Mobile Armored Podcast Show

V.E.N.O.M.'s Desperate Cry For Help

• Adam Moore and PJ McNerney • Season 1 • Episode 26

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WE'RE BACK FROM HIATUS! Unfortunately, V.E.N.O.M. probably wishes they could go on hiatus. Once the mightiest terrorist organization in the world, Miles Mayhem's bunch has been reduced to living in a leak-prone shanty in the middle of the jungle. It's not even for an evil scheme... this is just where they live now. Sad. That, plus T-Bob becomes a God (again?), Scott threatens T-Bob with a hammer, and one of West Coast Hip Hop's greatest icons is thawed out and revived! Welcome back to the Mobile Armored Podcast Show!!!

https://www.instagram.com/m.a.s.k.podcast/

Adam:

Welcome to the Mobile Armored podcast show. The podcast that transforms into a podcast about the mysterious cities of gold. I am Adam Moore alongside my co host and best friend, PJ McNerney and PJ, we are back.

PJ:

This feels so good

Adam:

good to be back from our, from our hiatus. We needed to rest. We needed to rest our vocal cords. We needed to rest our brains from 25 episodes of Mask. Scrambling them. a weary world now celebrates as The Mobile Armored Podcast show returns.

PJ:

wait, We shouldn't lie to our audience. In reverse order, like, this past week, we had to miss a record because there was a major fire in my neck of the woods, and I don't mean that as, like, some kind of metaphor. I mean, literally, we were under pre evacuation orders to potentially leave. And where was Mask? Somewhere in the Andes.

Adam:

Where was the ice beam when you needed it?

PJ:

Fucking send Gator out, man. Or that freeze bomb from Rhino.

Adam:

so here we are, folks, beginning the second third of the series, 26. Secret of the Andes Mask must protect a revived Incan priest who has been frozen in an ice, found in the Andes, from Venom, who may know the secret location El Dorado.

PJ:

Just stop right there. Now you've probably edited this out already, but it took you like three times to get through that sentence because let's face it. That's insane,

Adam:

It's

PJ:

like,

Adam:

insane.

PJ:

we're, we're in bonkers land right now, and Adam, what does that have to do with a toy that's all about powered masks and transforming cars?

Adam:

It has absolutely nothing to do with it.

PJ:

Okay, feels like it would be great for like a failed or like a failed pilot of like an Indiana Jones cartoon. Like I could totally see that

Adam:

kid, a robot, and a revived ancient Incan priest going on adventures in the Amazon rainforest.

PJ:

I love it.

Adam:

Well, we open with Matt, Scott, and T Bob skiing in the Andes. some untouched natural beauty, no less. Like this is not a ski resort. This is just pristine mountains and Matt Scott and T Bob are just tearing through it.

PJ:

I really enjoy how the only way they probably could have gotten there was to be airlifted you know, dropped out, like just to go skiing in an area that you're right is untamed. This is pristine nature. Andy's like, you have to pay someone under the table in the government to ski this area.

Adam:

Yeah. Or, or not, or just, you know, cross borders illegally and be dropped out of the sky from Thunderhawk, but anyways, yeah. Matt is having a blast, he thinks it's fun, but Scott says he's freezing, and for goodness sake, buy this kid a real coat.

PJ:

Look, I'm going to go to bat for Matt on this one. That is the warmest coat in Andy's closet. Give him a break. How else can he project his feelings towards his long lost younger brother, except by clothing his adopted son in his dead brother's clothes.

Adam:

I'll

PJ:

But you're right. You're right, he is freezing. It is not cool at all. And his reac Matt's reaction? He's just smiling.

Adam:

Yes. Freeze, my boy, freeze. Well, suddenly, a giant eagle overhead, And then a huge avalanche begins and they take cover behind an outcropping. But T Bob rolls down the hill, like one of those, you know, snowballs in a cartoon that keeps getting bigger and bigger. And let's be honest though, this avalanche would have killed all of them. Right?

PJ:

Yes.

Adam:

not, they're all dead. So there's your Slyrax ragdoll award already.

PJ:

Right off the bat or like a minute in maybe I'm going to actually make a presumption here is that there's a way of reading this episode as the dying fantasy of Scott. Like everything from here on out is basically like Scott's trapped under the ice, losing oxygen. And this is just like, what's coming up. That explains a lot.

Adam:

Does that mean the rest of the Mask series is all part of Scott's, like, dying fantasy?

PJ:

Yeah, this is now, we're now entering Temi Westfall Tommy Westfall territory at this point in time. Like this entire, like the rest of it is basically like Scott imagining, Oh boy. And then I'm not there for racing, but I'm with my new mom, Gloria, and we're having an amazing time. what did this eagle have to do with the avalanche?

Adam:

I think it's when it made its call.

PJ:

Is it, or is it more likely when you're skiing in an area that's off limits, like you might actually like cause an avalanche to occur?

Adam:

Right, that's exactly why you're not allowed to ski there, Matt.

PJ:

Right? Presuming that this is not a fantasy, how amazing is Scott's strength? Like, he is manhandling this heavy robot to prevent from being swept away from the snow.

Adam:

Yeah, mean, he must work out wherever Matt works out, or is taking the same that Matt injects in himself.

PJ:

It was the 80s. It was a very different time, man.

Adam:

the avalanche ends, and they're all alive, amazingly, and Scott spots something shiny in the distance, and they go over to it, and it turns out to be an Incan priest. Encased in ice and Matt says he must have been frozen for hundreds of years

PJ:

I mean, Matt, the right thing to say is he's been dead for hundreds of years. He's frozen to death. Like, sure.

Adam:

very well preserved. I will say that much and the ice is Crystal clear.

