| Major Competition | |
| Episode name pun on: | |
|---|---|
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| Airdate: | January 6, 1999 |
| Credits | |
| Director: | Genndy Tartakovsky Craig McCracken |
| Story: | Cindy Morrow |
| See also | |
| episode transcript |
image gallery |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Tough Love" |
Next "Mr. Mojo's Rising" |
| Rating | |
"Major Competition" is the first half of the seventh episode of Season 1. It first aired on Cartoon Network in the United States on January 6, 1999.
Synopsis
A new villain called Major Man arrives in Townsville and plans to steal the girls' fame. It's up to the girls to prove to Townsville that Major Man is a phony and that they really are the real superheroes Townsville needs.
Plot
The story begins with the city of Townsville as the victim of a massive fire. Soon as the girls could fly into a problem area, the fire is blown out, thanks to an otherwise unknown new hero.
As he makes himself known to the people, his identity is brought into question until the girls ask. He identifies himself as Major Man: crusher of crime, demolisher of disorder, and eliminator of evil. The people take the idea of this new superhero, even as he thwarts the mugging of an older woman and the girls float off realizing what awaits them.
Throughout town, Major Man demonstrates his campaign for justice and peace, including thwarting a train wreck, saving a man from a fall, and breaking up another mugging, while inspiring those he saved.
Meanwhile, the girls' hotline phone has been silent, except for one call from the Mayor who remarks that he and the girls grew apart and that he's found someone else in Major Man.
As their dejection worsens, the Professor is tuned in to a ceremony for Major Man commemorating him for saving Townsville. However, in his audience with the mayor, he lets it slip that he knows about the incidents in advance, suggesting to the girls that something is terribly wrong with him.
The girls decide to shadow Major Man as he is on patrol, coming to confirm that he is known for setting up his own disasters after seeing him kick an innocent puppy into the street and then save it. Inspired, the girls decide to expose him as a fraud.
Soon after, the city comes under attack by a large monster while the people are confident in Major Man being able to save them. Unfortunately, he had so little prior knowledge of the situation that he finds himself at the monster's mercy quickly. With their new hero incapacitated, the girls fly in, seemingly to help out. The townspeople recall them and cheer for them as Major Man begs for their help but they instead ask Major Man about why he could not fight the monster himself. Under pressure, he is forced to admit that he set up all of those other disasters so he could get all the fame and glory, to the citizens' shock. The girls ask him to elaborate; he admits to having started the large fire, asked his cousin and grandmother to stage robberies, paid thugs to harass an old man, and even sabotaged railroad tracks to stage wrecks. The townspeople angrily boo at Major Man for lying to them about everything and for putting them and all Townsville in danger in the first place. As soon as he agrees to leave the heroics up to real heroes, the girls get to work taming the giant monster and saving Major Man in the process.
After he is freed, Buttercup orders Major Man to get out of the town and he sadly leaves. The mayor and the people, realizing their mistake, apologize for abandoning the girls for the fraudulent Major Man. The girls accept their apology, but as soon as the people are out of sight, they thank the monster, Fred, for helping them stage the entire incident. The episode ends on a better note, with the girls having restored their reputation in town.
Songs
Trivia/Goofs
- This is the only episode where the narrator starts the episode in a panic, with him crying out that "The City of Townsville's on fire!"
- Fred the Monster's character model is later recycled and used for the mother monster in "That's Not My Baby."
- George Jetson from The Jetsons makes a guest appearance as one of the citizens.
- The girls' bodies appear elongated in a few shots where their legs are hidden from view by the camera.
- This is the first time the girls were called "Powderpuff Girls" in the show after it was uttered in promos for Cartoon Network. "Powderpuff Girls" was said again in the 2016 TV series episode "Viral Spiral".
- When Blossom holds a conversation with Buttercup about their observations on a TV clip featuring Major Man, as Buttercup replies "Yeah", Blossom's lips are moving.
- Major Man's hairstyle is similar to Johnny Bravo's. He also bears a resemblance to Major Glory. Both Major Man and Johnny Bravo were voiced by Jeff Glen Bennett.
- When one citizen exclaims, "No, he's not. He's the Midnight Marauder!" about Major Man's identity, this is a possible reference to A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 album Midnight Marauders.
- This was the first episode to air in 1999.
Production Notes
- Although this episode premiered in 1999, it was produced in 1998 according to the credits.
Images
Major Man revealing his true nature to the girls.