Welcome back to Multiversity Comics’ Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts reviews. This week there’s a flaming phantom, Deathstalkers, a high C, and karaoke.
“To Catch a Deathstalker”
Written by Taylor Chapulin Orci
Directed by Chase Conley
1. Stalky
This episode begins with a flashback to five-year-old Wolf fleeing from Mod Frogs into Deathstalker territory. By the end of the intro, she’s got a new home, she’s figured out how the Dealthstalkers sense their prey and how to evade them, and finally, she gets Stalky. It’s a great way to set up the episode.
2. The Flaming Phantom
“To Catch a Deathstalker” breaks up the group, with Benson, Dave, and Mandu leading a diversion to keep the flamingos away from Kipo and Wolf with a gambit called “The Flaming Phantom.” We don’t really catch up with them until the end of the episode, but it looks like their adventure was fun.
We don’t ever need to know what happened to them, but if there were ever to be some spinoff comics for Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, then I totally want to see a story titled “The Flaming Phantom.”
3. It’s all about the gold
So, it seems Scarlemagne has a way to deploy explosive nectar at a distance. This does not bode well for, well, anyone. At this point, it’s pretty clear Scarlemagne isn’t fighting for mutes, he’s just a force of chaos. Why? Well, as Scarlemagne himself says, he “likes shiny things,” and then he starts building a pyramid of gold in honor of himself. But the why is what really interests me. There’s clearly more to Scarlemagne than we’ve been told and I’m eager, perhaps even a little impatient, to get to it. The moustache-twisting villain routine can be fun, but you can only do it so long before you run out of moustache to twist.
The episode also takes in a moment to check in on the three mysterious figures who were spying on Scarlemagne in the season premiere. We get a better angle on them here and they’re pretty clearly human and wearing burrow jumpsuits under their cloaks. And they seem to have a better idea of what’s going on on the surface than any of Kiop’s people did.
4. Kipo’s training continues
The Chèvre Sisters may have gotten Kipo started, but she’s still got a lot to learn if she wants to resist the Mega Jaguar’s influence. By using the Kipo’s training to introduce the Deathstalkers and flesh out Wolf’s childhood, we get a sequence character charged. The training technique is intrinsically linked to who Wolf was and who she became. . . and also a Deathstalker missing its stinger from its third tail.
Plus it’s sad (in a rather understated way) to see a kid’s room full of toys, but all repurposed into survival tools. And yet also hilarious.
5. You’re not alooooooone!
In the end, it’s not Kipo who screws up when the Deathstalkers are on their tail—it’s Wolf. Despite everything, she can’t help but getting panicked when it looks like Kipo’s in danger. And Kipo gets to save her, thus showing she’s mastered the latest aspect of her training.
But she’s still got a long way to go. One thing I think the show does really well is showing how close to breaking under the pressure Kipo feels, and when that happens, she needs to rely on her friends more than ever. And so we have “Heroes on Fire,” which becomes a kind of anthem for Kipo and company and how they stick together. Even Wolf likes it, though she’s reluctant to admit it.
What did you think of this episode? Let me know in the comments.