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

you know, but you're right. He's dead

PJ:

Yeah. I mean, this is the same kind of like crystal clarity that you get out of like, The fortress of solitude in Superman, where it's like, you know, he's encased in that, that crystal chamber. How does Matt know this guy's an Incan priest?

Adam:

It's a great point It's a, I mean, he's wearing a headdress.

PJ:

Sure. But like, I mean, I don't think you or I, if we saw a frozen body, like would know, Oh, that's an Incan priest. I mean, maybe at best we'd know the history of the area and be like, It's Incan, I guess,

Adam:

You make an excellent point. Another Matt leap of logic.

PJ:

or he's like funding expeditions and is studying the shit constantly.

Adam:

Well, look, he's funding something because what's the first thing they do after they find this guy? They take him to an advanced science facility. thaw him out. Like, why on earth would you do this? And to me, the quote that came to my mind was, your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think whether they should. they're thawing the guy out try to bring him back to life.

PJ:

All right. We have to go to science corner for a second here. All right. Can you unfreeze someone frozen in ice? The answer is not with our current technology.

Adam:

like a skeleton or a mummified remains of

PJ:

Sure,

Adam:

before,

PJ:

yeah, right to revivify someone to bring them back to life, like, because like, you get this crystallization of the brain tissue from the blood. So you actually have to replace the blood with something else in order to perform this to, to be sure. Then again, maybe the doctor about to meet has. other advanced methods. I had one other question for you. Is it possible that the person we're about to revivify has diseases for which we have no natural defenses for? Like kind of a reverse smallpox upon the modern man?

Adam:

I think that's a possibility, though, I mean, I do go back to, you know, how smallpox killed off so many people in the quote unquote new world, and that it's very likely that our Incan priest here would catch something from Matt or Scott or T Bob, and end up dying the end the episode. Which, by the way, I'm gonna put a little bookmark here. ever find out what happens to the priest after the end of the episode?

PJ:

I mean, as far as I know, no, but let's revisit that question.

Adam:

Okay. Can we talk about the cryogenic doctor who

PJ:

Oh my god,

Adam:

So his name is Dr. Wolfsburg. He's clearly German. Is this a boys from Brazil situation here? I mean, he's some kind of a mad scientist. He's got his own Frankenstein monster. is so unethical. Like what is going on here?

PJ:

whoa, it is not unethical in the country they're in at that point in time, okay? There's some very flexible laws in, you know, in a country that probably has no extradition treaty. Let's break this one down by what's in the episode. The scientist, who is clearly German, states, in all my years of cryogenic research, I've seen nothing like it.

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

Years. So, the year is 85. Should we presume this doctor's about in his mid sixties?

Adam:

Yeah. We can say that.

PJ:

Where was he 40 years earlier? Was he just getting out of med school?

Adam:

in 1945 in Germany,

PJ:

Why did he flee to South America then?

Adam:

all great questions. Maybe he just liked the weather better,

PJ:

sure. And you know what? I would feel like I would be probably talking crazy if this isn't the first time we've encountered this.

Adam:

right?

PJ:

We've had

Adam:

least one other.

PJ:

another one where there's a German scientist in South America.

Adam:

Yeah. With, with life extending right? That's what it was, right? It was like, could

PJ:

Yes, that was the dinosaur blood one.

Adam:

Yeah. Well, I mean, I guess operation paperclip didn't manage to scoop these two up.

PJ:

Guess not.

Adam:

thing in South America.

PJ:

Do you think it's weird that, you know, because this is very much like in the era after Boys from Brazil, the Odessophile Marathon Man, like, like the writers are clearly channeling. I'm not crazy, am I? I mean,

Adam:

I don't think, I mean, clearly made this guy German with a capital G. Like he is like, the accent is very Dr. Strangelove, honestly, is I feel like they really leaned hard into that.

PJ:

yeah, yeah, I agree.

Adam:

So can we talk about why Scott and T Bob are allowed in this room?

PJ:

I guess, who's funding it, Adam?

Adam:

Never explicitly said.

PJ:

Who's funding it, Adam?

Adam:

I don't think Matt would want, actually, it to be known whether or not he's funding an operation such as this.

PJ:

Wait a second, okay, hold on. You're saying Matt doesn't have creative ways to fund a secret operation? Away from the prying eyes of any government? Are you saying he doesn't already have experience in this?

Adam:

Touche. Well, anyways, folks, it works. Incan priest wakes up. He sees T Bob and Immediately begins worshipping him. T Bob says, Somebody tell him I don't have any spare change. BuddyHawk's nomination, right there.

PJ:

100%. I had a, I had a sub question though.

Adam:

huh.

PJ:

Are we going to nominate him based on. Racism or classism?

Adam:

Both.

PJ:

All right,

Adam:

It's both.

PJ:

it's both t bob is both racist and classist.

Adam:

Very much so.

PJ:

Scott and t bob are also freaked out.

Adam:

Yeah, they really are.

PJ:

matt is like calm as a cucumber

Adam:

Yeah, it's like, he's, it's almost as if he's seen this before.

PJ:

right Exactly.

Adam:

Perhaps failed attempts at it though. I'm thinking like, you know The Fly. Like

PJ:

It's like,

Adam:

Fly type things have happened in the past and it hasn't worked. And this time he's overjoyed that

PJ:

Oh,

Adam:

they revived. A frozen dead body.

PJ:

which implies they have frozen and unthawed many, many times before. Oh, it worked this time. Oh, good.

Adam:

Well

PJ:

out of three.

Adam:

Well done, Dr. Rolfsberg. Well the priest is worshiping T Bob and there's some other scientists there who apparently Ancient Incan, like the spoken language, which has never been heard before, but okay, he explains that the priest's name is Tupac. That's right, folks. It's Tupac of West coast, hip hop royalty. who departed us. Far earlier than he should have.

