|
"Halt! Officer Odie orders you to stop and help!"
This page is in serious need of a checkup!
Once the criteria is met, remove the {{Checkup Required}} tag. |
(The episode begins with Jon driving his pets to the comic book store. He slows to a stop at a red light and explains to the cat and dog in the back)
Jon: Can you believe it, guys? A comic book shop actually wants me there to sign autographs!
Garfield: They probably just want to see if you know how to write your name. (They accelerate)
Odie: Pants (He turns to Garfield and notices that the fat cat has his paw on a sack in between them. The pup retracts his tongue, gestures to it, and inquires about the mysterious bag) What now?
Garfield: Shh! It’s my Caped Avenger costume, just in case there’s a world crisis, or if anyone wants MY autograph.
Jon: The shop’s up ahead, guys. I’ll bet there’s a line ALL the way around the block of fans who want my signature. (They ride down the hill and pull over before they can reach the bottom. Their tires screech as Jon makes an abrupt halt) Huh? (He blinks. Garfield and Odie lean forward to get a better view)
Odie: Huh? (There is no line of people, just stray pieces of paper littering up the street, one of them blocks the camera, causing a transition to inside the store)
(Inside, as a boy scans the comics, Jon is sitting at a booth, waiting for some autographs as Odie snoozes at his feet. However, waiting is boring, and Jon starts to doze, but quickly snaps himself awake)
Jon: Huh? Moan (He trails off again, this time he loses his balance and falls off the chair) Ugh! Moan (He gets up, using the table to brace himself, and plants himself back onto the chair. Garfield walks up to him)
Garfield: What time is the line around the block getting here? (His eyes narrow as he looks to his right) I just love Ultra Powerful Guy comics. (He holds up a comic in front of Jon and walks away. Rupert–the owner of a store called Steve’s Comics–appears next to Jon)
Rupert: I just can't understand it, Mr. Arbuckle, I advertised for weeks that you’d be here. I thought everyone who loves your work would show up!
Garfield: We are all here! (He opens another comic and grins. Elsewhere, Odie wakes up and raises his body)
Odie: Mm-hmm. (He shakes his sleepy head, trying to wake up)
Rupert: They didn’t come out for ya. (He walks over to a comic book sealed inside a glass case protected by a security guard) They didn’t even come to see the rarest comic book in the world, Ultra Powerful Guy No. 1. (Garfield, seeing his favorite comic book character, puts his paws on the glass and grins greedily)
Garfield: Laughs (Jon forcefully pulls his cat off the glass)
Rupert: I thought people would come to see it if I had a copy on display. (Garfield, while still being held under Jon’s arm, desperately reaches for the rare comic)
Jon: Isn’t that worth, like, uh, a million dollars?
Rupert: It sure is. The guy who loaned it to me insisted I hire a security guard (The guard salutes) to stay and watch on it, but it didn’t draw a big crowd, either.
Jon: Aren’t there a few people in this store?
Rupert: (while walking to the register to help a customer) Just a few and not enough. I’ve run out of ideas to attract customers. (He grabs the customer’s comic and presses some buttons on the register) Looks like I’m gonna have to go out of business. (Jon sets Garfield down next to Odie, who is sitting under the glass case)
Garfield: I know what this store needs!
Odie: Pants Questioning mutter
Garfield: Yes! (He and his canine companion run outside) It needs excitement! It needs celebrity! (He opens the driver-side door of the car and hops inside) It needs an appearance by the most super of all superheroes!
Odie: Huh? (When Garfield reappears, he wears his costume, which is just a blanket tied around his neck to resemble a cape)
Garfield: Laughs The Caped Avenger! (As he strikes a heroic pose in front of Odie, he echoes the “venger” part and his cape blows in the wind)
Odie: Hmm? (He starts smiling)
Garfield: Hey, no snickering about the costume. (He points at Odie and holds his cape with both paws. Odie, however, struggles to keep from laughing)
Odie: Oh, uh-uh. (His eyes and cheeks bulge before he giggles at the Flabby Tabby) Snickers Huh? (He looks at at Garfield, who is glaring at him. Nevertheless, he chuckles some more) Snickers (Annoyed, Garfield walks back inside)
(Meanwhile, inside the shop, a Short Blonde Man discusses his purchases with another customer, Webster)
Short Blonde Man: Last week at the convention, I bought the entire run of colossal mystery comics, 125 issues, all in mint condition and sealed in plastic. Chuckle
Webster: If they’re sealed in plastic. How are you gonna read them?
