"Mild Mannered" was the fourteenth episode and the second episode of the second season of Warehouse 13, airing on the Syfy on 13 July 2010.
Synopsis
Pete and Myka travel to Detroit to uncover the source of unexplained vigilantism. Meanwhile, Artie, Claudia, and Leena struggle to come to terms with MacPherson's actions.
Plot
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At Univille, South Dakota, Pete tries to impress the locals with his charms, but has no luck. They arrive at the post office to check to see if their personal belongings have arrived from Washington D.C. after six months of waiting. Pete's hasn't arrived yet, much to his disappointment and the post office employee, Brenda's apathy, but Myka's did. However, Pete notices that Myka's middle initial is O, and vows to figure out what her middle name is. Back at the Warehouse, Artie is remembering everything that MacPherson said to him about the Warehouse and the Regents. Claudia notices that he's distracted, but he quickly refocuses and tells her to keep working on the upgrades to the security systems to keep out the other threats out there. When she suggests that H.G. Wells did them a favor by killing MacPherson, Artie starts to lecture her on how killing is never favorable, but they're interrupted when Artie gets an alert on his computer about Detroit. In Detroit, a thief is going through an apartment when suddenly he is pulled violently off his feet into the next room, and then smashed through the wall and out into the sky. At Leena's Bed and Breakfast, Pete and Leena watch as Myka dances with her teddy bear and books, in her slippers, due to her joy of finally getting her stuff back. She says that her stuff makes her happy because they make her feel like she's home. Artie comes in to tell them that a couple criminals in Detroit have been turned over to the police and rendered in comas. He sends Pete and Myka to Detroit and then tells Leena to work out her issues with Claudia so they can do their job. As Leena walks away, she feels a sudden wash of vertigo but recovers. In Detroit, Myka and Pete talk to Officer Kessman, who was walking the beat and heard gunshots, causing him to be the first on the scene. He said the residents were out of town, so only the criminal was hurt. There are no blood or bullet holes, and Pete finds the flattened bullets lying on the floor. Pete comments on how it is odd that the investigators didn't find it but Kessman notes that due to cutbacks, they have no investigators. On the Warehouse floor, Artie is setting the motion detector security systems when he turns and finds himself face-to-face with MacPherson. He backs away, startled, but then looks back to see MacPherson gone. Leena comes up on Claudia, who starts arguing with her. She refuses to discuss the situation between them with Leena, who scoffs and walks off. Kessman takes Pete and Myka to the diner where the local neighborhood watch meets. Pete goes off to call Artie. A customer and the waitress, Loretta, are arguing about how to deal with criminals. Myka listens as Sheldon describes criminals as parasites and cowards. Outside, Pete calls Artie on the Farnsworth and suggests that the artifact does different things, including conferring invulnerability. Artie is skeptical about the possibility of an artifact doing multiple things and angrily tells him to leave him alone. When Pete realizes something is wrong, Artie agrees to let Claudia check the files while he deals with his "rodent problem." At the diner, Pete and Myka ask Sheldon and Loretta for help and reports of anything unusual. They say they don't know anything and Kessman leaves the agents to go back on his beat. Loretta takes money out of her safe to run to the ban, and the agents notice she has a leather pouch inside. Pete and Myka both figure that Kessman might be using an artifact to fight crime and follow him on his patrol because is doesn't care for the cutbacks and likes to do things his own way. They notice him run toward an apartment and chase after him. Inside the apartment, thieves are stripping the house but someone attacks them. They run in and find Kessman crouched over the unconscious criminals. After Pete and Myka accuse Kessman of being the one to do this to them, he says there was an anonymous tip that led him there and the crooks were already there like that. They hear gunshots and run outside, and see a figure in a purple suit and mask casually lifting a remaining crook over his head. They tell him to surrender but he tosses the crook away and leaps over the nearby building. Pete identifies the figure as the Iron Shadow, the "most awesome superhero of the Silver Age