PJ:

Indeed,

Adam:

who came first?

PJ:

So,

Adam:

Incan priest or Tupac, the rapper. Right.

PJ:

up, Tupac's, Shakur the, the famous rapper he only started his career in 89. So Tupac the priest actually came first which begs the question, where did Tupac Shakur get his name from?

Adam:

Well, I'm going to actually look that up. When was Tupac born? Okay. Well, he was born in 1971, and his name is Tupac. Like

PJ:

Right,

Adam:

his given name. It was Tupac. So we can't, unfortunately we cannot connect. This Tupac's name, to the reason why Tupac Shakur was named. However, we can pretend. Right.

PJ:

but they probably are on to us already at this point. I had a question on this scientist, does he actually understand ancient Incan, or do you think he's just making shit up?

Adam:

Yeah, he's getting paid as an interpreter for language that no one understands

PJ:

Oh,

Adam:

say whatever he wants anyways.

PJ:

oh, he's Tupac, like he's just

Adam:

also reveals that Tupac thinks T Bob is the god of prosperity and Dr. Himmler, I mean Wolfsburg, uh, explains to Matt that T Bob should probably play along because it will help with the priest's acclimation to this new reality.

PJ:

Alright, this is where I stopped and I said, hold on, however you slice it, like, this doctor is a genius for bringing someone back from being frozen, so, full credit.

Adam:

huh.

PJ:

What the fuck does he know about trying to re acclimate someone, like with this psych quackery? Unless

Adam:

Mm

PJ:

his first rodeo with this sort of thing.

Adam:

Indeed. And this is why it's going to work this time. Because they have something to help him acclimate. Unlike the other 15 who thawed out, monsters, and they had to put down. I want to just sort of time check everyone here. is all about four minutes into the episode. Like we're not even into the action of the episode yet. Mm

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

so it turns out the priest was on his way to bless El Dorado, the mythical city of gold, when the gods closed the mountain.

PJ:

What?

Adam:

was the avalanche that froze him a thousand years ago?

PJ:

I, I mean, look, at this point I'm good with believing that it was a god or aliens as gods bringing the mountain down to freeze him because like you would probably need alien tech to freeze him correctly. Correct. Right. All right. We've seen it before. Star Chariot.

Adam:

cryogenically this state. So yeah, it probably was Yeah, we We have indeed. We have indeed. It's all, it's all connected, PJ. Well, we catch up to Venom, and it's very sad. I'm, once again, feeling very bad for Venom in this episode. They're hanging out in a Thatched roof cabin in the woods. It's raining out and like the roof is leaking, like drips are coming through the ceiling and they've got like an opened, of beans, like emptied out can of beans. That's catching the water on this table where miles is examining the map of the area. It's

PJ:

mm.

Adam:

racks. This is the last time I let you choose our headquarters. There's a ton of sophisticated computer equipment in there. So just like all around not a great idea.

PJ:

Mm mm.

Adam:

Miles says if I wanted a 24 hour shower, I would have brought my shampoo. And Sly's response is, can always use a shower mayhem. I'm like whoa! First, sick burn.

PJ:

Yes.

Adam:

Second, is this because Miles is always wearing the same uniform

PJ:

I mean,

Adam:

and over again?

PJ:

it could be, it'd be nice if he, you know, he washed it every once in a while. Let's talk about like, this is open revolt against mayhem at this point in time, like zero respect.

Adam:

100%.

PJ:

That said, can you blame him? I mean, Venom used to have some pretty sophisticated underground bases. They had a sub, they were in the Arctic, which was like all, you know, Galleria glass,

Adam:

Yeah,

PJ:

slumming it now.

Adam:

yeah, and it's, it's, it's so depressing. I mean, there's a line where Sly says to Miles something along the lines of, well, you wanted it to be a place where no one would ever look or no one would find us. It's like, but there must be other places besides this shanty. And by the way, lived there before Venom showed up and where are they now?

PJ:

They died due to exposure.

Adam:

All around sad and disturbing. So Vanessa calls everyone's attention to a TV screen where there's this guy explaining that Tupac's intellect is off the charts. learned to speak English in two weeks. And he's planning to make a pilgrimage El Dorado.

PJ:

I had so many questions at this point in time.

Adam:

Yeah, go for it.

PJ:

Were people more capable in the past than they are today? That you could learn English in two weeks?

Adam:

I think it's Tupac is that intelligent.

PJ:

Maybe all the Incans were!

Adam:

Okay, sure. Well,

PJ:

Like,

Adam:

city of gold. So,

PJ:

yeah. Also, is this Eldorado news something you actually want to be broadcasting?

Adam:

well, that's what I was trying to figure out is what is this broadcast they're watching? It's like, it's almost like welcome to exposition television, where we will tell you information that you characters need to know to further the plot of the show.

PJ:

This is some sort of weird C Span where they like cover like all like the international, it's like C Span for archeology. That's, you know, that's, that's what Miles loves. Like he loves like every single ancient city that he can try and go after. You know, what was interesting, it was like, I thought it was like, it wasn't intentionally trying to tell folks about Eldorado, but like, talk about Tupac. And what I thought this implied was that maybe Vanessa, if she also enjoys this channel, likes human interest stories.

Adam:

Sure.

PJ:

And then It's been two weeks. What the hell has Scott, T Bob, and Matt been doing down there?

Adam:

Yeah,

PJ:

go back to skiing?

Adam:

that's a great point. What in the world have they been doing down there? I mean, Scott and T Bub have been stuck in the hotel for sure. What Matt was doing, I don't know. Is there some babe down there that he knows?

