(Where I Watch) Outlaw Star

[Wraithstrike]

I'm just getting this started here.

So I'm going to do an episode by episode analysis/riff of Outlaw Star. Much like Heartcatch Precure, I'm coming in blind. I know of certain things about it, such as how badly it was bowdlerized in America, and how it may have inspired a certain scene in Firefly, but aside from that I know nothing. I have not seen any episodes of the series before now.

For a bonus treat to those of you who at least read my last thread, this one is going to be in character. What character will I be portraying?

Firestorm and Aquaman from Batman:Brave and the Bold. Picture two heroes just taking some downtime to watch some anime, inbetween crises and crossovers with Batman.

I hope that you'll find it Outrageous!

 

[Wraithstrike]

As the Justice League Watchtower passes over the Middle East, Aquaman enters for a shift on watch duty. Sitting at the main console is Jason Rusch, AKA Firestorm.

Aquaman: "Good morning, Jason. I see we both drew the short stick."

Firestorm: "It's my thought that graveyard shift is a way to punish us for being awesome.., Oh, hi Aquaman."

Firestorm waves his hand over a bottle of chocolate milk.

Aquaman: "Any reason why you did that?"

Firestorm: "I just added caffeine. If I'm going to stay awake for this, I'll need it."

Aquaman: "You honestly have nothing to worry about my friend. Let me regale you with..."

Firestorm:"Stop right there. I've had so much caffeine that I'd probably get angry at your stories, and I don't want to do that."

Aquaman:"I understand that my own adventures make other heroes feel somewhat inadequate. But how else can we pass the time?"

Firestorm: " What do you mean 'pass the time?' Aren't we supposed to be keeping tabs on what's going on on earth?"

Aquaman: "Do you honestly believe we're the only heroes awake at this hour? By the time a signal passes through here, some hero will have responded to it. Just look. "

Aquaman points down to the computer screen where several crises and hero logos can be seen.

Aquaman: "There's a 6.5 earthquake in China. Captain Marvel is already on the scene. The Calendar Man has left a body for Batman to find, and Batman will have dealt with it before we can even contact him. Someone is trying to rust away the Eiffel Tower. The Metal Men are there."

Firestorm: "So who's handling the Giant Robot fight in downtown Tokyo?"

Aquaman: "How did I miss that? Perhaps we should dispatch someone to deal with it...Wait a second, there's no giant robot attack."

Firestorm: "No, but I wish there was. It would make things more interesting."

Aquaman: "Watch this. Computer, deploy two micro-crisis monitor devices."
Two small watches come from the computer console. Each one, true to the name, has a miniature version

Aquaman: "Computer: Route all Crises Below Level 5 to nearby heroes. All Crises above level 5, route to micro-crisis monitors."

Computer: "Confirmed."

Firestorm: "How did you know about that?"

Aquaman: "Green Arrow told me. Let's get away from here and do something else."

Aquaman and Firestorm move away from the computer consoles and head for the entertainment lounge. Here, several pingpong tables, a billiards table and a big-screen tv are set up. Firestorm sits on the couch, grabbing the remote control.

Aquaman: "Are you sure you wish to trade one screen for another?"

Firestorm: "Why not? Let's see what's on...Infomercial, Infomercial, Infomercial..."

Aquaman: "Can that Titebond material actually do as they claim? Perhaps we should use it Atlantean Armor..."

Firestorm: "I had to study the stuff for a project. Yes it does that, but only for the first two months. After that, you have to reapply it. No more infomercials...Music Videos? Wow, this one is horrible, right Aquaman? Aquaman, where'd you go?"

Aquaman(faintly): "I'm in the kitchen, seeking a snack fit for heroes."

Aquaman returns, carrying a six-foot sandwich and two bottles of soda.

Aquaman: "Root Beer or Cola, Jason?"

Firestorm: "Whichever has more caffeine. I can't believe this. We get access to every TV station on earth, and there's so little on. Wait a second..."

Aquaman: "What did you find?"

Firestorm: "Looks like some kind of anime marathon. Outlaw Star...I remember hearing something about that."

Aquaman: "Well, in the absence of anything else, I guess I can join you. Let's get started."

Firestorm: "OK. So, this is some kind of space show, isn't it. We've got this redheaded pilot fighting what's known as Grappler Ships."

Aquaman: "I love his attitude. 'I can't believe this is happening. But I have to take the road ahead of me.' And know he's arm wrestling ship to ship and demand that the now destroyed grappler ship get out of his way before blasting off."