Short Blonde Man: Read them? (Disappointed at this realization, he walks back up to Rupert at the front counter, who facepalms in frustration and anxiety)
Rupert: I’ve got my whole life savings in this place and I'm not making enough to pay the rent!
Jon: Aw, don’t worry, Rupert. Something will change. Fate will just walk through the front door! (At that moment, the front door opens and Garfield enters, still wearing his cape)
Garfield: I’m here! (He stands on one foot, trying to make a grand entrance, but loses his balance and falls flat on his face) Whoa! (The blonde man trips over the fat cat)
Short Blonde Man: Whoa! (His comics fall everywhere as he and Garfield form a messy pile-up in front of the door)
Garfield: OK, well, now I'm over here. (He quickly gets up and stands on a shelf of comics) It is I, the Caped Avenger! (He echoes the “venger” part. That seems to be his thing. He leaps into the air, hits a fake shark hanging from the ceiling and crashes to the ground) Yowl!
Short Blonde Man: It’s a real-life superhero! (Webster runs up)
Webster: It’s an overweight cat in a bad costume. (Soon everyone has surrounded the Caped Avenger, including Rupert, Jon, and Odie)
Garfield: Right both times, men! And now I will… (He points into the air. Before he can do anything, the sound of breaking glass surprises all of them)
Everyone: Gasp! (Garfield blinks)
Garfield: Hey, whatever that was, I didn't do it.
Jon: It sounds like it came from outside. (They notice the expensive comic book has vanished and the front window has been broken)
Rupert: My front window, (He grabs his head in horror) with the million dollar comic book! (Garfield clings to the edge of a shelf of comics and defends himself. Behind him, the security guard gets up shakily)
Garfield: I repeat, I didn't do it! Not my fault, whatever it is!
Rupert: It’s gone! (He sprints outside, Jon and Odie follow) The copy of Ultra Powerful Guy No. 1 is gone! (He looks around for any trace of the thief)
Jon: I’ll call the police! (He does so. The pup pokes his head between the fence posts and sniffs around for some clues)
Odie: Sniff sniff sniff.
Jon: Odie, be careful of that broken glass all over the sidewalk.
Odie: Hm? I know. (He looks at the audience while Jon gets the police on the phone. Rupert stands next to him, understandably shaken and horrified)
Jon: Hello? I’d like to report a robbery, a very expensive robbery. (Almost immediately, police sirens blare in the distance) Huh? (A line of three police cars rolls down the hill and into the camera, causing a transition)
(Later, police officers scan the comic shop for any clues while Rupert, who was already in a bad way before this, believes this is the final nail in the coffin of his business)
Rupert: How am I gonna pay for that comic book? I’m ruined! (A detective, resembling Special Agent Frick from the episode Detective Odie, walks over and interrogates the security guard, who is sitting on a chair on the other side of the shop)
Detective: Alright, let’s run through this one last time.
Security Guard: It's like I said, officer. This guy in a costume, he looked like a supervillain, (For a moment, the camera focuses on the detective’s eyes and sunglasses he wears) ran up outside the window and used some kind of superpower hammer thingy. (The scene shifts to the broken glass and then pans to the pedestal where the comic was. Garfield clings to it, watching) He broke the window, knocked me out, grabbed the comic and disappeared!
Garfield: Hmm… (His eyes narrow, seemingly suspicious of the guard)
Detective: I see. You think you could describe him well enough so that our police artist could make a sketch of him? (He walks to the guard’s right side and gestures behind him. Another police officer–the sketch artist–salutes)
Security Guard: I’ll try, but he was wearing a mask.
(On the other side, Garfield, still holding on to the empty column with his fingers and toes, decides that now is the “world crisis” he brought his costume for)
Garfield: Odie,
Odie: Hmm?
Garfield: (continuing) this looks like a job for…fanfare. (Odie obliges and blows fanfare with his nose. Garfield hops on top of the stand, striking another pose, his right toes cling to the edge of the podium) The Caped Avenger! (He once again echoes the “venger”) Where’s my trusty sidekick, Slurp? (He turns to Odie, who is standing below him and wagging his tail)
Odie: Psst! Here! Here!
Garfield: Oh hi, trusty sidekick, Slurp. (He points at the pup) Where’s your costume?