PJ:

He's married now!

Adam:

You're right. I apologize. I'm sure that's not at all what Matt would be doing.

PJ:

Is he trying to secure the rights to all the gold of El Dorado? He's like, I found the priest. I own him now, according to the laws of your country.

Adam:

Is he trying to search for more bodies to revive? There must be dozens of frozen Incans in those hills. So Miles hears this and says, City of Gold, we move on it immediately. so this leads to a big question for me. you think Venom was out here doing nothing and this is when their plan begins, where they're just sitting there waiting for something interesting to happen?

PJ:

My answer to this is yes. Look, we should reflect on the last few episodes. Miles not been doing great.

Adam:

No.

PJ:

So last episode, he had no plan to extract money from L. A. despite covering it in plants. And two episodes ago, he was vacuuming change off the floor of a Las Vegas casinos. They are hard up right now and he is looking for an easy win.

Adam:

Is it easy? He's waiting for something. This is what makes it even sadder for me. This is their new hideout! Like, It's not even, it's not even for this mission. It's just, this is where Venom lives. This is where Venom lives now. Sorry folks.

PJ:

Oh Lord.

Adam:

and uh, We're crying for Miles and Sly and Cliff and Vanessa, how far they've fallen. anyways

PJ:

so, so they find out about this and despite the fact, this is probably a, a unwatched C Span for Archaeology channel, would there be a shit ton of other tourists that are trying to get to El Dorado as well?

Adam:

yeah, let's, let's all follow this priest on

PJ:

Yeah,

Adam:

to Eldorado.

PJ:

this, like, there's definitely a commune that's gonna make their way down here, like, let's go follow the priest!

Adam:

Well, despite all that on the trail of Tupac is Scott and T Bob. And Scott says to T Bob, So T Bob, how does it feel being junk parts yesterday and a god today? And I feel that fits into the Roy Batty

PJ:

Oh, 100%. And my reaction was like, damn it, Scott, that's your only friend. Why? Why? I don't know.

Adam:

now you've learned what it feels like to be touched by a god as he squeezes God's face. I mean, they're just setting all this up. You know, I keep on coming back to what our buddy Jason Burns said a bunch of episodes back, where this whole show is really like a villain origin story. But sometimes I wonder, is it actually T Bob's

PJ:

T bob, yes. Yes.

Adam:

Well, after saying that Tupac gets right up in Scott's face and he's like, be silent. Slaves do not speak unless spoken to. So I'm getting here that Matt has pawned off his son be a slave a genius, recently thought out Incan priest who's on his way to El Dorado. Am I getting that correctly? I just want to make sure I'm following the logic here.

PJ:

Yeah, I mean, it's either to the Incan priest or it's to the god of the Incan priest, but either way, it's pretty much the same.

Adam:

Okay.

PJ:

T bob's has to state, the only reason Scott was allowed to come is because he told Tupac is that Scott's his favorite slave.

Adam:

Why did you even, Masked Writers, why did you even need the slave element of it? You didn't, Need it at all. Like

PJ:

They didn't need it, but they wanted it.

Adam:

I'm going to, this is another Laurel for the writers.

PJ:

We need to invent a new category for them. I enjoy that this pretending that T Bob is a god makes it okay that Scott's a slave.

Adam:

All right.

PJ:

It also implies though that in Tupac's Incan culture, slaves could be as young as ten. And that's just okay.

Adam:

Yeah. It's like, this is just the way he thinks. He's just, not from our culture. We have to respect his culture. Okay.

PJ:

This is cultural sensitivity taken too far!

Adam:

T Bob really loves that Scott is a slave, so we're just, keep on just rubbing it in here. And Scott says, wait till I get you home, Exalted One. I'll reprogram a hammer. So in the same conversation, another Roy Batty moment.

PJ:

100%. I had a feeling if Tupac had heard that, he would have killed Scott.

Adam:

Yeah. I don't think you threaten the Incan God and survive to tell the tale, anyways, for no reason whatsoever, Matt pulls out his briefcase computer, which is smaller this time, but It's almost the size of a laptop now, so I guess the tech is getting better and better. So he pulls it out of his backpack and he gets a message from Bruce, who tells him that they've detected Venom moving to intercept them.

PJ:

So I had so many questions on this one. If you know where venom is, why aren't you seal team sixing them? And actually just something else just occurred to me. Like, is it that like, imagine like they do know where venom is, but actually they've been having a collective laugh. It's like, it's like, Matt, you're not going to believe this. It's like, Miles isn't the shittiest Shaq you've ever seen in your life, it is really, really pathetic, we can't,

Adam:

have a toilet indoors.

PJ:

I can't get the snipers to stop laughing, it's a really a big deal, like, we would take these guys out if it wasn't so pathetic,

Adam:

I think you're probably right there. Well, we go into the agent selection scene then. Cause the word venom. Has been said, so now mask must form.

PJ:

it's a trigger word.

Adam:

so we go into the agent selection scene. He asks for the best team for action in rugged mountain terrain. Interesting. one is Bruce Sato who is assigned to Thunderhawk. Again, I don't know if. A Chevy Camaro is good for rugged mountain terrain, but okay. Brad Turner, who drives a motorcycle, which might not be great for rugged mountain terrain. But anyways, that's the team, Bruce and Brad.

PJ:

Do you think that Brad's gonna take this opportunity to have an ayahuasca retreat?

Adam:

I think Brad is already there having an ayahuasca retreat because he just tells Bruce to get here as soon as possible. And there's no mention of, you know

PJ:

Brad?

