[DreamSword]

Episode 2: Battle Royale

This episode marks where we first get to see the intro of the show, and despite it being very basic, comprised of almost nothing but still images, it manages to have a ton of personality thanks to both the way it's edited, as well as that absolutely iconic theme song.

Fun bit of trivia concerning Megas XLR's' music, by the way: The theme song is actually one of the few original songs that Megas has. Almost every other song used in the show is public domain. This was due to the fact that the crew decided to pour all of their music budget into the animation budget instead, and damn does it pay off super well throughout the show.

As for the episode itself, well...

That is straight up Bruce Campbell as MODOK. And the MCU wishes it had writing as good as this.

Okay so obviously he's not literally MODOK, but a parody of him called Mag Nanimus. But yes, he is infact voiced by Bruce himself. The setup is that Mag runs an intergalactic fighting ring, and wants Coop, piloting Megas, to enter.

And right away, we get some nice establishment of character here, because while Kiva objects, saying that the crew really shouldn't be wasting their time given the Glorft could attack at any moment, Jamie is all for it, with his main motivation being that he just really wants to get laid by an alien female.

As for Coop, well... In a great little bit of character humor, when Jamie says to get going, Kiva, thinking logically, states that Coop can make the decision for himself, to which Jamie replies "No he can't." And, well, Jamie is right, haha. It just goes to show that these two guys are actually best friends and know eachother pretty dang well.

Speaking of the little jokes, that's actually something I now appreciate more about the show now that I'm older. Sure, the big, overt gags are great, such as the ending with The Jammer or the comedic ways that Coop's' opponents go down, but one of my big takeaways of the episode on this rewatch was actually a musical gag that happens roughly halfway through, where a dramatic music sting happens constantly during a conversation between Coop and Mag, even when the line itself isn't dramatic or threatening in the least.

The episode also brings to life what would become another running bit throughout the show's' run: Coop's' rants at the bad guy of every episode. I won't chronicle each and every one, but they're always great. This first one is actually pretty standard as far as motive rants go, showing that Coop's' heroic side is starting to grow, but as the show goes, well, let's just say things get alot more... interesting.

Sadly there was no PoPTV stuff destroyed this episode, but that's about the only thing I'd say is missing. Still a great time all around.