, Clifton, Sly, wait until mask is as close as possible before detonating the bomb. Which is a great plan and the bio animation is pretty crazy, great.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

explosion.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, in the middle of this cornfield.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

and leaves a giant crater in the middle of a cornfield.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Who's gonna pay the farmer?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

It's

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Who's

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

You can send your invoice to the Peaceful Nations Alliance.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Matt pins a note right in the middle of the cornfield.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

as I pointed out, this is a really interesting move by Venom to actually try to destroy masks. So they are getting better and better At their dastardly schemes. Now we have that buddy and dusty humor at the end we were this close to being turned into popcorn. Aw, shucks. That's a corny thing to say. Do I detect a kernel of humor there? Guys, you almost died. There's a case to solve. I get it. It's a little funny interplay. Dusty and Buddy are becoming better friends, but get it together. We have got a case to solve.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

it was either an animation mistake or Buddy was doing a dusty impression with that first line. But again, this is like cavalier talk from these guys, but maybe this is how they deal with nearly dying twice. they aren't like the junkies for fun that Matt, Gloria, and probably Hondo are for this stuff. Like they just have to deal with this with like really like offbeat humor and maybe alcohol

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, those boys go out drinking after each mission, for sure. They're trying to figure out why would Venom want to fight Mask in a cornfield in Iowa? Bruce says, The clever bird feigns distress to conceal her real nest. And Dusty's response is, Come again, good buddy? And Matt says, what Bruce means is that Venom deliberately lured us here. And Dusty says, Oh, I see. Maybe Dusty is trying to learn the Sado isms. Who knows? But Matt then explains that this means the statue is still in New York.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, I agree I think dusty actually is just confused cuz like the difference here and I still don't actually nominate him for a buddy Hawks award Mainly because in the past it's like, Hey, I'm confused and I'm going to make a disparaging comment about you, Bruce. Like my brain must be scrambled I will say though, again, like they've lured mask away from New York. And it's a nice plan to, divert basically resources away. So great job, Venom. You're credible.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

venomous crushing it this episode. and speaking of Venom Dwayne from the PNA calls in turns out Venom has delivered a ransom note. They want$3 billion in three hours or else they'll blow up the real Statue of Liberty and broadcast it to the world. And I gotta say. All right. Now we're talking 3 billion. That is a solid dollar amount to be asking and pretty high stakes too. We're going to blow up the Statue of Liberty. Now it's not necessarily endangering lives or anything like that, but you know, put on a good show, blow up the statue or get the money you're looking for. I like it.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I do too. it's real stakes. It's very concrete. I will comically say two episodes ago, Venom was asking for 25 million in gold bullion or they're going to destroy a city and probably the earth. now they're asking for 3 billion not to destroy the statue of Liberty. So I feel like we need to go to economics corner for a second. so the, the 1880 cost of. building the Statue of Liberty in the 19th century dollars was 650, 000. I've seen a few different numbers where they try to like, met out the materials. But this is the highest thing I've seen. So I'm going to go with that. And if you do inflation, which gets a little wonky because you can't do the calculator before 1913, but it basically the rough cost in 2024 dollars is 20 million. And In 85 is 7 million. at 3 billion in, 1985 dollars, like Venom is asking about 400 times the cost of replacement. Now, even if you try to factor in Hey, maybe building regulations, 10 X the costs. It's still like 70 million versus 3 billion. Billion dollars. I'll fully say you cannot put a price on a priceless symbol of freedom in history. But the PNA might be thinking about this one and like running scenarios like what would be the economic splash damage that would come out of this?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

If I'm the PNA, I'm thinking, You want three billion dollars, or you're going to blow up a statue that's in disrepair? I think we'll let you go ahead and do that, and then we'll just spend twenty million to build a new one. I think what it is is that Miles just, Does not have a real handle on economics. It's not his forte. He just kind of spins. the wheel of fortune or he looks at the magic eight ball. Like how much should I ransom the world for? He seems to not have a problem with money based on the number of times they have to repair or rebuild the Venom vehicles or the giant machines that they create. Money does not seem to be an issue where it's coming from. We're not necessarily sure. So he just doesn't seem to care. 25 million, 3 billion, whatever. He just rolls the dice. They do this weird thing. They know that they've got three hours to go before Miles is going to blow up the statue. And so the mask team still in the cornfield, they do this weird thing where they synchronize their mask watches into countdown mode. Cool. So you've got a timer on your watch. Wow. Good stuff. It is 1985. So I understand. They said it's a three hours, but if you notice. When it starts counting, it begins at 3 hours and 59 seconds, which means that if it counts down if they're really pressing against time, they're gonna be one minute late from stopping the destruction of the statue. Well, Anyways they've got to get from Iowa to New York City, right? So they're either flying or the driving time, because we never see the masked jet, but we cut right to them driving on the strangely free of traffic streets of New York City.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