Odie: Moans (He doesn’t seem to have one)
Garfield: (With his toes no longer holding the podium) Well then dream one up, use your imagination. (Odie thinks for a moment when a lightbulb goes off in his mind. He spins in the air and reappears with his superhero costume from the episode The Amazing Flying Dog)
Odie: Ta-da! (Garfield stares at him in shock)
Garfield: How many times do I have to tell you, the sidekick can’t have a better costume than the hero! (Perhaps Garfield is having flashbacks to August 30, 1985)
Odie: Moan (He floats back down. Despite Garfield’s initial frustration, the fat cat decides to roll with it due to the urgency of the situation at hand)
Garfield: No time to change! There’s a supervillain lurking about! Let’s roll! (He leaps into the air and the camera zooms in to the comic book holder as the pets imagine themselves as a pair of superheroes)
(After a transition, a comic-style sequence begins with the Caped Avenger–who is, of course, Garfield–flying with his sidekick Slurp–who is played by Odie)
Caped Avenger: You’re probably wondering if there’s an origin story for the Caped Avenger. (He once again echoes the “venger”, but this time with less pizzazz and vigor than he had used before) Well, there is. (He and Slurp fly over the street) Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts! (He zooms forward)
(The screen switches to a fireplace inside a mansion. As the camera pans, it reveals the Tubby Tabby’s wiggly toes and then the rest of him as he sits on a chair. He wears a fancy red robe that has been worn before)
Caped Avenger: I will base my costume on the next thing I see. (At that moment, Vito bursts in with a pizza in hand)
Vito: Senor! Here is the pizza you ordered!
Caped Avenger: Of COURSE it will scare everyone! (He holds up one finger) It has anchovies on it!
(Later, the Caped Avenger presents himself in an alley as basically a pizza with eyes, hands and feet. Slurp floats next to him)
Caped Avenger: Ahem.
Slurp: Uh-uhhh. (He shakes his head no)
Caped Avenger: Alright. (He zips away and returns wearing his cape) Better?
Slurp: (nodding) Uh-huh! Yeah! Yeah!
Caped Avenger: Let’s find a Despicable Repulsive Supervillain to defeat! (He pounds his fist into his palm)
Slurp: Pants Where? (It sounds like “where”, but judging by the Caped Avenger’s response, the pup probably means something closer to “Why?”)
Caped Avenger: Sigh (He puts a paw to his face, leaps into the air and shouts) Because that’s what heroes like us do, that’s why! (Slurp is sent flying backwards due to the force of Garfield’s breath) Grunts (He hops on the edge of a trash can and looks inside as Slurp floats behind him) Nope. No Despicable Repulsive Supervillain around here. Let’s eat!
(The page turns. The cat and dog duo are walking on top of a building when they hear a man calling out to them)
Man: Caped Avenger! (They look over the edge and see the man in distress below them) Caped Avenger! (The heroes float down to the man’s level)
Caped Avenger: No autographs. And you forgot my echo.
Man: There’s a Despicable Repulsive Supervillain robbing the bank!
Caped Avenger: (taken aback) Leaping lasagna!
Slurp: Huh?
Caped Avenger: (continuing) Wait! Did you say it was despicable? (He folds his arms and taps his finger on himself)
Man: Yes!
Caped Avenger: And is he repulsive? (He drops to the pavement and points at the man)
Man: Very!
Caped Avenger: This sounds like a job for…the Caped Avenger! (He waves his paws in front of himself as he echoes)
Man: He's also very dangerous!
Caped Avenger: This sounds like a job for the Caped Avenger’s sidekick! (He points his thumb at Slurp and zooms away. He immediately returns wearing a sun hat, shades, and carrying a surfboard) Call me after you defeat him. I’ll be in Bermuda.
Slurp: Disappointed mutters
Man: Gasp! There he is now! (He points down the street. The Avenger and Slurp turn to look)
Slurp: Huh? (They see the supervillain dressed in a crab costume carrying a black vault in his claw)
Despicable Repulsive Supervillain: Hey Caped Avenger! (He too echoes the “venger” ending, except he does it more snarkily) I just robbed the bank you keep your money in. What are you going to do about it?
Caped Avenger: The thing any self-respecting superhero would do: (he holds up one finger again) move my money to another bank. (He zooms away, and returns with his cape) No! It’s too late! He’s already stolen my money! We have to get it back! Onward, overdressed sidekick! (Slurp nods and flies away)
Slurp: Ta-da! Bark! (He holds his fist out as he flies)
Caped Avenger: Grunt! (He too has his fist extended. The Supervillain charges at him, his other claw pinching) Whoa! (The cat and dog charge side-by-side, and they both miss and crash into some trash. The Avenger is upside-down among some trash bags and Slurp is stuck inside a dumpster) We are here! Wanna give up?
