Ball of Revenge

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"Ball of Revenge" is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season of Courage the Cowardly Dog. In this episode Eustace gathers Courage's arch-enemies to destroy Courage in a deadly game of dodgeball, including Katz and Le Quack.

1 Plot
2 Quotes
3 Controversy
4 Trivia

[edit] Plot

Eustace is excited when Muriel is sewing a new, multi-coloured blanket, but is enraged when he discovers that it was made for Courage and not him. He feels that Courage gets everything around the house and is fed up of it and storms out of the room. He then gets in contact with six of Courage's major enemies, namely Katz, Le Quack, the Queen of the Black Puddle, the Clutching Foot, the Weremole and the Cajun Fox! The seven of them conspire to get their ultimate revenge against Courage, hiding in the basement. Eustace's plan is to kidnap Muriel and use her as bait so that they can then trap Courage and destroy him.

When Muriel comes down to bring them sandwiches, she is grabbed and tied up, hanging above a bubbling cauldron. The villains demand that she screams so that Courage will come down so that they can kidnap him. Muriel initially refuses, but when Katz starts mixing the shirt colours in the dryer, she screams with distress and Courage comes down, only to be grabbed and threatened by all his worst enemies. Before the villains kill him, however, Katz typically suggests a 'spot of sport' before they kill him. The villains decide to play a game of dodgeball.

Katz, Weremole, Cajun Fox, Clutching Foot and Black Puddle Queen are playing against Courage, while Le Quack is the referee and Eustace watches with glee, Muriel still hanging above the cauldron. The villains easily hit Courage many times, usually with very dangerous weapons. After Courage has been hit many times, Le Quack declares half-time, and two more faces from Courage's past, two of the Duck Brothers sing a song for half-time.

After this, things are going just as badly for Courage. The villains repeatedly hit him until he is completely defeated. The villains bring out their deadly weapons, preparing to finish Courage once and for all. But with Muriel's encouragement, Courage realizes that there is one thing he can do better than the villains...screaming. Courage screams as loudly as possible, causing the basement to break down, making the floor fall apart beneath the villains, making them fall through to their ultimate demises.

Because of Eustace's evil behaviour, Muriel gives Courage his chair and makes Eustace sleep on the floor. Weary, Courage turns the TV on, only to see Freaky Fred on the screen...

[edit] Quotes

Le Quack(as referee): Zese are ze rules. La ball, she is round. The loser, he is...fini.

Big Toe: Nyahh, remember us?

Little Toe: Yeah, remember us? Big Toe: Ya licked us good, see? Cajun Fox: Cooked us good too! Remember that?

[edit] Controversy

This is most likely the most controversial Courage episode in the entire series, mostly because of all the references to Courage's old adventures.

While the episode had many fans, others felt that the segement showed the series in bad light, with the villains and regulars out of character, with too many plot holes and wasted potential. Here are the most controversial things about the episode:

Eustace

Many fans disapproved of the way Eustace had changed from a comical, grumpy old farmer to a diabolical, scheming villain who wants nothing better than to dispose of Courage, using any means possible, summoning all Courage's arch-enemies, despite the fact that several of them have threatened him in the past, and using Muriel to get him, when he has previously shown signs of love towards Muriel and refusal to use her as bait. He has also never intended to kill Courage before, at least not deliberately. He was also planning to do all that just over a blanket. Many fans also believed that his punishment at the end did not make him repay his terrible deeds in the slightest.

Courage

Courage was thought to be out of character, getting beaten up all the time without doing anything particularly heroic and coming across as extremely cowardly and weak, only managing to save the day due to his cowardice.

Muriel

While Muriel hasn't been a particular topic of this story, she was found amusing and in-character as opposed to some others, although some did not like the way she was tied up for the duration of the show.

The Villains

The villains were some of the most debateable features of the episode. Many fans loved seeing their old favourites back from season one again, although some felt that many of them were out of character. It is usually agreed that Katz and Le Quack had fine appearances with memorable scenes. However, many were very disappointed that Le Quack had a minor role and was only present in half the episode. The rest of the villains were heavily critiscized by some. Those like the Queen of the Black Puddle, the Weremole, the Cajun Fox and the Clutching Foot were thought to have too little a role, being only background villains with a few lines, and had very little reason to return. Most of the villains were either deceased, trapped eternally or had no reason to seek revenge against Courage. Some believed that Dr. Gerbil, Mondo or Mad Dog should have appeared in place of certain villains.

Cameos from Freaky Fred and the Duck Brothers

It is usually agreed by most fans that the cameos from Freaky Fred and the Duck Brothers were great additions. This episode is well-known for the song that the Duck Brothers sing, although some were disappointed that one brother was absent. Freaky Fred's reappearance thrilled most fans, as he was a fan-favourite who hadn't appeared since the first season and many felt that he deserved another episode. A few feel that his cameo demonstrates the whole point of this episode, in that Courage can never escape his enemies, in the way that after he manages to defeat a whole troupe of his worst enemies, Freaky Fred still reappears, meaning that Courage can never escape.

Ball of Revenge had a long debate on the Courage message board, some sticking up for it and others critisizing it, and it still remains one of the most controversial and debatable episodes in Courage history.

[edit] Trivia

This is the first time since the episode 'The Hunchback of Nowhere', that Eustace has said Courage's name.

Le Quack disappears after the half-time show, and is not seen again.

This marked the final appearance of Courage's major enemies, most notably arch-enemies Katz and Le Quack.

This is likely the most villainous Eustace has appeared.

Many villains returned without good reason. Katz met his apparent demise in the episode 'Katz Under the Sea' when he was eaten by a shark, Le Quack was shot down by cannons in 'Le Quack Balloon', the Clutching Foot got licked away by Courage with no possible way of returning, and he was also only alive because he was possessing Eustace, and yet both are seen at the same time(some assume that the Foot is possessing another individual.) The Queen of the Black Puddle lived underwater and tried to eat Eustace, and was last seen to be trapped in her water world, with no way Eustace could have made contact with her. The Cajun Fox was cooked in his own bubbling stew. The Weremole barely even knew Courage existed, had no reason to seek revenge against Courage, and didn't have the intellegence to conspire with Eustace to destroy him.

Some fans state that Ma should have been one of the villains to come back for revenge. However, it is said that Ma most likely died in Scuba Scuba Doo when she was washed away by a tidal wave. Also, Billie Lou Watt, the voice of Ma, died in September of 2001, probably before this episode was produced.

Some fan suggest that John R. Dilworth may have made the episode because the series was about to end, and he wanted to make one last episode featuring all of Courage's greatest enemies.