"Fallen Arches" is the first episode of Season 3 (and the 51st episode overall).
It was produced in 1999 but first aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on July 28, 2000.
Plot[]
In this episode, a trio of old villains called the Ministry of Pain return. The girls intend to fight them, but Blossom claims that fighting their elders is the wrong way to approach the situation. She finds a possible scenario: recruit the former heroes who defeated the trio in the past. Too bad they can't agree with each other, and a painful scuffle ensues.
Synopsis[]
This episode starts with the Narrator's famous line: "The city of Townsville..." instead is being delivered by Townsville news anchor Stanley Whitfield. He reports that the city of Townsville has once again avoided certain destruction, thanks to the efforts of the Powerpuff Girls. Watching the unfolding story is an elderly resident of Pokey Folks who is furious and tired of the Girls' constant heroic exploits. He is revealed to be a former supervillain who now wishes to resume his life of crime and to put the Powerpuff Girls back in their place. Donning his former outfit, he approaches two of his old friends the next morning at the home to recruit them back into a life of crime.
Later that same afternoon, the Powerpuff Girls receive a call through the phone as there is a bank robbery in progress. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup head out to the bank, but when they arrive Blossom is surprised to find that the robbers were actually three elderly men. The three elderly men introduce themselves to the Girls: They are Mastermind, the leader, Cohort, and Counterpart, the three leading members of the Ministry of Pain, a once-feared supervillain team from many years ago. Mastermind claims that they have come out of retirement to continue their reign of evil, and will not be intimidated by three little girls. When Buttercup and Bubbles hear this they become irritated and tries to confront Mastermind, but are halted by Blossom who refuses to attack three elderly men, believing that they must always respect their elders. Assured of victory, the Ministry of Pain makes off with all their ill-gotten money. And as for the Girls, citizens of Townsville are mad at them for letting the supervillains escape.
Later the girls talk to the Mayor and he shows them what the newspapers are publishing about their defeat, but encourage them not to let the media get them down because they are the Powerpuff Girls who can fly, lift heavy objects, and 'laser beam people'. However, when he hears Blossom's explanation to whereas they could not defeat their enemies upon mentioning their name "The Ministry of Pain", he becomes hysterical and runs to the window screaming "We are Doomed!". Buttercup and Bubbles' attempts to convince him that the Ministry of Pain is an easy match for them, which he regards as nonsense. Instead, he shows an old film featuring the only superheroes to have bested the Ministry of Pain. An old superhero duo, Captain Righteous, and his sidekick, Lefty defeated and imprisoned the Ministry of Pain decades ago. When the film is over, the girls have already left to find the former duo, leaving the Mayor to continue cowering behind his desk.
The Girls meets Captain Righteous, who lives in a run-down apartment in the Pokey Folks retirement home. Upon hearing them refer to him by his former alter-ego, he smiles and welcomes them in, thinking they want his autograph. The Girls explain that the Ministry of Pain has returned and that they need his help to defeat them. Shocked at this news, Captain Righteous vows to rid the city of the former supervillain team, only to become furious when Bubbles asks if Lefty will join him in his fight. He angrily orders the Girls to get out, which they promptly do.
Later, the Girls then go to see Lefty, who lives in comfort in a completely pristine apartment. He welcomes the Girls into his place, where they inform him of the Ministry of Pain's return and ask him if he is able to do battle with them again alongside Captain Righteous. Lefty is ecstatic at the chance to fight alongside his former friend, only to lament that the Captain has come to hate him for years since their separation. Blossom then claims that the Captain would actually be very happy to fight with him once more, much to Bubbles and Buttercup's dismay. The Girls then return to Captain Righteous, reassuring him that Lefty would in no way interfere with his battle against the Ministry of Pain. Both men accept the offer to save Townsville once more, with Blossom completely self-assured that her plan is foolproof. Bubbles and Buttercup however were unsure as Captain Righteous and Lefty suit up for their upcoming battle.
