Hello Multiversity readers and welcome to the finale of Hit Monkey. His mission in Japan is coming close to the finish by going after Shinji Yokohama and telling Akiko Yokohama the truth behind everything. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be bloody and fun as hell.
1. Die Hard Mission
The mission for the finale is to get to Shinji Yokohama, the person behind the hit on his former friend, and whose spot he took in the political race. The only problem is that Monkey and Bryce have to get past an army of protestors, Silver Samurai, and then make their way up to the top of the Nakatomi Plaza-like building that he’s atop. Yuki decides to help out Monkey, since she knows that he has a moral code and is trying to do right by Japan. Silver Samurai ends up finding Monkey through their weak attempt at sneaking him in a rice cake cart, but thanks to a surprise appearance of Fat Cobra, we get an attempt at a Fastball Special to the top. It’s pretty entertaining, but with less than 30 minutes of episode time, it felt a lot quicker than it had to be, not to mention that Silver Samurai was a bit of a letdown and felt more like just a regular big dude in a suit of armor than anything real significant.
2. Lady Bullseye Rematch
Lady Bullseye makes the mistake that most villains make, and that’s to take things personally. Lady Bullseye uses Shinji and Akiko as bait for Monkey to get a rematch, since the last time they fought it was considered a tie. One of the biggest differences this time around is that she’s aware of Bryce’s spirit helping Monkey, so she comes with a surprise by utilizing salt to keep him incapacitated. However, as much as it hurts Bryce, it also helps him create a physical shape and actually able to help out more than just shouting from the sidelines. His selflessness is coming to fruition and is part of the great step forward in his personality since the beginning of the show. Officer Haruka gets her revenge for her former partner Ito and puts three bullets into Lady Bullseye’s chest.
3. Bryce’s Ascension
Once Lady Bullseye is killed, Monkey reaches the top of the building and finds Shinji and Akiko still trying to find a way off. Monkey has Shinji in his crosshairs with nothing to stop him until Haruka and Bryce talk him down. Although Shinji’s actions have caused countless deaths, he should face the judicial system rather than take a bullet. This realization of true justice, rather than taking a life, is the final task of removing the seed of evil and allows Bryce to ascend into the afterlife. While this moment is very touching, it is unfortunately short-lived, as he makes his return to help Monkey with his next move to the United States. Bryce comes back with some humor as he mentions how awesome the afterlife is with all the fire and dragons, essentially meaning he wasn’t in the good place as much as he was in hell. It would have been nice to see him sign his deal with the devil but nonetheless, Bryce is back and ready to continue helping out.
4. Akiko’s Next Move
Monkey did take Bryce’s advice initially and was going to let Shinji live so he can face the justice system fairly. But Shinji tried to be slick and grab Haruka’s gun when she wasn’t looking. This sneaky move gave Monkey no choice, and he had to put him in the ground. Shinji was the only family that Akiko had and immediately turns on Monkey. In the final minutes of the episode, she stares at her uncle’s body at the coroner’s and sees the dead body of Lady Bullseye as well. Akiko takes her mask, hinting at her taking up the Lady Bullseye mantle. Now while her anger is justified to a certain extent, he did admit he had his best friend killed to take his spot and caused a lot of chaos in the aftermath in an attempt to hide it from reaching the public. Akiko has hinted at some Punisher-like tendencies for justice, but to take on a psychotic mantle like Lady Bullseye seems a little bit of a reach.
5. Hit Monkey In New York
Monkey killed the Prime Minister of Japan, so that makes him public enemy number one and the only one alive that knows the truth behind why he did it is Officer Haruka. Thanks to her, she sneaks him onto the cargo part of a plane that’s heading to New York. Season two has yet to be green-lit by Hulu, but if he does make it to New York, there are sure to be some hints at the other Marvel heroes living in the Big Apple. Bryce also hints at some other storylines by mentioning his handler who first got him the assignment for Ken in Japan. Whichever way it splits, Monkey has shown how brutal he can be when someone fits his code.
