"Overdrive" is the ninth episode of season four and the overall 48th episode of the Teen Titans series.
Plot
As much as he enjoys life in general, Cyborg finds that his enthusiasm can hardly catch up with his daily schedule. His interest is aroused to a new computer processor chip called the MAX-7, which he has delivered and inserted into his brain. The chip considerably boosts Cyborg's calculative and reflexive capabilities, enabling him not only to zoom through the day in any activity he pursues, but also to defeat Adonis all by himself as he gives the local beach visitors a hard time.
The things Cyborg hoped to do more of...
However, the very next evening the Titans are called into town and face a serious challenge in the shape of Billy Numerous. In their first clash, Billy's power of self-duplication easily outmatches their respective powers, and even Cyborg's enhanced speed proves no good. Tired out after a futile chase, most of the Titans retreat into the Tower to catch some rest. Cyborg stays behind to continue the pursuit, but since he gathers that he needs to power up the Max-7 in order to catch Billy, he diverts energy to it from those areas which make up his human self, including his emotional capacities. But even so, he can't catch up with Numerous, who has decided to conduct a city-wide robbing spree, making it progressively harder for Cyborg to decide which Billy(s) to turn his attention to.
The next morning, the other Titans enter Ops to find Cyborg speaking and acting completely like a robot. The same night, Billy pulls off his greatest coup by stealing the city's Bay Bridge. The other four Titans, surprised by Billy’s stunt, arrive at the scene to attack. However, to everyone’s surprise, Cyborg rushes to the scene at his T-Car's pace and attacks high in the air, charging up a huge sonic cannon blast bigger than any he’s ever done before. However, right before Cyborg fires the blast, a major short-circuit caused by the Max-7 violently electrocutes him unconscious, and he falls out of the sky, crashing to the streets below and horrifying the other Titans who rush over to him. Back at the Tower, Cyborg awakens and Robin explains that they had to break off their attack on Billy to take care of him. After actually combing through all the instructions Cyborg skimmed before installing the Max 7, they are able to explain what went wrong; The chip was indeed compatible with all of Cyborg's systems up until he started shutting all those systems down so their power could be diverted to the Max-7. When he established that one-sided orientation of his system's core programming, he wound up stressing his core operating hardware beyond its limits and that's what caused the violent seizure. To save his life, the Titans had to remove the chip from his brain indefinitely. When Cyborg asks what chance he has to stop Billy without the Max-7, it is Beast Boy who offers him an alternative: Instead of trying it the fast way, maybe he should take a slow and easy approach.
The fruits of Billy's ambitions
In the Old Stadium, Billy and his clones gloat over his/their success and the accumulated loot when the Titans appear - but each of them multiplied twenty-fold in number. Billy wastes no time ordering an all-out attack, but the Titans prove strangely elusive, prompting him to create even more duplicates. But finally, he pushes his power too far; his last clone does not separate from him, which he immediately takes as a bad omen. All duplicates are forcibly reabsorbed back into Billy's body, incapacitating him. And as it turns out, the additional Titans are not the real thing, but merely holograms created and controlled by Cyborg.
With his humanity and good spirits restored, Cyborg once again considers what to do with the rest of the day. After catching an angry glare from his friends, he announces that he has already made up his mind: catch up on some sleep.
Characters
Main Characters
Supporting Characters
Villains
- Billy Numerous
- Adonis
- Jinx (photo only)
Trivia
- It is revealed that Beast Boy is talented at origami by making a paper hat and a turtle.
- Cyborg can apparently open his sonic cannon out of both his arms with enough power to spare.
- Robin's telescopic bo staff can stretch to ridiculous lengths. Apparently, hundreds of feet.
- The word which Cyborg spelled in the Spelling Bee competition is "autochthonous", an adjective used to describe something that is native to an area.
- It is not explained why Cyborg was allowed to participate in the Spelling Bee in the first place, given that the other participants in the background appears to be elementary school kids, and that his abilities would have allowed him to memorize all words in the approved dictionary.
Cultural References
- When Starfire said "Agreed. He now opens even larger cans of the butt-whoop", "butt-whoop" is obviously a watered down version of the saying, "whoop-ass."
- In the Max-7 commercial, a reference to the S.T.A.R. Labs (Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories) is made, a facility featuring prominently in the DC comics and the Superman and Justice League animated series.
- It also is a nod towards the Flashes, (who reside in Central City where S.T.A.R Labs is located), when underneath the 7 in Max-7, there is a lightning bolt and also when the commercial states, "it'll be there in a rush".
- Some of Billy Numerous' clones were riding an elephant that had a banner saying "Vote 4 Billy". This is a reference to the Republican Party's logo being an elephant.
Continuity
- The Quiz Monkey game show host from "Episode 257-494" appears in the Max-7 commercial.
- This marks the first time in the series where Cyborg attacks with dual sonic cannons as opposed to just one.
- A picture of Cyborg dancing with Jinx can be seen in Cyborg's room. This is one of the few activities Cyborg took part in "Deception" where he infiltrates the H.I.V.E. Academy.
Goofs
- In the beginning of the episode with the "combat practice" scene when Cyborg looked over his shoulder after destroying pole-mounted lasers, his half-robotic face switched sides.
- When Cyborg finds out about the Max-7, he orders it and it seems it arrived the very next day and Robin already knew what a Max-7 was, which means Robin found out earlier than Cyborg or roughly at the same time. Robin seems to be up to his ears in computers.
- After Starfire fell asleep with a lamppost, Raven's hood is down.
- After Adonis was defeated, Cyborg said it is time for dinner even though it was around 7-8 o'clock A.M.
- Also in this shot, Raven's hood was down, and after the T-Car arrived so that the Titans go for pizza, Beast Boy and Starfire's laughs and giggles are not synced to their mouths.
- When the T-Car stopped where the Titans are standing, Raven was next to Robin on the left side instead of the right.
- In this episode, there are several goof scenes when Cyborg's left ear is human instead of metal:
- After Cyborg ate his breakfast that had eggs and bacon and while walking up to his panel, his left ear is human when the scene shows his back.
- As we see four pictures of "Super Deformed" Cyborg, his left ear is human again when he imagines himself reading magazines and hugging the T-Car.
- When he bangs an elbow into the crate that reveals the Max-7 chip, Cyborg's left ear turned human for a split-second.
- While Cyborg is building the game room, his left ear turn human for a quick second after he put a Foosball table. The left ear did it again after the game room was made and Cyborg stood there with his fists on his hips.
- After surfing lessons and he comes up from the water, Cyborg's left ear turned human.
- Cyborg's left ear turned human for another split-second as he says "No way! Thanks to the Max-7, I'm having the time of my life!".
- Before one of Billy's duplicate charged in to attack Robin, Cyborg's left ear turned human when he gasped in shock.
- When Cyborg begins to fire at Billy Numerous with his hands as two sonic cannons, his left ear turned human again.
Gallery
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Transcript
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