of comics." Pete explains that in the comics, he's a non-powered superhero, an urban vigilante. He's an expert on the character and figures they don't need to call Claudia to gather some info on the matter. They suspect that Loretta is the one responsible and goes back to the diner. When they ask her to open the safe, Sheldon snaps at them, noting that someone robbed him in his own home and good people like Loretta shouldn't be bothered with this kind of stuff. Loretta calms him down and agrees to open the safe. Inside the agents find a key, and they quickly secure it in a neutralizer bag. There's no spark and they realize it's not an artifact. They apologize and leave, and try to think things through. Myka directs them to where a comic book fan would go. The agents go to the local comic book store and Myka talks to the owner. He's happy to hear that there's a vigilante at large, and Myka asks for the pull list of people who have purchased Iron Shadow merchandise. Meanwhile, Pete is busy thumbing through old Iron Shadow comics. He explains that his sister got him hooked on comics after his father died to help him cope, and he comments on how he would have to rebuild his collection if he stuff never gets sent to him. When Pete repeats the Iron Shadow's mantra, "There's only two types of criminals: parasites, and coward." Myka remembers that Sheldon said the same thing earlier at the diner and after checking the Iron Shadow merchandise pull list, they race back to the diner. At the Warehouse, Artie is in his office when he sees a reflection of MacPherson in his screen. When the turns, there's no one there. Leena and Claudia notice and ask if there's something wrong. He admits that he saw MacPherson and Leena wonders if he is hallucinating due to guilt. Artie suggests that MacPherson's psychic residue may have trigged an artifact near the vault, and Claudia identifies the possible artifact as Rasputin's prayer rope. Pete and Myka confront Sheldon at his apartment. He finally admits that he has an artifact and they warn him that it could go out of control. Sheldon snaps when they mention Loretta, which breaks a mug. When they ask for the artifact, he seemingly agrees and goes to get it from his bedroom. The building shakes and they run into the room to discover that he's flown out the window. They run to the street and spot the Iron Shadow on a nearby rooftop, glowing with gravitational force. He fires a blast of the force at them, warns them to get out of his city, and leaps away. Myka realizes that Sheldon is using the power to alter his density. Artie places Rasputin's prayer rope in a neutralizater scrubber to deactivate it down to every pore. Once the machine is turned on, there's a flash of light and the rope is said to be cleansed. Once Artie leaves, Claudia confronts Leena and queries why she chose her, and that it is almost Claudia's fault that she lost the only real family she has. Leena insists that MacPherson did it deliberately to turn them all against each other, and they're all vulnerable without trust. After pointing out that Claudia isn't the only one who had almost lost family, Leena walks away. Before Claudia can go after her, Myka calls and asks her for help. Artie is in his office and MacPherson comes in, warning that he can't be rid of so easily. Claudia does some research and confirms that the only likely artifacts that could account for the Iron Shadow are in the Warehouse. However, Pete suggests a belt due to the Iron Shadow' possessing a special one, and Claudia confirms that the belt of Jack Kirby fits the bill and is at large. Pete figures they need to go after the Iron Shadow's greatest weakness: Loretta, as in his Lois Lane. At the diner, Sheldon comes to see Loretta and asks if she feels safer. He insists that's all he wants her to feel. Loretta assures him that she always feels safe with him. Sheldon says that things are different and that he's doing everything for her. He then shows her the Iron Shadow mask and explains that he's the vigilante. Pete and Myka barge in and call on him to surrender. He activates the artifact, increasing his mass. However, it starts to go out of control. A shelf almost falls on Loretta but Pete dives into her to push her out of the way and Sheldon leaps away before he can do any more damage. The agents make sure that Loretta is alive and explain to her that Sheldon is doing it for her out of love. Claudia calls and tells them that she has what they need to stop the belt, and arrives at the diner. She has a suit that absorbs kinetic energy and gauntlets that redirects the force. Pete is eager to don the suit, but Claudia warns that the suit