Less than Hero

"Less than Hero" is the fifty-eighth of Futurama, the fourth of the fourth production season and the sixth of the fifth broadcast season. It aired 2 March, 2003 on FOX. Fry and Leela stumble upon a miracle cream that grants them super powers, and together with Bender, they form a crime fighting trio.

Act I: "Ready for your big trip to the surface?"
Leela's parents are going to visit the surface the next weekend, and as they are mutants who are not allowed above ground for legal reasons, Leela visits Citihall to get them special one-day surface permits. Meanwhile, the Professor is getting a supercollider from πkea, which turns out to be exhausting to assemble - Fry and Leela are sore all over and receive treatment by Zoidberg with genuine Miracle Cream. The supercollider super explodes, and the Professor asks Leela and Fry to take it back.

On the way to return the collider they are attacked by a mugger who attempts to kill them, but are able to defeat him with powers usually not found with humans. They find out that the Miracle Cream temporarily causes superpowers in humans, including invulnerability, super strength and "lickety speed". A fourth power, the ability to command the loyalty of sea creatures, is not expressed and Zoidberg refuses to obey them. As they have super powers and are Americans, they decide to form a team of super heros, including Bender who provides the costumes and as a robot already has some sort of super powers.

They choose appropriate names: Fry becomes Captain Yesterday, Bender is Superking and Leela chooses to be Clobberella - thus the New Justice Team is forged and fights crimes all over New New York. The team becomes well known but all three are anxious to protect their real identities, although sometimes Fry needs reminding.

Act II: "Attention, all crooks, lowlifes and lawbreakers!"
In civilian guise, the crew returns to Citihall pick up the special one day permits for Leela's parents. While they are talking with the Mayor, he learns of a dastardly plot. He uses a secret button to call for the New Justice Team, so they have to make a quick exit to reappear in their super hero costumes.

The Mayor warns them that at precisely 9 A.M. tomorrow, the Museum of Natural History will be robbed by the super villain Zookeeper and his gang of highly trained animals. Their target: the priceless Quantum Gemerald. Leela makes good use of the timing, and arranges for her parents to meet her at the museum at 10 A.M., an hour after the robbery.

The next morning the Zookeeper and his gang turn up an hour late. The New Justice Team foils his attempt to steal the Gemerald, but the Zookeeper escapes while they are protecting it. Leela's parents witness the action, but since she is still in costume she cannot talk to them without revealing her secret identity. They return to the sewers disappointed, thinking their daughter is too ashamed of them to meet in public.

Act III: "Mom, Dad - I'm Clobberella!"
Seeing their disappointment, Leela visits her parents in the sewers to offer an excuse. Her attempts backfire, and further anguish her when her parents see through her excuses and suggest they fully understand her shame. She's finally guilted into revealing her secret identity.

Morris's bragging inadvertently reveals the team's identities to the Zookeeper, who kidnaps Leela's parents to coerce the New Justice Team into stealing the Quantum Gemerald for him. This is complicated by the fact that they have run out of Miracle Cream, and they have to pull off the heist without their super powers. They deliver the gem to the Zookeeper, and Leela's parents are released. As they have now committed a crime and are out of Miracle Cream anyway, Bender and Fry commit a few more crimes under the cover of their super hero identities.

Trivia

 * &pi;kea is a spoof of Ikea, a Swedish furniture manufacturer known for its do-it-yourself products that are sometimes shoddy or missing the parts required to assemble it.
 * The phone number of Leela's parents is 1566.
 * Assembling the supercollider requires: a hammer, a screwdriver, and a bending unit.
 * Bender uses his left hand as a circular saw.
 * Superking's crown looks suspiciously like the one he stole from the statue in A Bicyclops Built for Two.
 * The translation of the Alien Language 1 text on the miracle cream can be seen here.
 * Two mermaids presumably from the The Deep South are seen as Fry chases down the purse snatcher.

Quotes

 * Amy: Are you off your rocket? Your parents are mutants! It's illegal for them to come above ground because they're inferior genetic scum! Ah - present company excluded, of course...


 * Hermes: While you're there, could you pick me up a license to kill? Leela: Sure. Bare hands or weapon? Hermes: Uh... what does piano wire count as?
 * Leela: Wow, super powers! I'll be able to pack my day with twice as many humdrum activities! Fry: Leela, I think you're missing the big picture. When you were a kid, what was your biggest fantasy? Leela: To have parents... Fry: Whatever. The correct answer is to be a superhero! We HAVE super powers, and we are Americans. This is our chance! Leela: Hmmm. I've been looking for a way to serve the community that incorporates my violence. Let's do it! Fry: You'll barely regret this.
 * Bender: Nine, Ten... A big fat hen... (puffs cigar) The name, Bender

Goofs

 * On the πkea box is an ø, however, this character is not used in the Swedish alphabet. It is only used commonly in the Danish, Faroese and Norwegian alphabet.  More correct would have been an ö.
 * However, the same 'mistake' is made in the spoof subtitles for the opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As such, it may be an allusion rather than a goof.

Characters

 * Debut: πkea Robot
 * 7¹¹ Clerk
 * Debut: Andrew
 * Hermes
 * Amy
 * Professor Farnsworth
 * Fry
 * Bender
 * Leela
 * Turanga Morris
 * Turanga Munda
 * Organ Dealer
 * Petunia
 * Mayor C. Randall Poopenmeyer
 * Debut: Tour Guide
 * Debut: 'tude Guard
 * Leg Mutant
 * Raoul Inglis
 * Debut: The Zookeeper
 * Zoidberg

Episode Credits

 * Writer
 * Ron Weiner
 * Director
 * Susie Dietter
 * Voice Actors
 * Billy West
 * Katey Sagal
 * John DiMaggio
 * Maurice LaMarche
 * Tress MacNeille
 * David Herman
 * DVD Commentary
 * Matt Groening
 * David X. Cohen
 * Rich Moore
 * Ron Weiner
 * Susie Dietter
 * Billy West
 * Maurice LaMarche