Is it "Kung Pow" or Stupid Mario?

Stupid Mario Brothers - Episode 27

Stupid Mario Brothers
Season 2, Episode 12
Air date	July 17, 2008
Written by	Rich Alvarez and Chris Muller
Directed by	Rich Alvarez
Episode Guide
Previous: "Three Objects make a Cool Weapon"	Next: "Well excuse me PRINCESS!"

"Is it "Kung Pow" or Stupid Mario?" is the 12th episode of the second season of Stupid Mario Brothers and the 27th episode overall.

Description

Link and Ness search for the second Nether Emblem: The Nether Hilt...

Overview

Link and Ness look for the Hilt and they come across Johnny Cyclops who says he knows where it is. They follow him into Safeway and then Bowser's hideout. Link finds it there and they go back to the campfire.

Synopsis

Before the episode starts, Rich Alvarez tells the viewers that during the editing of the episode, the audio was erased somehow. He says he won't point out any figures (although he points out Matt Provencal), but he believes that someone was unhappy by the audio of the episode. In order to rectify the problem, Alvarez decides that he would do all the voices himself. The episode then starts.

Link and Ness begin their quest to find the second Nether Emblem: The Hilt. Ness' psychic powers lead them to the North and 5 hours later, the two arrive at a small shed, which is home to a one eyed man named Johnny Cyclops. He has been observing the gang for a while now, and knew that they would soon need his help in finding the Hilt. He explains to them that the three emblems they are looking for, when combined, form the ultimate saber, the Nether Saber. Whoever has the Nether Saber will always win in combat, which is why it can defeat Decious. Link and Ness soon agree to follow Johnny Cyclops to the Hilt's location.

They soon arrive at the Safeway and Link's sword and shield and Ness' bat have been taken. Link and Ness state that it is an average grocery store, but Johnny tells not to look into the staff's eyes, as they will only mock them. Ness and Link then go through a few trials to get to the Hilt. The first involves picking up a bunch of bananas a few times, and the second involves Link picking up some tea, purchasing them at the Checkout Counter, and giving them back to Johnny. After Link leaves, the episode is interrupted by Chris Muller, who asks Alvarez if he'll tell the viewers what exactly is happening in the episode, but he declines.

Back in the episode, 5 hours later, Link returns with the tea and asks Johnny what it has to do with the quest. Johnny says it had nothing to do with it and that he just wanted some tea. Link demands that Johnny lead them to the Hilt, but Johnny tells Link he must have patience before he can complete his journey. Link is furious that he has been walking around a grocery store for the past half-hour with a guy who likes to bum drinks off people, and is now expected to be patient. Johnny simply hushes the young 'grasshopper' and tells him that he has much to learn. Johnny takes Link and Ness to the milk aisle and, after he uses a special combination, they teleport out of the store, and arrive near a hidden cavern. Now that they are outside the store, Link and Ness' equipment has returned to them.

Johnny explains that their location is King Bowser's hideout in the real world. He then states that he is currently not inside, as he has returned to his own world. It is there that the Hilt is located. Link walks into the empty hideout, and grabs the Hilt. Johnny Cyclops then snaps his fingers and teleports them away from the hideout and back to the campfire. Afterward, Link questions why he didn't teleport them to Bowser's hideout in the first place, to which Johnny replies that he can only teleport to the Campfire. Link asks if this is true, but Johnny says it isn't; he reveals that he was actually bored and thirsty for tea, then leaves. Link and Ness proceed to look for Mario to give him the Hilt.

Appearances

Characters

• Kent Melville as Link / Johnny Cyclops
• Tim Muller as Ness
• Rich Alvarez as Himself / Narrator (voice)
• Chris Muller as Himself

Locations

• The Battlefield
• Safeway
• Bowser's Hideout
• The Campfire

Notable Items

• Link's Equipment
• The Nether Hilt
• Ness' Bat

Production Notes

Character Revelations

Coming soon!

Series Continuity

• This episode is the last time Johnny Cyclops is seen, but he is mentioned again in "Basketball Diaries."
• This episode is Ness' last appearance in Season Two.
• Link isn't seen again until "Like Hyrule, but not."
• This is the first episode where neither Mario or Luigi are seen. In fact, not a single character from the Mario series is seen, but Mario's and King Bowser names are mentioned.

Trivia

• The title and subsequent dubbing is a reference to Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, a 2002 comedy film created with footage from several martial arts films.
• Rich Alvarez dubbed the voices not because the audio was erased, but because it was intended. Alvarez wasn't entirely happy with the finished episode as he didn't find it very humorous and the absence of Mario and Luigi didn't help. The dubbing was also used to mask the fact that Chris Muller doubled as Johnny Cyclops in wide shots; plus, dialogue was highly muffled during the Safeway scenes.
• The interruption where Muller asks Alvarez about the events in the episode and his subsequent informal decline directly mimics a scene from What's Up Tiger Lily? (1966).

Goofs

• From 6:52 to 6:56, a dog can be seen in the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Johnny Cyclops states that Bowser is currently not at his hideout because he is back at his own world. The warp pipes are not working and Wario spoke with Bowser in Episode 18, which means Bowser could not be back in the Mushroom Kingdom. However, it could simply be that the group is unaware that Bowser is currently in the real world. But then Rich Alvarez explained in his fan forums that Nox Decious can teleport either himself, or others to other worlds. And Bowser is important in his goals, so he can teleport Bowser in or out of the mushroom kingdom.

Episode

• Stupid Mario Brothers - Episode 27 - Is it "Kung Pow" or Stupid Mario?