So right before they leave, Bruce is like three hours. It's barely enough time to get there. And I double checked on this to get from like New York to, IOQI It's three hours. So that's, that is accurate. So their jet has to leave immediately and then basically break the sound barrier to get there. No commercial speeds. I had two theories on the traffic. What happened with it? Theory number one, the police have cordoned off the traffic. Theory number two. The PNA put out a press release saying there's a new Simon and Garfunkel concert happening in the Bronx and everyone vacated Manhattan.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Either way those streets are empty And again animators, that could have actually built up some tension You know, they're trying to, how are they going to get across the Brooklyn Bridge to get downtown Manhattan to get across to the Statue of Liberty? They're stuck in traffic. Cool, some of our vehicles fly. But anyways, they don't do that. Now that they've arrived in New York, Matt looks at his watch, and it took them two and a half hours to get there. So there's only 30 minutes left. Bruce discovers there's an old, uncompleted subway tunnel from Lower Manhattan to Liberty Island.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, I found it out using the computer and he printed out a map in Rhino, which again, I guess they have a printer in Rhino so for some reason, there is this nice bit of animation where they're finding all this out where Thunderhawk is flying near a building that's mirrored, and they do the reflection and it's like, someone had to do that. This is not computer animation.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, no, someone thought of that and I didn't notice that as well. I was like, ah, That's pretty cool. Firecracker and Rhino are gonna go into the old subway tunnel. And Matt's trying to figure out where is Venom's hideout. the computer can't even figure it out. there's too many buildings. There's no way for the computer to, to sort out where Miles would have set up his hideout. And so in the largest leap of logic of the episode which is gonna get, My nomination for Matt's Sleep of Logic Award. Matt just assumes that Venom's hideout is on the top floor of the World Trade Towers.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

it is a leap of logic, but I did actually wanted to point out like, Matt is talking to himself at this point in time He says mayhem's ego wouldn't risk him being caught in that subway tunnel. So he is leaning into miles penchant for the dramatic. And then he says mayhem would pick the biggest and tallest building. And then that's how he comes up with the world trade center, which I agree. It's still a leap of logic. But it's, it's interesting because we've established many times now Miles's particular flair for the dramatic. And this idea of him like, I don't want to be caught in a hole, Does fit into that ego thing. So

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Matt knows his nemesis well.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

it does Did you find it funny how firecracker and Rhino blow up an entrance to the subway tunnel and charge in, and we're talking like, we're talking like a heavy duty It's like an F 350, and a semi, going into the station, then the tunnel itself.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

How does Rhino even fit down

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I don't know.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

the station?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It must be a massive station that was cordoned off.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Well, And speaking of Firecracker and Rhino they're driving through the subway tunnel when accidentally Firecracker trips this kind of laser wire, which causes an explosion that blocks the subway tunnel. By way of Rubble from Venom falling from the ceiling. Now it's not boulders this time, so I'll point that out, but yet again, Venom using its number one attack, which is Rubble or boulders blocking a path. Now it seems like they're completely trapped, and Buddy says maybe. Penetrator's the only way to get through. And so he uses penetrator and he gets himself and firecracker through, but then Bruce just uses Rhino to bust through the rocks, doesn't even use any of the cannons or anything. So it seems like there was no way they're going to get past. And then within 45 seconds, Buddy goes through the penetrator and then Bruce just smashes right through the boulders. Like, all right. Not much of an obstacle.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

there's a funny little line where Bruce basically like, hey, wait for me! It would have been actually kind of a nice callback because Buddy says, I hope Penetrator has enough power because we've seen Buddy hook himself up to Firecracker to boost the power of Penetrator. It could have been a nice little just moment there. Unstated.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

what I thought they were going to do.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