Adam:

it's like Brad. Yeah, that's he he's in the sweat lodge. I'll get him. Matt says, Bruce meet us at Machu Picchu right away. So let's get a time check here. Remembering of course that two weeks has already passed since the day they thought out Tupac.

PJ:

A hundred percent. So a non existent direct flight

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

Denver to Machu Picchu would probably be about 10 hours.

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

Most flights actually require two stops taken to 14, but we can assume that. Let's face it. The mass jet doesn't care about, you know, following most flight patterns.

Adam:

So 10 hours. And then I also want to add to our equation here. The fact that been walking for two days straight. Wait, what? been walking for two days straight a revived ancient Incan priest. Matt, who I believe, but his child, without stopping, like, what is this, Lord of the Rings? Matt has made his son walk for two days straight.

PJ:

I mean, I guess that's, is it better? Maybe it's not better than getting left in the hotel. Maybe letting left in the hotel would have been a better option this time.

Adam:

I don't know if Scott survives this one, honestly.

PJ:

I actually, there was a revelation I had, which is that Matt left T Hawk behind his most precious thing in the world. And then now that he knows that there's a. Terrorist organization coming for them

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

is continuing on the path. The best idea.

Adam:

Well, I think it'd be great to have a conversation with Tupac at least. Like, hey, buddy, look, there's some evildoers coming. maybe get in the sky

PJ:

A little motivation.

Adam:

just a shrug. keep walking

PJ:

It's fine.

Adam:

because venom is on their way to intercept them Well, they arrive at Tupac's humble home is a bunch of ruins. He, well, I mean, you know, he's 500 years old. What are you gonna do? He pulls a golden disc from a hidden compartment in the rubble of the wall of his old home, and he raises it into the air and shouts, and suddenly the big eagle, from the opening of the episode, lands in front of Tupac.

PJ:

So before we get to the Eagle, like I did want to like take a beat on this. Cause like this scene, like. just me or is there a huge missed opportunity here? Because this is a man coming back to the ruins of a place he used to live in

Adam:

hmm.

PJ:

his entire culture is gone. Everyone he knew is long dead for centuries. It felt like a legitimately sad scene.

Adam:

Mm

PJ:

Like, there was something that hit me, it was like, my god, wouldn't it be alright just to take a beat and have Tupac be sad?

Adam:

Yeah. All that's left are the ghosts of my, of my family, of my friends, of my culture, my civilization, all I ever knew. Anyways.

PJ:

Yeah,

Adam:

disc.

PJ:

behind this like, complex, alien like Indiana Jones like wall that shifts that's somehow still standing, even though the rest of the structures aren't.

Adam:

Yeah, Well, suddenly Venom shows up, and we have our typical mid episode battle. run for cover while Tupac, T Bob, and Scott are captured by Vanessa using whip, and well, I mean Tupac is. Bob is holding on to his legs, and Scott is holding on to T Bob's leg. Seems like they probably could have just let go and fine. But anyways, T Bob can't keep his grip. He lets go and he and Scott go falling to their doom.

PJ:

Couple things. This is a rare mid episode battle where Venom just attacks whomever is there. Like, It's just kind of, you know, basically like attacking a bunch of tourists and I was kind of curious how many people actually were killed off screen because, you know, they're shooting the ground here

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

all the randos take off

Adam:

Mm

PJ:

the headpiece of the staff of raw that, you know, they just required gets dropped and yeah, like this is like, Scott and T Bob are falling to their doom. Like, there is no one saving them.

Adam:

Exactly. So my question to you, PJ, is what's going to happen?

PJ:

I don't know, man. This is, I'm on the edge of my seat.

Adam:

We'll find out after these messages.

We've got them in sight. Hold on. Mask will be right back. Now watch what Mask does.

Adam:

And we're back. is dead. Matt beside himself with grief. But I'm sure he'll get over it.

PJ:

I really think it'd be nice if Matt showed some concern prior to Scott dying all the time. Like, we are hitting this pattern over and over again where the most affection we ever see Scott get for Matt Is when Scott's dying or has died or about to die. Like that is the entry point time after time.

Adam:

And so then what happens is they use the reviver device to revive Scott. His brain accidentally gets swapped with T Bob's and it's just a comedy of errors. What actually happens is Thunderhawk shows up out of nowhere and catches them. And it turns out Bruce is flying Thunderhawk.

PJ:

was actually cool because it was the right thing to do because like they didn't, he didn't just have like Thunderhawk just kind of be under there and they land on the wings, he did a dive to match the velocity of Scott and T Bob, had them grab on and then he pulled up. I mean, they would need muscles of steel to do that and not have their arms ripped off, but

Adam:

Absolutely.

PJ:

it was the only way to do this, right? Mm

Adam:

So live. Thanks, Bruce. We cut to Venom's campsite at night. We've got a nice little tent set up and a cozy campfire going. It's very homey.

PJ:

hmm.

Adam:

cozy. They've probably got some marshmallows ready to go, some hot cocoa. Unfortunately, Tupac is refusing to help Miles without Temula, the god, by his side, and that's of course T Bob. Miles wants to know who Temula is and Tupac starts drawing a picture of T Bob on the ground and Miles smiles at As if he knows who T Bob is.

PJ:

He finally remembers after, who are you? When I saw that drawing, I was immediately thinking that looks a lot like the robots from the black hole. Like, so now I'm questioning, does Miles actually know that it's T Bob or is he recalling that failed Disney movie?

Adam:

Yeah, and also, what a weird looking god. no offense to the ancient Incans, your god looks like an easter egg.

PJ:

unless it's an alien.

Adam:

Unless it's an alien. But very interesting, yes, Miles. Knows who they're talking about. It's the egg shaped robot that seems to hang around with Mask all the time. We cut back to Mask and it turns out that T Bob is just playing around with Tupac's golden disc. Again, proving that T Bob is insane. Declares that he's going to get some shut eye. Scott says, you're not human. You don't need to sleep. boy, there's a lot of Roy baddies in this episode.

