Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Comic No. 2 is the second issue in the Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Comic series, released on October 24, 2018. [1]
Original comics[]
- Black Cat Comics No. 2, Harvey Comics[2]
- Horrific No. 2, Comic Media[3]
Story[]
Kinga Forrester gets the real-time printouts of the experiment from Synthia and is ecstatic with the current progress of the Bubbulat-R, as she continues to expand the Mystery Science Theater 3000 brand into a new medium which she names "Mystery Science Comic Book 3000", despite Max's reservations. For the second issue, Kinga decides to send Jonah and Crow into a second comic and has Ardy flush them a 1940s comic starring costumed crimefighter Black Cat. Jonah and Crow suddenly find themselves riding in the sidecar of Black Cat's motorcycle and they crash into Kinga's next Moon 13 Ad Trap, sponsored by Totino's Pizza Rolls. In the chaos that ensues, Crow goes missing.
"Black Cat and Jonah"[]
Meanwhile, the nefarious chess-themed crime boss Rook is seething over how Black Cat has been taking out criminal operations left and right for the past year. So he proposes creating an underworld chamber of commerce for the express purpose of eliminating such crimefighters. His first scheme involves a contest with a $50,000 prize for the person who can ferret out the secret identity of Black Cat.
Back at Moon 13, Kinga is confounded when Growler makes an unexpected appearance in the Black Cat comic. An examination by Synthia reveals that the bubble columns for the two comic books in the system are starting to merge. Max points out that comic book nerds love this sort of crossover action, so they leave it be as they observe Gypsy and M. Waverly joining Growler.
Back in the 1940s, Rook continues to ramp up the publicity for his "Who Is Black Cat" contest and hires Jonah in his role as a DJ to promote it on the air. Hollywood starlet Linda Turner is not thrilled with this turn of events and goes out to investigate the situation as Black Cat. She stakes out the post office where the contest entries are being sent and tails the trucks that pick them up, noticing that Jonah is following the trucks. Going up a narrow mountain road, a couple of goons in the rearmost truck open fire on their pursuers. Jonah loses control of his car and goes down the mountainside. Black Cat follows and pulls him out of the flaming wreckage. Seeing that he's now okay, she resumes her pursuit of the trucks, which lead her to an isolated castle. Suddenly, a bascule bridge she's crossing opens and she is unable to stop in time before being sent flying into the river. Before we can learn Black Cat's fate, the scene abruptly shifts to a creepy house with an overgrown lawn, where the previously AWOL Crow shows up.
This unexpected development has Kinga seriously annoyed. An examination by Ardy reveals that there was still some residue left over from their test run with Issue No. 2 of Horrific and it's seeped into the tanks. Kinga decides to let it continue.
"Tail of Death"[]
Crow is in the home of Joseph Hatter, an obsessive scientist attempting to create a tissue expansion drug, and his brother, Amos. Despite his ability to affect his surroundings, the brothers are unaware of Crow's presence. Amos has come to recognize how unhealthy Joe's obsession is, but is unwilling to have him institutionalized. One night, Joe has an epiphany about what he needs to do and immediately heads down to his lab. He injects the new formula in a rat, but instead of growing, it shrinks. The rat bites him, which gets the formula in his own bloodstream, causing him to shrink as well. Amos hears the commotion and discovers his brother in his diminished state. Amos uses this opportunity to lock up Joe in an old parrot cage. But the inhumanity of his actions causes Amos to feel guilt and he attempts to develop an antidote. It works, but before Amos can explain some of the side effects, an enraged Joe strangles him. Since their house is so out of the way, Joe figures knowledge Amos' murder won't get out and he buries the corpse in the basement. Going over Amos's notes, Joe learns that the antidote's effects may be only temporary and the antidote begins to wear off, causing Joe to shrink again. He is attacked by a rat and tries to make his way to a stray cat he had seen earlier in hopes that it will kill the rat. But Crow trips him and he falls in front of the cat, who kills him.
At the conclusion of the story, Crow reveals that he has transformed into the Crow Keeper.
Obscure References[]
- "I'm Bud Abbott's stunt double and I gotta get over to Universal pronto."
- Bud Abbott was the straight man in the comic duo of Abbott and Costello. Universal Studios was responsible for filming most of their comedy movies, the most memorable of which had them cross over with the studio's classic movie monsters.
- "Pawn only pawn in game of life."
- Parody of a line from the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles, which originally went, "Mongo only pawn in game of life."
- "Let's call ourselves 'The Badder Business Bureau'!"
- The Better Business Bureau is a non-profit organization tasked with rating businesses on how well they adhere to their Code of Business Practices.
- "Says here there's a Nigerian prince that needs financial help."
- The Nigerian prince scam is a form of advance-fee scam, where the mark is asked to provide a sum of money with the promise of a large return. The Nigerian prince variant was one of the first to be promulgated through e-mail.
- "I'm not Ask Jeeves!"
- Ask Jeeves (later renamed Ask.com) is an answer engine site founded in 1996.
- "This is like the time when DC and Marvel became aware of the other's existence, and pitted superhero against superhero in an all-out reader-determined brawl for branded victory."
- DC vs. Marvel is a four issue comic book crossover limited series where characters from the properties of the two publishers engaged in a series of duels. Of the eleven primary duels (the results of which were determined through a reader vote), Marvel characters won six and DC characters won five.
- "Let's start the British Invasion early!"
- The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon during the 1960s when a series of British bands gained popularity in America. These included The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, and Herman's Hermits, among others.
- "This is my tribute to Caroll Spinney."
- Caroll Spinney was a puppeteer best known for his portrayals of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street.
- "Must be Mulholland Drive before the real estate developers got to it."
- Mulholland Drive is a 21 mile stretch of road that follows the ridgeline of the eastern Santa Monica Mountains and the Hollywood Hills.
- "Andy Capp, you were never funny!"
- Andy Capp is the lead character in the British comic strip of the same name, who is always seen wearing a distinctive checked cap.
- "Donate my bebop records to the Smithsonian!"
- Bebop is a style of jazz noted for its fast tempo. The Smithsonian Institution is a group of museums primarily located in Washington D.C. Its collection of about 154 million items has earned it the nickname of "the nation's attic".
- "Many rivers to cross..."
- "Many Rivers to Cross" is a song written and originally recorded by Jimmy Cliff. It has since been covered by many other performers.
- "I should've never taken that job at Orkin."
- Orkin is a pest control company founded in 1901.
- "If you want a big tissue, I can just tape some Kleenex together for you."
- Kleenex is a brand best known for its facial tissues, with which it has become a genericized trademark for that product.
- "The Kentucky Derby is as good as ours."
- The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
- "Let me reapply your Brylcreem."
- Brylcreem is a brand of men's hair cream manufactured by Unilever.
- "Now release the Pez that is in your neck!"
- Pez is a candy primarily known for their dispensers which feature the heads of characters from various cartoons, movies, TV shows, and other media.
- "You must purify yourself in the healing waters of Lake Minnetonka."
- Paraphrasing of a line from the movie Purple Rain.
- "I think I just fell on my keys."
- Paraphrasing of a line from The Producers.
- "Fancy Feast!"
- Fancy Feast is a brand of cat food owned by Nestlé Purina PetCare.