There is clearly no reason whatsoever to have to use Penetrator in that moment because Rhino could have just busted through. But anyways, they arrive at the base of the statue, and they find bombs attached to it. then suddenly, the statue starts to rise from its hiding spot with Bruce and Buddy on it. And they find a radio detonation device, and they call to Gloria, who is in Gator along with Dusty. And they ask her to use aura and radio frequency mode to block out the radio detonation. She can't cover the whole tower or it doesn't have the power, but uh, you know, she's holding on for as long as she can

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah, a few things on this. Once again, an amazing creation from venom of building a hydraulic system capable of lowering and raising the Statue of Liberty. Again, that's really impressive engineering. It's not science fiction. It's just like, you were working on this plan for a while,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

How in the world did they lower the Statue of Liberty during the magic show? One, with the amount of speed it would take to get it down during the few seconds that the, it's supposed to be disappeared during the magic show, but two, without making any noise.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

this is a really good point and let's push on this one. Cause like we just saw Miles replicate Hocus Pocus with the hologram. grav system of Jackrabbit and Lifter? Basically, because quite honestly and maybe they finished the restoration themselves internally to make sure that it could actually withstand the shock of coming down like that. But yeah, I mean, honestly you, you would probably need something on the level of one of those technologies of either Jackrabbit or Lifter. To pull that off, but just at scale. So like, They are tapping into Con Ed at that point in time.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Bruce and Buddy have to climb all over the Statue of Liberty to

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

well,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

these bombs.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

at the very least, Bruce is scaling the side of the Statue of Liberty, which I felt was weird, because he could have used Lifter to safely lift Buddy to all the spots. And this was like, Bruce like we've seen him before like, Gymnastic style, like jumping down off of cliffs. So it felt like a flex move on Bruce's part. Just be like, look, I'm bad ass. New mask power again for Aura. We've got radio mode and now

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

to look a lot like Spectrum. How is she getting these new mask powers from Matt? What's going on here?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I think we know why. Meanwhile, while all this is going on, Miles and Vanessa are watching from their world trade center hideout, and Miles laughs, only a few minutes left. And it truly seems like he'd rather blow up the statue than get his three billion dollars. Now, it does turn out he would have blown up the statue anyways. Quote, just to know who they're dealing with.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I felt in this moment, like he has to be prepared for his entire organization to get SEAL Team 6. they're just gonna come in and they're gonna take all them out one by one.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

well, And then suddenly pretty cool. Thunderhawk appears hovering right in front of the window there. And Matt jumps out and does a cannonball through the window. into the hideout there. Those windows on the world trade center are really tough. So Matt must be incredibly strong or armored in order to jump out Thunderhawk doesn't shoot a laser or anything. He just barrel rolls out of Thunderhawk smashing through the window

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

maybe he used like kind of some spectrum vibration to weaken it or something like that. Miles sees him and doesn't say a word. But he just shoots Viper. He like tries to like kill him right off the bat like

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yep.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

one's pulling punches right now

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah. There's a lot at stake here. So Miles and Vanessa run away, and Matt sees that the detonator has been activated. And tells Gloria that she's gonna need to hold Aura for as long as she can.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah This is actually a cool shot because they cut back to almost an identical shot of Gloria except there's visible steam now coming off of her mask like it is clearly overheating at this point in time

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

I agree with that. I also want to point out that in that shot Dusty is very clearly looking at her butt. He, He is checking out her ass in that moment. I, there's no other way to look at it. I will show you all online on Instagram. what else is he looking at?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Dusty, you might want to be doing something else right now. Anything else? Yeah, the stakes are high though. And which makes it all the worse that he's looking at her butt.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Piranha fires a torpedo at Gator, Dusty fires a depth charge to blow it up But then I noticed some kind of weird laser arrow comes flying out of the water after the detonation and blows up Piranha? What is that?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