PJ:

So many. Has such a love hate relationship with him.

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

then the look he gives has such indignation towards T Bob. Where does he get that from? Oh, right.

Adam:

Yeah, like father, like son.

PJ:

Mm hmm.

Adam:

And by the way, Brad Turner is there, finally wearing his sunglasses at night.

PJ:

It helps with the journey man, whatever journey you want to interpret that as.

Adam:

He's like, look Matt, I gotta be honest with you, am still right in the middle of it. So I'm gonna do the best I can, but um, your three heads are gonna have to come back into one. And anyways Matt sent Scott With Brad still in the midst of his ayahuasca trip to head back to the city to bring the golden disc to one of the scientists Maybe the least responsible mask agent to be flying a child on the back of a motorcycle helicopter

PJ:

Indeed. I mean, really it's like, okay, here you go. No helmet. No seatbelt. did you notice these guys were wearing ties in the jungle

Adam:

Yep, Brad and Bruce, both wearing ties.

PJ:

and Brad's got his leather jacket on,

Adam:

They dropped everything and came running.

PJ:

but how much is he sweating at this point in time? It's like, you know what? It's humid out. You don't need the leather jacket on,

Adam:

Well, while T Bob is lying down getting sleep, despite the fact that he's not human, Cliff and Vanessa tie a rope around his foot and kidnap him.

PJ:

I was like, did Venom not notice the mask vehicles there or like do any kind of reconnaissance? So just like

Adam:

They would have had to. How did

PJ:

Yeah. Haha.

Adam:

in the first place? I mean, Yeah, no, I mean It's, I have no words for it. I mean, clearly they must know by now that T Bob with mask and fine. I guess that justifies them sneaking around and having to kidnap T Bob without going into a firefight. anyways. We cut to Scott and Brad flying in Condor and two giant eagles approach and force them to land. And Scott hands the disc to the birds and they fly away

PJ:

How does Scott know to give? The thing to the Eagles,

Adam:

He just has a sense. You, you must need this had a line. He was like, I think, I think I know why they're here or something along those lines and just gives them the priceless artifact without even a fight, or anything. Like the Eagles don't even seem like they're going to attack. They're just sitting there.

PJ:

Okay. Well, I'm going to ask, I'm going to jump slightly, but I'm going to ask you a question because there's an unseen scene here, Which is Brad's going to get back to Matt and Matt's going to ask, did you get Scott to town and did you give the golden disc to the scientists? And Brad's only response is going to be, we gave the disc to the Eagles. And that's going to be like, Brad, what did I tell you?

Adam:

Yeah. And by the way, speaking of Scott, the other. Instruction he was given, right? Return Scott to the hotel. Brad leaves Scott behind on a cliff overlooking the city. It basically says, you okay to take it from here? Like, if you look at the shot, he's miles from the city. He's up in the mountains with no clear way down to the city below. I think it's a father of the year by proxy nominee.

PJ:

100%. I mean, it's only one wrong move and Scott's dead. Scott's line is no sweat. The hotel isn't far And so folks remember this isn't an age without cell phones. So like if Scott like breaks his leg, he's just going to be on the mountain alone with no one to contact him.

Adam:

Good job, Brad. Meanwhile, Matt finally discovers that T Bob has been kidnapped by Venom, but fortunately T Bob has a tracking device on him. So Matt and Bruce take off in Thunderhawk in pursuit.

PJ:

So Scott didn't even check on T Bob before leaving.

Adam:

Nope,

PJ:

And Bruce's line is like, I haven't seen him all morning. My response is like, where the fuck do you say something?

Adam:

because no one cares about T Bob, is odd in this case, because T Bob is very important to the plot

PJ:

Yes.

Adam:

much the Incan priest, you know, cares about him. So, mask, firing on all cylinders. Well done, boys. Meanwhile, Tupac and T Bob are now leading Venom through the mountains they cross a bridge, like a wooden suspension bridge. And once they got on the other side, they start rolling some amazingly spherical boulders. Towards Sly and Miles, who are both in Piranha. I mean, these boulders, they're complete spheres. Where the

PJ:

Yes.

Adam:

come from?

PJ:

Alien technology.

Adam:

okay, there we go. and Vanessa flies over the ravine and, in Manta, catches them with Whip. And Miles threatens to dismantle T Bob, rivet by rivet, if Tupac disobeys him again. Wow.

PJ:

It's pretty brutal. And uh, Vanessa again, team bad ass. But let's do a little check on the vehicles for Venom. Miles is riding shotgun with Sly. In Piranha,

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

Vanessa,

Adam:

okay.

PJ:

as expected, is flying Manta,

Adam:

Mm-Hmm?

PJ:

Cliff is flying Switchblade.

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

I don't want to get down on this, but this is a man with limited depth perception,

Adam:

Yeah. And also there is a venom vehicle that would probably be well suited for rugged mountain terrain. it's not a motorcycle with a sidecar that transforms into a submarine

PJ:

right?

Adam:

At any rate, Tupac leads Miles to an entrance into a cave Tupac presses a stone next to a waterfall, which causes a bunch of water to wash Miles, Vanessa, and Sly away. then, Tupac and T Bob go into the secret entrance that appears.

PJ:

Yeah. I, I thought it was cool that T Bob does a nice job of activating, deactivating, reactivating his tracker this episode.

Adam:

Right, so Mask can find out where he's

PJ:

Yeah. And cause then I think Venom detected that a tracker was on but. Venom's all dead now, so it doesn't matter.

