"Mr. Mojo's Rising" is the 14th episode of The Powerpuff Girls Season 1.
It was produced in 1998 and first aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on January 6, 1999.
Synopsis[]
Mojo Jojo kidnaps Professor Utonium and tells the Powerpuff Girls the story of who he was before they were born. The Professor has a different account of this story, the retelling of which leads to the revelation that Mojo Jojo was partly responsible for creating the Powerpuff Girls.
Plot[]
On an otherwise normal day, Mojo Jojo kidnaps the Professor from his lab and leaves a note. Upon evaluation of the crime scene, the girls speed to Mojo's Lair, only to have Mojo call the Professor his father. He then reveals to them that before the girls were born, he was an ordinary monkey named "Jojo", who was the Professor's pet.
According to Mojo's account, he was well-loved by the Professor until the girls were born. He goes on to remark that the fallout from the explosion that created the girls also affected him; Chemical X poisoning caused his simple simian brain to mutate and grant him superhuman intelligence. Over time, however, even as his feats with his new-found intelligence proved impressive, they went unnoticed in contrast to the girls' own powers. The Professor's neglect and his own dejection inspired Mojo to take on life as a supervillain, dedicating his life to destroying them and the world along with it.
Though the Professor admits that he did have a pet monkey named Jojo, he does not remember much before the girls were born. In an attempt to make amends, the Professor works with Mojo to build a machine capable of giving him superpowers similar to theirs.
Upon having the girls' powers copied into himself, Mojo betrays Professor Utonium and quickly outmatches the girls using all their own strengths against them, along with his improved brainpower. Soon after dispatching the girls, he plans to use his new powers to rule the world; he even goes so far as to dismantle his laboratory and weaponry, declaring them useless with the advent of his new abilities.
As he watches Mojo destroy things, the Professor finally remembers Mojo as his assistant. Professor then yells to Mojo saying he now recalls him. Contrary to Mojo's claim, the Professor recalls Mojo was a terrible lab assistant to the Professor who only destroyed everything he touched. Utonium remarks that Mojo still has not changed, as Mojo tries to hide his actions. The Professor then recalls that he eventually got so fed up that he kicked Mojo out the very day the girls were born. With the story replaying as a flashback, he then remembers that while he was making the concoction, Jojo pushed the Professor in such a way to have him hit the container of Chemical X, bringing the girls to life in their current form; the Professor realizes that Mojo Jojo himself was partially responsible for creating the Powerpuff Girls.
The Professor and the girls soon have Mojo's powers removed and leave, calling him "family" as a taunt. The stupefied chimp then spends the rest of the episode mumbling to himself about his part in creating his own arch-nemeses (the Narrator even laughs at this).
The Narrator quickly recaps the events of the episode before he says a variant of the closing line: "So, once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls. But, thanks originally to Mojo Jojo." Mojo Jojo appears in the center in place of the girls, saying "It was me." repeatedly.
Appearances[]
Characters
Locations
Trivia[]
- This is the first of three episodes to have a dot (.) in its title. The other two are "Something's a Ms." and "Powerprof.".
- This episode is one of the few episodes where Mojo Jojo saves the day.
- It is also one of the few episodes where Mojo Jojo got to defeat the Powerpuff Girls and actually wins. Despite this, the girls survive.
- In this episode, Mojo finally won a battle against the Powerpuff Girls, though this was the only time he got to do so.
- In this episode, it is revealed in a flashback from Professor Utonium, that Mojo Jojo is partially responsible for the Professor's accidental creation the Powerpuff Girls.
- Later, The Powerpuff Girls Movie explained in further detail how the girls were born.
- Running gag: Mojo Jojo confessing that he was the one who created the Powerpuff Girls, by saying it was me up until the end of the episode.
- This episode's name is a reference to the song "L.A. Woman" by The Doors, where in the middle of the song, Jim Morrison starts to sing "Mr. Mojo Risin'" (which is actually an anagram of Morrison's name).
- After gaining super powers, Mojo has Powerpuff eyes. But, when the girls start to fight him, Mojo's eyes are back to normal.
- There is a picture book version of this episode, under a similar name: Mojo Jojo's Rising.
- Buttercup saying the phrase “What’chu talkin’ about Mojo?” is a reference to Gary Coleman's phrase “What’chu talkin’ ‘bout Willis?” from the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes.
Goofs[]
- When the Powerpuff Girls were talking at the end of the episode, Mojo's mouth was moving but his voice was not heard.
- Bubbles and Blossom's dress colors were switched when Mojo Jojo defeated them.
Production Notes[]
- Although this episode premiered in the United States on January 6, 1999, it was actually produced in 1998 according to the credits.
- This episode was finished in October of 1998.[1]