Firestorm: "This is an awesome opening. And it sure looks like our hero is having the time of his life with those people, who I assume are his crew. The title of this episode is Outlaw World and we open with this old guy sending out some fighters that sound a lot like biplanes taking off. They're going after Hot Ice Hilda? Did I hear that right?"
"The ship that they're trying to catch has some kind of treasure aboard it. Apparently, they've done this dance before. Missiles hit a barrier, and the grapplers attempts to grab hold are met with heavy fire until the main gun is ripped off."

Aquaman: "'To stay is death. To go is death.' Well, I'm not a fan of the nihilistic attitude, but I do like the plan. Jump to hyperspace, knowing that the grapplers have to charge their engines. It rips them apart and Hilda gets away to a planet called Sentinel III. I don't get the point of rattling off the details of the world, as we soon zoom down to street level at a place called Craid's Bar where our hero, Gene Starwind...

is being found by "Death" Rob Kane who's coming for revenge for his brother. What a fool! Never boast about your body count when you don't know if your target's armed!"

Firestorm: "Gene just straight up plugged him! If this was a western, it would have been the shortest fight ever. But Kane's a cyborg. After drilling him one more time in the head, Gene just dodges around Kane's attacks before his blond partner Jim gives him the cyborg's weak spot. Oh...of course the guy has a knife in his boot."

Aquaman: 'Look at the bartender's expression as the fight occurs. His face says 'Another cyborg killed in my bar. Yes, today is definitely Tuesday.' There's a bounty on Rob, which is enough to cover the damages. Very practical thinking there. So where is Gene going? Somewhere that doesn't interest kids like Jim."

Firestorm: "I'm just going to assume that the guys who were after Hilda are the villains of the piece. They just showed up with a bunch of ninjas to hunt her down. Now, after his night of 'fun' Gene wakes up at 11 AM at his repair/odd job business. He and...wait, Jim's name is Hawking? Like Jim Hawkins, in Treasure Island? Nice."

Aquaman: "I wonder if that new client of their could be Hilda in disguise? Down at Craid's Bar, the recent fight has brought more customers to the bar. It's not much of a negotiation. She needs a bodyguard for her and the parts for her vessel, and Gene's too happy to help for 800 a day plus expenses. And there's a fight very soon. Gene very handily kills two of these harlequin robot ninjas and the third escapes."

Firestorm: "So, Jim's finally shown up with a hovercar that fails to launch the first time. After a quick fix, they're down the highway. And oh look, here's the villains... Why do they all look like they've got scoliosis?"

Aquaman: "I honestly don't know. Higher gravity on Sentinel III? So Hilda throws a grenade to stun them and Gene floors it. And up until this point, I was fairly certain it was going to be just a space smuggler story, like Firefly. The big frankenstein dude starts channeling Tao magic? His minions become a hoverboard? Well, as the chase goes on, Hilda reveals herself."

"Now the big man pulls a giant meat cleaver from his sheath as Gene switches places with Rachel and starts firing at him with his revolver. WHERE DID GENE PULL THAT ROCKET LAUNCHER FROM? When that doesn't work, he asks for a #3. A specialized gun that instantly obliterates the minions and frankenstein. That's an incredible weapon."

Firestorm: "Oh come on! They just got away! And Hilda shoots Gene, dragging Jim into the warehouse to bring out a trunk. But Gene was saved by having Jim's PDA in his pocket. He puts a gun to Hilda's head and demands the code for the trunk. THERE'S A NAKED GIRL IN THE TRUNK? No. No. This was 1998 right? I'm sure it was done before, and done after this."

Aquaman: "I am in awe. This show was like one of my tales. Fast-paced, full of action and..."

Firestorm: "Utterly over the top?"

Aquaman: "Yes. No. I mean, yes, the show was over the top, but my adventures certainly aren't. I'm just telling them like they happened."

Firestorm: "Well, we got another three our so hours on watch. Shall we watch the next episode?"

Aquaman: "I'm certainly interested to see where this goes. But how can we watch the whole series in one night?"

Firestorm: "We don't have to. There's the cool thing called DVR. We can just record it to disk and watch it later."

Aquaman: "OUTRAGEOUS!"