The Ministry of Pain is on the loose again as they proceed to rob yet another bank in the city. As they leave with their prize, they are confronted by Captain Righteous, who is tired and weak from flying despite his old age. He tries to stop the Ministry of Pain, who simply file past him before they are stopped by Lefty, who orders the three men to stand down. Captain Righteous is surprised to see Lefty and asks him angrily what he's doing here. A heated argument erupts where Captain Righteous claims that Lefty only wants fame and glory for none of the work, much to Lefty's outrage as he shoots down the Captain's ridiculous claims. The Ministry of Pain then forcefully shoves Lefty out of their way as they make their getaway, causing Lefty to injure his hip. Horrified, Captain Righteous rushes to his old partner's side and the two men finally mend their differences. Lefty urges the Captain to continue the fight without him, but the Captain has a change of heart and realizes he can't do so. Lefty, however, is too badly hurt and faints as the Captain carries out one last attack against the Ministry. Captain Righteous flies himself right at the three men, slamming them and himself all into the ground and leaving them all badly injured. An ambulance arrives on the scene and all five elderly men are rushed to the hospital.
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Bubbles and Buttercup blame Blossom for not letting them fight the Ministry of Pain themselves and her irrational reason for it, when Blossom’s plan backfired completely, but at least the Ministry of Pain is defeated.
Later, the Girls watch the news as Stanley Whitfield reports on the incident. The doctors confirmed that Captain Righteous, Lefty and the Ministry of Pain are not in critical condition although they wonder how five of them ended up in that situation. Bubbles and Buttercup are very furious with Blossom, who now regrets of her actions. While Blossom gets blamed for everything, Stanley concludes the episode that "perhaps none of this would have happened if the Powerpuff Girls would've just saved the day".
Characters[]
Major Roles[]
- The Powerpuff Girls
- Captain Righteous
- Lefty
- Ministry of Pain
- Mastermind
- Counterpart
- Cohort
Minor Roles[]
Trivia[]
- This episode premiered in some countries before the United States.[1]
- This episode premiered in Australia on January 21, 2000.
- This episode premiered in Canada on March 4, 2000.
- This episode premiered in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2000.
- Moral: No one has a right to break the law, no matter how old you are.
- This is one of the only two episodes where Blossom's actions are portrayed as negative, with the other being "A Very Special Blossom", where she steals the Pro Excellence 2000 golf clubs for Professor on Father's Day, but made it worse when he gets falsely accused for theft and instead of telling the truth, she attempts to put the blame on Mojo Jojo for her crime. Both episodes close out with Blossom being singled out for her blunder.
- Blossom may have less respect for the elderly than she thought when she decided to let both Captain Righteous and Lefty deal with The Ministry of Pain who are about as old and frail as them. It proves that all five of them are entirely too old and frail to ever go back in heroism and villainy, and they all should stay retired permanently.
- Despite the villains being elderly, all the Powerpuff Girls could have done was simply arrest them and escort them to jail, without hitting them.
- The Mayor got shocked when he found out from Blossom that The Ministry of Pain made a comeback and think The Powerpuff Girls are no match against them whatsoever. It's possible that during their youth in the 1940's, The Ministry of Pain were the most dangerous and most sinister villains in Townsville, even that they almost took over the world. So far, they probably were far worse than about every villains, criminals and thugs The Powerpuff Girls have ever faced.
- Also, Captain Righteous and Lefty probably were better superheroes than their future successors, The Powerpuff Girls, during their youth, because they were the only superhero team applicable of beating The Ministry of Pain and The Mayor thinks they still are the only heroes can beat The Ministry of Pain.
- When the Mayor shows the girls a newsreel, the design was mostly based on the DC comics back in the 40s.
- The Townsville newspapers are Townsville Tribune, Gogle, and The Sun (which is sold for 50¢).
- The Narrator doesn't have any lines in this episode. The usual "The City of Townsville…" line at the beginning is instead said by Stanley Whitfield.
- This is one of two episodes not to feature the Narrator. The other is "A Documentary".
- Pokey Folks, the old folks home of the city of Townsville is similarly named as Pokey Oaks, the Kindergarten that the Powerpuff Girls attend.
- Captain Righteous was inspired by Captain America, one of Marvel Comics' first superheroes during The Golden Age of Comics during World War II, back then, Marvel was called Timely Comics.
- Lefty is inspired by Bucky (Captain America's sidekick) & Robin from Batman from Marvel's chief competitor, DC Comics.
- In Pokey Folks, there is a painting on the wall with three dogs sitting on a table, this can be a reference to famous oil paintings of 1903, Dogs Playing Poker.
- The "why didn't the chickenpuffs cross the rogues?" is a pun on the well-known joke "why did the chicken cross the road?".
Production Notes[]
- Although this episode premiered in the United States on July 28, 2000, it was actually produced in 1999 according to the credits.
- This episode was finished in November of 1999.[2]