the laser arrow was weird. I guess we're supposed to believe it came from the depth charge, but it looked like a misdirected stiletto.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, it would have been fine if just the depth charge had detonated the torpedo and then that was what blew Piranha up. But no, a weird laser arrow from nowhere. Now Matt is suddenly out of the World Trade Center and he's in Thunderhawk and we got ourselves in a Thunderhawk Jackhammer showdown, which we don't see very often. fires these laser blasts at Jackhammer that apparently disintegrate. Because we do like a very cartoony thing, like all that's left after Matt fires is Cliff, a steering wheel, and his seat.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Yeah. It's like Cliff becomes a ragdoll at that moment in time. Like he's the new sly racks and he crashes into a tele, like a pole, a light pole. It's great battle animation, but it's a little like, no one's pulling punches, man, at all.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, this is a hardcore Masked Venom battle. Maybe the roughest one we've seen the whole series so far. And meanwhile, we've got Bruce and Buddy, they're disarming the bombs. But there are a few left. And Aura is about to run out of power, so he tells her to switch it off. Bruce uses Lifter to throw the final bombs off of Lady Liberty and onto Switchblade. And the ensuing explosion is like nuclear sized. It's nearly the Death Star blowing up. It is a massive explosion. If Switchblade isn't destroyed, then half of downtown Manhattan absolutely is wiped out. In that kind of explosion. It's huge, right?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It was a huge explosion. I was like, I don't know what they're using. Cause like even like C4, which is probably what they would have been using as the explosive material. Can't create an explosion that big but a lot of great tension here still buddy says to Bruce, there's no time left. Gloria's mask is burning out. Like they have to come up with that plan to like, you know, have a lift or throw the. Explosives away. They do a really nice job of keeping a tense kind of a fun exchange with Dusty and Gloria afterwards where like Dusty's like, you okay, Gloria? And Gloria is like, I'm fine. I really feel like Gloria who is such an adrenaline junkie is now basking in that afterglow of that rush of like nearly dying. There's something about it for her.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

We have demonstrated it time and time again, is this is what Gloria is into. She's a massive adrenaline junkie. Now Miles somehow survives that nuclear explosion over the harbor. And we know because he pops up in the water and kind of raises his fist, I guess, while he's treading water. Says there'll be a next time mask, which is frankly a bit hard to believe seeing as he's. All alone in the water, with no one coming to save him. But uh, okay.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

This seems like it would be a great time to capture Miles right now.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Venom has been thwarted and we cut to the mansion where Scott is putting on a magic show. He's going to make T Bob disappear. Yes, please. Let's do it, Scott. He puts T Bob in a box but T Bob says he's scared and he wants his mommy. And Scott says, I keep telling you, you're not alive, you don't have a mommy. Scott is getting real rough on T Bob. are getting better, Venom's plots are getting a little tighter, Scott is getting more and more sociopathic towards T Bob.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It's really almost this transference where like, He is desperate for his father's attention and not getting it. And so he's

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

it out on his poor robot, who one day will go Roy Batty on him, hold him by the skull, kiss him, and then push his eyeballs in.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

We're all looking forward to that, episode 75. T Bob ends up accidentally breaking the glass that was supposed to hide him during the trick. And he says, Just what I need, another seven years of bad luck. And everyone laughs. Boy, they all sure hate T Bob. But one thing I do need to point out here, though, is that he says, Another seven years of bad luck? Which means that T Bob feels that the past seven years of his existence has been horrific. Which,

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Do you blame him?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Scott, and everyone else treat him, I don't blame him.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It's absolutely true. I think, you know, we're supposed to find him kind of incredibly annoying, but now I just can keep recently get incredibly sad for him. I feel like T Bob doesn't really deserve this he is what he was created to be. You know, The companion of a lonely boy and that's it, and now he's just constantly being treated horribly. So I feel, I'm feeling a lot worse for T Bob, cause even Scott joins in on the laughter of laughing at him.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yep. We then move into the more you know moment. Which seemingly takes place right after the magic show. It is night time It must be pretty late at night, is what I thought since there's a whole magic show happening in the evening and everyone's kind of in short sleeves, so it's the summer in Colorado, so I'm assuming the sun's not really going down until like 8, 9 o'clock ish so it's after 9 o'clock, when 12 year old Scott tells his dad that he's gonna go walk to his friend's house heh. Wearing his magician's outfit, by the way. And he promises that he'll cross at the crosswalks like he always does. But Matt's biggest concern is not that it's kinda late, son. Maybe see your friend tomorrow. His biggest concern is he wants him to wear brighter clothes, so the cars can see him more easily. Okay, that's the lesson when walking after dark in your neighborhood, wear bright clothes.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

yeah this is uh, of a fun and weird lesson cause we got Matt who lives on a giant palatial estate. And my question is, does Scott's friends, they must live nearby, right? Do they also live on giant palatial estates? And for what reason is Matt okay with Scott leaving the house? So late at night maybe to stay over at a friend's house. Gloria did come over.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

that is true, Gloria was there, and he doesn't want Scott around. Well, It's a big, it's a big estate, so. Probably can't hear what happens in Matt's bedroom but also like T Bob's not going with him. Like he could ride on T Bob, probably get there pretty quickly, but also Matt's a billionaire. Can't he just have a driver take him