 

[Wraithstrike]

Aquaman:"I'm certain that this show will continue to top itself. It has a great narration about the right for boys to dream, because all men were once boys. I'm going to use that at my next speech in Atlantis. "

Firestorm:"So the little tao witch is doing some kind of ritual to locate Hilda and the boys. It's not like they were subtle about it. You don't really need magic to find them. Back in the warehouse, Hilda explains that the girl's name is Melfina, and also displays that she's a cyborg. By this point, it doesn't surprise me anymore. "

Aquaman:"So Jim has to fix her cyborg arm as Hilda explains why she stole Melfina. She's had a longstanding feud with the pirate guild. Not surprising. They're getting ready for the fight. I'd like to know what the difference between the different bullets is. "

Firestorm:"More tao magic, and Jim takes Hilda to her dropship. The old wizard is preparing a massive dragon spell. Gene blasts it away, to the pirate's surprise. So the #5 worked well, but the other bullet was a dud. Fortunately, here comes Hilda's ship, just in time. Melfina's awake, questioning her birth and something called the Ley Line Project. It's time to get aboard the ship, and not a moment too soon as the old man starts another dragon spell. "

Aquaman:"I recognize that spell. Black Manta once tried to use something similar on Atlantis. Fortunately, Green Lantern was there to help me ruin the magic circle and it wound up destroying most of Manta's troops. "

Firestorm:"You won't mind if I call him to confirm that, do you? "

Aquaman:" Not now, my young friend, we're watching Outlaw Star. So Gene hasn't been in space in a logn time, and can't take the G-forces. They get aboard Hilda's ship Horus and head for the free town Blue Heaven. "

Firestorm:" Oh look, a flashback. Gene's dad dropped him into an escape pod as his own ship was attacked. After all that, Gene wakes up on the approach...wow, how'd they get that much Neon for Blue Heaven? "

Aquaman:"We meet up with the dockmaster Swansz, who delivers some bad news to Hilda. The law about no bullets in the space colony makes a fair amount of sense, though I'm not entirely in agreement on the specific differences between outlaws and pirates. "

Firestorm:"Green Arrow would get it. Melfina needs new clothes and Gene pawns the job off to Jim. While Melfina tries on new outfits, Hilda and Gene go to a club to find mercenaries to hire. She wants to find a grappler ship to enter the Ether Sargasso. Oh look, punching bags. "

Plastic Man enters, stopping by the console to get a micro-crisis monitor.

Plastic Man: "Hey fellas, what are we watching here?"

Aquaman: "An interesting show about smugglers, taoist magic, pirates and leylines. "

Plastic Man: "Oh, Outlaw Star! I love this show. Have you reached the point where..."

Aquaman shoves a reuben sandwich into Plastic Man's mouth.

Aquaman: "Since I am new to this series, I must ask that you refrain from spoilers, Eel."

Plastic Man: "Mmrph...mmm. mmm sammich."

Firestorm:"Thank you, Aquaman. "

Aquaman:"Listen to the background chatter as the fight starts. 'Oh no, here we go again.' 'Ten on Hilda.' It's a quick fight, and she uses a combined taser/brass knuckle to paralyze the goons before they have a chance to fight back. "

Firestorm:"Melfina and Jim share a room, much to his consternation, even as a pair of assassins break into the hotel to kill Gene and Hilda, but they were ready for it. Once they knock out the assassins, the Big Daddy from Bioshock busts through the wall. "

Plastic Man: "MMM. no guns, and a robotic enemy in tight quarters. Sounds like the kind of thing Batman would love. So, are we going to watch Into Burning Space next? "

Aquaman: "But of course!"

 

[Wraithstrike]

Aquaman:"Ah. There's a bit of backstory. Faster than Light travel is possible to due to the Munchausen Drive...Why does that name sound so familiar?"

Firestorm,whispered: "Shall I tell him?"

Plastic Man, whispered: "Nope. Let it slide."

Aquaman: "So we had pirates much like the age of sail. And the Outlaws are the one who side with no one. Interesting bit of character there."

Firestorm: "Even after all he's been told about firing guns in Blue Heaven, Gene still pulls out his pistol, loaded with paint bullets. a very glue-like paint. The robot stops, and our bearded buffoon from the bar pops out. And there's Hilda's shock knuckles again."

Plastic Man: I like HIlda's interrogation techniques on one of the assassin. Hired by McDougall. Ah well. Time to go back to Horus just in time for the grappler ships to close in. Melfina's in the auxilliary control and Jim in the Laser cannon. Gene's suffering space sickness again."

Aquaman: "Gene takes liquid courage as the Horus comes across a ship from the Ctarl-Ctarl race, and they're both vectoring for the right of way down the narrow lanes. It's a game of spaceship chicken! Horus passes safely past Aisha Clanclan's ship. I have to think she's much younger than she looks."