drains vital fluids from the wearer. He's okay with that, but when he learns it also causes impotence in men, he gives the suit to Myka. Leena finds Artie working in his office, trying to find out the reason why MacPherson is still there. She suggests that he isn't finished with MacPherson, his partner and friend. Artie gets an idea and realizes that he and MacPherson were both brought back from the dead with the Phoenix. As he goes to pursue his theory, Leena has another wave of vertigo. Loretta tells them he is probably at the automotive factory where he was laid off. Pete and Claudia go to find him there, and he blames them for harming Loretta. Claudia warns that the gravitational waves he's generating will soon destroy the city, and they call in Myka donning the suit and gauntlets. She tries to get close to him, insisting that they're the good guys. He takes her hand and she absorbs the kinetic energy of the gravitational waves. Pete runs in and removes the belt, and Myka releases the energy through the gauntlets and up into the sky, dissipating it harmlessly. Loretta arrives and assures him that everything is okay and they have the belt. However, they realize that the belt isn't the artifact. They realize that the trunks, Angelo Siciliano's Workout Trunks, are the artifact. They activate again and Pete pulls Loretta to safety. Pete's density increases to the point of infinite collapse, and Claudia warns it will take the city with him. She tells Myka to siphon as much energy from him as possible and get the trunks off of him. Myka lets herself be pulled toward Sheldon and absorbs more energy, but she becomes locked in the power circuit. Pete runs over and pulls the trunks off and the gravitational collapse ceases. Claudia neutralizes the trunks while Loretta and Sheldon kiss. Later, Sheldon explains that he found the trunks at a yard sale. He offers to turn himself in for his crimes, but Pete says it isn't necessary. Claudia wonders why they're letting him go, and Myka explains that Sheldon wasn't in control of himself, and they should forgive him because an artifact was responsible. Claudia reluctantly agrees, while Pete strikes a heroic pose. At the Warehouse, Artie goes to the Warehouse Filing Room and calls up the home that belonged to himself and MacPherson. He admits that he misses his partner, but due to the Phoenix, they're connected now. Artie figures that MacPherson planned it that way. MacPherson's spirit appears behind him as Artie finds a pocket watch and a note from MacPherson. In it, MacPherson says that they used to argue over the watch, and he wants Artie to have it now that he is dead. He wishes him luck, and figures that he's going to need it. Artie turns toward the spirit but it fades away as he wonders if they could chat from time to time. Claudia approaches Leena and admits that MacPherson could have used her as easily as Leena. They part as friends again and Leena has another wave of vertigo. She then takes out a cellphone and calls Mrs. Frederic, telling her that she's experiencing something strange and is reporting it to her, as she requested. In the office, Pete gets Myka to admit that she liked being a superhero. She finally admits that her middle name is Ophelia. Pete admits that it's beautiful... and starts the teasing. They go back to Leena's Bed and Breakfast and find the others there. They have a gift of a big-screen TV to keep himself amused until his stuff arrived. Further, Myka has the rare issue of Iron Shadow that Pete could never find. He starts reading it while Artie apologizes for being distracted, but insists that he's now 100% focused. When Myka wonders if it now feels like home, Pete states that it is even better than home.[1] |
Cast
Main Cast
- Eddie McClintock as Pete Lattimer
- Joanne Kelly as Myka Bering
- Saul Rubinek as Artie Nielsen
- Genelle Williams as Leena
- Allison Scagliotti as Claudia Donovan
Guest Starring
- Roger Rees as James MacPherson
- Jewel Staite as Loretta
- Sean Maher as Sheldon
Co-Starring
- Conrad Coates as Officer Kessman
- Kyra Harper as Brenda
- Aaron Berg as Mad Dog
- Neil Davison as Burglar #1
Artifacts and Gadgets Featured
- Angelo Siciliano's Workout Trunks: Belonging to the bodybuilder otherwise known as Charles Atlas, the trunks allow the wearer to manipulate their gravitational density to accomplish feats such as super-strength and leaping large distances. Extended use of the trunks eventually causes the wearer's mass to overwhelm him/her and collapse in on themselves, creating a black hole the size of Detroit, Michigan. It is the main artifact of the episode.
- Grigori Rasputin's Prayer Rope: Projects images of the dead.