Despicable Repulsive Supervillain: (shaking his head) No. (The heroes walk in front of the villain)
Caped Avenger: Even though I have incredible speed? Watch this. I’ll run completely around the world! (In a blur, he’s off, leaving Slurp and the evildoer by themselves. The villain takes advantage and raises his claws, making himself even more imposing to the pooch)
Despicable Repulsive Supervillain: (menacingly) YAH!
Slurp: AHHH! (He holds his paw up in fear. At that moment, Slurp points at the Caped Avenger, who runs up)
Caped Avenger: (with his hands on his knees) Sorry I took so long. There was a traffic jam on the highway in Luxembourg. (He looks up at the enemy) So, wanna give up now? (He holds his paw out and wiggles his fingers, as if asking for money)
Despicable Repulsive Supervillain: No. (He pinches his claws again)
Caped Avenger: Even though I have incredible strength? (Slurp crosses his arms, eager to watch the show unfold) Watch as I lift the heaviest object around here: me! (The villain puts his claws on his hips as the Caped Avenger grabs his cape around his neck and lifts himself up) Grunts
Slurp: Groan (He puts a paw to his face and shakes his head in a Garfield-esque manner)
Caped Avenger: Jon was right, I need to lose a few pounds. (He drops himself on his butt on the sidewalk. He then points at the villain) Wanna give up now?
Despicable Repulsive Supervillain: No, I think I'd rather do this. (He grabs the Caped Avenger’s cape and twirls him around by it)
Caped Avenger: Yah! Nervous laughter (The villain tosses him through a brick wall. Slurp watches worrying for his friend) YAH! (He sits upright) I think I'll give up the part about arresting supervillains and just wear the suit and look cool. (He shakes his head, noticing something about the bricks near his feet. A thought then hits him and he grins) Odie, I came through the wall this way (He points outside) and the bricks are out HERE. (He gestures around him)
Slurp: Huh? (He raises an eyebrow, confused)
Caped Avenger: Odie, I think I solved the crime! (He points to the ground around him and the comic sequence comes to an end. The villain behind Odie was just a display in the comic shop)
Odie: Bark! Huh?
Garfield: Yes! (He puts his fist into his paw) Crashing through that wall like that (he points to his head, as if he were thinking) reminded me of a story I once read, an issue of Ultra Powerful Guy! (He shakes his paws, like jazz paws) C’mon! (He waves his paw, urging Odie to join him, despite the pup’s utter confusion)
Odie: Huh? I don’t know. (Garfield steps over to the comic shelves and scans them)
Garfield: Ultra Powerful Guy, Ultra Powerful Guy, (Odie steps over to him) ah, here they are! (He steps to his left a bit, wiggling his fingers as he examines the comics) Now which issue was it? (The camera shifts to Odie, who winces at the audience) Nope not this one, no not this one either. (Returning to Garfield, who now has a comic in his hands) Wait, I think this is it! (He quickly reads it) It is! C’mon! (He closes the book and runs outside)
(Outside, the Detective talks to Rupert and Jon about the situation)
Detective: I'll be honest with you, Rupert. The chances of us finding the supervillain and returning the comic book are very slim. (Jon puts a comforting hand on Rupert’s shoulder)
Rupert: So are my chances of staying in business. (He hangs his head. Jon pats him comfortingly)
Detective: I have to go back to the police station. (He heads for the passenger side of the police car, where the sketch artist from earlier waits to drive away)
Garfield: Wait! (He bounds from the comic shop entrance) Superhero to the rescue! (Odie runs behind him)
Odie: Mutters
Garfield: Pants (He hustles to the Detective, still holding the comic book in his paw)
Detective: I don't have time to read comic books. (The Flabby Tabby then appears in the backseat urging the detective to read the comic)
Garfield: Here! Read this! Read these panels! (He opens the book and presents it to the policeman)
Detective: What are you trying to get me to… (he starts reading) “Ultra Powerful Guy says, ‘When the window is broken, the pieces of glass travel in the same direction of the impact. Since the shards of glass are on the outside, that means the window was broken from the inside.’” (He closes the book) That’s right, the pieces of glass were on the OUTSIDE!
Jon: Which means that whoever broke it…
Rupert: Did it from the inside! (This means that the only person who could’ve done it is the Security Guard. With his cover blown, the guard makes a break for it)
Security Guard: Uh, uh-oh. (He flees the scene, comic in hand)
Rupert: Stop that man! (He points at him as the latter runs down the street)
Jon: Let’s go! Somebody stop that guy! (Police cars are already filled and chasing after him)
Rupert: He won’t get away! (Next to him, Garfield rides Odie like a horse)
Garfield: Whoa! (Cops follow where the robber went. Odie and Garfield do the same) Whoaaaaa! (At the end of the alley, Garfield wonders the obvious) Any idea which way he went, faithful sidekick?