Firestorm: "She's certainly some kind of royal brat, surrounded by yes men. Sounds like Orm, doesn't it?"

Aquaman: "Yes. Very much so. Now when Hilda gets to her next location she finds her contacts vessels destroyed by the Kei Pirates. And the Pirates got the information from McDougall. I'm not liking him very much."

Plastic Man: "More booze and Gene is forced into the Cannon Compartment. He launches missiles to get the pursuing pirates away. However, they have placed a sigil on Horus, so even if they get to Farfallas, the pirates will be able to track them."

Aquaman: "More time with Aisha, who's having an argument with a prerecorded message. She was stripped of her title. And now the crew on Hilda's ship match orbit with an asteroid to find a ship 'made with the brains of pirates and the technology of the Empire.' Fascinating. So the next chapter in this adventure is 'When the Hot Ice Melts.' I shall procure more snacks."

 

[Wraithstrike]

Plastic Man:" I love the little bits of history of this universe. The Grappler arms and computer systems led to a new style of combat in space, and anybody who ever survived ship to ship combat like that was called a grapper."

Aquaman:" As we've seen with Gene, surviving in space is no small feat. And doing so when someone else is attempting to rip your ship apart with grappler arms is all the harder. We're likely to see a lot more of that as time goes on."

Firestorm: "Yeah. yeah, you're right on that one...Sorry, I was talking with Ronnie. He thinks having a hollowed out asteroid to keep a ship would be awesome."

Aquaman: "Yes, unless your enemies also have that technology. Talk to Adam Strange some day, you'll understand. So this is what it's all about. The XGP-15A2. It's quite an impressive ship."

Plastic Man: "The music here as the ship comes online is nice and dramatic. And we get introduced to the Ship's AI, Gilliam 2. After a short introduction to the new crew, the pirates arrive."

Aquaman: "Hilda's logic here is impeccable. If the XGP-15A2 is as important as she says, they have to get it spaceborne soon. Since the Pirates are after it, it makes sense to get out.

Plastic Man:"Gene's in the captain's seat and Melfina gets complete control in the ship in the bacta tank. While Hilda uses what ammo she's got left, the old tao pirate's found the dockyard."

Aquaman: "Now that's clever. Rotating the ship to protect Horus with the Asteroid. Wait...did the old pirate just say what I thought he did?"

Firestorm: "Yup! 'Don't just fire at random!' They're doing a great job of building the tension here, between the ship at the airlock exit and Hilda getting grappled. But what's this? McDougall is firing weapons at the pirates! "

Aquaman: "The Greenhaired one seems to really enjoy his work. As they fire the Halcyon missile at the asteroid, everything plummets sunward. neither Horus or the XGP-15A2 are able to escape the gravity of sun. But Gene has a moment of awesome, using the grappler arms to punch through an asteroid! That reminds me of the time..."

Plastic Man: "Time for some Grappler to Grappler combat and Gene wins. Before they can collect Hilda, the pirate ship launches an anchor line. I love how Hilda realizes her only method of escape is to slide the line. But the little tao witch is there too, snapping the line."

Aquaman: "The witch tries to cast a spell, using what little oxygen she has left and Hilda grabs her ankle. 'Just remember, Gene. Outlaws never go down easy no matter what happens.' There really was no way she'd survive anyway, but at least this way, the pirates go down with her. I never imagined I'd hear that instrument played with such emotion."

Firestorm: "A moment of silence on the ship is interrupted by Gilliam asking for a course. Before Gene lays it in, he names the ship. OUTLAW STAR. And we've got Beast Girl, Ready To Pounce next."
Aquaman: "We also only have one hour left on watch detail. Two more episodes, then it's down to DVR."

 

[Wraithstrike]

Related note: On the other site, somebody put my thoughts on Outlaw Star space combat into better words than I could:
"It's like Sunrise read pages of griping about proper range, lack of maneuverability, and zero-g combat in space warfare and said 'Screw it! It's a space opera. We can do whatever the hell we want. You don't like close space combat, well we just gave you melee combat in space!'"

 

[Wraithstrike]

Aquaman: "You know, forcing people into space because they have highest honors isn't a good thing at all. Aisha really had no choice in the matter. Even in Atlantis we give everyone the choice of what they want to do with their lives."