- DARPA GAK Suit: A suit thinner and more resilient than Kevlar body armour, it absorbs all forms of kinetic energy. A soldier wearing the suit is theoretically able to take a hundred gunshots to the chest and doesn't break stride. The absorption of kinetic energy however drains the wearer of all vital fluids, causing paralysis and impotence usually after an hour of use.
- Claudia Donovan's Energy Gloves: These gloves created by Claudia allow the wearer of the DARPA GAK suit to project the aforementioned kinetic energy into powerful beams.
- Bruce Lee's Punching Bag: Alters density. Mentioned but not seen.
- Samson's Jawbone: Alters density. Mentioned but not seen.
- Babe Ruth's Baseball Bat: Alters density. Mentioned but not seen.
- Jack Kirby's Belt: Alters density.
- Norse Hammer: Seen on shelf near where the trunks are hung. Resembles the hammer of mythological deity, Thor. Increases the user's muscle-mass to god-like proportions while inducing delusions of righteousness.
- Penguin's Umbrella: A purple umbrella seen behind the Norse Hammer in the collection of comic book artifacts. Said to be Penguin's, a villain in the Batman series, in the episode podcast.
- Green Hornet's Ring: Said to belong in the comic book artifact collection by Jack Kenny in the episode podcast. It is unclear if the ring was actually seen in the episode. It is possible he confused it with the Green Lantern's Ring, though in the 1966 TV series the Green Hornet kept a homing device ring in his pocket (as he wore gloves), and in 1947 there was a glow-in-the-dark secret compartment seal ring obtainable by fans to send secret messages.
- Saburo Miyakawa's Hachimaki: Provides wearer with no fear of death.
- Hummel Figurine: A proposed artifact as to what hurt the perp, from a deleted scene. Suggested by Pete to have a "bad attitude."
Quotable Quotes
- For full list of Quotable Quotes from this episode, see Mild Mannered/Quotes.
| “ | Pete:You know, Dudley Do-Right was first on the scene at all three locations. | ” |
Trivia
- According to the episode podcast, the teddy bear Myka was carrying at the beginning of the episode is Joane Kelly's actual teddy bear.[2]
- During the same scene, Jack Kenny wanted to include a Barry Manilow song.
- The song Claudia was listening to while wearing her headphones was not the song originally planned to be included ("Hang You from the Heavens" by Dead Weathers).
- It was never stated in-show what Artie was doing while wearing the blue suit and the portable Neutralizer backpack.
- This was pointed out extensively by Saul Rubinek in the episode podcast. According to him, the scene was cut that showed him "spreading goo around" in an effort to stop the apparitions of James MacPherson.
- "Hairy Tarantula" is the name of a real comic book store in Toronto (where the show is filmed), which the show got permission to use.
- In the comic book store, one poster behind Pete is for "Living in Infamy", a four issue comic series written by Ben Raab and Deric A. Hughes, who are also writers for the show.
- The Neutralizer Scrubber prop is a slightly modified vintage wringer washer machine with a Lovell brand wringer.
- The song played during Myka's superhero entry is "Taxicab Messiah" by Kidneythieves, also featured in Deus Ex: Invisible War where it's performed by fictional pop star NG Resonance.
- In the photograph of young Artie and James in James' room, Saul's face from his wedding photo was Photoshopped in.
- The puppet in front of the artifact Leena shelved at the end of the episode was originally in the Dark Vault.
- In the episode podcast, Allison called the puppet "evil" and had "no idea" why it was out of the Dark Vault, claiming it must have found its way out.
- The medal Claudia wore at the end of the episode was given to Allison Scagliotti by the Victorian Steampunk Society of London when the show's crew went to the MCM Expo (called the "Cataclysmic Order of Nihilism Medal" or the "C.O.N. Medal").
References
| Warehouse 13 : Season 2 | |
| #01 "Time Will Tell" | #07 "For The Team" |
| #02 "Mild Mannered" | #08 "Merge With Caution" |
| #03 "Beyond Our Control" | #09 "Vendetta" |
| #04 "Age Before Beauty" | #10 "Where and When" |
| #05 "13.1" | #11 "Buried" |
| #06 "Around The Bend" | #12 "Reset" |
| "Secret Santa" (Christmas Special) | |