Adam:

No, they get washed away by like this

PJ:

yeah,

Adam:

torrent of water.

PJ:

yeah, this is a collective ragdoll nomination,

Adam:

Yeah, I

PJ:

leaving only Cliff alive, who will go on to found an artist retreat with the remnants of the money left over from Venom after selling off its tech.

Adam:

Wonderful. He'll put a new roof on the shanty in the forest. This sets up the final Mask battle because. Despite the fact that they were all washed away by a torrent of water, Venom is very much still alive. T Hawk goes after Manta, and Matt uses Spectrum Hang Glider to dodge a bunch of laser rays, firing away. Condor takes on Manta, Venom is, as usual, defeated. By mask Bruce fires one of the famous magnetic jet pucks that always seem to do in one of the flying Venom vehicles.

PJ:

Yep, was a cool fight sequence. And it's interesting that mask is actually outnumbered this episode, both in terms of vehicles and agents.

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

still come out on top.

Adam:

because Venom is incompetent, which I think we have to start taking that into consideration that if Venom has four agents, it's really more like two. So, in most situations, actually, Venom is way outnumbered.

PJ:

True. So one agent's Vanessa and the other agent is the collective intelligence of Miles, Sly, and Cliff.

Adam:

Correct. Well, meanwhile, inside the cave, the Eagles come and deliver the gold disc to T Bob and Tupac, and there's one interpretation of the sentence I just said, which is the band, the Eagles, delivering one of their gold albums. But, sadly, it's not true. It's just a giant eagle that comes and delivers the disc to Tupac. They put it in the wall and it opens up yet another cave entrance.

PJ:

it would have made maybe even more sense if the Eagles, the birds transformed into the Eagles, the band, like it would have been fine in this episode and maybe make a little bit more sense, but why those Eagles, the Are so intelligent. They have such agency in this episode.

Adam:

they actually, that'd be like a very Scooby Doo ending type of thing. Right where it was the Eagles all along.

PJ:

Let's just start rocking out

Adam:

Yeah. Hotel, California starts playing. What's interesting is that no one ever asks any questions about the Eagles in this episode. They don't say, wow, they're big. They don't say like, they must be somehow connected to Tupac. They nothing just

PJ:

nothing.

Adam:

giant Eagles. Okay. Well standing at the entrance the cave, Matt is snuck up on by Cliff in Piranha's Submarine and kind of fires and causes what appears to be a piece of a vine to fall on Matt. And for some reason, Matt collapses unconscious. must have been one heck of a vine.

PJ:

A snow vine. That's a coca leaf.

Adam:

Says No more pussyfooting around, and I'm not sure we use that language, Cliff.

PJ:

Cliff Venom HR would like to have a word with you. we're getting some reports about some language in the workplace that's not exactly appropriate. Well, let me just write down this incident right here.

Adam:

But yeah, but so Matt is unconscious and uh, and Cliff is kind of stalking towards him. He

PJ:

Okay.

Adam:

to see who's under the spectrum mask, but Brad gets a great idea. He sort of says pussy footing, huh? And so he creates a hocus pocus of a giant panther who causes Cliff to dive into the river and swim away.

PJ:

So I thought it was a good use of hocus pocus. I also want to point out that if Cliff had been a really effective agent, he might have just used torch to burn Matt.

Adam:

Right.

PJ:

Like, where's the leader? Who's in conscious of the enemy. I'm just going to kill him horribly, horribly.

Adam:

Well, he wanted to know who it was behind the mask.

PJ:

Sure.

Adam:

do you think that Matt probably has some sort of booby trap like, you know, Batman in the Dark Knight? Yeah,

PJ:

spectrum. Like, you know, I don't know, blindness or something like that.

Adam:

yeah. Well, Tupac and T Bob discover the City of Gold. And uh, that's kind of, that's, that's it. That's the reveal. Mask can't find T Bob, it's back to the hotel where a very forlorn Scott is packing his bags. And I love that they're prepared to just give up on T Bob.

PJ:

sorry, son. We have to leave your best friend behind.

Adam:

Yeah. Like, oh, well, we'll build you another one. But suddenly a dusty, exhausted T Bob shows up at the hotel door. He claims. Tupac was like an octopus. He was all over him. Kissing, hugging, and it seems there's more to Tupac than we ever imagined.

PJ:

The imagery, like, again, this is a children's cartoon, folks. Like, Like, this is something that you bring to like a, You know, child protective services or like, you know, some specialized therapist of like, Hey, show me on this dolly where Tupac touched you. It's uh, it's,

Adam:

Incan priest touched you.

PJ:

you know, it sort of makes you wonder. I mean, you asked the question, do we find out what happens to Tupac after this?

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

So let me ask you this, is that dirt on T Bob? Like, at what point in time did T Bob not be able to take it anymore?

Adam:

It's true. It's very true. And he really wants to get out of the country fast.

PJ:

It's true. He wants out of there very

Adam:

do anything to get out of this country.

PJ:

Hmm.

Adam:

yeah, because I would imagine the authorities would have a few questions for you.

PJ:

I mean, assuming you could find a body in El Dorado. And it also makes T Bob had to walk all the way back to the hotel?

Adam:

Yeah. Or turn it to scooter mode unless he can't, unless Scott tells him to transform into scooter mode.

PJ:

But why didn't he turn on his tracker?

Adam:

Yeah. Great question. Well, Scott doesn't believe that T Bob really found the City of Gold. but T Bob shows them a small golden idol that looks like him as proof that he was there. And as I said, T Bob says he'll do anything to get out of the country. Including being Scott's slave. so Scott tells him to bring his bags down to the cab. So it was kind of a self inflicted Roy Batty moment there. I feel

PJ:

it's also a question though, like, is this the payoff the writers wanted? Like, the turnabout? Like, aha, look, now T Bob's the slave of Scott again, after Scott was his. Like, it's, it's a weird thing. It's like, oh, like, look how clever I am as a writer. It's like, no, go fuck yourself. Like, there's no need to go to this place.