Plastic Man: "They're going back to Blue Heaven. to get a registration and paint job. Swanzo owes Hilda big, but refuses to cover weapons and supplies."

Firestorm: "It's the downtime moments that make this show. Sure, they could pack it with grappler fight after grapple fight to satisfying people with ADHD, like Eel..."

Plastic Man: "Nah man. I've never been diagnosed. But I see what you're saying. Melfina, even with no memory of who she is, knows that she has Hilda to thank for saving her. And while she's sadened by the loss, Gene is angered by it."

Aquaman: "Here's Aisha, demanding information on Hilda in a scene which would later be imitated in Gurren Lagann. The difference here is that Hilda's death is fresh in their minds, and this is their first face to face meeting."

Firestorm: "Time for a literal catfight. Aisha's got a multi sectional staff that Gene stops with a knife. And she's a metamorph with a lunar-based transformation. But there is no moon on Blue Heaven."

Aquaman: "Gene seems to be suffering. He lost two people important to him in space, so seeing the stars makes him dizzy. And Melfina has her own existential crisis. I like how Gene handles this. He tells Melfina all the ways she's different from other androids, and promises to help find her past. It will be a long road, but they'll do it."

Plastic Man: "Gene's knife breaks against Aisha's skin, and she passes out from lack of food. It takes a ton of calories to keep up her fighting form. I remember B'wana Beast saying the same thing about his power."

Firestorm: "Gene's line there is brilliant. When Aisha tells him to understand that Ctarl Ctarl's pay no heed to an enemy's compassion he responds 'Well, I don't understand. So there must be something wrong with your standards.' By this point, her blustering has Gene and his crew bored. Gene's got a #12 shell for the caster and it shocks Aisha at point blank. And of course, he tells the waiter to put the whole meal on Aisha's tab."

Aquaman: "And now Outlaw Star takes off, freshly registered and painted, while Aisha's left behind to do dishes. And we've got the Beautiful Assassin next."

 

[Wraithstrike]

Aquaman: "So our mysterious assassin is Suzuka. I must admit, the narration about how she goes through life is rather hackneyed."

Firestorm raises a finger as if to speak then drops it.

Firestorm:"OK, a professional outlaw, a bounty hunter, a genius engineer, a mysterious android woman, a catgirl and now an assassin. It's like we're watching the transcription of someone's roleplaying campaign."

Plastic Man: "The assassin is totally the second character for Hilda's Player then. Gotta wonder what system they're using."

Firestorm: "Traveller has catkind...but the over the top Tao magic stuff, I'm just not sure about. Now, Outlaw Star is making planetfall, and it's not a very good job. Gene can't be faulted for that kind of failure. It's his first time. He just manages it."

Plastic Man: "They're trying to get to Fred Lowe, a contact back on Sentinel III. He's a bit touchy-feely, to put it simply. I'm not going to go down the road of what he actually seems to be. Oh here's Twilight Suzuka, smacking down Fred's bodyguards and telling him he has three minutes to live. When Gene comes back in with the estimate, he walks in on the contract killing."

Aquaman: "She's skilled with a sword, and considered Ultra-class A. Gene so easily takes advantage of Fred's fear after saving his life. Wait...she did all that damage with a wooden sword. That's even more impressive."

Firestorm: "I want one of those swords now. We've got the running duel now...She just cut a truck in twain! Holy Cow!"

Aquaman: "When Gene finally does decide to fight, he catches that sword in between his lightshields, trying to break it. He manages to throw the sword away and grab her sash and sword, rendering her almost naked."

Firestorm: "I'm going to have to see that again on DVR. So Gene first offers her sash and sword for Fred's life. When that fails, he asks her why she won't stop trying to kill Fred. Her answer is 'My Pride.' And his response 'Since I hurt your pride, if you want to kill Fred Lowe, you'll have to kill me first.' What just happened?"

Aquaman: "He used her own pride against her. She just made a binding contract with him to kill him first. By making himself a moving target, he's effectively protecting Fred from assassination. And Fred gives the weapons for Outlaw Star at a discount. I foresee some kind of rumble between Aisha and Suzuka over who gets to kill Gene. Well,
Firestorm, it's time for us to return to earth. Eel, would you be so kind as to send copies of the DVR to our drop boxes?"

Plastic Man: "Will do! Blue Beetle's coming up soon, and he's new to this show too. See you guys later."

 

[Wraithstrike]

Episode 7: Creeping Evil

Plastic Man: "Jaime! You made it, just in time for Outlaw Star."