Odie: Hmm? (He looks at Garfield. The Tubby Tabby looks back at him. The pup smells the general vicinity) Sniff! Sniff, sniff, sniff! Sniffs There! (He points to their right, straightening his tail, lifting his paw and extending his nose)
Garfield: Thanks to your superpowered nose, we’re on the trail! (He hops on Odie and nudges him with his heel, like a cowboy does to a horse)
Odie: Bark! (A horse’s neigh is heard as he takes off)
(Elsewhere, the Security Guard is climbing a fire escape on a building. Odie and Garfield run up to the bottom of it, still hot on his tail)
Odie: Mutters (He looks around, unable to reach the elevated ladder. He does the next best thing: he thrusts Garfield up to it)
Garfield: Whoa! (He grabs the ladder and pulls it down. On top of the buildings, the Security Guard leaps from one to the other, still trying to escape)
Security Guard: Pants Yah! (He lands on a bent knee, and climbs down a fire escape. Garfield and Odie remain in pursuit)
Odie: Bark! (After getting off the fire escape, the guard runs down the alley. The pets slide down the ladder after him)
Security Guard: Pants! Ah! (He sees a police car on the street on the other end of the alley. He ducks for cover) Pants (Behind him, Garfield and Odie circle around. The thief peeks around the corner and sees a number of cars and officers. He wisely ducks back into cover)
(Nearby, the camera shows the backs of the heroic pets as they navigate the maze of alleys and eventually come to a fenced-off area with a board leading up to the top of the fence like a ramp)
Garfield: Pants
Odie: Mutters (They both screech to an abrupt stop in front of the fence)
Garfield: (pointing) This alley is a dead end, (Odie looks at him, then the fence, then back at him) but if he comes this way, he can use this board (The camera shows the board) to get over the fence! (Behind them, they hear metal clattering, like a tin can hitting the pavement)
Odie: Huh?
Garfield: Chuckles (He and Odie look at each other with narrowed eyes. They seem to have developed a plan, or at least Garfield has)
(Later, the thief sprints down the alley)
Security Guard: Pant I think I lost ‘em. Once I’m out of this yard, they’ll never catch me! (He runs up the board that Garfield and Odie reached. After reaching the top, he leaps right into a garbage bin. He puts his hand on the edge and lifts his head up, only for Garfield to close the lid behind him)
Garfield: Laughs (He sits on the lid, weighing it down. The guard tries lifting it, but Odie joins Garfield in holding it down, trapping the robber)
Security Guard: Let me outta here! (He pounds the lid in protest as Odie sits next to Garfield)
Garfield: (pointing up) Another job well done by the Caped Avenger (This time, Garfield does not do his trademark echo. The guard bangs the lid a couple more times) if I do say so myself, and apparently, (He and Odie look at the camera) I have to.
(Later that day, at Rupert’s shop, the Detective gives an update about the situation to Jon and Rupert)
Detective: The guard confessed.
Rupert: Oh thank you, officer. (He holds the million-dollar comic)
Garfield: Chuckles (He reads a comic while sitting at the front counter)
Detective: Don’t thank me. The cat is the one who solved the mystery. (He points with his thumb behind him)
(Odie, who had been sleeping, wakes up and shakes his tired head)
Odie: Mutters
Garfield: Yeah, I did. I feel like that real good-looking blonde guy in the cartoons with the big scared dog.
Jon: Why so glum, Rupert? You got back the comic.
Rupert: Yeah, but I'm gonna lose the comic book store. Nothing I do gets customers in here. (At that moment, the door opens and the bell rings. A group of people stands in the entrance)
Customer 1: Excuse me, is this the place we heard about on the news?
Customer 2: Where the superhero foiled the comic book robbery? (Garfield leaps on the counter and points at himself with his thumbs, grinning)
Customer 1: It is! There’s the Caped Avenger! (He points at Garfield and echoes the last couple syllables. Everyone flocks to see Garfield, who poses triumphantly in front of them)
Jon: Looks like you have customers. Chuckle Lots of ‘em!
Rupert: Yeah! Laughs How about that? (Garfield waves his paws like jazz hands, striking a few more poses)
Garfield: Hey, Batman, eat your heart out! Hey, don’t, don’t crowd. There’s enough of me to go around. (More customers, even a couple of penguins–for some reason–come in to the store to see the Caped Avenger, bringing much-needed customers to Rupert's business and therefore, saving it. The camera then pans up to the superhero statue on top of the store and the episode reaches its end)
THE END