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

It's a, it's,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

let's check on some of our awards. The buddy Hawks award. I don't have anything. Do you?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I don't, as I said like, The times that we hit the kind of common tropes with kind of the Satuisms, they were not followed up by the typical disparaging remarks that, Really earn you the reward. And, we don't really have the sort of trope of the typical indigenous people that we're going after.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

nope.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

so great job. We didn't have one last episode. That's two episodes in a row

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

award our buddy Hawks racism

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Let me just correct you. We had the Buddy Hawks Lifetime Achievement Award given to the writers of Mask last episode, so

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

That's,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

a pretty big one.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

that is true. but none of the mask agents earned it.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Right. You are correct. Father of the Year Award. There are a handful of moments in here. What do you think?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I mean, certainly like, Scott being ignored by his dad is kind of the common trope in there. I'll be honest, this was a, I, it was a fairly great episode. So I forgot about Scott and T Bob. In the same way Matt probably did. But the last time we saw them, they were with Dwayne at the PNA tower. So maybe he actually put them into Dwayne's hands, but we don't really know. So like, there's definitely this unstated moment of neglect that's in there,

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Yeah, I mean, for me, it's, when they're in the tower and he sends Scott and T Bob off go look around, but don't touch anything. You understand? uh, So, that's mine but that brings us PJ.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

well, I want to, I do, I want to pour one out one again for the magician, cause I was, I was thinking about this one a lot. So he was framed and arrested for the larceny of the statue of Liberty. And he was then questioned by the New York city cops of the mid eighties, which I doubt was a pleasant time. And once again, Reagan had appointed Lee Iacocca to lead the restoration of the statue of 82. and if you look at the full roundup of political figures at the time, that means that Lee Iacocca, New York Mayor Ed Koch, Governor Mario Cuomo, and President Reagan would be bearing down on local law enforcement to get some results. So I really feel bad for this poor magician, and I hope someone had the foresight to call the cops before they like went really deep into questioning him.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Say wait, wait, wait, no, it wasn't him, it was Venom. Um, well, I guess scrape him off the floor and send him back home to his wife and kids.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I definitely imagine this Dark Knight, WHERE ARE THEY? moment happening in that inventory. WHERE IS IT?

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Well, also, there's no Brutality in the 80s. It's simply the way things are done here. really not going to become an issue until the nineties and into the 2000, certainly the present day. So it's 1985 in New York city, in a New York city police precinct, what happens behind those walls what happens.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

so.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

it for episode 14, episode 15, the scepter of Rajim. Venom steals a mystical scepter from an Indian city whose inhabitants hold the Masked Team hostage until its return. Matt Tracker must work alone to get it back. Will we have a culturally sensitive take on the inhabitants of the Indian city who hold the Masked Team hostage?

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

We can always hope. if we look at past performance the evidence is not in favor of cultural sensitivity, but I guess we'll find out real soon.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

It's the show we know and love. It is what it is. You signed up for the same ride we have. But, that's it for us. We gotta transform and head back to headquarters. Thanks as always for listening to us. A shout out to everyone on Instagram. Uh, Keep on sending us the love. We're love seeing all the uh, the subscriptions to the pod kicking up. And also by the way, just a moment which I've been neglecting to do hello to all our fans in Dublin. We have got a a surprisingly large fan base over there in, in Ireland. If you're listening, why don't you give us a, just reach out to us on Instagram. Tell us what's up. We'd love to, to, learn who this community is in Dublin. That's a huge fan of both Maska and our podcast. is that welcome

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

I

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

in Gaelic? Uh, well, I don't know.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

a Buddy Hawks award ourselves.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

My apologies. Both of us are of Irish ancestry. Um, But anyways, we have to transform. Head back to HQ. Thanks for coming along for the ride with us. I am Adam Moore.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

And I am PJ McNerney.

adam_1_06-21-2024_100403:

Buh bye.

pj_1_06-21-2024_110403:

Buh bye.

​The mobile armored podcast show is written, produced and edited. Bye Adam Moore. And PJ McNerney.