Blue Beetle: "Yeah, Firestorm gave me a rough synopsis on the way in. If you hear what sounds like me talking to myself, it's actually me arguing with the AI in the suit."

Plastic Man: "I thought you had that in better control."

Blue Beetle: "So did I, but this cyber-nerd connected to me is going to complain about the 'laughable' technology in the show. It actually used that word, laughable.

Plastic Man: "Don't you have a mute button?"

Blue Beetle. "I wish. Let's do this. So the main villains are the 108 Suns? We have some kind of ninja magic space pirates...Wow. That has to be the most awesome phrase I've ever uttered. This is a pretty awesome liftoff simulation."

Plastic Man: "Gene's gone back to Iris at Clyde's bar. And he's getting more paranoid about the situation that's come up. Jim's car was impounded, but easily recovered, no big bounties have come through since he killed Death Rob, and nobody's been asking about him."

Blue Beetle: "Melfina's a construct, right? She's artificial life, but she's trying to learn about the people around her. I kind of like her. Not so much sold on Gene here. Did somebody slip a tracker into Jim's car?"

Plastic Man: "Yup, and now acting on it, one pirate goes to the outlaw star, while another goes after Melfina...Guy looks like Mad Hatter on steroids. Twilight Suzuka to the rescue! She's trying to get Gene into her debt, but it leads to an awesome high flying combat, wooden sword versus retractable flail."

Blue Beetle: "She runs down the length of his chain, and dashes through him. After cutting her foe down, Suzuka goes to Gene's shop. And Gene's gunfight with the pirates is also good. He's using some seriously potent shells in that gun of his. Must be a fifty-cal with the amount of destruction it causes. And that explosion has attracted the attention of the spaceport guards, so the pirate has to disengage."

Plastic Man: "Suzuka admits to Jim that she finds Gene's crew interesting and they bring her along to Outlaw Star. And Gene was heavily wounded in his fight, and passes out from blood loss."

Blue Beetle: "What I find interesting is that Suzuka seems more interested in taking out the Kei Pirates than Gene. And she's now a permanent crew member, I assume."


Plastic Man: "No doubt."

 

[Wraithstrike]

Episode 8:Forced Departure
Blue Beetle: "Gene can't be dead, right? He's the ship's captain..."

Plastic Man: "What makes you so certain of that? The show introduced some impressive villains who all died before the Outlaw Star was painted. Hot Ice Hilda, who rescued Melfina from the pirates died in the corona of a sun. If the show does pull punches, it does so when you least expect it."

Blue Beetle: "Well, they got him to the medical ward, so that's good. But he's been poisoned, and Not-The-Joker-At-All beams in a message demanding the surrender of Outlaw Star in trade for an antidote."

Plastic Man: "Aquaman and Firestorm mentioned how the Kei Pirates seem to need some serious chiropractic help. Good to see they kept it up with this assassin. And Jim opens fire on the spaceport when the pirates show up."

Blue Beetle: "When they cut the transmission, the pirate called someone, asking him to look the other way. So they've got their hooks into everyone on Sentinel III. And while Melfina attempts to restore Gene's body in her command tube, he relives his past."

Plastic Man: "He does that a lot. But it's not a bad flashback. It's the very core of his character. And now Melfina's working to heal Gene, we get to see enemy mechs approach and we find out that Fred Lowe was their contact."

Blue Beetle: "Gene's healthy again! The Outlaw Star uses its grapple arms to beat down the pirate mechs. While Gene manages to take down two, the Not-Joker Pirate hides from the arms...but not from Twilight Suzuka! She just bisected the mech with a wooden sword! And she deflects Not-Joker's pin missiles and cuts him down."

Plastic Man: "Gene's accepted Suzuka as part of his crew and the crew is ready to take off. The Control Tower is trying to hold the Outlaw Star there, which Gene has no intention of allowing. He sets the Outlaw Star for launch, effectively ending any connection he has with Sentinel III. Suzuka feels the same way, and Outlaw Star hits escape velocity. Here come the Pirate Vessels!"

Blue Beetle: "And it's time for Grappler Combat! We start by deploying camera pods, so Gene has full view of the battlefield in 3-D, projected right to his eye. Outlaw star uses a laser blaster in Grappler size, a chain weapon and actual hand to hand grappling. And Gene learned something from Suzuka! He cuts through the final grappler right down the middle and flies off for Hei Fong, in a different pirate armada's turf. That...Was...Awesome! Shut up, scarab. It was!"