Adam:

no need at all. Let's talk about

PJ:

Who owns it? Assuming you can find it.

Adam:

I mean, does the Incan priest become the, the knight from the last crusade? just stands there and guards El Dorado for all, for a time immemorial.

PJ:

I like the idea, it's like you must choose, but choose wisely. For like all these little idols that are there and you have to choose the T Bob one. Also, what stops Venom from just trying again? Besides laziness.

Adam:

the fact that they're all dead, and that they are working out of a shanty in the middle of the jungle. I don't know, PJ, we cut to the more, you know, moment Bob has built a crazy contraption that can like do your laundry and I don't know, do a whole bunch of other stuff, vacuuming. And it's all plugged into one socket and the fuse blew out and we learned that overloading circuits could cause a fire and I feel like that is actually a little bit over the head of the target audience. don't know. You tell me.

PJ:

I was like, what the fuck, like, what is the message here that like, you're trying to tell kids, like, like how many devices do you think you're trying to plug into the wall and how much wattage does it actually take kids?

Adam:

Well, yeah, and maybe ground it a little in real life. Because I'm a kid and I'm saying like, Okay, don't try to build a big giant robot out of household appliances and then plug it in. Because Matt said it's a bad idea to do that. Why not just, like, you know, all those old extension cords? That caused all those fires. Why not show Scott making a daisy chain out of those things to like stretch his TV into his bedroom or something, you know, and that

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

fuse or causes a spark or causes a fire or something like that. I just, as a kid, I don't, I don't even see this as a lesson. I'm like, I want to see what that robot's going to do.

PJ:

Can I build that? I'll just make sure I don't overload it circuits.

Adam:

Whatever that means.

PJ:

Also counterpoint last episode, we saw Scott welding T Bob in the hotel room.

Adam:

Right.

PJ:

So like kind of mixed messages fucking going on here.

Adam:

Right. Welding's fine. Oh man. Well, that is the episode folks. Time for our awards, the father of the year award. What do you got?

PJ:

You know, man, there's so many. I mean, there's Matt taking Scott to ski on a mountain that is clearly off limits. There's Matt taking Scott on a two day hike, which likely would kill him.

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

I mean, there's, there's the actual father of the year award, but I do like your special father of the year award

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

for the surrogate father.

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

Yeah. Yeah.

Adam:

award. It's one. For Brad abandoning Scott on the trail and two, it's Matt entrusting his son with Brad in the first place. So it's combination there.

PJ:

Yeah. I think that's, I think that's true. I think actually you're right. Actually. Mad. Interesting. Scott to Brad is the worst thing. Like

Adam:

Right. Roy Batty award.

PJ:

I mean the entire episode,

Adam:

Pretty much. Pretty much, I have no argument to that

PJ:

I mean, you know, he's insulted by Scott multiple times. He is assaulted by the Incan priest.

Adam:

Yeah. And perhaps, sexually assaulted by

PJ:

It's creepy. It's creepy the way they frame it.

Adam:

Hugging and kissing. I

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

yeah, that's, that's no good guys. That's not good.

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

Sly Rax, Ragdoll Award.

PJ:

Well, we do have the earlier one where Matt and Scott and T Bob clearly died in that avalanche. And we also have Venom on the cliff without Cliff, ironically.

Adam:

Yeah, I think that's probably the one for me.

PJ:

Yeah. I think so too.

Adam:

they're definitely dead. And now, of course, the Buddy Hawks Award.

PJ:

I mean, I, I think he actually might be winning this across the series, but I think it's T Bob

Adam:

Mm hmm.

PJ:

again, this time for and not entirely of his own volition, but he's impersonating a God.

Adam:

For me, it's actually at the beginning of the episode when T Bob has the line, Will someone tell this guy I don't have any spare change? Both

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

and classist.

PJ:

Yes. Agreed.

Adam:

Like

PJ:

Yeah.

Adam:

here's an, here's a, you know, unclothed man with brown skin bowing before me with his hand held out. He must want change.

PJ:

It's a good point. Yeah. I've got to go with like, that is, that's uh, yeah. T Bob T Bob wins in multiple ways.

Adam:

Yeah. He really does. Good job. Good job, Alex, for programming T Bob that way.

PJ:

A racist, classist robot.

Adam:

Oh boy. Well, that does it for episode 26. Episode 27 is called Panda Power. Venom abducts endangered panda bears from China and Mask must rescue them. I, I gotta find out what their uh, their evil plot is here, because this sounds like a different show altogether.

PJ:

Once again, you know, how far have the mighty fallen? We had venom stealing the statue of Liberty and requesting 3 billion for it. We've had venom threatened to destroy the world with an asteroid.

Adam:

Yeah.

PJ:

We've had Venom threaten to destroy the world with, you know, mechanical bugs. Like, now we're stealing pandas? Like, we're down to poaching?

Adam:

It's really sad guys, next? Are you gonna be mugging people on the street? Cliff, that woman's purse looks heavy. Go get it. Torch on! I said steal the purse, not burn her to death.

PJ:

Oh, here's the purse anyway.

Adam:

well, it's great to be back from hiatus, everyone. Thanks for hanging in while we took our much needed rest. But we are back in action. But of course, as always, we do have to transform and head back to HQ. I am Adam Moore.

PJ:

And I am PJ McNerney. Buh

Adam:

Buh bye!

PJ:

bye.

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